The word Rosary means "Crown of Roses"(Latin: rosarium).
Our Lady has revealed
to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful
rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. The rose is the
queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is therefore the
most important one. The Holy Rosary is considered a perfect prayer because within
it lies the awesome story of our salvation. With the Rosary in fact we meditate the
mysteries of joy, of sorrow and the glory of Jesus and Mary. It's a simple prayer,
humble so much like Mary. It's a prayer we can all say together with Her, the Mother
of God. With the Hail Mary we invite Her to pray for us. Our Lady always grants our
request. She joins Her prayer to ours. Therefore it becomes ever more useful,
because what Mary asks She always receives, Jesus can never say no to whatever His
Mother asks for. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to say the
Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, to bring us to true peace. With your prayer
made together with Your heavenly Mother, you can obtain the great gift of bringing
about a change of hearts and conversion. Each day, through prayer you can drive
away from yourselves and from your homeland many dangers and many evils.
It can seem a repetitive prayer but instead it is like two sweethearts who many times
say one another the words: "I love you"...
The Blessed Holy Father John Paul II on October 16th, 2002 with the Apostolic Letter
Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary has added 5 new mysteries of the
Rosary: The Mysteries of the Light.
Pope Saint John Paul II suggested the recitation of the Rosary as follows:
JOYFUL on Monday and Saturday.
LIGHT on Thursday
SORROWFUL on Tuesday and Friday.
GLORIOUS on Wednesday and Sunday.
Joyful Mysteries
The Annunciation. Fruit of the Mystery: Humility,The Archangel Gabriel "announces"
to Mary that she shall conceive the Son of God.
The Visitation. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of Neighbour, Mary visits her cousin
Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
The Nativity. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty, Detachment from the things of the world,
Contempt of Riches, Love of the Poor, Jesus is born.
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Gift of Wisdom and
Purity of mind and body (Obedience), Mary and Joseph "present" Jesus in the
Temple where they meet Simeon.
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: True Conversion (Piety, Joy
of Finding Jesus), After losing Him, Mary and Joseph find young Jesus teaching the
Rabbis in the Temple.
Sorrowful Mysteries
The Agony in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin, Uniformity with the
Will of God. The Jesus sweats water and blood while praying the night before his
passion.
Scourging at the Pillar. Fruit of the Mystery: Mortification (Purity).Pilate has Jesus
whipped.
The Crowning with Thorns. Fruit of the Mystery: Contempt of the World (Moral
Courage)Roman soldiers crown Jesus' head with thorns.
. The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience. Jesus meets His mother
and falls three times on the way up Calvary.
The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance in Faith,
Grace for a Holy Death (Forgiveness). Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies before His
mother and His apostle John.
Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith, Jesus rises from the dead.
The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope, Desire to Ascend to Heaven. Jesus leaves
the Apostles and bodily "ascends" to heaven.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God, Holy Wisdom to
know the truth and share it with everyone, Divine Charity, Worship of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles receive the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire in the upper room with Mary.
The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death and True
Devotion
to Mary. Mary is taken bodily--assumed--into heaven by God at the end of her life
here on earth.
The Coronation of the Virgin. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance and an Increase in
Virtue (Trust in Mary's Intercession).
Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Pope John Paul II, (October 2002), recommended an additional set called the
Luminous Mysteries (or the "Mysteries of Light").
Luminous Mysteries
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit,
the Healer. The voice of the Father declares Jesus the beloved Son.
The Wedding at Cana. Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary, Understanding of
the ability to manifest-through faith. Christ changes water into wine, his first public
miracle.
Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in God (Call of
Conversion to the Messiah) Jesus calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the
sins of all who draw near to him.
The Transfiguration. Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Holiness.The glory of the
Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ.
The Institution of the Eucharist. Fruit of the Mystery: Adoration. Jesus offers the
first Mass at the Last Supper with his apostles, establishing the sacramental
foundation for all Christian living.
Main article: History of the rosary
Knotted prayer ropes were used early in Christianity; the Desert Fathers are said to
have created the first such, using knots to keep track of the number of times they
said the Jesus prayer. According to pious tradition, the concept of the rosary was
given to Saint Dominic in an apparition of the Virgin Mary during the year 1214 in the
church of Prouille, though in fact it was known from the ninth century in various
forms. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the
15th century it was promoted by Alanus de Rupe <
(aka Alain de la Roche or Blessed Alan of the Rock), a Dominican priest and
theologian, who established the "fifteen rosary promises" and started many rosary
confraternities.
According to Herbert Thurston, it is certain that in the course of the twelfth century
and before the birth of St. Dominic, the practice of reciting 50 or 150 Ave Marias had
become generally familiar. According to 20th century editions of the Catholic
Encyclopedia, the story of St. Dominic's devotion to the rosary and supposed
apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary does not appear in any documents of the
Church or Dominican Order prior to the writings of Blessed Alanus, some 250 years
after Dominic. However recent scholarship by Donald H. Calloway, which has
received the endorsement of some of the Church hierarchy, seeks to refute this
claim.
Leonard Foley claimed that although Mary's giving the rosary to St. Dominic is
recognized as a legend, the development of this prayer form owes much to the
Order of Preachers.
