Praying by the Light of my Rosary Off the Record Barbara Stinson Lee

When I was young and before I knew the late Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal, I used to laugh at the idea of a glow-in-the-dark rosary. I’m not laughing any more.

My husband bought me a florescent rosary some year back, and I really got used to using it, especially as I pray at night before going to sleep. So often, “before going to sleep” becomes “as I fall asleep,” and I lose track of which Hail Mary or Our Father I’m supposed to be saying, or which mystery I’m supposed to be contemplating.

When I began visiting Bishop Federal before his death at Christus St. Joseph Villa, I noticed his florescent rosary right off. He told me it was much easier to find when he was praying in bed, and “your time will come.”

Recently, I have taken up my florescent rosary again in the darkness of winter. There is something wonderfully comforting about opening my eyes in the dark and seeing those beads glowing in my hand. It helps to center me on the prayer and the mysteries of the rosary. My rosary is larger than the usual rosary, so if I drift off to sleep, and the rosary hits the floor, it makes just enough of a resounding “thunk” on the floor to wake me up and get me going again.

I find the prayers of the rosary comforting in their repetitiveness. I am particularly fond of Pope John Paul II’s luminous mysteries, as I often find myself praying for light and more illumination in my life and my prayer life. The rosary also helps calm the anxieties of the day. I even find myself breathing in a calmer manner with the prayers and moving from mystery to mystery.

A long time ago I got into the habit of carrying a rosary in my pocket. It’s amazing how just the familiar feel of the beads can comfort me, and any time spent waiting is easily spent saying five or six Hail Marys and an Our Father. The feel of the beads in my pocket and opening my eyes to see the beads in my hand serve to remind me who I am, and where God is in my life.

Praying by the light of my rosary – As Bishop Federal said, my time has come.