The Rosary is a meditation on the lives of both our Lord and Mary. Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This form of prayer particularly deepens our convictions of faith, prompts the conversion of our heart, and strengthens our will to follow Christ.
The Rosary is divided into four parts; each part, into five mysteries. For each mystery is said one 'decade' consisting of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be. Though at first sight this method of repetition may seem to be tedious and boring, it is better understood when considered as an act of love, that is, how love 'flows'. The Rosary as a prayer is an outpouring of that love which tirelessly returns to the person loved, ever fresh in terms of the feeling pervading them. WHile these repeated invocations are directed to Mary, our acts of love are ultimately directed to Jesus himself, through her intercession.
Our secular culture does not have, a coherent discourse on motherhood and compassion, It is still Christianity which can speak with relevance: what is sacred, what is the meaning of life. Contemplating the powerful archetypes of birth, care, compassion, motherhood and sonship, which the prayer of the Rosary offers, is of immense value.
The Rosary, as the prayer of the whole human being, also challenges our culture which bravely celebrates homosexulaity and same sex marriage while leaving unquestioned the damage it causes to the 'psychic space', family ties, gender-identity, and interpersonal relations. The Rosary does not posit a judgement, on the contrary. It celebrates the heterogeneity and complex nature of love. Without the poliphony of love and compassion, all aspects of life become 'homogenous'. What happens to our culture, to our ability to love when everyting is reduced to 'sameness'? The Chritian prayer, the Rosary, has a powerful healing potential. It creates a sacred space of reflection which grounds genuine celebration and conversion. The Rosary challenges us: we may have to relocate our sense of values. Praying through the intercession of Mary is a powerful help in this endeavour.
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES:
1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Nativity
4. The Presentation
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garde
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carryiing of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin
The Rosary is divided into four parts; each part, into five mysteries. For each mystery is said one 'decade' consisting of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be. Though at first sight this method of repetition may seem to be tedious and boring, it is better understood when considered as an act of love, that is, how love 'flows'. The Rosary as a prayer is an outpouring of that love which tirelessly returns to the person loved, ever fresh in terms of the feeling pervading them. WHile these repeated invocations are directed to Mary, our acts of love are ultimately directed to Jesus himself, through her intercession.
Our secular culture does not have, a coherent discourse on motherhood and compassion, It is still Christianity which can speak with relevance: what is sacred, what is the meaning of life. Contemplating the powerful archetypes of birth, care, compassion, motherhood and sonship, which the prayer of the Rosary offers, is of immense value.
The Rosary, as the prayer of the whole human being, also challenges our culture which bravely celebrates homosexulaity and same sex marriage while leaving unquestioned the damage it causes to the 'psychic space', family ties, gender-identity, and interpersonal relations. The Rosary does not posit a judgement, on the contrary. It celebrates the heterogeneity and complex nature of love. Without the poliphony of love and compassion, all aspects of life become 'homogenous'. What happens to our culture, to our ability to love when everyting is reduced to 'sameness'? The Chritian prayer, the Rosary, has a powerful healing potential. It creates a sacred space of reflection which grounds genuine celebration and conversion. The Rosary challenges us: we may have to relocate our sense of values. Praying through the intercession of Mary is a powerful help in this endeavour.
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES:
1. The Annunciation
2. The Visitation
3. The Nativity
4. The Presentation
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garde
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carryiing of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin
