Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Do Protestants Pray the Rosary?

I found the following at www.rosaryworkshop.com  and found it interesting. 
~PROTESTANTS and the ROSARY ~

 ... praying the Catholic rosary with intensity ...
"I've just recently discovered the Anglican and the Catholic rosaries, and have been praying the Catholic rosary with intensity. I will pray through the fifteen mysteries of the full rosary three times a day (that's a lot of "Hail Mary's" for a Protestant!) and feel the anointing of the Lord upon me. I am convinced the rosary releases the super natural power of God into our lives. It cleanses us, sanctifies us and draws us closer to Jesus, through the help of his Blessed Mother Mary.
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     In my present (Episcopal) parish, I have shared my enthusiasm for the rosary, and many of my parishioners, who are former Catholics, have retained this devotion and have been delighted in my encouragement of their using it.  Now, I feel that Mary is asking me to pray the rosary with intensity,  as I prepare to serve a new church as rector.
     Thank You! Thank You! -  Fr. JJ  (USA)
 
 ... The words were foreign to me ...
Recently we were at a Catholic Charismatic Retreat at the Mary Grove Retreat House in the Upper Michigan Peninsula.   After dinner we we went back to our rooms to kill time before the evening prayer meeting started.  It had been snowing so we stayed in to keep warm instead of taking our usual walk.  Several gals came into our room and we ended up sharing stories.  One gal was telling us she was Lutheran - born and raised a Lutheran and was not too impressed with Catholics.
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One day she was praying and felt prompted to say these words - 'Hail Mary'  so she did, although she said, 'these words were foreign to me'.  Then the words 'full of grace' came to her.  She thought it strange but curious so she decided to go along.  'The Lord is with you' and on -  before long, she had learned this little prayer and continued to say it over and over again.  It gave her great joy so she adopted the words as her very own.
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Then one day she was with some Catholic friends and was sharing her little prayer with them.  They told her that her little prayer was called the 'AVE MARIA' or HAIL MARY' and had been around for -  almost - two thousand years.  She was shocked. When they explained the rosary to her, she decided to say it, now knowing in her heart that Mary herself had taught this little prayer to her. Today she is a Catholic and loves to tell people about how Mary drew her home by teaching her this sweet prayer of love.

1 comment:

Mary N. said...

These are great stories!