5 Things To Know About the Holy Rosary
1. The Rosary is a time-tested, scriptural and Christocentric prayer.
Many saints and popes testify to the dynamic power of the rosary, which is a protective, intercessory and healing prayer: “The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.” – St. John Paul II.
2. The Rosary is a simple school of prayer, with Mary as our teacher.
Though the Rosary, we enter into Mary's memories of her Son's life, death and resurrection: “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty of the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary, the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” – St. John Paul II
3. The Rosary is a perpetual Magnificat.
The Rosary is intimately connected with the spirit of the Magnificat, Mary’s joyful proclamation to her cousin Elizabeth as recounted in the Gospel of Luke. When we pray the Rosary, we are perpetuating Mary's exalted hymn of praise to God and this draws down special graces: “[The Rosary] is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb.” – St. John Paul II.
4. The Rosary is an effective spiritual weapon against evil.
The Rosary is a prayer of protection because it helps us to encounter Jesus through the intimacy of His Mother's Heart, which is a refuge for sinners and a fortress of spiritual protection: “The more the garden of the soul is watered by this prayer the more enlightened one’s intellect becomes, the more zealous his heart and the stronger his armor against his spiritual enemies.” - St. Louis Marie de Montfort
5. The Rosary trains us in holiness.
The Rosary helps us contemplate Christ and in so doing we encounter the Living God and experience a transformation into His holiness: “The Rosary represents a most effective means of fostering among the faithful that commitment to contemplation of the Christian mystery, as a genuine ‘training in holiness.’" - St. John Paul II