The Holy Rosary is a beautiful prayer. In praying it, we have a conversation with the Mother of our Savior. In holding the beaded chain, it’s like we hold her hand.
But praying the rosary can become too routine and mechanical. It is easy to say it and get it done with. Or worse, neglect to pray the rosary because it takes too long.
But the rosary is not just a mechanical prayer—though it is simple, it is also incredibly contemplative. In walking through the mysteries, we walk through Scripture, meditating on Jesus or Mary’s life. The rosary offers a quiet moment with the Lord and His Mother.
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was Oct. 7 and naturally, the Church devotes the rest of the month to it as well.
In the twelfth century, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Dominic and instructed him how to pray. This saint was the one to establish the rosary as we know it, though it had been prayed in various forms for centuries before.
In 1569, Pope Saint Pius V approved the rosary as we know it. Though it had been prayed before, he added the “Glory Be,” and the second half of the Hail Mary.
St. Pius V declared Oct. 7 as the feast of the Rosary in 1571. That same day, the Christian army gained a miraculous victory in the battle of Lepanto. St. Pius V attributed the victory to Mary after asking Christians to pray the rosary invoking our Lady for victory.
Later, Pope Leo XIII popularized the rosary during his papacy and wrote eleven encyclicals about it. And then finally, in Oct. 2002, Pope St. John Paul II added the Luminous mystery, which focused on the public ministries of Christ.
Many saints held special devotions to the rosary and to the Blessed Mother:
Saint John Paul II – The rosary was his favorite prayer. Having lost his own mother, Mary filled that missing role in his life. In 1981, when a would-be assassin shot him, it was through the Blessed Mother’s intercession that his life was spared.
Saint Padre Pio – A vision of Jesus and Mary encouraged him to join the Franciscan when he was 15 years old. It is said he prayed the rosary 35 times a day—all 15 decades. St. Padre Pio called the rosary a powerful spiritual “weapon” against which no evil could prevail.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe – Through his World War II imprisonment, St. Kolbe never denounced the rosary, and his belief in the power of the prayer is what strengthened him until his death. His devotion also led him to create the Militia of the Immaculata.
Saint Thérèse – Her feast day at the beginning of October starts off the month of the rosary. Despite her love of the Blessed Virgin, in her autobiography, “Story of a Soul,” St. Thérèse admitted that she struggled to meditate on and pray the rosary. But she realized that Our Lady was pleased with every effort we make to pray.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous – Though she knew the prayer already, her first rosary was given to her by Mary herself when our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes.
We are encouraged to pray to rosary as often as possible. It gives us an opportunity to meditate on Christ’s life more deeply. Our Lady has also offered special graces and protection to those who pray the rosary. Let us imitate the saints in their devotion this month!