What is a Rosary?

I mean, really.
I know well what it is in terms of a tool for prayer.
But what else is for others?
How do others use the rosary,
Besides prayer.

We put rosaries in our cars.
I do so because as such
It becomes a symbol of my faith.
I also actually pray with it
On days when I find myself
Waiting for my son after football practice.
Any mom who has ever waited for their child. . .
For the school bus to return from a game or fieldtrip,
For them to exit the school after showers after a game. . .
Any mom knows that sometimes we just wait.
What do you do when you wait?
I pray with my rosary.
And I always have a rosary in my car.

Some wear a rosary as a tattoo.
That, perhaps, is also symbol.
Of all the images
That could be permanently painted on your body
I guess a rosary is a good choice.

Some wear the rosary as a piece of jewelry.
Now,
I have always had mixed emotions on that one.
I mean,
If my car can wear it,
Why shouldn’t people?
And wouldn’t it make more sense for people to wear it
Than for our cars to wear it?

But it is those who wear the rosary as a talisman
That have always given me concern.
As if, by wearing these magic beads,
They will somehow be protected from all harm.
This is where my mixed emotion
On wearing the rosary comes from.

There are all kinds of vulgar things
That people can wear as a necklace.
To be honest,
I would prefer to see them wearing a rosary
Than some vulgar statement or image.

But more and more
We are hearing stories
Of youth not allowed to wear the rosary as jewelry
Because it is a gang symbol.
A Dallas area student
Was told to remove or hide her rosary
For just such a reason.

But where are we
That schools have metal detectors
And security guards?
Where are we
That the rosary has been co-opted by gangs?

Where are we
When people would rather wear a rosary
Than pray a rosary?
Where are we
When people would rather have a rosary painted on them
Than to pray the rosary?
Where are we
When people would rather have their car wear the rosary
Than pray it?

Where are we
That people would use a rosary
As a talisman?

Maybe if more of us were praying the rosary
I wouldn’t find myself
Asking these questions. . .

. . and for those of us who know and understand,
there is no excuse. . .
. . even “no time” is no excuse. .
. . it’s as a said before,
there is always enough time
to pray three “hail marys”. . . .

Three Hail Marys

"There is always enough time to pray three ‘Hail Marys.’"

"There is always enough time
to pray three ‘Hail Marys.’"

That’s what Mary G. would always say.
She was one of those church ladies.
You know the ones I mean.
She did everything:
serve as Eucharistic Minister,
fill in for the secretary on her day off,
stuff the church bulletin,
count the collection money. . . .

She was very staunch in her ways,
often making me very angry
because she always thought
that her point of view
was the only point of view to have.

God has already called her home.
But her words
stay with me:
"There is always enough time
to pray three ‘Hail Marys’"

This really isn’t a hard practice for me to follow.
I have always had a devotion to our Blessed mother,
particularly under the tile of
Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I found myself
practicing this "Three Hail Marys" devotion last night
as I drove home from St. Gabriel parish
after a rehearsal last night.
As I neared the intersection
of Outer Drive and Fort Street,
where the cities of Lincoln Park and Detroit meet,
I found myself with more than enough time
to pray "Three Hail Marys."

A few years ago,
my eldest son was car-jacked there.
I suddenly realized
that I had been praying "Hail Mary"
every time I drive through that intersection.
Last night I realized
that the intersection is calling me to prayer.

At the time when my son was car-jacked,
I found my prayers were three-fold.
Of course,
I offered prayers for my son.

But I also offered prayers
for the young man
who held a gun to my son’s head
and shouted at him,
"Get out the ride."

What could have happened
in this young person’s life
that he chose to do this?

Where did he get the gun?

What did he want the car for?

Even as I write this
I offer prayers to Our Lady for him.
And I remember him
to St. Monica as well.

At the time
I also offered prayers up
for this young man’s mother.

Was she a good mother
whose son went down the wrong path?

Was she a bad mother
who just didn’t care?

Was this young man’s mother deceased?

Whoever she was
and whatever the situation
I found that I needed to offer prayers for her as well.

You know,
it isn’t just sacred space
because we worship there,
because the church building is there.

It’s sacred space
because we walk on it.

It’s sacred space
because we drive through it.

Outer Drive and Fort Street.
It’s a sacred land
because no matter how many times
I drive through that intersection
I always feel the sudden desire to pray.

Thank you, Mary G.
This time your point view
truly proved to be the only point of view to have.

There IS always enough time
to pray three Hail Marys.

About the photo:
Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day 2007
St. Hedwig Parish
Detroit, MI