ROSARY AND DEVOTION TO MARY IN THE MONTH OF MAY

Luky;

MAY is our Lady's month, the month of the most holy rosary, my favourite prayer.

I'm not going to be sanctimonious about it. Either the rosary is your kind of prayer or it isn't. I love saying the rosary, but St Thérèse of the Child Jesus found it difficult to pray. But even if you're not specially taken with it, the rosary is a wonderful prayer.

Signs of grace

As I've often said, we've always said the rosary as a family, and a less devout spectacle it would be hard to imagine. Sometimes I wondered whether we shouldn't just drop the whole thing because my children seemed to feel about the rosary the way St Thérèse did, but then I recalled the special signs of grace bestowed on my friends and family as a result of rosary novenas, and pushed on regardless.

After all, it is not very nice when you are small to sit still at Mass, but by the time you're in your late teens you find a deep need to go to Mass to collect your scattered and sometimes shattered resources.

Renew trust with Our Lady

By the same token a daily withdrawal into a quiet room for your rosary, said as well as you can, renews your trust with our Lady, until it becomes the most peaceful part of your day.

Strong, silent woman

I always feel the Blessed Virgin must have been such a strong, silent woman. Do you remember nights spent up caring for tiny tots with high temperatures, children crying in agony with an ear or tooth infection? Do you remember how desperately helpless you felt?

One film I watched depicted our Lady and the holy women all screaming out their sorrow. I could never imagine our Lady performing like that. I see her instead under the cross looking steadfastly into her Son's Eyes. If she had gone to pieces there, our Lord would have had even more to bear.

Please pray the rosary

Mary has done a lot for us. And time and again, she has come to earth and begged her children to pray the rosary every day, promising grace and blessings on those who grant her request. Yet so many have a dislike of this specially recommended form of prayer.

Family prayer-time

Bearing this is mind, we persevered with our family rosary daily, me armed with a store of cautionary words for certain parties, who felt that family prayer-time should rather be called family fun-time.

Whenever the children became restive during the rosary, I found myself saying things like: "Pray your rosary. Am I the only Catholic in the family?"

Laughter

One night we were praying, and my youngest was frolicking around, providing a laugh per Hail Mary. I looked at her in a reproving manner, so she subsided, knelt down and joined in the prayer. Her brothers and sisters were mumbling and this got on her nerves.

Fixing the rest of the family with a stern look, she commanded: "Say your rosary! Am I the only Catholic in the family?"

Catherine Nicolette;

Those were the days! I am still devoted to the holy Rosary. I also often pray the Divine Mercy rosary.

What is the rosary?

For those who do not really know what the rosary is, it is a set of beads used as a reminder, on which prayers based in Scripture may be prayed.

Large beads

The large beads are held at the beginning of a cycle of prayer known as a decade, while the "Our Father" prayer of Our Lord Jesus Christ is prayed (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).

Small beads

The small beads are held during the decade, while the "Hail Mary" prayer is prayed. This prayer is based upon the visitation of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38).

Glory be

The large bead is held at the end of the decade, while the "Glory Be" prayer is prayed. This prayer is a short yet profound doxology reflecting the biblical foundation of the Trinitarian prayer, echoing the baptismal formula given by Jesus Christ, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). The phase "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be" affirms God's Eternal Nature and unchanging Glory, reminiscent of passages such as Hebrews 13:8; "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Reflection on biblical passages

While each decade is being prayed, different passages from the Bible are reflected on. The mysteries reflect as follows:

The Joyful Mysteries:

The Annunciation: Luke 1:26-38

The Visitation: Luke 1:39-56

The Nativity: Luke 2

The Presentation in the Temple: Luke 2:22-40

Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple: Luke 2:41-52

The Sorrowful Mysteries:

The Agony in the Garden: Mark 14:13-42; Luke 22:39-46

The Scourging at the Pillar; John 19:1-3; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15

The Crowning with Thorns: John 19:2-3, Mark 15:19, Matthew 27:27-29

The Carrying of the Cross: Matthew 27:31-33; Mark 15:20-22; John 19:16-18

The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ: Matthew 27:32-44; Mark 15:21-32; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:17-24

The Glorious Mysteries:

The Resurrection: Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-16; Luke 24:1-12; Luke 20:1-16

The Ascension into Heaven: Luke 24:50-53

The Descent of the Holy Spirit: Acts 2:1-11

The Assumption of Mary: recognized in the Church by Venerable Pope Pius XII's 1950 Dogma of the Assumption Munificentissimus Deus [1]. Early church tradition spoke of the death and assumption of Mother Mary body and soul into Heaven at the Dormition. One account is the non-canonical account Transitus Mariae, [2] which describes angels transporting Mother Mary's body to heaven. This tradition influenced later liturgical celebrations, such as the Feast of the Dormition, established by the 6th century in the Byzantine church. [3] The Feast of the Dormition or Falling-Asleep of the Theotokos is beautifully described by the holy Orthodox Church in America [4]

The Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven: As Mother of the King of Heaven, tradition holds that Mother Mary has Queenship in Heaven. The history of the tradition that Mother Mary is Queen in Heaven is set out in the encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam of Venerable Pope Pius XII. [5] St Ephrem spoke of Mother Mary as Queen. St Gregory Nazianzen called Mary the Mother of the King of the Universe, while Prudentius asserted that the Mother brought forth God as man and and Supreme King. [5] St Andrew of Crete attributed the dignity of Queen to Mother Mary. [5] St Germanus and St John Damascene, St Ildephonsus of Toledo all recognized Mother Mary as Queen. [5]

Small biblical reminder

The rosary, to me, is almost like a small bible reminder in my pocket. It is easy to take with me anywhere, and may be prayed at any time. It is a quick resource which helps to remind me of the important truths and tradition of the faith.

The Divine Mercy Novena

The Divine Mercy Novena may be prayed upon the same kind of rosary. The Novena is a beautiful prayer which has many graces attached to it.

PRAY THE ROSARY WORLDWIDE

https://www.comepraytherosary.org/

PRAY THE DIVINE MERCY NOVENA