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Why the Rosary is Important

Prayer and The Rosary

The Rosary specifically is a form of devotion, which is one of many ways we can participate in a pious exercise to demonstrate reverence for a particular aspect of God, Jesus, or a saint. The Rosary is most commonly a devotional connected to Jesus and Our Lady, but certain centerpieces and crucifix options included in custom rosaries can provide that secondary devotional element to a saint. In addition to being a devotional exercise that focuses on Jesus and Mary, the Mysteries help focus our meditative prayer further. Originally, there were three Mysteries: 

• The Joyful Mysteries — The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, and Finding Jesus in the Temple.
• The Sorrowful Mysteries — The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying on the Cross, and The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord.
• The Glorious Mysteries — The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and The Coronation of the Virgin.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II added a fourth set of Mysteries, called The Luminous Mysteries. These include: 

• The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, The Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, The Transfiguration, and The Institution of the Eucharist.

When praying the Rosary, you can pray all 20 Mysteries, but that can be quite the undertaking — especially for those who are trying to make praying the Rosary a daily habit. Instead, there is a set of Mysteries associated with each day of the week, but you can also choose to focus on the set of Mysteries that makes the most sense for your spiritual needs when you settle in to pray. 

Why the Rosary is Important

You’re probably starting to get an idea of why the Rosary is important, but let’s break it down just a bit more. Praying the Rosary starts with the Apostle’s Creed, which is a good reminder of all the things that we believe as Catholics. Then, you’ll go into a series of Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes. These are prayers we all know forwards and backwards, but that doesn’t minimize their importance. Then, add in the Mysteries, and we are not only praying, but also meditating on Jesus’ life — the sorrowful, the joyous, and so on. This is our chance to grow closer to Him, to listen to His teachings, and to think on how we can bring those lessons into our everyday lives. Basically, praying the Rosary is a way to continuously grow our faith and to protect ourselves against the spiritual battles we face living in a secular world.

Source:Catholic Woodworker