The Grace of the Rosary

An interview with author Fr. David Reid, ss.cc.

 NNB - Question: Why did you write this book? 

Fr. David-Answer:  To share a rediscovery of the Rosary on my part. But to 

tell you the truth, once I got going, the book wrote itself. For one thing, following

the twenty mysteries of the Rosary provides a sound narrative structure and

allows the deeper story that is being told to become utterly captivating. The 

original intention in praying the Rosary, as in reciting the psalms of Israel

 — from which the form of the Rosary derives —, is to engage us in the story 

of our salvation. 

NNB - Question: So, the Rosary becomes a way to get inside the story of God’s 

saving Love?

Fr. David - Answer:   Isn’t that exciting? If it is your gift to see the deeper dynamic of 

what is going on in this particular prayer form, and it is not everyone’s gift, there comes also 

choreography or the steps that can increase the personal involvement of the participant.

NNB - Question: It seems quite candid to hear you say “if it is your gift.” Let’s start there!

Fr. David - Answer:   There are many prayer forms. The Rosary is one. The book is called 

The Grace of the Rosary. The Rosary is not everyone’s cup of tea. If a person discerns that he 

or she is attracted to this form of praying, go for it. But first let’s see what’s intended by 

treading our way through twenty mysteries, twenty ways of connecting the life of Jesus

with what’s happening in our lives now. The more one goes over the mysteries, the more the

imagery of the Rosary may become part of one’s imagination.  

NNB - Question: Mystery is a big word and means many things—not to mention twenty!

Fr. David - Answer:  Big “M” and small m! All mysteries lead to the one big Mystery: God’s 

great secret of love opened for us in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Now, we have insight into God’s special plan of love for all. 

NNB - Question: Insight? Is that more than knowledge?

Fr. David Answer:   Definitely! Knowledge that makes a claim on what is most special, 

most intimate, and ultimate in us. When Jesus came preaching the mystery of the kingdom of 

God,  God was and is now making a claim on our hearts. 

NNB - Question: And where does contemplation comes in?

Fr. David-Answer:  Well, contemplation is a heart-trip, relating the patterns or the 

templates of our lives to the unfolding images of the life and ministry of Jesus.

NNB - Question: I thought the Rosary was a prayer to Mary. Where does she come in?

Fr. David - Answer:   In the New Testament, ever so modestly, Mary’s story is interwoven 

into the story of Jesus and gently invites us to weave our story into his and his story into ours. 

The more of who Jesus is. It engages us in the wider and greater story of salvation. 

NNB - Question: Does your book treat of all these elements?

FR. David - Answer:   It tries.  John Paul II wrote a letter on the Rosary, and he treats all

these points. My book is an attempt to think through his letter and to find a way to draw out 

what I saw going on there. On the one hand, there are suggestions of how to approach the

bible in unfolding the mysteries; on the other hand, there is an effort to relate the claims of 

the Kingdom to the cry for peace and justice in our world. The Rosary is not an escape

from but a face to face engagement with what is going on in our lives today. For example,

to mediate on Jesus as tortured can lead us to think of whom we are torturing today.

These two templates placed along side each other become the dynamism of our prayer.  

NNB - Question: The Rosary is a private devotion. 

Doesn’t it distract us from Liturgy which we are

 still trying to improve and update?

Fr. David - Answer:  Any superficial multiplication 

of prayer will distract. But once what’s really going 

on takes hold of us, distraction lessens. We may both

savor what we have done in Liturgy and prepare for 

yet another liturgical experience. The Rosary is an

exercise in devotion. Show me a human being who

is not devoted in some way or other. Hear me please,

the Rosary is not everyone’s grace but, if it is, run

with it and let it lead you into the bigger story where

my grace and your grace and the grace of every man, 

woman, and child celebrate the graciousness of a God,

who has a heart for us all. God’s gifts are not to be 

compared or contrasted, simply identified, named,

and celebrated. All God’s grace leads us beyond

ourselves into a bigger world, a newer vision of  being

human in God’s image, thirsty for a time of refreshing 

newness in fairness and peace.