The Rosary

The Rosary #1
Source: 
Audio: FF - The Rosary 1.mp3

1. The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful form of prayer. During the Rosary, Catholics meditate on events in the life of Jesus and his Mother Mary, while asking the Blessed Mother to pray to her son for our intentions.  

2. This prayer consists of 4 mysteries which are each divided into 5 sections.  When praying the Joyful Mysteries, for example, Catholics meditate on The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple,  and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.  But why pray the Rosary?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church sheds light on a vital reason that everyone should honor the Blessed Mother - and praying the Rosary is one way to do that.  The Catechism says, "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship. From ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored as the Mother of God, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs."

3. Examining the truths of the Catholic faith, this is FaithForensics.org.

The Rosary #2
Source:
Audio: FF - The Rosary 2.mp3

1. The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful form of prayer.

2. Yet isn't it strange how we tend to discount that which we don't know or understand.  Consider for a moment the Hail Mary itself, which is the central prayer of the Rosary.  In essence, the Hail Mary is Scripture followed by a prayer request.  It begins with the words spoken to Mary at the Annunciation from the Angel Gabriel in Luke chapter 1 verse 28, "Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee!" and is followed by the words of her cousin Elizabeth in Luke chapter 1 verse 42 who, upon being in Mary's presence, exclaims: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."  The prayer then concludes with our prayer request to the Blessed Mother:  “Holy Mary mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”  In the final analysis, the Hail Mary simply consists of what all Christians should be doing every day: reading Sacred Scripture and praying.

3. Examining the truths of the Catholic faith, this is FaithForensics.org.

The Rosary #3
Source:
Audio: FF - The Rosary 3.mp3

1. The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful form of prayer.

2. When speaking of the Rosary, many Non-Catholics perceive it as repetitious, unfruitful prayer - just words repeated over and over as opposed to a spontaneous prayer from the heart.  Since they are not familiar with rote or meditative prayer this is not an unexpected response.  In reality, both types of prayer are essential to the Christian life and should be practiced by all Christians daily.  Venerable Fulton Sheen once said of the Rosary, "The beautiful truth is that there is no repetition in ‘I love you’.  The heart takes one expression, ‘I love you’, and in saying it over and over again, it never repeats.  When we pray the Rosary, we are saying to God and to the Blessed Mother: I love you, I love you, I love you.”  Father Charles (de-foo-cald) De Foucauld used to say, “Love is expressed in few words - always the same, and constantly repeated."

3. Examining the truths of the Catholic faith, this is FaithForensics.org.

The Rosary #4
Source:
Audio: FF - The Rosary 4.mp3

1. The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful form of prayer.

2. Pope St. John the 23rd said, "The Rosary is an exercise of Christian piety among the faithful.  It is a devout form of union with God, and always has a most uplifting effect on the soul."  St. John Henry Newman once said in a homily: "The great power of the Rosary lies in this, that it makes the Creed into a prayer.  The Rosary gives us the great truths of life and death to meditate upon, and brings them nearer to our hearts."  Pope St. John Paul II put it this way, "The Rosary is my favorite prayer.  A marvelous prayer!  The Rosary is, in a certain way, a prayer-commentary on the wonderful presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church."  In essence, if you want to grow in your relationship with Christ and the Blessed Mother, if you want to be a saint, try praying the Rosary daily.

3. Examining the truths of the Catholic faith, this is FaithForensics.org.

The Rosary #5
Source: 
Audio: FF - The Rosary 5.mp3

1. The Rosary is a beautiful and powerful form of prayer.

2. Praying using beads goes back way before Christianity and has been used in many different religions.  In Christian tradition, early monastic orders prayed all 150 Psalms every day using a string with 150 knots to keep track.  This eventually turned into a rope with 150 beads.  The development of the Rosary took place slowly over a long period of time.  In the year 1214, the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Dominic and gave him a Rosary.  She asked that, instead of praying the Psalms, the faithful should pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.  The Rosary, in its present form, has been around since the 15th century.  It is a tool that helps us pray.  Praying the Rosary is a place to meet Mary, the Mother of God, who embraces us, takes our hand, and leads us to her son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

3. Examining the truths of the Catholic faith, this is FaithForensics.org.