For many Catholics, praying the Rosary is second nature. But
there are also many Catholics who have never been taught the Rosary and wouldn’t
know the first thing about how to pray through the Mysteries. And then there
are non-Catholics who probably know what a set of Rosary beads looks like, but
the only “mystery” to them is what they actually are and what they are used
for. In fact, for many well-meaning Protestants, they think that the Rosary is nothing
more than a little chain that Catholics superstitiously carry about to ward off
goblins and orcs. I used to be one of those Protestants...OK, maybe not goblins
and orcs...but I did happen to be one of “those” Protestants.
To me the Rosary certainly was a mystery, and I certainly
couldn’t have cared less about learning what it was actually about. I
only really bothered to learn about the Rosary when I was delving more into the Catholic
faith and falling more and more in love with it. Now, I love to talk about the
Rosary, and share with people what it really is all about. I had one such
opportunity earlier this morning when a Protestant friend asked for an
explanation of the Rosary [I really admire people like this, because it shows
humility to want to find out more – not for the sake of arguing...but simply
for the sake of understanding].
Since I had typed something up, and since I love sharing about the Rosary, I decided to use the material for my blog...so here it is...
What is the Rosary?
The Rosary is a form of prayer used to meditate on the life
and work of Jesus Christ. Now, no one knows a child better than their mother.
This truth is fully realised in the relationship between Jesus and Mary,
especially since the Lord Jesus took on human flesh to restore humanity to
everything that it was intended to be.
So, one could say that the Rosary is a prayerful walk with
Mary, asking her to show us more of Jesus Christ so that we can learn to follow
Him more closely – like she herself did. Mary was the first Christian, and she
is the model Christian. Catholics understand that Mary’s whole role is to point
us to Jesus...always to Jesus.
And this is the whole purpose of the Rosary. As we meditate
upon an aspect of Christ’s life, specifically as we read of it in Scripture, we
ask His Blessed Mother to show us more of Him, and we ask her to pray for us so
that we can become more and more like Him. In fact, the Hail Mary itself is
nothing more than (a) praying Scripture; and (b) asking Mary to pray for us:
Hail
Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with Thee (Lk 1:28).
Blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus (Lk 1:42).
Holy
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
What are Rosary beads?
The way that the Rosary encourages us to meditate upon
Christ and become more like Him is very practical...
A set of Rosary beads has a specific design which reflects
the pattern of the prayers said during the Rosary. Basically, the Rosary
consists of 5 decades (decade = 10) which is made up on one Our Father, ten
Hail Mary’s, and one Glory Be:
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen”
As each decade is prayed, a different aspect of Christ’s
life and work is contemplated. These episodes in the life of Christ are
referred to as Mysteries. There are 4 sets of Mysteries, each set consisting of
5 decades:
1) The
Joyful Mysteries – meditating on the Incarnation of Christ i.e. the
Annunciation; the Visitation to Elisabeth; the Nativity of Christ; the
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple; and finding Jesus in the Temple
2) The
Luminous Mysteries – meditating on Jesus’ public ministry i.e. the Baptism of
Jesus; Jesus turns water into wine; the proclamation of the Kingdom; the
Transfiguration; and the Institution of the Eucharist
3) The
Sorrowful Mysteries – meditating on the Passion of Christ i.e. Jesus prays in
the Garden; the scourging of Jesus; Jesus is crowned with thorns; Jesus carries
His cross to Calvary; and the Crucifixion
4) The
Glorious Mysteries – meditating on the Resurrection and its fruits i.e. the
Resurrection of Jesus; the Ascension; the decent of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost; Jesus takes Mary up into Heaven (the Assumption); and Jesus crowns Mary
as Queen of Heaven and Earth (the Coronation)
How to pray the
Rosary
Using a set of Rosary beads like the one pictured above, the
Rosary prayer would go like this:
On the Crucifix – recite the Apostles’ Creed; followed by
One
Our Father and three Hail Mary’s (on the first four beads). After the third Hail Mary, pray the Glory Be
And then begins the meditation on the Mysteries. For
example, if you were meditating on the Joyful Mysteries, it would go like this:
First Decade – one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while
contemplating the Annunciation; then pray the Glory Be
Second Decade – one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while contemplating the Visitation;
then pray the Glory Be
Third Decade – one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while contemplating the Nativity;
then pray the Glory Be
Fourth Decade – one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while contemplating the Presentation;
then pray the Glory Be
Fifth Decade – one Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s while contemplating finding
Jesus in the Temple; then pray the Glory Be
After praying the final “Glory Be”, this would bring you to
the medallion which brings the whole set of Rosary beads together. On this
medallion we would offer up a final prayer asking Mary for her special intercession
(called the Salve Regina). The Salve Regina is followed by a final prayer to
God the Father to grant us the grace to become more Christlike i.e.:
“O God, whose Only Begotten Son by His Life, Death, and
Resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant we
beseech Thee that, by meditating
upon these Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may
imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise; through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen.”
I really love this concluding prayer because it sums up what
the Rosary is all about. It is about meditating
upon the Mystery of Jesus Christ, so that we can imitate Him (i.e. become more like Him in our daily lives), and so obtain (or inherit) eternal salvation.
As you can see, whilst the Rosary is a specifically Marian
form of prayer, it is also completely Christ-focussed. This is because Jesus
and Mary can never be separated; and Mary always points us to Jesus telling us to
do whatever Jesus commands us to do.
Post-script:
If you would like to have your own set of Rosary beads
designed and made up, I would highly recommend the Design My Rosary. It is run by a
little family who handcraft Rosaries as per your specifications. My own set of
Rosary beads comes from here, and I can personally attest to their beauty and
craftsmanship...and they are also very sturdy (which is exactly what you want
for Rosary beads which you carry around with you all the time).
Also, if you are looking for something more simple (and
visual) to help get you started in praying the Rosary, click here for a very helpful PDF document.
