The Rosary Project is an umbrella for the work we're already doing at The Catholic Woodworker: bringing people to Jesus through Mary by helping them build a meaningful life of prayer centered on the Rosary.

At its core, the project is about collecting, organizing, and sharing what I've learned about building a daily Rosary habit, drawing from two primary sources:

• My own experiences with the Rosary
• The experiences, struggles, advice, and feedback I receive from customers

Rather than leaving those insights scattered across emails, conversations, and individual pieces of content, the Rosary Project will collate them into an organized body of content on the website.

Why The Rosary Project

The goal is ultimately practical: help people understand where they are in their relationship with the Rosary and help them take the next step.

The challenge is that not everyone is at the same stage in their journey. Someone who joined the Church at Easter needs something different than a cradle Catholic who's been praying the Rosary daily for 20 years.

I need a way of categorizing content so that the reader knows who it was written for. The solution I'm proposing is:

The Four Stages

Explorer

Someone who recognizes the need for a daily prayer habit and is exploring how to establish one, specifically considering the Rosary.

This was the period when I attended my first Men's Conference, was introduced to Marian Consecration, and was attempting to establish a daily prayer habit, before I was really praying the Rosary.

Apprentice

Someone who has decided that they want the Rosary to be an integral part of their daily prayer habit, but has not yet successfully established the habit.

This was the period when I began praying the Rosary daily on my way to work. I revisited this stage recently when I needed to change up my routine to support more focused meditation time.

Practitioner

Someone who has more or less established the Rosary as a consistent part of daily prayer. They may still struggle or go through inconsistent periods, but there is an established practice to return to.

I've been in and out of this stage over the last 10 years. When my season of life changes, my prayer life has to adjust. Something that was working breaks, other practices need to be adjusted, and still others that were retired need to come back.

Apostle

Someone who has moved beyond simply practicing the Rosary personally and has begun sharing what they have received with others, through evangelization, testimony, encouragement, teaching, or specifically helping others discover and pray the Rosary.

Similarly, I've been in and out of this stage as well. In some seasons I'm leading a local men's group. In other seasons I'm doing some interior work and don't have the energy for it. In other seasons I lost my way or got distracted. As my relationship with God evolves, so does my evangelization work.

A starting point

There is an implicit progression: Explorer, Apprentice, Practitioner, Apostle.

But these aren't meant to be rigid labels or a perfectly linear progression. They're a way of naming where someone currently is so that the content can meet them there and help them move forward.

I received a response to my first survey from a gentleman who likely went through all these stages and finds himself today in a place I'm not sure how to quantify yet. It's a combination of burnout, extended spiritual dryness, and possibly a bit of lukewarmness. I know the Four Stages are too clean. It's a starting point, but if you find yourself in a different place entirely, try your best to describe it. The more of you I hear from, the easier it is for me to put a name to the stage this gentleman is experiencing and others I haven't cataloged yet.

We want to hear from you

I want to know what you think. Does this match your own Rosary journey? What resonates? Are there stages you went through that seem to be missing? Share your story.

To Jesus through Mary,
Jonathan