When we consider the many devotions to our Blessed Mother, the most beautiful prayer we can offer her is the Holy Rosary. This devotion is very powerful when prayed with love. The following words from the Holy Rosary by the founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaria Escriva, inspire in us a deeper love for Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus Christ.
“These lines are not written for "little women." —They are written for full-grown men, and very... manly men, who at times, no doubt, have raised their hearts to God, crying out to Him with the Psalmist: Notam fac mihi viam, in qua ambulem; quia ad te levavi animam meam. —Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to Thee (Ps 142:8).
I must tell these men a secret that may very well be the beginning of the way that Christ wants them to follow. My friend, if you want to be great, become little. To be little it is necessary to believe as children believe, to love as children love, to give yourself up as children give themselves up... to pray as children pray. And all of this is necessary to accomplish what I am going to reveal to you in these lines: The beginning of the way, at the end of which you will find yourself completely carried away with love for Jesus, is a confident love for Mary.
—Do you want to love Our Lady? —Well, get to know her. How? —By praying her Rosary well, But, in the Rosary... we always say the same things! —Always the same? And don't those who are in love always say the same things to each other?... Could it not be that there is monotony in your Rosary because, instead of pronouncing words like a man, you emit sounds like an animal, while your mind is very far from God? —Moreover, listen: before each decade we are told the mystery to be contemplated.
—Have you... ever contemplated these mysteries? Become little. Come with me and —this is the essence of what I have to confide— we will live the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Each day we will render them a new service. We will hear their family conversations. We will see the Messiah grow up. We will admire His thirty years of hidden life... We will be present at His Passion and Death... We will be awed by the Glory of His Resurrection... In a word: we will contemplate, carried away with Love (the only real love is Love), each and every instant of Christ Jesus.”
How to Pray The Holy Rosary –
- Recite the Apostles’ Creed
- Pray the Our Father
- Pray 3 Hail Mary’s
- Pray the Glory Be
- For each of the five mysteries pray the Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s and a Glory Be
- At the conclusion of the 5th mystery pray the Hail, Holy Queen
The Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
The Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation of Our Lady
2. The Visitation of Our Lady to Elizabeth
3. The Birth of Our Lord
4. The Presentation of Jesus
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
The Luminous Mysteries
1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom
4. The Transfiguration
5. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist
The Sorrowful Mysteries
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
1. The Resurrection of Our Lord
2. The Ascension into Heaven
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven
5. The Coronation of Our Lady in Heaven
Recommended Reading
Holy Rosary by St. Josemaria Escriva, Scepter Publishers – www.scepterpublishers.org
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