Among the pious practices that one can adopt during Lent, or for that matter at other times, the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as a devotion of singular efficacy which has been a part of our Catholic piety during the second millennium of the Church's existence. Some pious writers have long asserted that the Rosary was given by our Blessed Mother to St. Dominic as a pledge of her aid in his missionary work among the Albigensians.

Church historians are more inclined to say that the Rosary developed as various Christological and Marian devotions coalesced. Due in part of the tender devotion to Jesus and Mary arising in the 12th century, along with the wish of the clergy that the faithful who at that time were to all intents and purposes illiterate, could come to closer participation in the liturgy by reciting 150 "Hail Mary's" instead of the 150 Psalms to which the clergy were bound.

Since these early times, countless generations of Catholics have found the Rosary a satisfying prayer, but a difficult one. One must be aware of falling into the "trap," so to speak, of viewing the Rosary as merely a series of repetitive prayers. This is not quite correct; it is primarily a meditative prayer.

At the end of the Rosary, it is customary to recite this prayer: "O God, Whose only-begotten Son by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of everlasting life; grant, we beseech Thee, that by meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."

So as we say the repeated prayers of the Rosary, we are also to keep in mind the various Mysteries commemorated therein. To the traditional Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, recommended the addition of the Luminous Mysteries taken from events narrated in the Gospels during the public life of Our Lord. A list of those Mysteries can be found at the end of this article. It is worth mentioning, I think, that in keeping with St. Dominic's original mission of preaching to the Albigensians, all of these Mysteries have to do with showing the true humanity of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

As an indication of the high esteem in which the Church holds the recitation of the Rosary, a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions is granted to the faithful who:

"1. Devoutly recite the Marian rosary in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, or an association of the faithful, and in general when several of the faithful gather for some honest purpose;

"2. Devoutly join in the recitation of the rosary while it is being recited by the Supreme Pontiff and broadcast live by radio or television.

"In other circumstances, the indulgence will be partial." (Manual of Indulgences, Norm 20, �1, pg. 18.)

These indulgences are attached to the recitation of five decades of the Rosary with the accompanying prayers.

A booklet that I have found most helpful is the "Scriptural Rosary" which has always been available at The Vineyard in Rockford. It gives a short meditation of each of the prayers of the Rosary for all of the Mysteries together with instructions on how to pray the Rosary and the days on which the various Mysteries are to be recited.

As I say, the Rosary is a difficult, even demanding form of prayer, but for the last thousand years, more or less, it has been commended in order to bring us into a closer, personal relationship with Christ Our Lord and the events of his salvific life among us. Devout meditation on these Mysteries will lead us to the triumph of Christ at Easter in a pleasant and practical way.

The Five Joyful Mysteries

Monday and Saturday

1.?The Annunciation: Humility

2.?The Visitation: Charity

3.?The Birth of Our Lord: Poverty, or detachment from the world

4.?The Presentation of Our Lord: Purity of heart, obedience

5.?The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple: Piety

The Five

Sorrowful Mysteries

Tuesday and Friday

1.?The Agony in the Garden: Contrition for our sins

2.?The Scourging at the Pillar: Mortification of our senses

3.?The Crowning with Thorns: Interior mortification

4.?The Carrying of the Cross: Patience under crosses

5.?The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord: That we may die to ourselves

The Five

Glorious Mysteries

Wednesday and Sunday

1.?The Resurrection: Conversion of heart

2.?The Ascension: A desire for heaven

3.?The Coming of the Holy Ghost: The Gifts of the Holy Ghost

4.?The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven: Devotion to Mary

5.?The Coronation of our Blessed Mother: Eternal happiness

The Five

Luminous Mysteries

Thursday

1.?The Baptism in the Jordan

2.?The Wedding at Cana

3.?The Proclamation of the Kingdom

4.?The Transfiguration

5.?The Institution of the Eucharist