THE ROSARY

The Rosary is a priceless treasure, structured, and for the most part, biblical, preserved and handed down to us by our forefathers. It traces the Birth, the Passion and the Death, the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, and the Coming of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles. It prayerfully follows the earthly life of Mary from Annunciation until her Coronation in Heaven.

The power of the rosary lies in the fact that Our Lady, through her allpowerful intercession, unites with the individual or family praying. The vocal prayers recited in the rosary are the basic, most known, best-loved and most widely used prayers of the Christian world.

The Hail Mary of which there are 150 in the rosary, substitutes for each of the 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. These Hail Marys are divided into groups of 10 called decades, from the Greek word meaning ten. Each decade is prefaced by an Our Father and closed with the Glory Be to the Father. The decades of Hail Marys provide ample time for the individual or family praying, to penetrate to the depths, the particular mystery held in focus by their minds.

There are 20 mysteries in the rosary, but by tradition, only 5 are prayed daily --- on Mondays and Saturdays, the Joyful; on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Sorrowful; on Wednesdays and Sundays, the Glorious (except on the Sundays of Advent when the Joyful Mysteries are sad and on the Sundays of Lent when the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed) and on Thursdays, the Luminous Mysteries.

The Sign of the Cross, the Apostles Creed, the Our Father, followed by three Hail Marys and the Glory Be to the Father are the opening prayers that lead to the rosary proper. These prayers, few in number, but very important in purpose, serve to prepare us, condition us, and alert us to a greater awareness of our three supernatural powers Faith, Hope and Love that will

us the strength to fittingly, gratefully and lovingly accompany Our Saviour and His Holy Mother on their long journey from the Crib, to the Crown --- the heart and soul of the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.

The body of the Rosary is its prayers; the mysteries, its soul. The prayers we vocalize with our lips; the mysteries we explore with our minds and hearts. The rosary, in its prayers and in its mysteries, is so laden with spiritual wealth that it can be compared to a gold mine the more you dig, the more you get.

Make the rosary your prized possession. Pray its five decades daily with your family whenever possible, alone if necessary. Then you will know the truth of the statement, The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.

The Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary

Joyful Mysteries (Mondays and Saturdays)

1) The Annunciation

2) The Visitation

3) The Birth of Our Lord

4) The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

5) Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Luminous Mysteries (Thursdays)

1) Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan

2) Wedding Feast at Cana

3) Proclamation of the Kingdom of God with His Call to Conversion

4) Transfiguration

5) Institution of the Eucharist

Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays)

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

Glorious Mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays)

1) The Resurrection

2) The Ascension

3) The Descent of the Holy Spirit Upon the Apostles

4) The Assumption

5) The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Luminous Mysteries (Thursdays)

6) Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan

7) Wedding Feast at Cana

8) Proclamation of the Kingdom of God with His Call to Conversion

9) Transfiguration

10) Institution of the Eucharist