
Member Reviews

Gray Jansen in "The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary" is able to decipher the mysterious power of the rosary. As a daily prayer of the rosary, I found the book edifying in that Jansen promotes the power of prayer to Mary, the focus on the life of Jesus, and the mental and physiological benefits of the repetition of the Hail Mary prayer. The best purpose of this book is to introduce the rosary to non-praying Catholics and other Christians. The author breaks down the mysteries of the rosary in a new and interesting manner. Anyone thinking about exploring this ancient prayer and any non-Catholics interested in learning about how the rosary focuses on Jesus should read this book.

The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary by Gary Jansen is a lovely book. As someone who prays the rosary, I found Jansen's suggestions about ways to incorporate the Rosary into the day and ways to delve into the different mysteries (for those who don't know anything about the rosary, the mysteries are the major events in Christ's life, death, and resurrection which can be meditated on).
Jansen also provides beautiful explanations about the meaning of the rosary and the benefits, indeed the gifts, it offers. He presents the rosary as a path to healing spiritual (as well as emotional) healing, general well-being, psychological and spiritual strength--a way to deep relaxation and renewal of energy.
In the last section of the book, Jansen presents each of the mysteries with a relevant scripture quotation and clarifying questions to open up possible meanings for them.
I think this book might be most helpful for someone who is thinking about praying the rosary or at the beginning of their journey. However, although I've been praying it for awhile, I found a lot of his insights and suggestions (especially those about ways to integrate the rosary into your day--and your life).
Jansen makes a good case for the rosary as a method of meditation. I have already started incorporating some of his ideas.
I want to thank the publisher, Loyola Press, NetGalley and the author for giving me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for this ARC.
I am grateful for this book. I was feeling like I wasn’t really connecting with the rosary and wanted to find a new way to pray it. I’ve been praying the rosary since I was young, off and on, but I often found it boring and sometimes even fell asleep while doing it. What grabbed my attention was the word "healing" in the title because I hadn’t heard much about the rosary being linked to healing before—it’s usually talked about from a biblical perspective.
This book changed that for me. It combines the mind-body-spirit connection and explains how the rosary can be more than just a prayer—it can be a form of meditation and healing. Gary Jansen explores how techniques like vagal breathing, Ignatian contemplation, and using imagination can help you truly experience the life of Jesus while praying, and how it can relax both your mind and body. It was a fresh take that helped me view the rosary as a more meaningful and restorative practice.

The Healing Power of the Rosary is a great guide to enriching prayer life. It offers different approaches to praying the Rosary, such as visualization, nature, meditation, etc., which can suit many different readers. It also delves into each of the mysteries of the Rosary. As the title suggests, there is also discussion of the many benefits of praying the Rosary. Not only spiritually, but also mentally and physically.
Though I'm quite familiar with the Rosary, I never gave much thought to the outward benefits that are attributed to this prayer. I've always considered it to be a strictly spiritual experience. As I read on, I realized that I could apply the outward benefits to my life despite the fact that I'd never consciously realized them.
This book is a great starting point for people wanting to learn how to pray the Rosary, people who want to build skills to deepen their prayer time, as well as people looking for a refresher or even encouragement to build a daily routine.
Thanks to Loyola Press and NetGalley for providing a free digital ARC!

The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary by Gary Jansen fell into my hands at a time when I felt I was not doing justice to praying the rosary and was looking for a fresh perspective. I learned to pray the rosary at a very early age. However, I was looking for ways to enhance my prayer time with the rosary. It was not my favorite praying activity, to be honest. Many times, I would fall asleep in the middle of praying and wake up still clutching my rosary beads.
The word “healing” in the title caught my eye immediately because all my readings about the rosary so far had focused on the biblical aspect. What did healing have to do with praying the rosary?
I was pleasantly surprised. This book brought together the mind-body-spirit connection. I am a believer of how our mental state can affect our body and have read several books on the matter but this is the first time a book, specifically about the rosary, showed how it could actually be a great meditative and experiential tool that can also be healing. Gary gives us several chapters that dwell on using vagal breathing, Ignatian contemplation, and imagination to help immerse ourselves in the life of Jesus through the rosary while bringing our body into a relaxed state through prayer.
Thank you to the author, Loyola Press, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you, Gary Jansen/NetGalley, for this amazing eARC. All opinions are my own.
There is nothing more beautiful than praying the Rosary. Jansen will take you on a spiritual excursion showing how the Rosary can help you throughout life.

