"To recite the rosary is nothing other
than to contemplate the face of Christ with
Mary."
- Pope John Paul II
In his letter "Rosarium
Virginis Mariae" (October 16, 2002) Pope John
Paul II expressed his esteem for a method of praying
that has nourished the faith of generations of
Christians. The pope called on catholics - and
other Christians as well - to pray the rosary and
enter "the school of Mary," who knew
Jesus Christ so well as His mother and who was
His closest disciple.
Though it is not mandatory, the pope also suggested
that five mysteries be added to the traditional fifteen.
He called them "Luminous Mysteries," or
the Mysteries of Light, which include the mysteries
of Christ's public ministry between His Baptism and
His Passion. While leaving the use of these mysteries "to
the freedom of individuals and communities," Pope
John Paul suggested that they could help make the
prayer more deeply centered in the life of Christ.
THE ROSARY
AND THE SCRIPTURES
Pope John Paul II also recommended the use of scriptural
verses to accompany each mystery of the rosary in
order to deepen the scriptural dimension of this
prayer. Pray the Spiritual Rosary.
THE ROSARY: WHERE DID IT
COME FROM?
Praying the rosary well is more important than knowing
its history, yet knowing the origins of the prayer
can teach us much about it.
The beginnings of the rosary are found in the early
Christian practice of reciting the 150 Psalms from
the Bible, either daily or weekly, as a way of prayer.
Those unable to recite the psalms began to recite
150 prayers, mainly the Our Father, 150 times, often
using beads to count the prayers. By medieval times
the custom of saying "Paternoster" beads
(the Latin for Our Father) was common in many countries
of Europe. While saying the prayers it was customary
to mediate on the mysteries of the life of Jesus,
from his birth to his resurrection.
The rosary in its present form arose in late medieval
Christianity when Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was
seen as a guide to the mysteries of her Son. A decade
of prayers called the Hail Mary was preceded by the
Our father. Meditation on the mysteries of Christ
remained at the heart of the prayer.
Through the centuries, saints like St. Dominic, many
of the popes, as well as countless ordinary Christians
have found the rosary to be a school of prayer and
a source of spiritual blessing. It is both simple
and profound. Not beyond anyone's reach, its repeated
words bring peace to the soul. And the mysteries
of Jesus that it recalls are also meant to be repeated
on our own. We ask to "imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise, through Christ the
Lord."
WHY WE
PRAY THE ROSARY
The Rosary is a special way of praying. As we recite
the prayers of the rosary, we think about certain
stories in the lives of Jesus and Mary.
These stories are called "mysteries". A
mystery is a story about God and God's life in another
person. We use rosary beads to help us keep count
of the prayers and the mysteries.
HOW TO
PRAY THE ROSARY
The complete Rosary consists of twenty decades, but
it is further divided into four distinct parts, the
Joyful, the Luminous, the Sorrowful and the Glorious
Mysteries, each containing five decades.
To say the rosary, begin by making the sign of the
cross and saying the Apostles' Creed on the crucifix,
one Our Father on the first bead, three Hail Mary's
on the next three beads, and then a Glory Be to the
Father. When this is finished, meditate upon the
first mystery, say an Our father, ten Hail Marys
and one Glory Be to the Father. The first decade
is now completed, and to finish the rosary proceed
in the same manner until all five decades have been
said. When this is done, say one Hail Holy Queen.
As a prayer of faith, the rosary usually begins with
two basic summaries of faith: The Sign of the Cross
and the Creed. These prayers invite us to believe
in God, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, and
to remember God's plan of salvation proclaimed in
the scriptures.
The rosary is made up of decades of prayers. A decade
of the rosary consists of an Our Father prayed before
ten Hail Marys. At the end of a decade the prayer "Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit"
is said. Most rosaries have five decades of beads.
