In the Catholic Church we revere Our Lady. We don’t worship her and there is a big difference. She is the mother of God and as such deserves our gratitude and our reverence. She agreed to take part in God’s salvation plan when she could have said no and led a much easier life. Not much detail is given to us of her early life in the Bible, however mystics have suggested that she was very devout from a young age and would have preferred to remain unmarried and devote her whole life to serving God. She obeyed God’s Will when it was made known to her. We also know about her immaculate conception which paved the way to her becoming the Mother of God as she was ‘full of grace’ and without original sin.
This is a very brief outline as a basis for talking about the rosary and how we pray to Our Lady and ask for her intercession ‘now and at the hour of our death’ using the Hail Mary and other prayers. The Rosary prayers are based around 20 mysteries, divided up into the Joyful mysteries; the Sorrowful mysteries; the Luminous mysteries and the Glorious mysteries, each mystery containing a decade of Hail Marys. I won’t go into the details of praying these mysteries as there are many sites that will give you this information. You can find an easy guide to this with the prayers you need on this site: http://www.newadvent.org and go into the Rosary tab.
The Rosary is a powerful ‘prayer tool’. I pray the rosary every day when I walk my dog or if I drive anywhere and have that freedom to let my mind focus on these mysteries. Sometimes when I can’t sleep I also start to pray the rosary and unfailingly, I always fall asleep as there is such peace of mind we can achieve when we immerse ourselves in these mysteries. Our Lady is always there for us and is delighted to intercede for us with her Son when we ask for her help. These mysteries help us stay close to Jesus; we walk with him through his life and by making them a part of our lives we develop the strength of our faith.
The Jewish people have a prayer called The Shema: Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. They recite these words daily as a reminder of the One God, to stay focused on that and not let worldly troubles and attractions get in the way of their faith. Similarly, the rosary reminds us of all that God has done for us through his Son; all that Jesus went through for us and how much God loves us and we can only derive great benefit and spiritual health from praying these prayers daily.
God bless and may you find praying the Rosary a great comfort,
Widows Mote 