KEEP A ROSARY UNDER YOUR PILLOW
By Stephen Ryan
I have found that keeping a Rosary, even a small one, under my pillow helps me to solve problems more easily and sleep better. The tradition of keeping a Rosary under your pillow dates back to the story of a lay brother in the Dominican order who could not read or write. He would recite 150 Hail Mary’s every night before going to bed, and each time he finished a Hail Mary, a rose would appear at the feet of the Virgin Mary’s statue in the chapel.
The story goes that one day, the lay brother became seriously ill and could no longer leave his cell. The other monks noticed that the roses at the Virgin Mary’s statue had stopped appearing. They went to the lay brother’s cell and found him dead, with a Rosary in his hands.
After this, Saint Dominic de Guzmán, who is credited with spreading the Rosary, divided the 150 Hail Marys into three groups of 50, and associated each group with a mystery from the life of Jesus Christ. These mysteries are known as the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries.
In recent years, Pope John Paul II added a fourth set of mysteries, known as the Luminous Mysteries. These mysteries focus on the public life of Jesus Christ.
No matter which set of mysteries you choose to pray, keeping a Rosary under your pillow can be a powerful way to connect with the Virgin Mary and ask for her guidance and protection.
Here are some other benefits of keeping a Rosary under your pillow:
- It can help you to sleep better.
- It can reduce stress and anxiety.
- It can promote feelings of peace and tranquility.
- It can help you to focus on your prayers and meditations.
- It can remind you of the importance of faith and spirituality.
If you are looking for a way to improve your spiritual life and connect with the Virgin Mary, I encourage you to try keeping a Rosary under your pillow. You may be surprised at the positive effects it has on your life.
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