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Rosary

The Holy Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer which invites us into participation in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is one of the most cherished prayers of the Catholic Christians through which we venerate her, the Mother of God. In praying the rosary, we employ our minds and hearts in meditating on the mysteries which heralds each decade. These mysteries are a compendium of the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, in other words, His incarnation, birth and Childhood which we recall in the Joyful Mysteries, His life and ministry in the Luminous Mysteries, His suffering and death on the cross in the Sorrowful Mysteries and finally His resurrection and glorious manifestations in the Glorious Mysteries. Ruminating on these mysteries as we pray the rosary helps us grow in deeper appreciation of them, in uniting our lives more closely to our Lord and imploring His graced assistance to live our faith in Him.

Historically, in 1214, Our Lady came to St. Dominic de Guzman (a Dominican priest who had a great devotion to our Lady) at a time when he was very intent on converting the Albegensian heretics. The Blessed Virgin Mary handed him the Rosary in the form we have it today with these words; “I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the principal weapon has always been the ‘Angelic Psalter’, which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter”.

The Holy Rosary is our Blessed Lady’s Psalter which consists basically of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ which our Lord Himself taught His disciples as the pattern of all prayers (cf.Matt 6:9-13) and the ‘Hail Mary’ which consists of the salutation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation (cf.Luke 1:28), the proclamation of Mary’s Cousin Elizabeth at the Visitation (cf.Luke 1:42). The second part of the Hail Mary was added as a petition for Our Lady’s intercession in need. Therefore, as we say the Holy rosary, we are uniting of voices with that of the Great Messenger of God Angel Gabriel, St. Elizabeth and the whole Church in hailing and honoring the Great Mother of God and our Mother and as well asking for her Maternal assistance and intervention in our needs.

The Mysteries of the Rosary

The Joyful Mysteries (prayed on Mondays and Saturdays)

  1. The Annunciation
  2. The Visitation
  3. The Nativity
  4. The Presentation
  5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

The Mysteries of Light (prayed on Thursdays)

  1. The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
  2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
  3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
  4. The Transfiguration of Jesus
  5. The Institution of the Eucharist

The Sorrowful Mysteries (prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays)

  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging at the Pillar
  3. The Crowning With Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion

The Glorious Mysteries (prayed on Sundays and Wednesdays)

  1. The Resurrection
  2. The Ascension
  3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
  4. The Assumption of Mary
  5. The Coronation of Mary