PRAYING FOR OTHERS

We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers.

1 Thesalonians 1:2

I learned a very creative and fulfilling way to pray the rosary from Bo Sanchez. For each bead, you mention the name of a loved one or a specific intention that you can imagine in your head while praying. So for that particular bead, you picture the person you're praying for. It gives a lot more meaning to the repetitive Hail Marys.

I tried applying this once when I prayed the rosary with a friend. We each mentioned the name of a loved one with every bead. By the time we reached the fifth decade, we were mentioning whole families and groups because we were running out of beads! We realized we had so many people to pray for that weren't enough Hail Marys to lift of them up.

Praying for others is a concrete way of loving them. This exercise helped me to feel their concerns and journey with them. It also made me forget myself for a while and be focused on the needs of others. 

By: George Tolentino Gabriel, Philippines (george.svp@gmail.com)

REFLECTION: Do you pray for others or just for your own concerns?