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Rosary of the Virgin Mary
The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second
millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by
countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium.
Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third
millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a
harvest of holiness. ... to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world
that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, “the way, and the truth and the
life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the
desires of history and civilization turn”.1
The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a
Christocentric prayer. ... it has all the depth of the Gospel message in
its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. ...
With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is
led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience
the depths of his love. ...
October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter,
I frankly admitted:
“The Rosary is my favourite prayer. …
How many graces have I received in these years from the Blessed Virgin
through the Rosary …
Objections to the Rosary
4. The timeliness of this proposal is evident from a number of
considerations.
First, the urgent need to counter a certain crisis of the Rosary, which
in the present historical and theological context can risk being wrongly
devalued, and therefore no longer taught to the younger generation.
... If properly revitalized, the Rosary is an aid and certainly not a
hindrance to ecumenism!
6. … A similar need for commitment and prayer arises in relation to
another critical contemporary issue: the family, the primary cell of
society, increasingly menaced by forces of disintegration on both the
ideological and practical planes, so as to make us fear for the future
of this fundamental and indispensable institution and, with it, for the
future of society as a whole.
The revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a
broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to
countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age.
“Behold, your Mother!” (Jn 19:27)
CONTEMPLATING CHRIST WITH MARY
10. The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a
unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary.
It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human
resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one
has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as
faithfully as Mary.
The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when
she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that
followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features.
When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to
gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling
cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7) ...
11. Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his every word:
“She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf.
2:51) ... In a way those memories were to be the “rosary” which she
recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.
12 ... Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning,
as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out:
“Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its
recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of
formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: ‘In praying do not
heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be
heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7).
By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and
a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of
the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the
Lord.
Learning Christ from Mary
14. Christ is the supreme Teacher, the revealer and the one revealed. It
is not just a question of learning what he taught but of “learning
him.”
In this regard could we have any better teacher than Mary? From the
divine standpoint, the Spirit is the interior teacher who leads us to
the full truth of Christ (cf. Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13).
But among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can
introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his
Mother.
The first of the “signs” worked by Jesus – the changing of water into
wine at the marriage in Cana – clearly presents Mary in the guise of a
teacher, as she urges the servants to do what Jesus commands (cf. Jn
2:5) …
Being conformed to Christ with Mary
15. Christian spirituality is distinguished by the disciple’s commitment
to become conformed ever more fully to his Master (cf. Rom 8:29; Phil
3:10,12).
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Baptism grafts the believer like a
branch onto the vine which is Christ (cf. Jn 15:5) and makes him a
member of Christ’s mystical Body (cf.1Cor 12:12; Rom 12:5).
This initial unity, however, calls for a growing assimilation which will
increasingly shape the conduct of the disciple in accordance with the
“mind” of Christ:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5).
In the words of the Apostle, we are called “to put on the Lord Jesus
Christ” (cf. Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27) …
This role of Mary, totally grounded in that of Christ and radically
subordinated to it, “in no way obscures or diminishes the unique
mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power” … Saint Louis Marie
Grignion de Montfort explain[s] … Mary’s role … “Our entire perfection
consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ.
Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which
conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ.
Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus
Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates
and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother,
and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be
consecrated to Jesus Christ.”
22 Never as in the Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear
so deeply joined. Mary lives only in Christ and for Christ!
Praying to Christ with Mary
16. … Holy Spirit who “intercedes for us” according to the will of God
(cf. Rom 8:26-27.) For “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom
8:26), and at times we are not heard “because we ask wrongly” (cf. Jas
4:2-3.)
In support of the prayer which Christ and the Spirit cause to rise in
our hearts, Mary intervenes with her maternal intercession. “The prayer
of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary.”
23 If Jesus, the one Mediator, is the Way of our prayer, then Mary, his
purest and most transparent reflection, shows us the Way.
“Beginning with Mary’s unique cooperation with the working of the Holy
Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the Holy Mother of God,
centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries.”
24 At the wedding of Cana the Gospel clearly shows the power of Mary's
intercession as she makes known to Jesus the needs of others: “They have
no wine” (Jn 2:3.)
17 … The history of the Rosary shows how this prayer was used in
particular by the Dominicans at a difficult time for the Church due to
the spread of heresy.
