HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY
by Bishop David Chislett SSC

The Rosary is a traditional way of praying with Jesus and Mary that takes us right through the Gospel of God's love. It can be used individually or with others. In our parish community, members of the Society of Mary meet regularly to pray the Rosary together.

For a while it looked as if the Rosary was going out of fashion among Catholic Christians. But over the last couple of years there has been something of a revival of its use. I know this because I have been approached by a stream of people wanting to learn how to pray in this way. Some have come out of curiosity; others as a result of having been embarrassed in a prayer group using this traditional devotion and not knowing the mechanics of what to do.

So, the following is the simplest of all explanations, reflecting the most common way the Rosary is prayed, and including the Luminous Mysteries (or "the Mysteries of Light") added by Pope John Paul II on 16th October, 2002.

SPONTANEITY AND STRUCTURE

Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit within us inspiring us, enlightening us, and making us one with the great and eternal movement of love between the Son and the Father. It involves our hearts as well as our minds.

There are times when we pray with effortless spontaneity, and there are other times when we use the inherited language of the Christian community.

There are times of real difficulty.

In fact, we know from the writings of Christians going back two thousand years that being sincere and open to the Holy Spirit, loving God from the depths of our being and wanting to be close to him does not guarantee that prayer will always be easy. Luke 4:12 tells us that Jesus himself was "led by the Spirit into the desert . . . being tempted by the devil" (Luke 4:1-2), struggling with evil just as we do, but winning in the end. Hebrews 5:7 refers to the struggle of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane - and undoubtedly other times as well - when it says that "in the days of his flesh" he "offered up prayers and supplications, with strong cries and tears . . ."

When WE find prayer difficult, traditional forms are really useful. They act as a kind of "scaffolding" to the spiritual life; their well worn words, hallowed by the use of centuries, give shape to our aspirations and our yearnings; they help us to remain aware of God's presence.

A particular problem we all face from time to time is how to deal with distractions to prayer. Some of these distractions are external to ourselves, like the noise of the traffic or the television in the apartment next door. Many distractions, however, originate within ourselves, and it is not until we get away from external distractions that we discover how noisy we are on the inside! Our minds wander onto all sorts of things, and we find it almost impossible to be still. For hundreds of years Christians have found the Rosary to be a means of giving our minds something to think about, while at the same time helping us to be calm and recollected in God's presence.

But set forms of devotion such as the Rosary are not just for when we find prayer difficult. In the same was that all our human relationships combine structure and spontaneity, it is natural that our relationship with God should work the same way. Along with other set forms of prayer hallowed by centuries of use, regular use of the Rosary has been a means of great blessing to all who have incorporated it into the rhythm of their spiritual lives.

NUTS AND BOLTS

Like any boy in his cultural and spiritual tradition, Jesus learned a whole lot of prayers off by heart, including many of the psalms and other devotions that Jewish people say quietly or out loud to this day. We can imagine him sitting at his Mother's knee, repeating what Mary taught him over and over again, like any toddler.

The Rosary is built around four familiar Christian prayers that many have known since childhood - the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be - repeated in a particular order. The beads help us to remember where we are, and which prayer is coming up next.

Repeating these prayers quietly (or even silently) helps to still the noise in our heads, while the movement of fingering the beads can help us stop fidgeting and be still. The therapeutic value of this was brought home to me a few years ago when an elderly parishioner's doctor said that in his opinion her habit of saying the Rosary while using her beads was the secret of her swift progress in recovering from a stroke!

Our minds can be occupied as we make a picture or think of some words from the Gospels to do with the lives of Jesus and Mary. There are twenty episodes commonly used that are given the name "Mysteries of the Rosary."

We call these episodes "mysteries", not because they are complicated and confuse us, but because they are about the Lord Jesus Christ, all he did to save us, and his continuing presence with us now. St. Paul wrote to the early Christians: "The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory" (Colossians 1:25). So, while the glory of Jesus is revealed to us in the Church as we pray - and most of us can only glimpse a little of it at a time - praying the Rosary takes us behind the words of the Gospels which paint a picture of Jesus, enabling us to ponder those saving truths which undergird our spiritual lives. In this way so many Christians have grown in faith, hope and love.

