313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 1 Objectives 1. To promote the Holy Humility of Mary for the Divinity of Jesus Christ and to pray the Rosary in a truly meditative sense with an awareness and appreciation for the Humility of Mary. 2. To share and encourage the power of prayer using the most powerful vehicle for prayer, the Rosary. 3. To create awareness of the meditative character of the Rosary and its nature as a prayer for peace, contemplating Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is Our Peace. (Eph 2:14) 4. To encourage youth and family to pray the Rosary filling daily life with images of the mystery of salvation; the image of the Redeemer, and the image of his Blessed Mother. 5. To pray the Rosary contemplating the public life of Jesus reflecting on the Incarnation, the sufferings of his Passion, the triumph of his Resurrection, and meditation on significant moments in his public ministry.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 2 RosaryOurPeace.com HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY Joyful Mysteries-Monday / Saturday 6 10 7 8 5 4 9 3 2 1 Luminous Mysteries-Thursday Sorrowful Mysteries-Tuesday / Friday Glorius Mysteries-Wednesday/Sunday
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 3 HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY Refer to the heart-shaped rosary with ID 1. Hold the cross, make the sign of the cross and say the Apostles Creed. 2. At bead 2 say the Our Father. 3. Say three Hail Marys. (at 3 ) 4. At space 4 say the Glory be to the Father. 5. At bead 5 Announce the first Mystery; then say the Our Father. 6. While meditating on the Mystery, say ten Hail Marys, one for each bead. 7. At the space following each Mystery, say the Glory be to the Father. 8. After each decade say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Your mercy. 9. At the space preceeding the next decade, Announce the second Mystery: then say the Our Father. Repeat 6, 7 and 8 and continue with the third, fourth, and fifth Mysteries. 10. At the centerpiece medal of the Humilty of Mary and the Holy Spirit, after completing the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Queen. 1. The Rosary is complete. Hold the cross and again make the sign of the cross. Amen.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 4 PRAYERS OF THE ROSARY THE SIGN OF THE CROSS In the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. THE APOSTLES CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He decended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. OUR FATHER Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trepass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 5 HAIL MARY Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. GLORY BE TO THE FATHER 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. HAIL, HOLY QUEEN Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope, to you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears; turn, then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show onto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. After each decade prayer: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 6 MYSTERIES OF CHRIST AND OF HIS MOTHER THE ROSARY, a compendium of the Gospel Pray the Rosary then with a meditative mindset relating each Mystery to your daily lives. Following are insights for meditation on the Mysteries, mainly drawn from St. Pope John Paul II s Apostolic Letter; ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation. (suggestion: When announcing the Joyful Mysteries, add and the Holy Humility of Mary for the divinity of Jesus Christ. 1. THE ANNUNCIATION. Gabriel s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: Rejoice Mary. If it is the Father s plan to unite all things in Christ (cf.eph 1:10), then the whole of the universe is in some way touched by the divine favour with which the Father looks upon Mary and makes her the Mother of his Son. Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 7 2. THE VISITATION. Exultation is the keynote of the encounter with Elizabeth. She was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out, Blest are you amoung women and blest is the fruit of your womb. Meditate on love of neighbor. 3. THE BIRTH OF JESUS. Gladness fills the scene in Bethlehem, when the birth of the divine Child, the Saviour of the world, is announced by the song of the angels and proclaimed to the shepherds as news of great joy (Lk 2:10). Meditate on poverty. 4. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE Not only does it express the joy of the Child s consecration and the ecstasy of Simeon; it also records the prophecy that Christ will be a sign of contradiction for Israel and that a sword will pierce his mother s heart (cf Lk 2:34-35), but in the silence of her Humility, She accepts the will of Her father. Meditate on Obedience. 5. FINDING OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. Mary and Joseph, fearful and anxious, find the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. Here he appears in his divine wisdom as he listens and raises questions, already in effect one who teaches. To meditate upon the joyful mysteries, then, is to focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 8 THE MYSTERIES OF LIGHT Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the light of the world (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom. Five significant moments- Luminous Mysteries - are singled out. 1. BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN. Christ decends into the waters, the innocent one who became sin for our sake (cf.2cor5: 21),the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the beloved Son (cf.mt 3:17 and parallels), while the Spirit decends on him to invest him with the mission which he is to carry out. 2. THE WEDDING OF CANA. His self-manisfestation, Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers. 3. THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM. Jesus calls to conversion (cf.mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near him in humble trust (cf.mk2:3-13;lk7:47-48): the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise until the end of the world,
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 9 particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church (cf.jn 20:22-23). 4. THE TRANSFIGURATION. The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to listen to him (cf.lk 9:35 and parallels) and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit. 5.THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST. Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies to the end his love for humanity (Jn 13:1), for whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice. While Mary s presence remains in the background, the role she assumed at Cana in some way accompanies Christ throughout his ministry. The revelation made directly by the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan and echoed by John the Baptist is placed upon Mary s lips at Cana, and it becomes the great maternal council which Mary addresses to the Church of every age: Do whatever he tells you. (Jn.2:5).
