My experience with the Rosary

This article was written in 2012 for a book, The Healing Rosary by Paulette Kelly. Note: throughout this website we are are not using our true names. So for our friends, please don't be confused :)

I had been on Broadway, the US National tour of “Cats”, and had co-starred in movies for Paramount and Columbia pictures, but my life fell apart as a result of being involved in abortion, a subsequent eating disorder and a voice injury.

As I tried to clean up my life, I searched for answers in Eastern Meditation, which was popular in New York and Hollywood.

During four years of meditation classes, I was taught to still the mind: imagining myself on the bank of a river letting go of thoughts as they went by, like boats floating downstream. I considered myself accomplished in meditation.

I thought the Catholic Church was a cold stone building full of hypocrites, and western Christianity shallow and materialistic. I was going to meet a famous guru in Montreal so I could be given a new name in preparation to become a sannyasin (Hindu monk).

In Montreal, I got lost and wandered into St. Joseph's Oratory. I felt moved by the little old ladies praying in front of the statue of Jesus. I walked around the tomb of Brother Andre. I did not know anything about the intercession of saints, but I felt my heart soften. I went to the upper floor which was empty. The lights were off, except a soft spot light on the Cross. In a moment of clarity, I lay down on my face in front of the Cross, and told Jesus how very sorry I was that I had made such a mess of things. Then I gave him complete permission to take my will and my life. I immediately felt a complete shift deep within, like a great yoke had been lifted off my back.

My life cleaned up after and I felt God calling me away from the New Age movement. My eating disorder healed, and I never went back to drinking or drugs. I began a journey into the Catholic Church.

Confession freed me from my past. My attention turned to various Christian meditations aimed at stilling the mind. Someone gave me a Rosary. I read that it was the most powerful prayer of the Church but I thought it was too active, with its different scenes, words, and repetition. Would it distract me from quietly seeking God’s will?

However, as my journey into Catholicism deepened, I seemed drawn to the Rosary. One day I took the beads and began to learn the different prayers. At first it seemed complicated, as I referred to my prayer card for each mystery; but at the same time, it was very comforting. Within a couple of weeks it came naturally, and I began to enter the best meditations of my life. The gentle rhythm of the decades, against the powerful images from the life of Christ centered me in a way I'd never experienced before. The images didn’t crowd my mind at all. They focused me on the sufferings and victory of Christ.

As years of daily Rosary went by, I began a music ministry and built the web site CatholicBridge.com. Diane was introduced because she was an Evangelical who had questions about Catholicism. To my surprise she became Catholic. I tried to consider her as only a friend because I thought I was called to lay celibacy.

While travelling through Israel I went to the Church of the Annunciation, in Nazareth, where tradition says Mary gave her “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel. It was quiet inside as I sat cross-legged on the floor repeating “Hail Mary, full of Grace” where those words were first spoken. After a while, in my spirit I heard what I believe was the voice of Mary saying “Hugh, I want you to marry Diane.”

My love for Diane that I had been holding back poured into my soul. Today we are married.
The Rosary is a pillar in our spiritual lives along with frequent Mass, the Bible, Liturgy of the Hours, and Eucharistic Adoration. Our daily Rosary is a powerful unifier in our marriage. It has strengthened our relationship with Jesus, and with each other.

I had been on Broadway, the US National tour of “Cats”, and had co-starred in movies for Paramount and Columbia pictures, but my life fell apart as a result of being involved in abortion, a subsequent eating disorder and a voice injury.

As I tried to clean up my life, I searched for answers in Eastern Meditation, which was popular in New York and Hollywood.  During four years of meditation classes, I was taught to still the mind: imagining myself on the bank of a river letting go of thoughts as they went by, like boats floating downstream. I considered myself accomplished in meditation.

I thought the Catholic Church was a cold stone building full of hypocrites, and western Christianity shallow and materialistic. I was going to meet a famous guru in Montreal so I could be given a new name in preparation to become a sannyasin (Hindu monk).

In Montreal, I got lost and wandered into St. Joseph's Oratory. I felt moved by the little old ladies praying in front of the statue of Jesus. I walked around the tomb of Brother Andre. I did not know anything about the intercession of saints, but I felt my heart soften. I went to the upper floor which was empty. The lights were off, except a soft spot light on the Cross. In a moment of clarity, I lay down on my face in front of the Cross, and told Jesus how very sorry I was that I had made such a mess of things. Then I gave him complete permission to take my will and my life. I immediately felt a complete shift deep within, like a great yoke had been lifted off my back.

My life cleaned up after and I felt God calling me away from the New Age movement. My eating disorder healed, and I never went back to drinking or drugs. I began a journey into the Catholic Church.

Confession freed me from my past. My attention turned to various Christian meditations aimed at stilling the mind. Someone gave me a Rosary. I read that it was the most powerful prayer of the Church but I thought it was too active, with its different scenes, words, and repetition. Would it distract me from quietly seeking God’s will?

However, as my journey into Catholicism deepened, I seemed drawn to the Rosary. One day I took the beads and began to learn the different prayers. At first it seemed complicated, as I referred to my prayer card for each mystery; but at the same time, it was very comforting. Within a couple of weeks it came naturally, and I began to enter the best meditations of my life. The gentle rhythm of the decades, against the powerful images from the life of Christ centered me in a way I'd never experienced before. The images didn’t crowd my mind at all. They focused me on the sufferings and victory of Christ.

As years of daily Rosary went by, I began a music ministry and built the web site CatholicBridge.com. Diane was introduced because she was an Evangelical who had questions about Catholicism. To my surprise she became Catholic. I tried to consider her as only a friend because I thought I was called to lay celibacy.

While travelling through Israel I went to the Church of the Annunciation, in Nazareth, where tradition says Mary gave her “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel. It was quiet inside as I sat cross-legged on the floor repeating “Hail Mary, full of Grace” where those words were first spoken. After a while, in my spirit I heard what I believe was the voice of Mary saying “Hugh, I want you to marry Diane”

My love for Diane that I had been holding back poured into my soul. Today we are married. The Rosary is a pillar in our spiritual lives along with frequent Mass, the Bible, Liturgy of the Hours, and Eucharistic Adoration. Our daily Rosary is a powerful unifier in our marriage. It has strengthened our relationship with Jesus, and with each other.

See also Diane's experience with the Rosary.

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