Rosaries

The Rosary is the main form of developing and refining the art of conversation with God. Many saints prayed the Rosary and found it an effective means of renewing their way of close union with the Lord. The Rosary is divided into a twofold movement: the first part in which the praise and joy of the Incarnation are lived in the repetition of the Angel’s greeting to Mary and which culminates in enunciating the Holy Name of Jesus, followed by the invocation of the second part. The two essential themes of Christian prayer – praise and salvation – are therefore present, and at the center is the Name of Jesus, the one name in which there is salvation.

The Rosary is a prayer that is precious by virtue of it simplicity. It is not always possible to use a prayer that is nourished by the reading of Scripture, whereas it is easy everywhere and in every situation to recite the Rosary, even if only part of it, one decade or one mystery. It is a prayer that brings peace and predisposes us to the inner unification of our whole being-body, mind and spirit through the joyful praise of the Mother and of the Holy Name of Jesus.

With the Rosary, therefore we pray to the Mother of the Lord and ask her to pray for us: “ora pro nobis”, pray for us, for us all. And through this formula it is possible to meditate on the great mystery of salvation brought about in Jesus Christ, from the Incarnation to the merciful and glorious coming. In this way in the Rosary meditation, prayer and contemplation are interwoven around the Holy Name of Jesus. This is precisely why it can be a prayer of ordinary people and of intellectuals, of the elderly and of children, a prayer of all who have a longing for continuous prayer and know that they are poor sinners.