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 10 THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES The Gospels give great prominence to the sorrowful mysteries of Christ. From the beginning Christian piety, especially during the Lenten devotion of the Way of the Cross, has focused on the individual moments of the Passion, realizing that there is found the culmination of the revelation of God s and the source of our salvation. The Rosary selects certain moments from the Passion, inviting the faithful to contemplate them in their hearts and to relive them. 1.THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN. The mediations begin with Gethsemane, where Christ experiences a moment of great anguish before the will of the Father: Not my will but yours be done (Lk 22:42 and parallels). This Yes of Christ reverses the No of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. 2. THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR. Pilate released Barabbas and delivered Jesus, after he had scourged him, to be crucified. Jesus exhibited his purity and faithfulness to his Father s will. 3. CROWNING WITH THORNS. They stripped off his clothes and wrapped Him in a scarlet military cloak. Weaving a crown out of thorns they fixed it on his head.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 11 SORROWFUL / CONTINUED 4. CARRYING OF THE CROSS. Simon from Cyrene was made to shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. The pains Jesus suffered for our sins were extreme, but his love for us is great. Let us pray to Mary for the grace to always accept our cross. 5. THE CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS. By his scourging, his crowning with thorns, his carrying the Cross, and his death on the Cross, the Lord is cast into the most abject suffering: Ecce homo! This abject suffering reveals not only the love of God but also the meaning of man himself. Ecce homo: the meaning, origin and fulfilment of man is to be found in Christ, the God who humbles himself out of love even unto death, death on a cross (Phil 2:8). The sorrowful mysteries help the believer to relive the death of Jesus, to stand at the foot of the cross beside Mary, to enter with her into the depths of God s love for man and to experience all its life-giving power.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 12 THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES. 1. THE RESURRECTION. The contemplation of Christ s face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified one. He is the Risen One! Contemplating the Risen One, Christians rediscover the reasons for their own faith (cf. ICor 15:14). 2. THE ASCENSION. Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption, enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. (Hope) 3. DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. At the centre of this unfolding sequence of the glory of the Son and the Mother, the Rosary sets before us the third glorious mystery, Pentecost, which reveals the face of the Church as a
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 13 GLORIOUS / CONTINUED family gathered together with Mary, enlivened by the outpouring of the Spirit and ready for the mission of evangelization. (Love of God) 4. THE ASSUMPTION. Mary herself is raised to the same glory in the Assumption, as Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, in the Ascension. (Grace of a happy death) 5.THE CORONATION. Crowned in glory, Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church. We recognize the Holy Humility of Mary for the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Glorious Mysteries thus lead the faithful to greater hope for the eschatological goal towards which they journey as members of the pilgrim People of God in history. This can only impel them to bear courageous witness to that good news which gives meaning to their entire existence.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 14 Personal Commentary In 2003, I made a commitment to pray the Rosary everyday. I would pray that Mary and the Holy Spirit would guide our family through a difficult time. Some people find prayer, or the words to come easily and eloquently, but I simply talk to Mary and The Holy Spirit asking for everything. Typically, I pray for family, for the sick, for the deceased (asking them for their prayers and guidance too). I pray for world peace, for people of faith to stand up for Pro-Life and to combat the degenerative goals of Hollywood and the Media etc. My meditations have evolved over time. sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. A Rosary can take me 15 to 30 min. or even an hour or more, when I m really into it. Praying the Rosary was, at first, a somewhat mechanical process, but it evolved into a special and motivating experience. I have become more keenly aware of Mary, her humility,and her life and her Son and the story of his life and public journey. I appreciate and am more aware of their love for us and their desire for us to know them, love them, to follow and to live by their example. I admit that I have not read much of the Bible, but have respect for those that do.
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 15 For me the Rosary has become a way to meditate and experience Mary s humility and love and support for the Divinity of her Son Jesus Christ while experiencing the Mysteries of the Rosary. The Mysteries offer a complete story of the life of Jesus, His death and Resurrection. I feel strongly that praying the Rosary enhances my life. The Rosary has compelled me to dedicate my creative skills and energy to promoting the humility of Mary through the Holy Spirit and to contemplate the Face of Christ at the school of Mary (St. John Paul II). In April of 2013, I was researching elements for this project when I found reference to Saint Pope John Paul II s Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. Wow! This was exciting, motivating, and supportive to the message I hoped to promote. That I would promote the Rosary with conviction was a calling requested and desired by Saint Pope John Paul II in 2002 when he called upon the faithful to do so. He had introduced the Luminous Mysteries and asked that we, confidently take up the Rosary once again. The Rosary follows the Life of Christ, from his conception to his death, and then to his Resurrection and his glory. To pray the Rosary for children, and even more with children, is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. The Rosary does
313223_rosary peace 13-10-23 9:04 AM Page 16 indeed mark the rhythm of human life bringing into harmony with the rhythm of God s own life, in the joyful communion of the Holy Trinity, our life s destiny and deepest longing. Please take the time to go on-line and find and read/study the: Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae of the Supreme Pontiff Saint Pope John Paul II TAN dedicated to: Helen Barbara RosaryOurPeace.com RosaryForMary.org RosaryMeditation.com copyright 2013