Praying the Rosary

Meditating on the Life of Christ with Scriptural Prayers

Yesterday, in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, I discussed the Biblical origins of the prayers of the Rosary in my post. Today, I want to talk about how one goes about praying the Rosary.

Praying the Rosary consists of a set of opening prayers and then a time of mediation on various moments in the life of Christ. The opening is almost always the same. One begins “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and then recites The Apostles’ Creed and The Lord’s Prayer. After that, one prays three Hail Mary’s for an increase of the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. (I Corinthians 13:13) Then the opening concludes with a Glory Be.

Once one finishes the opening, they move on to praying the “the decades.” One decade consists of one Lord’s Prayer, ten Hail Mary’s, one Glory Be, and one Fatima Prayer. Each separate prayer is represented on the Rosary itself by one bead. Most Rosaries have five decades, although some monks wear Rosaries that have 15 or 20 decades. The reason for the difference is that, while praying a Rosary, one is meant to be meditating on various Mysteries, or moments, in the life of Christ. There are four sets of these Mysteries: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries, as well as the Luminous Mysteries that Pope St. John Paul II added in 2002. A standard Rosary is set up for someone to meditate on one set of Mysteries, but some monks pray all the Mysteries at a time.

Each of the sets of Mysteries include five moments in the Life of Christ. The Joyful Mysteries are moments from before Our Lord began His public ministry. These moments are: the Annunciation of the birth of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-35, 38), the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56), the Birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:1-20), the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:21-39), and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52).

The Luminous Mysteries are moments when Jesus shed a light on (“illuminated”) who he was through His teachings and miracles. These include: Our Lord’s Baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17), the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12), the Preaching of the Kingdom of God (too many to list), the Transfiguration of Our Lord (Mark 9:2-8), and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist (passages in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and I Corinthians).

The Sorrowful Mysteries include moments for Our Lord’s Passion and death. They are: the Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-39, Luke 22:39-46), the Scourging at the Pillar (Mark 15:6-15), Crowning with the Thorns (John 19:1-8), Jesus Carrying His Cross (John 19:16-22), and the Crucifixion (John 19:25-30).

The Glorious Mysteries are moments that follow Our Lord’s victory over Death and the Grave. They are: the Resurrection of Our Lord (Matthew 28:1-10), the Ascension of Our Lord (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:6-11), the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41), the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I Corinthians 15:20-23; Revelation 12:1), and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Revelation 12:1-6; 3:21).

The purpose of each decade and each set of Mysteries is to provide a time to meditate regularly on each set of events in the life of Christ. When praying the Joyful Mysteries, one contemplate the goodness of God in Christ’s birth for the time it takes to pray one Lord’s Prayer, ten Hail Mary’s, one Glory Be, and one Fatima Prayer, before moving on to contemplating the Holy Family finding Jesus in the Temple. This form of meditation allows Christians to contemplate various moments in the life of Christ regularly while praying with the words of Holy Scripture. It was especially useful in times when the public was illiterate and printed Bibles were rare since the Mysteries and prayers could all be memorized easily.

Finally, some people claim that the Rosary, with all its Hail Mary’s and Glory Be’s, is just “vain repetition.” (Matthew 6:7) I firmly believe that whether repetition is vain or fruitful is a matter of the heart. One could offer up an incredibly beautiful and spontaneous prayer that would truly be worthy of copying down so that others could use it in the future, and yet their heart could be icy and closed to the actual working of God. Similarly, a Christian in a desperate situation could say “Jesus, help me!” over and over again. Eloquence is no guarantee of authenticity, nor is spontaneity a guarantee of spirituality. If someone prays the same few prayers over and over again, with a devout heart, seeking to grow in their knowledge and love of God, the Lord will absolutely honor that.

To be certain, there are people who misuse and misinterpret the Rosary, trying to bend it into some lucky rabbit’s foot guaranteeing them answers to prayer or favor with God. That is not how it is meant to be used. The Rosary, when used as intended, is a tool to meditate on moments in the life of Christ using simple and straightforward Biblical prayers. It is a method to grow in our knowledge and love of Christ by reflecting on His life and regularly submerge ourselves into His story.