I'll Pray the Rosary for Lent

What have you given up for Lent?

Even though the Lenten season has begun - it started yesterday on Ash Wednesday - I’m still thinking about my personal sacrifice in observance of the liturgical year that will end on Easter Sunday. Sam apparently has given up eating hot dogs because he wouldn’t touch the one I cut up in his dish yesterday. What’s not to like about hot dogs I asked him? He looked up at me as if to say, “You just don’t understand.”

Is he a teenager in dog years already? He’s only two!

The traditional purpose of Lent, as you probably know, is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial - none of which I’m good at. During Lent, many of the world’s faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain things, especially luxuries, as a form of penitence. Lent lasts 40 days to recall Jesus wandering in the desert and fasting for 40 days. The Lenten season ends on Easter Sunday.

Giving something up for Lent can be looked at as self-flagellation for sin, if you will. But for me, this year’s sacrifice will not be as much about doing penance or punishing myself (like giving up coffee and donuts) as it will be about concentrating on my quest for spiritual awakening through prayer. I have thought for many years that I needed to learn to pray better. For instance, my meal prayers are pathetic: “Rub-a-dub dub, here comes the grub. Yay God!” or “Over the teeth and through the gums, look out stomach here it comes.”

In my defense, I have learned of late to pray for people more often. I have come to the conclusion that when somebody pops into my mind, especially somebody I haven’t seen for a long time, that I am being prompted to pray for that person. I usually think a quickie prayer in my head asking God’s grace on the person I’ve suddenly thought of, but I’m never quite sure what else to say.

l was thinking I might finally learn to pray the rosary for Lent. I always admired my grandparents for being able to pray the rosary and I’ve always thought rosaries were cool. In some countries there is something similar referred to as “worry beads, but I like “rosary.” A couple of years ago I bought a beautiful handmade rosary at a fund-raising bazaar at Assumption Church in Bellingham. My rosary has red heart-shaped beads on a silver chain with a silver crucifix.

You would think I could manage to set aside 15 minutes a day to learn to pray the rosary wouldn’t you? That doesn’t seem like a great sacrifice. But will I do it? I hate making promises I can’t keep. I’ve promised things to God before and I felt real guilty when I didn’t follow through. I suppose I could just give up making promises for Lent, but that seems too easy.

A bag of poop on me if I don’t learn to pray the rosary during Lent. Hail Mary full of grace, if I don’t learn to pray the rosary may I roll over and die with pain in my face.