Today we are facing new challenges. Why should we not once more have
recourse to the Rosary, with the same faith as those who have gone
before us? The Rosary retains all its power and continues to be a
valuable pastoral resource for every good evangelizer.
The Rosary, “a compendium of the Gospel”
A proposed addition to the traditional pattern
19. Of the many mysteries of Christ’s life, only a few are indicated by
the Rosary …
I believe, however, that to bring out fully the Christological depth of
the Rosary it would be suitable to make an addition to the traditional
pattern ... It is during the years of his public ministry that the
mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: “While I am in
the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5.)
Consequently, for the Rosary to become more fully a “compendium of the
Gospel,” it is fitting to add ... a meditation on certain particularly
significant moments in his public ministry (the mysteries of light).
The Joyful Mysteries
20. The first five decades, the “joyful mysteries,” are marked by the
joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation.
This is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where
Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation
to messianic joy: “Rejoice, Mary.”
The whole of salvation history, in some sense the entire history of the
world, has led up to this greeting. If it is the Father’s plan to unite
all things in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10), then the whole of the universe is
in some way touched by the divine favor with which the Father looks upon
Mary and makes her the Mother of his Son.
The whole of humanity, in turn, is embraced by the fiat with which she
readily agrees to the will of God.
… Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us
that Christianity is, first and foremost, evangelion, “good news,” ...
the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Savior of the
world.
The Mysteries of Light
21. Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the
public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries
which may be called in a special way “mysteries of light.”
Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the
“light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way
during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the
Kingdom. In proposing to the Christian community five significant
moments – “luminous” mysteries – during this phase of Christ's life, I
think that the following can be fittingly singled out:
(1) his Baptism in the Jordan,
(2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana,
(3) his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion,
(4) his Transfiguration, and finally,
(5) his institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of
the Paschal Mystery ...
In these mysteries, apart from the miracle at Cana, the presence of Mary
remains in the background. … Yet the role she assumed at Cana in some
way accompanies Christ throughout his ministry. … “Do whatever he tells
you” (Jn 2:5.)
This counsel is a fitting introduction to the words and signs of
Christ’s public ministry and it forms the Marian foundation of all the
“mysteries of light” …
At the same time, it becomes natural to bring to this encounter with the
sacred humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labors and
endeavors which go to make up our lives.
“Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Ps 55:23.) To
pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of
Christ and his Mother.
“For Me, To Live Is Christ”
The Rosary, a way of assimilating the mystery
26 ... Rosary … is a method based on repetition. This applies above all
to the Hail Mary, repeated ten times in each mystery.
If this repetition is considered superficially, there could be a
temptation to see the Rosary as a dry and boring exercise.
It is quite another thing, however, when the Rosary is thought of as an
outpouring of that love which tirelessly returns to the person loved
with expressions similar in their content but ever fresh in terms of the
feeling pervading them. …
To understand the Rosary, one has to enter into the psychological
dynamic proper to love. ...
A valid method...
27. We should not be surprised that our relationship with Christ makes
use of a method. God communicates himself to us respecting our human
nature and its vital rhythms. ...
Announcing each mystery
29. Announcing each mystery, and perhaps even using a suitable icon to
portray it, is as it were to open up a scenario on which to focus our
attention.
The words direct the imagination and the mind towards a particular
episode or moment in the life of Christ. …
This need for concreteness finds further expression in the announcement
of the various mysteries of the Rosary.
Obviously these mysteries neither replace the Gospel nor exhaust its
content. The Rosary, therefore, is no substitute for lectio divina; on
the contrary, it presupposes and promotes it.
Yet, even though the mysteries contemplated in the Rosary, even with the
addition of the mysteria lucis, do no more than outline the fundamental
elements of the life of Christ, they easily draw the mind to a more
expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the
Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection. ...
Listening to the word of God
30. In order to supply a Biblical foundation and greater depth to our
meditation, it is helpful to follow the announcement of the mystery with
the proclamation of a related Biblical passage, long or short, ...
It is not a matter of recalling information but of allowing God to
speak. ...
Silence
31. Listening and meditation are nourished by silence. After the
announcement of the mystery and the proclamation of the word, it is
fitting to pause and focus one's attention for a suitable period of time
on the mystery concerned, before moving into vocal prayer.
