October is the month of the Rosary, this Marian prayer recited from a rosary. The opportunity for us to rediscover this beautiful devotion to the Virgin which leads us to her Son and to make this prayer our own.
On October 7, we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary. Also, throughout the month of October, we are called to put ourselves in the school of the Virgin who leads us to Jesus. During this month, the Church especially honors Mary as the one who obtains victories for us in the most difficult situations.
The Rosary is the weapon of God’s battles, a completely peaceful weapon, received by Saint Dominic from the hands of Our Lady. Through the Rosary we can obtain everything.
What is the Rosary?
The Rosary is a traditional Catholic prayer to honor the Virgin. This prayer is recommended to us by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, because it transmits the depth of the whole Gospel message and has an important Christological dimension. “In its simplicity and depth, it is a meditation of great significance, destined to bear fruits of holiness” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Saint John Paul II).
Initially, the Rosary consisted of fifteen “mysteries” evoking the joyful, painful and glorious moments of the life of Jesus. In 2002, Saint John Paul II added the luminous mysteries to allow meditating on the public life of the Lord.
A Rosary is a set of four rosaries, each making us meditate on a mystery.
How to make a rosary?
A rosary is made up of five tens, or five series of ten beads separated by a bead, and an end made up of five beads and a cross. Each bead corresponds to a prayer to be recited, starting from the cross and going around the rosary.
- On the cross: a sign of the cross followed by a ” I believe in god “.
- On the five beads at the end: one ” Our father “, three ” I salute you marie “ and one “Glory Father”.
- Out of each ten: one ” Our father “, ten ” I salute you marie “ and one “Glorious Father”.
After the “Glory to the Father”to conclude each decade, we can recite the Fatima prayer: “O, my good Jesus, forgive us all our sins, save us from the fire of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who most need your holy mercy. Amen”.
Mysteries
The mysteries of the Rosary are stages in the life of Christ that we are invited to look at with Mary’s eyes and to meditate with her heart.
- 5 Joyful Mysteries: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple,
- 5 luminous mysteries: The Baptism of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, the announcement of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, the institution of the Eucharist,
- 5 painful mysteries: the Agony of Christ, the Flagellation, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion,
- 5 glorious mysteries: the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Assumption of the Virgin, the Coronation of Mary.
We can meditate on these mysteries according to the day of the week:
- Monday and Saturday: joyful mysteries,
- Tuesday and Friday: Sorrowful Mysteries,
- Wednesday and Sunday: glorious mysteries,
- Thursday: luminous mysteries.
Why pray the Rosary?
On several occasions, Saint John Paul II repeated the richness of this prayer. In his homily of October 29, 1978 he declared: “I would like to draw your attention to the Rosary. […] The Rosary is my favorite prayer. It is a wonderful prayer. Wonderful simplicity and depth. In this prayer, we repeat many times the words of the Archangel and Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary. The whole Church associates itself with these words. Against the backdrop of the Hail Marys, the main episodes of the life of Jesus Christ parade. Gathered in Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, they place us in living communion with Jesus through the Heart of his Mother, we might say. At the same time, we can gather in these decades of the Rosary all the events of our individual or family life, of the life of our country, of the Church, of humanity: that is to say our personal or those of our neighbour, and in particular of those who are closest to us, who are most dear to us. »
The Virgin Mary, during her apparitions, encouraged the world to say this prayer. “Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and an end to war” she asked on May 13, 1917 during her first appearance at Fatima, where she introduced herself as “Lady of the Rosary”. So, in 1947, when France was on the brink of civil war, the inexplicable happened. In a few days, at the very moment of the apparitions on Ile Bouchard who asked four children to pray the Rosary for France, the political situation was completely restored, all threats were removed and peace returned.
Countless saints and popes have recommended the faithful recitation of the Rosary as a sure way to transform our souls into the likeness of Christ. This prayer is so powerful that it has changed the course of history many times over and it can change the course of our lives too.
In this prayer is practiced a real exercise of endurance and perseverance which makes us strong, against our enemy who is the devil. This prayer strengthens us in the daily spiritual combat, in which the Evil One takes pleasure in making us fall. Thus, when we feel anger or sadness rising, we can take our rosary, accompany Jesus in his Passion, hold the hand of the Virgin at the foot of the Cross, and make the words of Christ crucified our own: “Not my will, but yours.”
So, in this month of October, let us take Our Lady’s hand and meditate on the life of her Son with her maternal gaze.
To our rosaries!
Liloye. Navarra
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The Rosary: weapon against the devil and way of holiness – Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon
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