Pray the Rosary

What do you know about the Rosary?  The Rosary is a necklace with beads and a cross.  It is used by people as a guide to reciting a series of prayers.  It is most closely associated with the Catholic Church and the Virgin Mary. This web page is a great place to learn more about the Rosary.  Further down on this page, we present an article called, "Finding Joy in Reciting the Rosary."  The article is written by a woman who shares her lifelong thoughts about, and experiences with, the Rosary.  Read the article and get a new perspective on the ancient tradition of praying the Rosary.  After you read our article, follow the Related Links we provide to other informative and interesting web sites about the Rosary.  Buy a few of the Books we recommend below, to learn more about the Rosary.  Deus te amat!  Related Links: How to Pray the Rosary  Instructions on how to pray the Rosary.  Includes links to the text of the prayers and links to explanations of the Mysteries.  Catholic Encyclopedia: The Rosary A good-sized article that explains the Rosary and its history. The Holy Rosary  A web site devoted to the Rosary.  Links to articles, also a gallery of Christian pictures and a large Guestbook.  wikipedia, Rosary  A comprehensive article on the Rosary, with links. The Holy See  The official web site of The Vatican, in English. Christian Forums  The world's largest online Christian chat - message board - forum community.  Over 23 million posts by over 140 thousand members.  Read These Books: Want more information? Check out these e-books on Prayer.

Finding Joy in Reciting the Rosary by Uni Blake   2/12/06 When Uncle Elmon was being prepped for appendectomy surgery I handed him the one thing I knew he would find comfort in -- his Rosary Beads. He wasn't a very prayerful man but I knew his Rosary Beads would alleviate some of the fear he had of the impending surgery. I was not Catholic at the time, but I understood the power the Rosary has for Catholics. Five years later, I stood in front of a small gathering at our Church -- joining the Rosary Society. I had finally understood the profound effect that Rosary devotion has and was officially submitting myself to its service. My first exposure to the Rosary occurred when I was a teenager growing up in Kenya, Africa. Our high school literature class was reading a book by an African writer, Okot P'Bitek, titled "Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol". Lawino, a young native African girl describes her visit to an evening catholic class. At the class, she describes hearing the people shouting meaningless phrases about "Maria". To Lawino, the Catholics sounded like chattering parrots. That image of Catholics and their Rosary devotion remained with me for years to come. Even after I joined the Catholic Church years later, I still did not recite the Rosary. One of the gifts I received when I joined the Church was a beautiful Rosary. I put it away in my jewelry box and did not remember it until this past summer. In August, a friend and I were having a conversation about different catholic authors and I mentioned to her that I had just finished reading "The Lamb's Supper" by Scott Hahn. She suggested that I read the Hahn's conversion story, "Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism", which I did. After I read the chapter about Scott finding Our Lady, I had a paradigm shift. I rummaged through my jewelry case and found my Rosary and starting learning how to pray the Rosary. The rosary is a circular prayer chain. It is composed of five sets of 10 small beads, with the bead sets separated by a space followed by a single larger bead then another space. The path into the rosary devotion starts with the cross attached to a shorter string which has a large bead, then three smaller beads followed by a large bead. This string connects to the circular portion of the rosary through a medallion, which represents a gateway into the prayers. The Rosary recitation follows the following steps: 1. While holding the cross, Make the "Sign of the Cross" and say the "Apostles Creed" 2. Recite the "Our Father" on the large bead 3. Recite a "Hail Mary" on each of the three small beads 4. Say the "Glory be to the Father" followed by the "Oh My Jesus" 5. Announce the First Mystery and recite the "Our Father" on the large bead 6. Recite a "Hail Mary" on each of the ten small beads 7. Say the "Glory be to the Father" 8. Announce the Second Mystery, then recite the "Our Father" (Step 2) Continue on through the third, forth and fifth mystery in a similar sequence. At the end of the prayer circuit, I pray the Hail Holy Queen to gently exit the prayer gate. There are three sets of five mysteries; Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries. Different mysteries are assigned different days of the week. Initially when I prayed the rosary I was lost in the technical side of the prayer, making sure I did it right. I was completely missing its meaning. Then, sometime in October I was invited to pray the Rosary with the members of the Rosary Society. Initially I felt awkward, self-conscious and forced. As the prayer continued on to the second decade, I looked up at the statue of Our Lady -- her hands outstretched, inviting us to pray along with her. Something came over me and as I started praying. "Hail Mary, Full of Grace" I found myself witnessing a young Our Lady Mary walking down a footpath to a waiting cousin Elizabeth's outstretched hands. I imagined how Elizabeth must have felt at such a visit. As we continued, I found myself living alongside Our Lady. I felt some of her pain as her son was arrested, scourged and eventually put to death on the cross. I felt like I was rising higher and higher to a different level of understanding. Suddenly I felt overwhelmed, the tears welled in my eyes, and I was overcome with such awe. Then there was silence, the rosary devotion was over. I felt extremely happy, peaceful and enlightened. The Rosary is now a part of my life. Sometimes I dedicate my devotion to a cause or sometimes I just pray for peace in the world. I pray the Rosary when I am caught in a snowstorm or when my children are acting out. I have a rosary hanging from the rearview mirror in my van, which I touch every time an ambulance goes rushing by or every time we pass an accident scene. Like Uncle Elmon, now I also find great comfort in the Rosary.

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