The Most Holy Rosary

Composed by: Br. Peter Vincent
 
The Most Holy Rosary is one of the most powerful prayers one could ever pray.  Sure, one can pray to God in any way he desires. He can pray to God with words from the heart, from a prayer book, with prostrations, with audible prayer, or with silent prayer, but although God's heart is moved by any prayer that one says with humility and with reverence, it does not surpass these prayers which come out of the very mouth of God Himself. 
 
It is a great devotion given to the Church. The Rosary is an act of Faith, Hope, Charity, Contrition and Humility all in one. It also contains the five basic forms of prayer which are Blessing and Adoration, Petition, Intercession, Thanksgiving and Praise. 

In the Rosary, we profess our Faith in the Triune God and we affirm our beliefs in the teachings of the Church which Christ established when we pray the Apostles' Creed. This is the first prayer we say in the Rosary. It is important that we acknowledge our Faith in God since after all, the Scriptures say, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6), and again, "whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Matthew 21:22). 
 
The next prayer in the Rosary, the Our Father, is the prayer of Our Lord Jesus who is True God and True man. Therefore, this prayer comes straight from the mouth of God who became flesh (Matthew 6:9-13).  In this prayer we address the Father, we bless His name, we accept his Will, we ask Him to give us all that we need when asking for our daily bread, we ask Him for forgiveness and we confess that we forgive our enemies and all who offend us (an act of Love).  Finally, we ask for deliverance from temptation which is the occasion of sin, and ask for deliverance from evil, both seen and unseen. The Lord's Prayer is awonderful prayer because it summarizes all our needs and intentions in only a few words.
 
The next prayer, the Hail Mary, also comes from the mouth of God Himself although it was delivered through an angel.  Another part of the prayer comes from the mouth of her cousin Elizabeth but it came from her lips while she was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, "and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb’" (Luke 1:41-43).  The prayer is Hail Mary (a salutation, a gesture of reverence and respect), Full of grace (she was literally filled with grace and therefore without sin, even from the moment of her conception), The Lord is with thee (the Lord was truly with her, literally, in her womb, her arms and especially in her heart), Blessed art thou among women (one who was found worthy enough to be chosen to conceive in her womb the God-man) and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb Jesus (Who is the reason why we thank you, give you honor and call you blessed). Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners (an act of Humility, for we acknowledge that we are sinners and need God's help), now and at the hour of death. Amen.
 
Then we pray the Gloria, which is an act of Blessing, Praise, Adoration and thanksgiving.  Praising the Holy Trinity, giving God glory, proclaiming that the glory was always His and it will be His forevermore. The prayer that follows, "O my Jesus..." is an act of contrition and an act of love, pleading for Jesus' mercy for ourselves and for all those who need His mercy:  people we know and don't know.
 
While we pray the Rosary, it is important that we meditate on the mysteries that we announce which are events in the life of Christ and His mother. This is mental prayer. Literally place yourself at the scene of the event, and meditate. Think about yourself kneeling before the manger and offer praise, kneeling before the Cross and hold up the Sorrowful Mother, go in the tomb and see that the Lord is not there but truly risen while verbally reciting the holy prayers. 
 
We conclude our rosary with the Salve Regina, a prayer Dominicans traditionally pray to end the day, a prayer expressing Our Lady's Queenship, petitioning her that she will lead us to our ultimate goal, Christ her Son. 
 
Saint Louis De Montfort gives the advice, "whenever you say your Rosary, be sure to ask for some special grace. Ask God's help in cultivating one of the great Christian virtues or in overcoming one of your sins" (Secret of the Rosary).  Before starting the Rosary, offer it for your family, friends, for world peace, for the Church, for all your needs, especially your salvation. I confess that there has been NOTHING that I ever ask for from Almighty God through the Rosary, big or small, that I have not received. There is great power in this prayer. 
 
One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world. 
~Saint Dominic (Haffert, John M., The Sign of Her Heart)                                  
 
“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”

Sister Lucia dos Santos, Fatima seer (Interview with Fr. Augustin Fuentes in 1957 documented by Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité in Volume III of his series "The Whole Truth About Fatima.") 
 
“Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”
Saint Louis de Montfort (Secret of the Rosary)