The practice of meditation during the praying of the Hail Mary is attributed to
Dominic of Prussia (1382–1460), a Carthusian monk who termed it "Life of Jesus
Rosary". The German monk from Trier added a sentence to each of the 50 Hail Marys,
using quotes from scriptures (which at that time followed the name "Jesus," before
the intercessory ending was added during the Counter-Reformation). In 1569, the
papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices by the Dominican Pope Pius V officially
established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church. From the 16th to the
early 20th century, the structure of the rosary remained essentially unchanged.There
were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. During the 20th century, the
addition of the Fatima Prayer to the end of each decade became more common.
There were no other changes until 2002, when John Paul II instituted five optional
new Luminous Mysteries, although variations of these had already been proposed by
the likes of St. Louis de Montfort and St. George Preca and were implemented
during the mid-20th Century by figures such as Patrick Peyton.
The 15 promises fall under the category of "private revelation", and as such are a
pious tradition, which a person is free to believe or not believe.
Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal
graces.
Signal Graces are those special and unique Graces to help sanctify us in our state in
life.
I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite
the Rosary.
Our Lady is our Advocate and the channel of all God's Grace to us. Our Lady is simply
highlighting that She will watch especially over us who pray the Rosary.
The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin,
and defeat heresies.
This promise, along with the next, is simply the reminder on how fervent prayer will
help us all grow in holiness by avoiding sin, especially a prayer with the excellence of
the Rosary. An increase in holiness necessarily requires
reduction in sin, and doctrinal errors (heresies).
It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant
mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its
vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.
Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. This promise, along with the
previous, is the positive part, that being to live in virtue. Becoming holy is not only
avoiding sin, but also growing in virtue.
The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not
perish.
Since Our Lady is our Mother and Advocate, She always assists those who call on Her
implicitly by praying the Rosary.
Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its
sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered and never overwhelmed by misfortune.
God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death
(unprepared for heaven). The sinner shall convert. The just shall grow in grace and
become worthy of eternal life.
This promise highlights the magnitude of Graces that the Rosary brings to whomever
prays it. One will draw down God's Mercy rather than His Justice and will have a final
chance to repent. One will not be conquered by misfortune means that Our Lady will
obtain for the person sufficient Graces to handle said misfortune without falling into
despair.
Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the
sacraments of the Church.
This promise highlights the benefits of obtaining the most possible Graces at the
hour of death via the Sacraments of Confession, Eucharist, and Extreme Unction
(Anointing of the Sick). Being properly disposed while receiving these Sacraments
near death ensures one's salvation since a final repentance is possible.
Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their
death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they
shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
Our Lady highlights the great quantity of Graces obtain through praying the Rosary,
which assist us during life and at the moment of death. The merits of the Saints are
the gift of God's rewards to those persons who responded to His Grace that they
obtained during life, and so Our Lady indicates that She will provide a share of that
to us at death. With this promise and #7 above, Our Lady is providing the means for
the person to have a very holy death.
I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary. Should
one require Purgatorial cleansing after death, Our Lady will make a special effort to
obtain our release from Purgatory through Her intercession as Advocate.
The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven. This
promise is a logical consequence of promises #3 and #4 since anyone who truly lives
a holier life on earth will obtain a higher place in Heaven. The closer one is to God
while living on earth, the close that person is to Him also in Heaven.
You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
This promise emphasizes Our Lady's role as our Advocate and Mediatrix of all Graces.
Of course, all requests are subject to God's Most Perfect Will. God will always grant
our request if it is beneficial for our soul, and Our Lady will only intercede for us
when our request is good for our salvation.
All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
If one promotes the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady emphasizes Her Maternal care
for us by obtaining many Graces (i.e. spiritual necessities) and also material
necessities , all subject to the Will of God of course.
I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have
for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
Since Our Lady is our Advocate, She brings us additional assistance during our life
and at our death from all the saints in Heaven.
All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
Since the Rosary is a most excellent prayer focused on Jesus and His Life and
activities in salvation history, it brings us closer to Our Lord and Our Lady. Doctrinally,
Our Lady is our Mother and Jesus is our Eldest Brother, besides being our God.
Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
Predestination in this context means that, by the sign which is present to a person
from the action of devoutly praying the Rosary, God has pre-ordained your salvation.
Absolute certainty of salvation can only be truly known if God reveals it to a person
because, although we are given sufficient Grace during life, our salvation depends
upon our response to said Grace. Said another way, if God has guaranteed a person's
salvation but has not revealed it to Him, God would want that person to pray the
Rosary because of all the benefits and Graces obtained. Therefore the person gets a
hint by devotion to the Rosary. This is not to say that praying the Rosary guarantees
salvation - by no means. In looking at promises #3 and #4 above, praying the Rosary
helps one to live a holy life, which is itself a great sign that a soul is on the road to
salvation.
Reminder: these promises mean that, by faithfully and devoutly praying the Rosary,
Our Lady will obtain for us the necessary Graces to obtain said promises. It is still up
to each individual soul to respond to those Graces in order to obtain salvation.
