Rosary Workshop - Prayer
WHY PRAY the ROSARY?
 WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IT IS SO POWERFUL?
Msgr. Romano Guardini (1885 - 1968) wrote a wonderful book, THE ROSARY OF OUR LADY, which has recently been re-released through the Sophia Institute Press (Manchester N.H.) in which he shares that each bead of the rosary has its origin in Holy Scripture and Christian tradition.

... our words have a life and spirit of their own ...
Our words travel out from us into the unknown forever much like ripples created by a pebble when tossed into a pond. Those sound waves carry a spirit of goodness or evil and permeate everything they touch. They have a life or spirit of their own even though they are not heard. This is why gossip and scandal, any kind of negativism, words not of God are dangerous even past the point of hearing.
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... New life in the spoken word ...
Guardini speaks about the importance of the formation of the words we say and how it gives the listener an inner glimpse of (our) thoughts. How it remains within us unless we release it into the space around us.
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... God's Word protects and changes us ....
Filling the space around us with the Word of God not only protects us, it fulfills its destiny as all prayer reaches God. The seed is planted. It changes forever the world around us -  and who we are - even though we may not be aware of it.
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... When we speak God's word to others ...
Guardini inspires us with how if we keep the word in side of us and do not share it, we are masters over it. This too, makes one realize when we speak Gods word to others, the Holy Spirit becomes operative in many ways unknown to us.
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... A variety of prayers ...
There are many kinds of prayer. It is the way we talk to God. It is the way we keep our relationship with him alive. Prayer is vital in our spiritual life and we are encouraged to pray in many ways but always from the heart. It may be improvised, verbal, private, public or rote. It may be songs of praise shouted at the top of our lungs from the mountain top or quiet worship and meditation on the life of Christ as in the Rosary. Prayer of the heart should be a beginning and an ending for each day. For many, this prayer includes the Rosary.
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... The rosary in our prayer life ...
For many, this prayer form is lost in misunderstanding. The argument is often that it is better to go straight to God. Certainly this is good, we all should especially in the prayer of praise. But how wonderful it is when we bring along a few friends. God loves family. Especially when we bring along the mother of Jesus. She knows the way. The Rosary walks us through a garden of meditation on the life of Christ as written in Scripture.
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... Mary's role in prayer ...
Prayer that is carried by the mother of Jesus to her son has a very special quality as it is believed she takes our prayer and enriches it before giving it to her son. What loving mother wouldn't. And we know that Jesus listens to his mother. What loving son wouldn't.
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... Do you have a problem with Mary interceding for you? ...
Ask Jesus how He wants you to respond to his mother. Remembering that she was given to us at the foot of the cross. If Jesus is our brother, Mary is our mother. This fact remains whether we believe it or not.
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... The rosary is a prayer for peace ...
The Rosary is enjoying a new awareness as it  is becoming recognized more by the young and Protestants are taking on a new interest in the Rosary. It is being rediscovered by Catholics and this is an encouraging sign. The basic goal of the Rosary is to bring peace into the world - the peace of Christ - through Mary - into the hearts of the children of God - in the power of the Holy Spirit- uniting us as one. It is especially encouraging to note that more and more men are saying the rosary.


 

Meditations on the mysteries of the rosary are from New Testament events and today are a standard part of the rosary. They are divided into 3 sets of 5, one being meditated on at the beginning of each decade. We begin hearing about mysteries, called Incarnation;, Passion and Resurrection; around the mid 15th century. It is listed in a book by 1489 very close to the order we now know as the Gospel events:
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JOYOUS MYSTERIES
(Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation and Finding Jesus in the Temple).
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SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
(Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crown with Thorns, Carrying the Cross and Crucifixion).
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GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
(Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption and Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven).


 

The basic prayers of the Rosary are from scripture. Traditionally there are more prayers than the following 4 but this makes up the foundation of what we now call the Christian Rosary. The standard Rosary is a circle of 5 decades or 50 small beads punctuated with 4 larger beads. There is a pendant of two large and three small beads ending in a cross.  The smaller beads on the rosary are the Ave's or 'Hail Marys'  and the larger are called Paternosters or the 'Our Fathers'.   For  more information on the basic prayers recited on the rosary go to

HISTORY, ORIGIN OF ROSARY PRAYERS


 

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
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... a new moment in time, another point in space ...
It is objected that there is much repetition in the Rosary because the Lord's prayer and the Hail Mary are said so often: therefore it is monotonous. That reminds me of a woman who came to see me one evening after instructions.
She said, "I would never become a Catholic. You say the same words in the Rosary over and over again, and anyone who repeats the same words is never sincere. I would never believe anyone who repeated his words and neither would God." I asked her who the man was with her. She said he was her fiancé. I asked: "Does he love you?" "Certainly, he does.""But how do you know?" "He told me." "What did he say?" "He said "I love you.'" "When did he tell you last?" "About an hour ago." "Did he tell you before?" "Yes, last night." "What did he say?" "'I love you.'" "But never before?" "He tells me every night." I said: "Do not believe him. He is repeating: he is not sincere."
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The beautiful truth is that there is no repetition in "I love you." Because there is a new moment in time, another point in space, the words do not mean the same as they did at another time or space...


 

 ... praying the Catholic rosary with intensity ...
"I've just recently discovered the Anglican and the Catholic rosaries, and have been praying the Catholic rosary with intensity. I will pray through the fifteen mysteries of the full rosary three times a day (that's a lot of "Hail Mary's" for a Protestant!) and feel the annointing of the Lord upon me. I am convinced the rosary releases the super natural power of God into our lives. It cleanses us, sanctifies us and draws us closer to Jesus, through the help of his Blessed Mother Mary.
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     In my present (Episcopal) parish, I have shared my enthusiasm for the rosary, and many of my parishioners, who are former Catholics, have retained this devotion and have been delighted in my encourgement of their using it.  Now, I feel that Mary is asking me to pray the rosary with intensity,  as I prepare to serve a new church as rector.

     Thank You! Thank You! -  Fr.JJ  (USA)

 ... The words were foreign to me ...
Recently we were at a Catholic Charismatic Retreat at the Mary Grove Retreat House in the Upper Michigan Peninsula.   After dinner we we went back to our rooms to kill time before the evening prayer meeting started.  It had been snowing so we stayed in to keep warm instead of taking our usual walk.  Several gals came into our room and we ended up sharing stories.  One gal was telling us she was Lutheran - born and raised a Lutheran and was not too impressed with Catholics.
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One day she was praying and felt prompted to say these words - 'Hail Mary'  so she did, altho she said, 'these words were foreign to me'.  Then the words 'full of grace' came to her.  She thought it strange but curious so she decided to go along.  'The Lord is with you' and on -  before long, she had learned this little prayer and continued to say it over and over again.  It gave her great joy so she adopted the words as her very own.
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Then one day she was with some Catholic friends and was sharing her little prayer with them.  They told her that her little prayer was called the 'AVE MARIA' or HAIL MARY' and had been around for -  almost - two thousand years.  She was shocked. When they explained the rosary to her, she decided to say it, now knowing in her heart that Mary herself had taught this little prayer to her. Today she is a Catholic and loves to tell people about how Mary drew her home by teaching her this sweet prayer of love.