A few weeks ago Mary Abbott sent me down memory lane by giving me an article entitled ‘The Trimmin’s on the Rosary’. The phrase will be easily recognized by anyone who grew up in Ireland and sometimes by Irish Americans. In most Irish catholic households when I was a child the rosary was part of the nightly routine. Most evenings in the days before TV the family gathered to say the rosary and the guests were gathered in too. If there were many kids in a household the decades were shared out . You had your day or turn or the decades were split . This sometimes led to rivalry or whose turn it was or he or she said too many hail Mary’s. The trimmings were the add ons after the rosary and litany for the various events going on in the family or the neighborhood and they had a tendency to grow and sometimes were very much longer than the rosary. It was usually led by the woman of the household. In many households after a few nights of extra-long trimmins the man of the household would intervene after the litany to say three hail Mary’s for mother’s intentions and that would mean for the next few nights the trimmings would be short, but soon the old pattern would return and repeat itself. Sadly today no prayers are said in many households and the rosary is not prayed as often as it should be. As we move into the season of religious ed and family centered faith formation, it is a great time to revive or start the custom of family centered prayer and a time to relearn the rosary. As we pray the rosary we retell the story of salvation as we recite the mysteries of Christ’s life and meditate on its significance for our lives. Lord help us continue that Journey as we journey together in faith. Christ be with me Christ within me Christ journeying with me. Over the next few weeks I hope to reflect on the mysteries of the rosary. Pray for me as I pray for you, Fr Karl