The Most Holy Rosary

On October 16, 2002 , the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, issued an apostolic letter entitled Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the Rosary of the Virgin Mary. With this letter he re-presented the Rosary to the faithful as one of the “praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation” and encouraged the faithful to rediscover the spiritual fruits to be reaped by praying the Rosary well. The pope also added a new series of mysteries—the Mysteries of Light—and offered suggestions regarding how Catholics should pray the Rosary. Desiring that the Church should emphasize and promote this prayer, he proclaimed the year from October 2002 to October 2003 the Year of the Rosary.

With this renewed interest in the Rosary, many Catholics might wonder how this prayer came into being. The tradition of praying the Rosary originated in Medieval Europe through the desire of the laity to emulate the monastic tradition of praying the 150 psalms in the Bible. Because many could not read, some substituted each psalm with the Lord’s Prayer. Others substituted the psalms with a prayer to the Blessed Mother. To keep count of their prayers, many used a string of 150 beads. Over time people began to pray the Lord’s Prayer and prayers to the Blessed Mother while reflecting on the mysteries of Christ’s life. In time, the 150 prayers were divided into 15 decades, each decade corresponding to a mystery from Christ’s life. In 1569, Pope Pius V officially approved the devotion of the Rosary as we now know it. Since then, most Catholics pray five decades at a time with the Joyful, Sorrowful or Glorious Mysteries. To these mysteries we now add the Mysteries of Light, or the Luminous Mysteries.

One of the reasons the pope has appealed to the Church to promote the Rosary is that in recent years, the Rosary has fallen out of favor among many Catholics and is sadly in danger of no longer being taught to the younger generation. Though there are many reasons for this, two stand out. First, some Catholics believe that the centrality of the Liturgy has made the Rosary an irrelevant and obsolete aspect of Catholic spirituality. While it is true that the Liturgy is the source and summit of the Christian life and that this cannot be said of the Rosary, the two need not oppose each other. Rather, the Rosary can support and deepen the truths of salvation that we celebrate in the Liturgy: “Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul.” It is precisely through these principal events in Christ’s life that we are offered the gift of salvation. Second, many Catholics have forgotten how to pray the Rosary well. It can seem to be a monotonous and mechanistic recitation of endless Hail Marys that generates no spiritual growth. If one does not meditate with Mary upon the divine Person of her Son, one empties the Rosary of its meaning and fruitfulness. Instead, in the Rosaryone should pray to Christ in the company of Mary: “The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer.”

The key to praying the Rosary well is by meditating on the mysteries from Christ’s life. Whether praying the Rosary alone or in a group, announce the appropriate mystery before beginning each decade. Then read a passage of Scripture that illustrates the event at the heart of that mystery, and silently meditate upon it. Desire the grace to be conformed with Mary into the divine image of her Son. Continuing to ponder these things, pray the Lord’s Prayer and the ten Hail Marys. Below are listed the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, together with some illustrative passages from the Bible and the days on which we are encouraged to use them for meditation. Please consider joining with others at the Catholic Center Chapel on Thursdays at 5:45 pm to pray the Rosary using the new Luminous Mysteries as an aid to meditating on the mysteries of Jesus’ public life and ministry.

~ Jean-Marie Dimech-Juchniewicz
October 27, 2002

This document can be found on the Vatican ’s Website here
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