My heart aches for the victims of another senseless mass shooting.  Each new shooting generates its own unique horror and reveals another facet of hatred. I can only try to imagine the pain and anguish experienced by the surviving victims and their families. What makes this one different is that the gun man’s target was the gay community.  This fact doesn’t make it more horrible or less horrible, just different.  When it comes to homosexuality, I agree with the statement by Pope Francis who said, “Who am I to judge?”

Gay people must have to contend with rejection a lot.  If they “come out of the closet,” they face the prospect of being rejected by their parents, their family, their friends, their church, and some would even try to convince them, their God. If they choose not to come-out, they still have to silently listen to hateful statements made by others.  While many people struggle with feelings of depression, of being unlovable, and of low self-worth, it is easy to see how these feelings might be magnified in a sensitive gay person.  It is not surprising to me that an estimated 30% of gay youth attempt or successfully commit suicide.  To a vulnerable, young gay person, the message of hatred the shooter sent only reinforces the negative feelings with which they already struggle. How evil it is to murder someone just because of they way they were born.  It breaks my heart. God loves each and every one of His creations!

Christians are called to love everyone. If a person loves someone of the opposite sex or of the same sex, it shouldn’t matter, as long as what they share is a self-giving love.

Since I didn’t grow up Catholic, I never learned how to pray The Rosary. When I was asked to become a fourth grade catechist, I thought it might be a good idea to tackle this great prayer. After all, I couldn’t have the students out-praying me. I’ve never been a fan of repetitive prayer, but I forced myself to memorize the whole dang thing using a print-out from this link:

http://www.newadvent.org/images/rosary.pdf.

Now, it is still something of a chore for me to pray this prayer, but I still do for a number of reasons.

1. Because it is a chore, I can “offer it up” for the suffering of others or myself.
2. Being a meditative prayer, it is good way to clear my thoughts and focus, instead, on the life of Christ.
3. After reading the book, “Nine Minutes and Twenty Seconds,” a true story about a plane crash in which half the people die, I was impressed with how a woman was able to comfort a dying man by praying The Rosary out loud next to him.  While I hope I am never in that situation, I like knowing that I could do the same for someone who needs comforting words.
4. A friend of mine, who is a religious sister, taught me that it is a good prayer for those times when you are in so much pain or experiencing so much turmoil that you can’t even think.  Again, I hope I don’t need it that way, but I am prepared if I do.
5. It can be used to pass the time when I take long walks or jog. Praying it keeps me alert during my long commute to work.  I rarely ever use the beads, I just use my ten fingers.  Also, if heaven forbid, I get into an accident, the fact that I had just been praying The Rosary can’t be a bad thing.
6. There are supposedly a whole slew of benefits that you can reap by praying The Rosary.  I don’t really count on them being true and therefore, don’t know what they are.
7. One of the best reasons I pray it, is to unite my puny sufferings with those of Jesus.  The Sorrowful Mysteries are my favorite for this reason.
8. Meditating on the mysteries makes you intimately familiar with the path of Christ.  I like having Him not far from my mind.

What bothers me the most about the rosary, is the superstition around it.  I have been around grown women who beat themselves up because they “forgot to pray the rosary that day.”  To me, this is sad.  I don’t pray it every day.  I go through periods when I pray it a lot.  Other times, I pray different prayers.  Just “talking to God” is my favorite way to pray. In addition to that, some of the “prescribed” Mysteries of The Rosary aren’t my favorites.  Therefore, I have decided to come up with my own mysteries.

Here are my “Hopeful Mysteries”:

1. Jesus Gives us Rest: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Matthew 11:28-30

2. Jesus Will Never Reject Us: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” John 6:11

3. The Comfort of Heaven: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many mansions. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” John 14:1-2

4. The Promise of Eternity: “…I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even though he dies, will live: and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die…” John 11:25-26
   

5. You Are Never Alone: “…And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

Coming soon: “Prayerful Mysteries,” and “Evangelical Mysteries”…