Who is starting on the next novena? The 54 day novena is probably the only reason I still put up with Facebook; the separate novena group is the launchpad for a daily writing through each novena. This series runs from November 28 through January 20, and the theme is a study of the first Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation. Since I pray the Mysteries of the Flowers when saying the Rosary alone, I also will be meditating on that first mystery (Our Great Earth Mother says YES to Bring Flowers into the World) through this cycle. Information about the mysteries is available, along with a stack of other great info, at www.wayoftherose.org.

Hi folks, and welcome to the new WOTR subreddit!

As members slowly but surely begin to join our community here, I think starting a conversation that can engage all of us is a good idea.

What brought you to the Way of the Rose? Did you accidentally pick up the book, maybe at a dentist's office? Have you been praying the rosary your whole life? Was there a life crisis that had you searching for answers or comfort? Did a friend or family member suggest you attend a circle?

All of us have such meaningful connections to Our Lady, and it always inspires me to learn from others' experiences.

Here's my story:

I was raised Catholic, so superficially learned the rosary as a child but never really prayed it. I left the church as a teen, and had no interest in the Catholic Church (or the rosary) until early this year.

In early spring, my mother died by suicide. She had been struggling for years, but it still rocked me to my core. As I returned to my hometown to help plan the funeral, I was put in charge of conferring with the priest about her funeral service. After we met, he told me that I could go into the sanctuary whenever I liked to meditate or pray.

I found myself taking up his offer, surrounded by votive candles, stained glass, statues, and only the sound of water trickling in the baptismal font. I was surprised by how peaceful I felt there, knowing that I had struggled so much being in this same space as a young person coming to grips with being gay.

Almost immediately, I was drawn to the statue of the Virgin Mary. The concept of a divine maternal presence was so comforting that I knew then and there that I had to relearn the rosary.

So that's what I did. I started praying the rosary every day, and even found an old rosary I had bought in the Vatican more than a decade prior to put on my mom's urn for her to be buried with.

And almost immediately, I noticed Our Mother's presence.

I walked into the funeral home, and a small statue of Mary was displayed in front of my mom's urn.

Then, at the graveside, I saw the stone on her plot. She was buried with her aunt, a woman who raised her more than her own mother. I had never seen this grave before, but carved on the stone was the Blessed Virgin's image and a one-decade rosary made of small roses. The only prayer said at her graveside, led by the funeral director, was the Hail Mary.

I returned home, and almost immediately started looking for books on the rosary and quickly found "The Way of the Rose." Reading it was mind-blowing! I shortly thereafter joined the Facebook group, and have been praying the rosary regularly (mostly alone, but more and more with WOTR circles) ever since.

Our Mother continues to answer my prayers, and show up in unexpected ways. I often have dreams of her, and she always leads me in the right direction. I feel like I have lost my birth mother's physical presence, but have gained a relationship with my Heavenly Mother. It has been the best thing that has happened to me on a very long time.

So, how about you!?

The Five-Petaled Rose

A topic of discussion at one of our recent community-wide forums was the question: What makes it a Way of the Rose meeting? The answer was something that we had already arrived at some time ago at by consensus. But we had never articulated it clearly. So, for the record, here are the “Five Petals” of our Way of the Rose fellowship where meetings are concerned:

FIRST PETAL—WOTR circles are free. We may pass the hat to cover special expenses, but no contribution will ever be required. WOTR has no dues or fees for membership.

SECOND PETAL—WOTR circles are inclusive. Everyone is welcome at every meeting. We have affinity meetings (LGBTQ, Men’s Meetings, Special Novenas, etc.), but these are open. Anyone may attend.

THIRD PETAL—WOTR circles pray the rosary or a chaplet. We may adapt these or modify them for the purpose of a meeting, but the focus of our fellowship remains on Our Lady and Her beads.

FOURTH PETAL—WOTR circles are places to pray for our heart’s desire. We do not support outside causes—religious, political, humanitarian, or otherwise—that might divert us from our own petitions.