A lovely resource connecting the practice of praying the rosary with traditional and contemporary perspectives on prayer, mindfulness, breathwork, visualization/imagination, and engaging with the natural world. The author shares how these practices reduce stress and have benefits for physical and mental health. And how they can deepen your faith and connection to Christ.
I am not Catholic, but my grandparents were. I take great comfort in praying my grandmother's rosary. I feel this book is accessible for non-Catholics and I appreciate the clear explanation of the prayers and the mysteries included in the second half of the book, along with suggestions to deepen your prayer practice and connection.
If you are Christian (or hold a more expansive spirituality while appreciating the teachings of Jesus) and appreciate contemplative prayer practices, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork and want to try praying the rosary I highly recommend this book as a place to start. You may also appreciate the books "Breath As Prayer" and "Present in Prayer" by Jennifer Tucker and "With God In Every Breath" by Whitney R Simpson.
I'm really enjoying this fresh perspective on scripture, prayer, the rosary, and contemplative practices that contemporary Christian authors are sharing - grounded in scripture and the teachings of Christ, and creating room for a fully embodied faith.

Really great read! Great recourse for finding new ways to use the rosary to heal and grow.
I enjoyed this glimpse into how the rosary can touch many / all aspects of life. I really appreciate the tie to science, meditation and the rosary. I am already looking for ways to pray the rosary with these new techniques!

Beautifully written. Loved the combination of inspirational material, science, and humor. The writer is very relatable and I thoroughly enjoyed his conversational and intelligent style. Will highly recommend this to my friends and followers.

This is a great pre-Lent book that somewhat dissects the rosary.
I enjoyed how the author said the rosary is a conversation among you, Jesus and Mary.
He gives a nice look at Mary (who I believe never receives enough credit) and breaks down the mysteries within the rosary.
The author's emphasis on "quiet" is important as I know when I rarely say the rosary, I'm unable to disconnect from the world and focus just on the rosary or the mysteries. This is something I'll try to work on.
Thank you NetGalley and Loyola Press for an e-copy of THE HEALING POWER OF PRAYING THE ROSARY to review.
I rate THE HEALING POWER OF PRAYING THE ROSARY four out of five stars.

Whether we are battling an autoimmune disorder or spiritual malaise, many of us find ourselves in need of healing. Conventional methods may be found lacking, so we turn to non-traditional means of bringing hope back into our lives.
Author Gary Jansen has produced a new work which offers a fresh perspective on healing. His book, The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary, demonstrates how this meditative prayer can help resolve what ails us.
While miraculous healings may not be in our future, the time-tested Rosary offers the hope of bringing a sense of wholeness into our lives. Jansen combines science with spirituality in a way that can give us comfort amid the trials we face, whether they be physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual.
As a devotee of the Rosary, I greatly appreciate Jansen's work in making this beloved devotional practice even more desirable for people of all walks of life.
Read The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary and find your life transformed!

This book is a great advocate of using the Rosery in our modern times. When we have so much noise and busyness assaulting us daily, this book encourages us to to slow down and take a moment with a time-tested prayer.

The Healing Power of Praying the Rosary by Gary Jansen is a truly insightful and inspirational guide. Whether you are one who has been doing it for years or just learning what it is all about, Gary’s gentle and relatable approach offers insight and encouragement for all. It starts off explaining the history and rationale, but not just in a cold, clinical way. Gary offers his own experiences and insights, using language that is understandable and relatable. Gary provides various graces, benefits, and blessings one might experience while praying the rosary. There are literal step-by-step instructions and recommendations offered throughout. I found it be refreshing and applicable and would recommend to anyone who is asking questions or simply appreciates hearing experiences from a well-informed fellow Christian.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Absolutely love praying the rosary and enjoyed this take on spirituality and scientific fact. Being a healthcare professional, I enjoyed learning about this connection greatly! Wonderful book to help you grow spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

Since 2020 I've been using the rosary as a form of meditation. When saw this I knew I had to read it ! The take away got from it is exactly how I feel. I love that personal stories that were included and how logical the writer explained each scenario. The mysteries are a treat added in. Thank you to the author. This was such a wonderful find.

This is a really neat book for people that are familiar with the rosary as well as people just getting to know this amazing prayer. It offers a lot of practical advice. I really enjoyed the parts where it talked about how to incorporate the rosary into your busy day. The part about doing deep breathing exercises while praying was also very useful. As someone who suffers from anxiety and PTSD this offered a new way to approach the rosary. Great job using medical evidence as well! A big thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!!