I’ve started saying rosaries in my spare time – walking to the T, striding to Trident bookstore, and driving to and from Newburyport.  I find saying the rosaries calms my thoughts and puts me in a meditative mood, rather than letting my brain run away with thoughts about my job, all the stuff I have to do.  I also believe in the power of prayer and it’s nice to “multitask” during my down time.

I have a couple of rosaries, but I prefer to just count on my fingers so I can start or stop at any time.  An “Our Father,” 5 fingers lifted, 5 fingers curled for the decade, and a “Glory Be” to finish.  Repeat 5 times and finish with the Hail Holy Queen.  It’s a nice way to begin the day.

Right now I’ve gotten very good at reciting the rosary; my next step is to memorize the mysteries and meditate on them while saying the prayers.  I’d also like to be able to concentrate on a specific intention while saying the full decade – right now I think of an interntion at the beginning of a decade, but lose it when jostling with other T passengers or cutting off people in traffic.

When I was a kid I used to think the rosary took a long time, but I’ve found that I can say a full rosary (somewhat quickly) in about 12 minutes.  I can usually get two full decades in between my front door and the T, and a full rosary in if I’m driving to Boston.  Overall I’ve gotten better about managing my time and it’s interesting to see how little time it really takes to say.