The rosary is a set of prayers that are tied together into a longer prayer used for meditation and reflection. The rosary is said as a way to worship God and reach ever-higher levels of union with Him. Once only a Catholic practice, it is becoming more widespread among Protestants. As a person says the rosary they meditate on the mysteries assigned to that particular day. The mysteries are divided into four groups, most of which are events from the life of Jesus: the joyful mysteries, the glorious mysteries, the luminous mysteries, and the sorrowful mysteries. Normally, each mystery has a prayer or Bible verse associated with it. The Bible verse selected by the Association of Marian Helpers is included below with each mystery. The joyful mysteries focus on events before and during the early life of Jesus and have positive points of meditation associated with them. The joyful mysteries are generally recited on Mondays and Saturdays, along with Sundays during Advent and the Christmas season.
The First Joyful Mystery
The first joyful mystery is the annunciation, which is when the angel Gabriel announced the coming birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary. The Bible verse most commonly associated with the annunciation is Luke 1:28: "And when the angel had come to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.'" The point of meditation associated with this mystery is humility. Mary showed great humility when told that she would be the mother to Jesus, hence this point of meditation.
The Second Joyful Mystery
The second joyful mystery is the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel, who announced the coming birth of Jesus, also told Mary about her cousin Elizabeth, who was into old age but miraculously pregnant after a life spent in barrenness. Luke 1:41-42 recounts their meeting: "Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: 'Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb.'" Fraternal charity and love of neighbor is the "fruit" of this mystery.
The Third Joyful Mystery
The birth of Jesus is the third mystery, which is described in Luke 2:7: "She gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged." The person praying focuses on the spirit of poverty when mediating as they contemplate the extreme poverty into which Jesus was born.
The Fourth Joyful Mystery
The fourth joyful mystery is the presentation of Jesus in the temple. All firstborns were required to be presented in the temple and consecrated to God according to the law of Moses. Obedience is the point of meditation, as Joseph and Mary obeyed the law of Moses by doing this. Luke 2:22-23 described this event: "When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought Him up to Jerusalem so that He could be present to the Lord, for it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord.'"
The Fifth Joyful Mystery
The fifth mystery is finding the child Jesus in the temple. This is told in Luke 2:46: "On the third day they came upon Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions." The subject for meditation focuses either on joy in finding Jesus or the love of study, depending upon the source.
A Chance to Review and Honor the Life of Jesus
The rosary is unique from many other prayers in that it offers the person praying the chance to constantly meditate on events from the life of Jesus. With the four groupings, the major events from the life of Jesus are covered. The rosary helps the person praying not only to review, but to honor the life of Jesus. The rosary, as with all prayers and faiths, is a personal matter. But the rosary has been popular for centuries and is a practice that many Christians find useful in aiding with prayer and finding a higher level of communion with their God.
For Further Information on the Rosary:
Why Do Catholics Pray the Rosary?
How to Pray the Rosary
The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
Sources:
Association of Marian Helpers. (2003.) Pray the Rosary Daily. Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception.
Catholic Answers. (1979-2008). The Rosary. Catholic Answers. El Cajon, CA. Catholic.com.
Libreria Editrice Vaticana (Vatican Library). (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano.
Watkins, J. D., compiler. (2005). Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The American College of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, Woodridge, IL.
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