The Holy Rosary Where did the Rosary Come From? Church tradition says that a thousand years ago a missionary named Dominic was trying to teach people about God and was having a difficult time with the people he was trying to teach. Dominic was praying for guidance on what to do. And then he received a visit from the Virgin Mary. She gave him a wreath of roses which represented the rosary. Rosary means “wreath of roses”. The Virgin Mary taught him about the Rosary and the how to pray the Rosary. She told him to "Pray my Rosary and teach it to your people. That prayer will never fail". So he taught the people how to pray the rosary and taught them the mysteries of the rosary as the Virgin Mary taught him, about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Dominic found great success in this new devotion, and he brought many thousands of non believers to believe in God. And so St. Dominic is usually given credit for the origin of praying the rosary very much as we know it today. And there have been over a dozen other times that Our Blessed Mother came down from heaven to let the world know that we should pray the rosary. Why We Pray The Rosary We pray the rosary to remind us that God loved us so much that He selected the Blessed Virgin Mary to become the mother of Jesus and that Jesus would sacrifice His life for us on the cross. A few good reasons for you to pray the rosary: - The rosary is another spiritual weapon that we have to fight against Satan. - We pray the rosary because we want peace in the world. Our Blessed Mother told to the children of Fatima; pray the rosary for peace in the world, -We pray for sinners that they will turn to God and seek his mercy. - We have been given a very special gift in the rosary. Each time we pray the rosary we should focus on Jesus and also pray for a special intention that we want to pray for. You can ask God to grant you a favor, heal a sick person, or convert a sinner or for other intentions you may have. - Our Blessed Mother asks God to answer difficult and even intentions that seem impossible. This is her way of drawing you closer to Her and to Jesus. The Blessed Mother wants us to pray the rosary often and wants to help us. That is why we ask Her to pray for us. 1 How do we pray the Rosary? We pray the rosary by saying certain prayers in a certain order and by meditating on the Sacred Mysteries. Certain Prayers - The prayers we use when praying the Rosary are: The Apostles Creed - "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen." The Our Father – “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.” The Hail Mary - "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." The Glory Be To The Father - "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen." The Fatima Prayer - "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy." Hail Holy Queen - "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. " Certain Order - The order in which the prayers are said are shown in the Rosary diagram: 2 Meditating - This means that you are thinking about what was happening during these events of the Sacred Mysteries and even imagining you are there watching as they took place. on the Sacred Mysteries - What we mean when we say Sacred Mysteries is that as we pray the rosary we look at and meditate on the events in the story of Jesus’ life. And these events are called the Sacred Mysteries of the rosary. There are four sets of these “sacred mysteries” and each set contains five events…each event focused on an important part of the life of Christ. So you can think about it as though the Sacred Mysteries are like a set of four little books and each book has five chapters. The four different sets of these stories, or mysteries, which tell the story of Jesus and Mary are: The Joyful Mysteries which are about Jesus’ birth and his early life. The Luminous Mysteries tell about Jesus’ ministry when He went out to the people to teach them about God. The Sorrowful Mysteries teach us about the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. The Glorious Mysteries tell us about Jesus’ resurrection from death and the glorious life that awaits us in heaven. And each of these Sacred Mysteries has five parts. When we pray the Rosary we meditate on a set of the Sacred Mysteries. Each day of the week is assigned one set of the Sacred Mysteries for that day. Joyful Luminous Sorrowful Glorious Mondays, Saturdays; and on Sundays from the First Thursday Tuesday, Sunday, Sunday of Advent until the Baptism of the Lord) Friday Wednesday 3 The Joyful Mysteries First Joyful Mystery -The Annunciation-The Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. Gabriel greets Mary saying, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28. These are the words that are used in the Hail Mary Prayer, the main rosary prayer. Gabriel is saying that Mary is holy. She never had original sin, she is "full of grace". Mary being very humble doesn’t completely understand the angels words. The angel sees this then adds, "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God." Luke 1:30 Gabriel tells her that she will have a baby boy and that she is to name him Jesus and that the baby Jesus shall be great and that he shall be called the Son of the most High, that he is to be the savior of all. This is the messiah, the great savior that the people have been waiting for who is the king of heaven and earth. Mary asks the angel how this is possible. He answers her... "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the child which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35 Mary knows about the promise of a savior and of the prophesies of the Bible in the Old Testament. And Mary says... "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word." -Luke 1:38 Mary always conforms her will to that of God's. Imitating Mary's attitude toward God's will is a sure way to bring peace to your life. Imagine you are there when the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, a young Jewish girl. 4 Second Joyful Mystery -The Visitation - Mary visits St. Elizabeth to tell her the good news. During the Angel Gabriel's appearance to Mary, he also tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is expecting a baby. Elizabeth is much older than Mary and it was thought she could have no children because of her age and because she had no children previously. Gabriel reveals this to Mary to show that "For with God nothing will be impossible. Luke1:37. After the Angel leaves, Mary goes to visit her Cousin Elizabeth who lives about eighty miles from Mary. Elizabeth knows that Mary is blessed and she proclaims to Mary... "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." -Luke 1:42 This phrase again is used in the Catholic Rosary Prayers, the Hail Mary Prayer. Elizabeth is amazed and pleased that Mary has come to visit her and tells Mary that as soon as she heard the voice of Mary when she arrived that her own baby, who would become St.