They do in fact vary from place to place, though the pattern suggested here is a common one. As customary prayers they are to that extent also optional, or, others may be freely chosen. These are said on the Crucifix and group of one plus three beads hanging from the Rosary. John Paul II noted in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae it has become “customary” to say prayers before the decades, and also in conclusion. _ How to Pray the Holy RosaryĪ Rosary proper is made up of 5 groups of ten beads, or decades, each of which constitutes one of the mysteries of the Rosary. In this way we unite ourselves to His redemptive mission, as Our Lady did, and help Him accomplish it toward those who are alive today. It is a gift we must ask for, both for ourselves and for those who won't ask. Such peace is a gift of God that begins in the human heart and spreads outward to others. For good reason, therefore, the Blessed Mother in appearing to the three shepherd children of Fatima in 1917 asked them, and through them us, to pray the Rosary for peace in the world. Thus, the testimony of the Saints, and of the Church herself, is that the perseverance in praying the Rosary, especially through times of both consolation and dryness, is the path to a deeper prayer life―to contemplation of God, to growth in virtue, especially faith, hope and charity, and thus in holiness. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. But by seeking God in what we can know by prayerful reflection, we dispose ourselves to His grace and to a deeper understanding of the truths of the Faith, and of ourselves in light of them.Ĭatechism 2708 Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. Human reflection alone reaches a limit of understanding. A mystery is something divine, because the Persons associated with it are divine. The purpose of the Rosary, therefore, is a deeper understanding of all the mysteries concerning Christ. 3:15) from whom Christ took His human nature, as well as the Woman who cooperated in His Redemptive mission to its completion (John 19:26-27). These mysteries, represented by the five groups of ten beads are taking from the Gospel, and from the Churches own reflection on the Gospel down through the centuries―especially with respect to the role of the Blessed Virgin. While occupying the senses with the “praying of the beads” the one who prays the rosary prayerfully reflects, meditates, on the mysteries of Christ’s life. The pope stressed that adding the Luminous Mysteries is done “without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer’s traditional format, is meant to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory.The Rosary is the “epitome of the whole Gospel” (St. Thus, for the rosary to “become more fully a ‘compendium of the Gospel,’” the pope considered it appropriate that there be “a meditation on certain particularly significant moments in his public ministry, following reflection on the Incarnation and the hidden life of Christ (the joyful mysteries) and before focusing on the sufferings of his Passion (the sorrowful mysteries) and the triumph of his Resurrection (the glorious mysteries).” John Paul II also noted in his apostolic letter that “it is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: ‘While I am in the world, I am the light of the world’ (Jn 9:5).” Thus in these mysteries “we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God,” the pope said, since it is he who “declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the Kingdom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands.” The pope proposed the Luminous Mysteries to “highlight the Christological character of the rosary.” These mysteries refer to “Christ’s public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion,” the Holy Father explained.
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