Rosaries and Lying

Whelp, today I lied to a Catholic priest. If I were indeed Catholic, here would be my cue for a joke about going to hell haha...

While speaking with my mentor these past few weeks, I realized how I was all talk and no action when it came to prayer. I go on and on about wanting to be more like Christ, to live in a dramatic love for him and others, and to be totally sold on pursuing his way rather than my own. BUT do I actually make time for God to tell me how to do these things? When I pray, do I even really allow room for Him to dialogue back to me? I'm quite the chatty Cathy when it comes to prayer, and seem to narrow things down to a one way conversation more often than not...

THUS I decided to start using a rosary while I pray.

I can feel some born again evangelicals cringing in their seats. Well go ahead and squirm, silly people! Go read John Piper's blog for all I care!

Having physical objects--such as rosaries, holding crosses, stained glass, icons, etc--help me (and most of Christendom) focus on why I'm sitting there praying in the first place. This isn't a one way conversation. This isn't me and my thoughts. This isn't some personal reflection time on how "good" I've been lately....that almost turns prayer into a reversed time-out corner. The physical objects remind me WHO I'm praying to so that I'm vulnerable and available* for God to speak. When my fingertips are running along a crucifix, it's going to take that bee-like brain of mine away from myself and focus on the fact that "Yeah, God in the flesh came and died a gruesome criminal's death in order that I could be with him forever and ever and ever....oh wow....I should maybe freakin listen to him right now."

At any rate, here's the cue for where I lied to a sweet old Irish priest. After walking through town a bit, I stumbled upon a cathedral and went in to purchase said rosary. Half my family is Catholic, so I figured I could pretend easily enough without having to directly lie. A wedding was going on, and I narrowly avoided getting caught in the grand romantic exit pictures. But then the priest stepped outside, I was able to catch him and ask where was the church shop to purchase a rosary. He began to prattle on about how happy he was to meet an American and what time mass was every Sunday and why I hadn't come for the last three months. I could only sheepishly grin and say "It's soooo early!" Then he asked at point blank if I was Catholic. I thought my cover was blown.

So I did what every good Bible college student/church intern/worship leader would do....blatantly lied.

Though, not completely, cause we're all part of the catholic universal church, right? RIGHT?! Anywho, turns out he wasn't asking because my cover was blown or I had some sort of invisible PROTESTANT sign written on my forehead that only he could read. Instead, he was simply asking because he wanted to bless me and the rosary before I left. What a sweet man! I'm definitely going back to that cathedral to pray some time.

One of my first prayers on this rosary will be an apology for lying to kind Irish priests...


*"vulnerability and availability" is the prayer model used by the Northumbria Community