About the Prayer of the Rosary
About the Prayer of the Rosary
To practice the Prayer of the Rosary is to walk through the Mysteries with our Blessed Mother toward a closer relationship with her Son.
About the Prayer of the Rosary
Memories
One of my friends (who became Catholic several years ago) described the Mysteries of the Rosary in a unique way. Imagine sitting with your best friend’s Mom, looking through scrapbooks and photo albums. There are stories with each photograph as she shares her memories.
Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring His every word… The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her.
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae., 2002, (11)
Mary's Way
When we pray the Rosary, we are meditating on the Gospel. Contemplating the events in the life of Christ leads us to a closer relationship with Him. It opens our hearts to grace.
St. John Paul II referred to the prayer of the Rosary as Mary’s Way because we follow her example of faith and attentive listening.
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002, (24)
The Hail Mary Prayer
When we pray the Rosary, we say the Hail Mary 10 times with each mystery. Although we address Mary in the prayer, our act of love is ultimately directed to Jesus. We pray with Mary and through Mary to her Son. Our desire to be more like Christ nourishes the very repetition of the prayers.
By its nature, the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace… meditating on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord.
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae., 2002, (12)
An Unexpected Benefit
In life, we carry our joys and difficulties with us. As we pray the Rosary, we can learn to let go of our struggles and rest in the arms of Jesus and His Blessed Mother. We are reminded that we do not need to rely on our own strength and resources. We can be open to God’s grace to sustain, inspire, and guide us.
To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae., 2002, (25)
A Path to Holiness
Praying the Rosary is a path to holiness. As we spend time in prayer, we open our hearts to God’s love. We learn to love to pray because we are spending time with the One we love.
The Rosary helps us to be conformed ever more closely to Christ until we attain true holiness.
Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae., 2002, (26)
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CREDITS
The LOGO image of Our Lady of Grace is original artwork by Martin Lariviere in 2009. We have the artist’s permission (my son). It is our exclusive trademark logo image.
A beautifully photographed sky by Donald Tong inspired the website’s colour scheme. Cropped portions of it are the background for the footer Bible verse. He shared it as a free download on pexels.com.
Raphael painted The Sistine Madonna circa (1513-1514). We made circular cut-outs from the original image.
Our featured image is a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary by Guido Reni. He painted it circa the early 17th Century.
Sandra Van Raay shared her art as downloadable Catholic colouring pages. They are free to use in a classroom, church, or home but not to be sold. We posted her work on our website with her permission.
Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato painted The Madonna Praying circa the 17th Century.
In 1877, Robert Zund painted Zund Gang Nach Emmaus.
In 1655, Carlo Esteban Murillo painted the Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus holding a rosary.
Several quotes are from the Apostolic Letter by St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
The vintage photo album was shared by Congerdesign on Pixabay.
Our information is from general knowledge, experience, and shared internet resources. We’d like you to use it as a starting point for your research to verify facts and build a reference list.
IN REVIEW
St. John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (24), referred to the prayer of the Rosary as “Mary’s Way” because we follow her example of faith and attentive listening.
When we pray the Rosary, although we address Mary in prayer, our act of love is ultimately directed to Jesus. We pray with Mary and through Mary to her Son.
We carry our joys and difficulties with us through life. As we pray the Rosary, we can learn to let go of our struggles and rest in the arms of Jesus and His Blessed Mother. We are reminded that we do not need to rely on our own strength and resources. We can be open to God’s grace to sustain, inspire, and guide us. “To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae (25).
To pray the Rosary is to walk through the Mysteries with our Blessed Mother toward a closer relationship with her Son.