“Progress” is often narrowly defined as the achievement of specific outcomes. Unfortunately, if we are only concerned about success, we miss much that progress has to teach us.

With my spiritual director training, I try to keep myself open to new ideas, views, travels, experiences, prayers, etc. 

However, with these new experiences, I have also encountered some flops.

One example is my inability to complete a Rosary. 

I don’t mean to be disrespectful or sacrilegious. I know many people who love prayer beads and the Rosary both in the Catholic and Anglican backgrounds. My father’s side of the family is mostly Catholic. My mom’s ancestors founded Episcopal churches.

While there is something beautiful about the prayers and repetitions, it doesn’t seem to work for me personally.

I’ve tried several through the years.

This week, I tried The Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

I’m fine with the opening prayer. Check. I can repeat a phrase three times. “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!” I cringed at the image, but I repeated it.

I can recite The Lord’s Prayer.  I do this prayer often anyway.  

I can even do the Hail Mary: “Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” Check. I respect Mary. She gave birth to the son of God.

See also, Getting Out of Our Comfort Zone…Look to Mary – Thought, Word & Deed (katierea.com)

Then comes the Apostle’s Creed. I grew up reciting this one every Sunday and now occasionally for baptisms and such in an Episcopal service. Check.

Then another prayer: “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” Got it. 

But I start getting lost in the next steps.

“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”  I was supposed to say this ten times. Ten times! One for each 10 beads. (Catholic beads differ from Anglican.)  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I lost count, and I lost which bead I was on. I tried to start over. Then I got bored. I was comfortable saying it three times. That was enough. I just stopped and said, “Dear Lord. I want mercy on myself, for loved ones and for the whole world. Amen!” There were more repetitions, but at that point I stopped.  

I tried doing the Divine Mercy on my Hallow app with Jonathan Roumie guiding the prayer time. I thought it would be easier to simply follow along instead of trying it on my own. I started off strong and again gave up. 

Also, there is something about the repetition that sets me on edge. I have no idea why, but I notice this happens during some Episcopal prayer forms in the Book of Common Prayer too. My husband will laugh and teasingly say, “Your favorite prayers are coming up.”  There are only so many times when I can ask the Lord to “hear my prayer”. Three times. Maybe four. Then I start to lose concentration. Maybe I just have conviction that God hears my prayers. I don’t feel the need to repeat it over and over and over and over.

So, if I only focused on my accomplishment with the prayer, there wouldn’t be much. I didn’t feel close with God and in the end, I gave up. But I learned from the experience. I went outside my comfort zone and tried something new. I tried to be open to it and it just doesn’t work for me (yet). And this is perfectly okay. I’ll probably try again later. What works well for some people doesn’t work well for others. Maybe I will try the Anglican prayer beads. Or maybe I’ll try a different type of prayer all together.

Conclusion

It’s important to redefine progress as the act of exploration and growth, rather than solely as the attainment of predetermined goals. This leads to greater creativity, resilience, and overall fulfillment. Embracing the process of trying something new, regardless of the result, can be a significant step forward in both personal and professional development.

In my prayer example, I tried something new, but couldn’t seem to succeed at it. Even so, I was kind to myself, and I allowed the possibility for failure. I couldn’t repeat the prayers ten times, but I could adjust it to three. I didn’t do it how I was supposed to, but by the grace of God, I tried it.

I would encourage you this year to get out of your comfort zone in new ways this year. Try something new for the experience and don’t be afraid to fail. Allow yourself to embrace the unknown and cultivate resilience and adaptability. Enjoy the process of exploration and discovery. And don’t forget to allow yourself some fun.

See also: Addressing a Challenge One Step at a Time – Thought, Word & Deed (katierea.com)

More Information:

How to Recite the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy | The Divine Mercy

How To Pray With Anglican Prayer Beads – Unspoken Elements

Matthew 6:5-15 ESV;NIV – The Lord’s Prayer – “And when – Bible Gateway

Apostles’ Creed | USCCB

Hallow – The #1 Catholic Meditation, Prayer & Sleep App

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