Tuesday 7 November 2017

Rediscover the Rosary - Matthew Kelly - The Modern Power of an Ancient Prayer

Rediscover the Rosary:
The Modern Power of an Ancient Prayer
Matthew Kelly
Wellspring Publishing
formerly
Beacon Publishing for
Dynamic Catholic
ISBN 9781929266500
eISBN 9781929266524 
ASIN B0772WH865


In the last two years I have read 14 books by Matthew Kelly. And I have found that all of them have helped me grow in my faith. From reading 'Why Am I Here?' with my children, many times over to just finishing this read and devouring it in 4 sittings over 2 days.  It all Started with 'Rediscover Advent' back  in 2015, and now in the fall of 2017 I am reading 'Rediscover the Rosary' and absolutely loved it. There are a number of books currently available in the Rediscover series, it Started with 'Rediscover Catholicism' and this books mentions another forthcoming volume 'Rediscover the Saints'. The books in this series are:

Rediscover Catholicism 
Rediscover Advent
Rediscover Lent
Rediscover Jesus
Rediscover the Rosary 
Rediscover the Saints

And to be honest this book was so good I look to see if I could find a release date for the Saints book, and went back and bumped 'Rediscover Catholicism' up to the top of my to be read list. But back to this specific book. The sections in this book are:

Prologue
Part One
1. My Journey with the Rosary
2. A Unique Perspective
3. Praying with Beads
4. Dynamic Prayer
Part Two
5. The Joyful Mysteries
6. The Luminous Mysteries
7. The Sorrowful Mysteries
8. The Glorious Mysteries
Part Three
9. A Scriptural Rosary
Part Four
10. Every Family Needs a Prayerful Giant
11. Beautifully Aware
Appendices
The Basics: How to Pray the Rosary
Quotes, Prayers, and Hymns About Mary and the Rosary
Marian Feast Days

Kelly in the first chapter mentions that the first book he wrote was 'Prayer & the Rosary' and he intended to sit down and rewrite it many times. For Matthew first wrote and published it when he was just 18 years old. But Many times he came back to reworking that book. And it often fell to the side. But this is finally the book he wanted it to be.

Now you might ask why another book on the Rosary?  A quick search on Good reads returns over 1100 results, Kindle almost 600, and books on Amazon returns over 4000 titles. And I have read 3 books on the rosary this year almost a dozen over the last 10 year. And I have two others I plan on reading that have been sitting in my 'to be read pile'. So why would I read another one? Well To start with everything I have read by Matthew Kelly has been excellent, he writes in such an engaging and succinct style. I find that when I read his books I often feel like he was writing directly to me. It was the same with this book. I have been praying the rosary almost every day for a few years now. And I feel this statement by Matthew is bang on: 
"Prayer makes me a better person. It makes me a better friend, a better father, a better husband, a better son and brother, a better employer and leader, a better citizen of this country, and a better member of the human family. Prayer makes me a-better-version-of-myself."
And on why he prays the Rosary:
"It just works. When I pray the Rosary, I am a better person. It makes me a better son, brother, husband, father, employer, neighbor, citizen, and a better member of the human family. It brings an incredible peace; it teaches us to slow down, calm down, let go, surrender, and listen. The Rosary teaches us how to just be, and that is not a small or insignificant lesson. In some ways it is the perfect prayer for busy people in a busy, noisy, confused world."
And those two quotes sum up why we pray and why we pray the Rosary! I also really appreciated this statement:
"I don't know how often you should pray the Rosary. There are some people who think everyone should pray the Rosary every day. In my own life, there have been months, even years, when I have prayed the Rosary every day. At other times, I have gone weeks and months without praying it. Generally I have discovered that when I make time for this simple but profound practice of prayer, I am a better person. When I have the discipline to pray the Rosary regularly, I seem to have a certain calmness and a heightened awareness, which makes me more readily disposed to living a life of virtue."
Kelly does not present a formula, but he speaks from his own experience and the benefits from praying it more often. The book also focuses some on prayer life in general and the Rosary being a great tool for prayer. There are three appendices, the first is the predictable How To Pray The Rosary. The second is a series of quotes about the Rosary, and a collection or prayers to Mary. And the Final is a selection of Marian Feasts.

This book was an excellent read. Before I had finished it I had already purchased another from Kelly to start next. I know that I will also likely reread this book again in a few months. And I can think of dozens of people I would love to hand this book to. This is another great read by Matthew Kelly, and I know reading and applying the advice in it, will help transform your prayer life, your life, and help you become the best version of yourself!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2017 Catholic Reading Plan!


Books by Matthew Kelly:
I Know Jesus
The Long View
Decision Point: The Workbook
Decision Point: The Leader Guide
The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
The One Thing
Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction
Why Am I Here?
Perfectly Yourself: 9 Lessons for Enduring Happiness
Perfectly Yourself Discovering God's Dream For You
Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children
The Dream Manager
The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose
Building Better Families - 5 Practical Ways to Build Family Spirituality
The Book of Courage
The Shepherd: A Modern Parable about Our Search for Happiness
Mustard Is Persecution, Matthew Kelly Foundation
A Call to Joy - Living in the Presence of God
The Rhythm of Life: An Antidote For Our Busy Age
Words from God
Resisting Happiness
The Narrow Path
Our Father
The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity
Why I Love Being Catholic
Good Night, Jesus
In a world where you can be anything ...

Beautiful ... Series:
...

Rediscover Books by Matthew Kelly:
Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose
Rediscover Advent
Rediscover Lent
Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation
Rediscover the Rosary: The Modern Power of an Ancient Prayer
Rediscover the Saints

Audio by Matthew Kelly from Lighthouse Media:
Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself
The Best Way To Live
Don't Just Try, Train
Faith At Work & The Holy Moment
The Four Signs Of A Dynamic Catholic - Excerpt
The Jesus Question
My Spiritual Journey
Our Lives Change When Our Habits Change
Raising Amazing Children
The Seven Levels Of Intimacy
The Seven Pillars Of Catholic Spirituality









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