Reflect
At the beginning of this new year, at the dawn of our time together in this year's Prayer Pledge, we contemplated this quote about the Rosary from Blessed Bartolo Longo:
Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection.
Hopefully throughout this month, we've been able to see these fruits start to grow in our hearts. As we meditate on the life of Our Lord alongside His mother, our hope is that we would start living more like them. And we pray that we have become more humble, more poor, more hidden, more patient, and more perfect.
Perhaps the zeal with which you began the new year and this new habit of daily prayer waned, and you feel like you've "failed" or that your expectations of yourself weren't met. Don't let that stop you—when it comes to sainthood, perseverance is the name of the game. Don't allow your expectations and perceptions to blind you to the constant work God wants to do in your life. If you feel like you've fallen, get back up, and begin again. Remember, Blessed Bartolo Longo said that we will become more like Jesus and Mary "to the extent of our lowliness." Being little is the way of trust and transformation.
As we close out this year's Prayer Pledge, let's resolve to continue to deepen our devotion to the Rosary in the hopes that the fruits we've explored will be born more and more in our hearts. Let's continue in sisterhood with our Prayer Partners. Let's keep seeking Jesus and allowing Him to make us more like Himself.
Finally, thank you for praying alongside us this month. It's been the best way to start the new year, and we are so grateful to journey with you on this road to eternal happiness.
Being little is the way of trust and transformation. #BISblog #prayerpledge //Click to tweet
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus, we praise You and adore You. Thank you for becoming one of us and walking this earth. Thank You for dying and rising to save us. Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and change us. Thank You for giving us your good Mother to be our own and to show us what it looks like to love You beyond measure. We want to love You like that, Jesus, please help us. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary. Amen.
For Discussion
Blessed Bartolo Longo listed the virtues that are born in us through consistent contemplation of the Rosary. Think back to the one you said you needed most at the beginning of the Prayer Pledge. Have you seen that virtue growing in your own heart?
If you have been journeying through the Prayer Pledge with a friend, how can you pray for one another and hold one another accountable in weeks to come?
Want to keep deepening your devotion to the Rosary? Check out Mystery!
And if you're hungry for more prayer and community, join us to pray through Lent (which starts in just a few weeks!) with Set a Fire.
By Their Fruits: The 2021 Prayer Pledge // Day 31 #BISblog #prayerpledge //Click to tweet
Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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