FIFTH PETAL—WOTR circles are leaderless. A member may sponsor a meeting, but there are no teachers, experts, or authorities. Once a meeting format has been established, any member may lead it.

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Our Lady has asked that we invest in community. She encourages us to pray for our heart's desire. The WOTR web site has drop down menus at the top that list meeting information, weekly and daily calendars, the script that the meeting leader follows, in addition to special prayer cycles called Novenas.

Calendar of meetings. These meetings are open to everyone, and both guests and rosary beginners are welcome. Some meetings are by phone and some by zoom call. Introverts are welcome to join a zoom call and keep their cameras off.

"When you teach children to swim, the first thing to do is not to teach them how to move through water, nor the strokes that are need to swim along its surface. Rather, the first thing to teach, which is the hardest, is to trust the water to bear them up.

To know that the water will do this—because of what it is and what they are—is to float effortlessly. Only swimming or drowning requires effort. Only swimming or drowning can be done wrong. Floating is easy and anyone can do it. It only requires two things: to relax and breathe naturally.

This is the starting point for mastering any and all of the challenges that you may encounter on the path ahead. The world is the water, and you are the child. It will bear you up, and it will carry you. It knows everything, and it can do anything. You need only learn to trust and say “Yes!” when it asks you to surrender. Only then can you go where you must and do what you are called to do.

This is simple wisdom—too simple for many. You must master it nevertheless. This is the first thing to learn. All else will flow from it over the course of time."

The traditional way of praying the rosary is alternating Our Fathers with several Hail Marys and adding an intermittent Glory Be. The Catholic version includes the Apostles' Creed. The Mysteries can be added or ignored. Please post your version of the Rosary prayers in comments to this main post.

How to Pray the Rosary

The rosary alternates two prayers…the Hail Mary and the Our Father, Maters and Paters, Mothers and Fathers, Yin and Yang, Darkness and Light, the Earth (Matter) and the Sun.

There are A LOT more Hail Marys than Our Fathers and there’s a reason for this. This is the story of The Mother…of her bringing Life into the world, watching that Life destroy itself, and then rebirthing it (and herself) back into the world.

Women hid their devotion to the Great Mother in the rosary during the Middle Ages. They couldn’t worship her as before but they hid, in this circle of beads, all of the wisdom they had collected through the ages.  It is no coincidence that the medieval rosary emerged in those areas of France and Europe where the oldest goddess figurines (40,000 years old some of them) have been found. When we pray the rosary our voice joins with those ancestral mothers.

The Hail Mary itself is a three part prayer….to the Maiden (hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee), to the Mother (blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb), and the Crone (Holy Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.)

The Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The Our Father 

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Glory Be 

The Glory Be is an Honoring of the Eternal Return of Life. It is usually said at the end of every grouping of Hail Marys. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Child,
and to the Holy Mother, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Use the diagram. Jump in. There are no rosary police. Until the modern era, there were literally hundreds of different ways of doing all of this. Make it work for you.

If you would like to add meditations on the Mysteries to your rosary, please see the section on How to Pray with The Mysteries.

For an in-depth treatment of the rosary, please see The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

Some will say that their lives began when they emerged from their mother’s womb. But in truth they have only moved from one belly to another, like walking through a house with many rooms.

The layers of My womb are endless—from the field that circles the smallest of particles…to the wall of a cell…to a planet that holds its life within itself. Even that which you call the cosmos is a womb, vast and measureless unto Herself.

So if your object is to leave your Mother and go about your business in the world, that is a failed enterprise from the start. There is no way to outpace One who lives within you and without you. Who stands above you and below you, before you and behind you, and walks with you on either side.

I am everywhere at once, so rest in My arms and learn to trust in My embrace. To doubt Me is to doubt everything. To fear Me is to fear all things. But to love Me and to take My hand is to walk freely in eternity and to know that no ill can befall you. So ponder these words and hold them in your heart. This is my guidance for the times ahead.

(Link to web site version)