Patheos is launching a special project for the Year of Faith - details to come - and I'm helping to get the ball rolling with a short reflection on the rosary:
I still have my first set. Do you?
It was given to me as a first communion gift: simple black beads with a plain cross. They're small, child-sized, but I carried them in May processions when I was in grade school. They served to teach me the rudiments of one of our faith's most popular - but often misunderstood - forms of prayer.
The Rosary.
Since October is dedicated to this devotion, and since the Holy Father specifically recommended rediscovering the rosary during this Year of Faith, I thought it would be a good time to remind ourselves how meaningful it is, and to appreciate even more the part it plays in our Catholic culture.