HOW TO DO IT

If you have never prayed the Rosary before, or if you find it strange and awkward, practise praying the Rosary by following this diagram. It is not complicated.Before long you will find yourself being drawn into contemplation of the mysteries, and you won't need to worry about the diagram again!

BACKGROUND MUSIC

The Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be repeated throughout are like the background music of a film which helps us to feel the mood of what is happening, but without drawing attention to itself. These prayers do the same thing by calming and relaxing our minds and hearts to meditate on the mysteries.

When we pray the Rosary alone, we say the prayers right through. When we pray the Rosary in a group, the leader starts off the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary. This adds to the sense of rhythm and community participation.

The Apostles’Äô Creed
Leader: I believe in God the Father almighty,
Maker 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,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God
the Father Almighty:
From thence he shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
All: I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints,
the Forgiveness of sins,
the Resurrection of the body,
and the Life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer
Leader: Our Father,
who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
All: 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.

The Hail Mary
Leader: Hail, Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
All: Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.

The Glory Be
Leader: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
All: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen.

THROUGH THE GOSPEL

There are fifteen mysteries that draw us into the birth, life, suffering and death of Jesus. There are two mysteries that belong to the time before his birth, and there are three that take us into the life of the Church where we, like Mary (who is not just our Mother, but also our Sister in Christ) share in the Holy Spirit and journey expectantly to the glory of heaven.

The twenty Mysteries are arranged in four sets of five:

The Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation
2. Mary's Visit to Elizabeth
3. The Birth of Christ
4. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
5. Jesus found among the Teachers of the Law

The Luminous Mysteries
1. The Baptism of the Lord
2. The Wedding of Cana
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom
4. The Transfiguration
5. The Institution of the Eucharist

The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
2. The Scourging of the Lord
3. The Mocking and Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Death of the Lord at Calvary

The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection of the Lord
2. The Ascension
3. The Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
4. The Assumption of Mary
5. The Coronation of Mary and the Glory of the Saints

AFTER PRAYING THE ROSARY

It is usual to say these prayers at the end of the Rosary:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy;
hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this vale 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 thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

v. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God,
whose only-begotten Son
by his life, death, and resurrection,
hath purchased for us the reward of eternal life;
Grant, we beseech thee,
that as we meditate upon these Mysteries
in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
we may imitate what they contain,
and obtain what they promise;
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

WHICH MYSTERIES SHOULD I USE?

You can pray as many or as few of the Mysteries as you like. But in 2002 when he added the Luminous Mysteries, Pope John Paul recommended this pattern:
Joyful Mysteries: Mondays and Saturdays
Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesdays and Fridays
Luminous Mysteries: Thursdays
Glorious Mysteries: Wednesdays and Sundays

"INTENTIONS"

It is quite common for Christians to use the Rosary as a means of praying for particular things or special needs. The leader announces the forthcoming Mystery like this:

"The third Glorious Mystery: The Coming of the Holy Spirit. We offer this Mystery for all preachers of the Gospel, especially those labouring in poverty-stricken countries. (Pause) Hail Mary, full of grace. . . . . ."

or

"The fifth Luminous Mystery: The Institution of the Eucharist. We offer this Mystery for those who at this time are preparing for their first Holy Communion. (Pause) Hail Mary, full of grace . . .

When we pray the Rosary privately, we can offer each of the Mysteries for specific people in our lives:

GETTING STARTED

Why not go and buy a Rosary if you don't have one? You will be able to use it in so many different ways - privately, in a prayer group, or even when you are travelling. In praying the Rosary you will not only join yourself to the devotional life of literally millions of Christians around the world, you will be following the example of many of the great saints down through the ages.

Published in The Patmos Review June 2007