The Importance of the Rosary
By: Missionary Team
Why do we say the Rosary in the first place? The answer is rather simple and straightforward. It is the easiest and most pleasing prayer we can offer to God after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (The Secret of the Rosary). Our Blessed Mother taught us the Rosary and all the prayers and meditations come from Scripture. Now there is a difference between saying the Rosary and praying the Rosary. When you say the Rosary you are repeating words quickly just to get the prayer over with. When you pray the Rosary you are meditating on the life and passion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Remember, there is nothing (besides the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) that we can do that is more pleasing to God. In every homily he gave, St. Dominic would proclaim the importance of the Rosary, telling everyone to say the Rosary devoutly and with utmost reverence. Saint Louis De Montfort expanded on this by writing many books on the Blessed Virgin and Her Rosary. According to St. Louis De Montfort, there are many amazing benefits that happen when the Rosary is said
properly.
1. “It gradually gives us a perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ
2. It purifies our souls, washing away sin
3. It gives us victory over our enemies
4. It makes it easy for us to practice virtue
5. It sets us on fire with the love of Our Blessed Lord
6. It enriches us with graces and merits
7. “It supplies us with what is needed to pay all our debts to God and our fellow men, and finally, it obtains all kinds of graces for us from Almighty God.”(Page 65, The Secret of the Rosary)
It’s pretty great that God will give us so much for doing something that only takes 20 minutes of our day!
Praying the Rosary mentally is great, but praying it orally is even better. “Somebody who says the Rosary alone only gains the merit of one Rosary, but if he says it together with thirty other people he gains the merit of thirty Rosaries.”(Secret of the Rosary P.97) When you are in a large group and you are praying quietly on purpose you are deliberately being rude to God and his Blessed Mother, you still obtain the graces from everyone else for the strong shall hold up the weak. If you are capable of speaking loudly, then you had better, for God loves it when you sing his praises and glories for all to hear. “Public prayer is far more powerful than private prayer to appease the anger of God and call down His Mercy and Holy Mother Church, guided by the Holy Spirit has always advocated public prayer in times of public tragedy and suffering.” (Secret of the Rosary P. 97) Something that is built into us from modern society is being afraid to pray loudly. God is always happiest when despite what the world is saying, you do what He says. So pray, pray with all your might! When you are out in public at work or school pull out your Rosary and pray a few decades if that’s what time permits. Remember that you should always put God first! To pray the Rosary properly it is important that we know how to break up each prayer so that we can meditate on them. Let’s start with the Our Father Prayer:
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 trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil. Amen (So be it)
Now for the Hail Mary Prayer or the Angelic Salutation:
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 (So be it)
It’s not easy saying these prayers with so many rests but that is because we are used to speeding through the prayer just to get it over with. Praying one Hail Mary perfectly is better than saying one thousand Rosary’s quickly and without meditation (The Secret of the Rosary). Our Blessed Mother will help you through any troubles in life just so long as you ask her. She is always wanting to help us get to God, because she wants to see us happy and the only way that we can ever truly be happy is if we are with God. “‘Whenever one of the faithful who is in the state of grace says the Rosary while meditating on the mysteries of the life and passion of Jesus Christ, he obtains full and entire remission of all his sins.”’ (Our Lady to Venerable Dominic, the Carthusian)