A discovery of the importance of silence is one of the secrets of
practicing contemplation and meditation. One drawback of a society
dominated by technology and the mass media is the fact that silence
becomes increasingly difficult to achieve.
33 … 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. … in
the Rosary ... Mary’s prophecy here finds its fulfilment: “Henceforth
all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48) ...
The “Gloria”
34. Trinitarian doxology is the goal of all Christian contemplation. For
Christ is the way that leads us to the Father in the Spirit. ...
[W]e 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. …
According to current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the
“joyful mysteries,” Tuesday and Friday to the “sorrowful mysteries,”
and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the “glorious mysteries.”
Where might the “mysteries of light” be inserted? If we consider that
the “glorious mysteries” are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that
Saturday has always had a special Marian flavor, the second weekly
meditation on the “joyful mysteries,” mysteries in which Mary’s
presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday.
Thursday would then be free for meditating on the “mysteries of light.”
CONCLUSION
Peace
The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the
contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace”
(Eph 2:14).
Anyone who assimilates the mystery of Christ – and this is clearly the
goal of the Rosary – learns the secret of peace and makes it his life's
project. …
How could one possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of
Bethlehem, in the joyful mysteries, without experiencing the desire to
welcome, defend and promote life, and to shoulder the burdens of
suffering children all over the world?
How could one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer,
in the mysteries of light, without resolving to bear witness to his
“Beatitudes” in daily life?
And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ
Crucified, without feeling the need to act as a “Simon of Cyrene” for
our brothers and sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair?
Finally, how could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ
or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more
beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God's plan?
The family: parents...
41. As a prayer for peace, the Rosary is also, and always has been, a
prayer of and for the family. At one time this prayer was particularly
dear to Christian families, and it certainly brought them closer
together.
It is important not to lose this precious inheritance. We need to return
to the practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing to
use the Rosary. …
The family that prays together stays together.
The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly
effective as a prayer which brings the family together.
Individual family members, in turning their eyes towards Jesus, also
regain the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to
show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see their covenant of
love renewed in the Spirit of God.
Many of the problems facing contemporary families, especially in
economically developed societies, result from their increasing
difficulty in communicating.
Families seldom manage to come together, and the rare occasions when
they do are often taken up with watching television.
To return to the recitation of the family Rosary means filling daily
life with very different images, images of the mystery of salvation: the
image of the Redeemer, the image of his most Blessed Mother.
The family that recites the Rosary together reproduces something of the
atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members place Jesus at the
center, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their needs and
their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength
to go on.
... and children
42. It is also beautiful and fruitful to entrust to this prayer the
growth and development of children.
Does the Rosary not follow the life of Christ, from his conception to
his death, and then to his Resurrection and his glory?
Parents are finding it ever more difficult to follow the lives of their
children as they grow to maturity. In a society of advanced technology,
of mass communications and globalization, everything has become hurried,
and the cultural distance between generations is growing ever greater.
The most diverse messages and the most unpredictable experiences rapidly
make their way into the lives of children and adolescents, and parents
can become quite anxious about the dangers their children face.
At times parents suffer acute disappointment at the failure of their
children to resist the seductions of the drug culture, the lure of an
unbridled hedonism, the temptation to violence, and the manifold
expressions of meaninglessness and despair.
To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training
them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for
prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every
problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated.
It could be objected that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste of
children and young people of today.
But perhaps the objection is directed to an impoverished method of
praying it. Furthermore, without prejudice to the Rosary’s basic
structure, there is nothing to stop children and young people from
praying it – either within the family or in groups – with appropriate
symbolic and practical aids to understanding and appreciation.
Why not try it? With God’s help, a pastoral approach to youth which is
positive, impassioned and creative – as shown by the World Youth Days! –
is capable of achieving quite remarkable results.
If the Rosary is well presented, I am sure that young people will once
more surprise adults by the way they make this prayer their own and
recite it with the enthusiasm typical of their age group.
The Rosary, a treasure to be rediscovered
… through your own personal experience of the beauty of the Rosary, may
you come to promote it with conviction.
From the Vatican, on the 16th day of October in the year 2002, the
beginning of the twenty- fifth year of my Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
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