Would you like to have 15 to 20 minutes of quiet, lower your blood pressure, escape from the day’s stress, and grow closer to Jesus? Pray the rosary and you can realize all of that and more.
By Catholic Church Tradition, October is recognized as the month of the rosary and October 7th is the Feast of the Holy Rosary. The rosary consists of the prayers the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, (Fatima Prayer), and Hail, Holy Queen. Meditations on what are known as Mysteries are prayed before each decade of the Christ-centered rosary, which focus on Jesus’ ministry, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.
The roots of the rosary reach back at least 1,000 years when Irish monks recited the 150 Psalms of the Psalms of David, also known as the Psalter. However, the Psalter was too expensive for the monks to purchase, and few monks could read. They tried to memorize some of the psalms but memorizing 150 was nearly impossible. They developed an alternative by reciting 150 Our Fathers—one for every Psalm—and keeping track with knots on a rope.
During the Middle Ages, the monks began praying five groups of 10 Hail Marys for a total of 150 with an Our Father between each decade. The focus of the Hail Mary is on Jesus’ incarnation as the first half of the Hail Mary consists of the Scripture readings of the Angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary that she carried the Christ child within her (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, Luke 1:28) and the greeting by her cousin Elizabeth (Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus, Luke 1:42).
The second half of the Hail Mary consists of the acknowledgment that Mary is the Christ-bearer, the Theotokos. This declares that Jesus always was and is God (Holy Mary, Mother of God). The prayer concludes with a request for Mary to pray for us (Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen).
The mysteries were added in the fourteenth century by the Carthusians. We typically pray one set of five mysteries choosing from the—
- Joyful: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus, Presentation, and the Finding in the Temple
- Luminous: Baptism of Jesus, Jesus’ First Public Miracle, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist
- Sorrowful: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion
- Glorious: Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary
Pope Leo X accepted the rosary on behalf of the church in 1520. Pope Pius V officially approved it as a means of devotion in 1569. And finally, Pope John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the other three sets of Mysteries in 2002.
In 1917 the Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal over a period of six months. On October 13, 1917, she gave the children a special message. World War I was in progress and Mary said that the only way peace was possible was for all of us to grow closer to her son, Jesus.
She referred to herself as Our Lady of the Rosary and specifically asked us to pray the rosary every day. She said if we spent those minutes with her and Jesus, we would more fully understand what Jesus did for us and strive to be more like Him. We would follow her model of discipleship and become more peaceful and loving.
On this date, Mary also provided signs for the crowd of more than 70,000 people (according to newspaper reports) who could not hear her so they would know that she came from heaven and the message needed to be followed. In what is known as the Miracle of the Sun, it was stated that the sun appeared to dance, zigzag, and fall toward the Earth. Many of the witnesses said that their prayers were answered.
Although this event was more than 100 years ago, the rosary continues to be important and relevant today because it is a path to peace. It promotes peace within ourselves, and that peace reflects on everyone we encounter. The rhythmic sequence of prayers is very calming and allows us to meditate more fully on the life of Jesus. It draws us closer to Christ because it is Christ-centered, and where Christ is, there is peace.
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For an easy way to learn how to pray the rosary, see The Rosary Prayer by Prayer. For more information on Mary and the apparitions in Fatima, see Grieving with Mary and Fatima at 100. Fatima Today. (All three of these books are available from the publisher with the possibility of free shipping.
©2024, Mary K. Doyle
Midwest Mary 
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