Woohoo! First rosary post! Now, to clarify, these posts are actually mostly for me so that I can easily remember how I set up my own rosary when I pray. If you’d like to pray the way I do, that’s great! But you shouldn’t have to. Everyone prays differently, and the rosary is no exception to that. First, though, what is the rosary and why do we pray it? Well, it’s not a prayer of worship to Mary. In fact, it’s intensely focused on Christ and His life, viewed through the lens of Mary. As for those who might say that it’s vain repetition, the Rosary, when done well, should never be vain or empty. Rather, it should be intensely meditative and prayerful, focused completely on the events of the mystery in question and the graces that are being asked for. Instead of mindless babbling, the repetition of the prayers should gently lead us back to studying the life of Christ through the eyes and heart of His Blessed Mother, who was closer to Him than any other person.
The Rosary, according to tradition, was given to St. Dominic in 1214 A.D in a vision by Our Lady, and his followers, the Dominicans, spread the tradition around Christendom. In 1517, it is credited as being the reason that a tiny Christian fleet defeated the last great Islamic navy in the Battle of Lepanto. There is now a celebration of Mary as patroness of the battle, and she is called Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima told the three children who were receiving visions of her that she was “The Lady of the Rosary.” The rosary is often invoked as a shield of grace against Satan, and Pope Adrian VI famously “The Rosary is the scourge of the devil.” St. Padre Pio, who we all know is one of the patrons of Surrender the Brownies, also said that, “the Rosary is THE weapon.”
How do you pray the rosary? Let’s have some graphics. Readers love graphics.
And what are the prayers?
Got it so far? Ready for the fun stuff? Now, this will be the first in a series about the Rosary, one post per mystery. There are four mysteries of the rosary. These are-
The Joyful Mysteries (which include the first events of Christ’s life, from the annunciation to the presentation in the temple.)
The Luminous Mysteries (which deal with the events of Christ’s ministry, from the Baptism in the Jordan River, until the Last Supper.)
The Sorrowful Mysteries (which take on the story of the Passion and Death of Christ, from the Agony in the Garden until the Crucifixion.)
The Glorious Mysteries (which finish the story, from the Resurrection of Jesus until the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.)
And yeah, that’s it for now. Expect the first post soon! Till then, I leave you with another great quote from Sr. Lucia Santos, who saw Our Lady of Fatima when she was a child in 1917.
“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.” [Emphasis added]
Love to all!
-Tani
Surrender the Brownies 
