Pope John Paul II on the Rosary
The Rosary belongs among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation. Developed in the West, the Rosary is a typically meditative prayer, corresponding in some way to the “prayer of the heart” or “Jesus prayer” which took root in the soil of the Christian East. The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Mary's contemplation is above all a remembering. These events not only belong to “yesterday”; they are also part of the “today” of salvation.
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Prayers of the Rosary
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. born of the Virgin Mary,He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; he ascended into Heaven sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, Amen.
Our Father, who art in Heaven; hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen
Note: After listening to the word and focusing on the mystery, it is natural for the mind to be lifted up towards the Father. In each of his mysteries, Jesus always leads us to the Father, for as he rests in the Father's bosom (cf. Jn 1:18) he is continually turned towards him. He wants us to share in his intimacy with the Father, so that we can say with him: “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). By virtue of his relationship to the Father he makes us brothers and sisters of himself and of one another, communicating to us the Spirit which is both his and the Father's. Acting as a kind of foundation for the Christological and Marian meditation which unfolds in the repetition of the Hail Mary, the Our Father makes meditation upon the mystery, even when carried out in solitude, an ecclesial experience.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
Note: The Hail Mary is the most substantial element in the Rosary and also the one which makes it a Marian prayer par excellence. Yet when the Hail Mary is properly understood, we come to see clearly that its Marian character is not opposed to its Christological character, but that it actually emphasizes and increases it. The first part of the Hail Mary, drawn from the words spoken to Mary by the Angel Gabriel and by Saint Elizabeth, is a contemplation in adoration of the mystery accomplished in the Virgin of Nazareth. These words express, so to speak, the wonder of heaven and earth; they could be said to give us a glimpse of God's own wonderment as he contemplates his “masterpiece” – the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary. If we recall how, in the Book of Genesis, God “saw all that he had made” (Gen 1:31), we can find here an echo of that “pathos with which God, at the dawn of creation, looked upon the work of his hands”.(36) The repetition of the Hail Mary in the Rosary gives us a share in God's own wonder and pleasure: in jubilant amazement we acknowledge the greatest miracle of history. Mary's prophecy here finds its fulfilment: “Henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48).
The centre of gravity in the Hail Mary, the hinge as it were which joins its two parts, is the name of Jesus. Sometimes, in hurried recitation, this centre of gravity can be overlooked, and with it the connection to the mystery of Christ being contemplated. Yet it is precisely the emphasis given to the name of Jesus and to his mystery that is the sign of a meaningful and fruitful recitation of the Rosary. Pope Paul VI drew attention, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, to the custom in certain regions of highlighting the name of Christ by the addition of a clause referring to the mystery being contemplated.(37) This is a praiseworthy custom, especially during public recitation. It gives forceful expression to our faith in Christ, directed to the different moments of the Redeemer's life. It is at once a profession of faith and an aid in concentrating our meditation, since it facilitates the process of assimilation to the mystery of Christ inherent in the repetition of the Hail Mary. When we repeat the name of Jesus – the only name given to us by which we may hope for salvation (cf. Acts 4:12) – in close association with the name of his Blessed Mother, almost as if it were done at her suggestion, we set out on a path of assimilation meant to help us enter more deeply into the life of Christ.
From Mary's uniquely privileged relationship with Christ, which makes her the Mother of God, Theotókos, derives the forcefulness of the appeal we make to her in the second half of the prayer, as we entrust to her maternal intercession our lives and the hour of our death.
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
Note: Trinitarian doxology is the goal of all Christian contemplation. For Christ is the way that leads us to the Father in the Spirit. If we travel this way to the end, we repeatedly encounter the mystery of the three divine Persons, to whom all praise, worship and thanksgiving are due. It is important that the Gloria, the high-point of contemplation, be given due prominence in the Rosary. In public recitation it could be sung, as a way of giving proper emphasis to the essentially Trinitarian structure of all Christian prayer.
To the extent that meditation on the mystery is attentive and profound, and to the extent that it is enlivened – from one Hail Mary to another – by love for Christ and for Mary, the glorification of the Trinity at the end of each decade, far from being a perfunctory conclusion, takes on its proper contemplative tone, raising the mind as it were to the heights of heaven and enabling us in some way to relive the experience of Tabor, a foretaste of the contemplation yet to come: “It is good for us to be here!” (Lk 9:33).
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life,
our sweetness and our hope.
To thee we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this
valley of tears.
Turn then most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us,
And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of they
womb, Jesus.
O clememt. O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
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Note: You can pick any set of mysteries any day. The choices are Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious.
| 1 |  |
The
Annunciation
Luke 1:26-38 The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing she is to be the Mother of God |
| 2 |
|
The
Visitation
Luke 1:39-56 Elizabeth greets Mary: "Blessed art Thou amoung women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" |
| 3 |
|
The
Nativity of Christ
Luke 2:1-20 The Virgin Mary gives birth to the Redeemer of the World. |
| 4 |
|
The
Presentation
Luke 2:22-39 The Blessed Mother presents the Child Jesus in the Temple |
| 5 |
|
The
Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Luke 2:42-52. The Blessed Mother finds Jesus in the Temple. |
The Luminous Mysteries John 8:12
| 1 |  |
The
Baptism
John 1:29-34
|
| 2 |  |
The
Wedding at Cana
John 2:1-11 The first of the signs, when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers. |
| 3 |  |
The
Comming of the Kingdom of God
Matthew 4:17
|
| 4 |  |
The
Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-8 The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to "listen to him." |
| 5 |  |
The
Institution of the Eucharist
Matthew 26:26-30 Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies "to the end" His love for humanity, for whose salvation He will offer Himself in sacrifice. |
| 1 |  |
The
Agony in the Garden
Luke 22:39-44 At Gethsemane, Jesus prays as He contemplates the sins of the world. |
| 2 |  |
The
Scourging at the Pillar
Matthew 27:26 Jesus is cruelly scourged until His mortified body could bear no more. |
| 3 |  |
Crowning
with Thorns
Matthew 27:28-31 A crown of thorns is placed on the head of Jesus. |
| 4 |  |
Carrying
of the Cross
Luke 23:26-32 Jesus carries the heavy cross upon His shoulders to Calvary. |
| 5 |  |
The
Crucifixion
Matthew 27:33-50 Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies after hours of agony. |
| 1 |  |
The
Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-20 Jesus rises glorious and immortal, three days after His death. |
| 2 |  |
The
Ascension
Luke 24:50-51 Jesus ascends into Heaven forty days after His Resurrection. |
| 3 |  |
Descent
of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:24 The Holy Spirit descends upon Mary and the Apostles. |
| 4 |  |
The
Assumption
The Blessed Mother is united with her Divine Son in Heaven. |
| 5 |  |
The
Coronation
Mary is gloriously crowned Queen of Heaven and earth. |
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