THE FAMILY ROSARY
A POWERFUL TRADITION –
A POWERFUL PRO-LIFE WEAPON
by Father Jim Whalen Catholic Life and Family, Spring 2003
Through the ages of the Church the Holy Rosary has been the Marian prayer most recommended. It is a summary of the principal truths of the Christian faith. Our Lady teaches us to contemplate the life of her Son. Mary always instructs us about Jesus: the joy of His birth, of His death on the cross, and of His glorious resurrection and ascension. Pope Paul VI writes that it is our Mother’s favourite prayer: “It is a continuous act of faith, hope and love, of adoration and reparation” (Marialis Cultus). The Church has consistently recommended praying the Rosary: “It is one of the best and most efficacious prayers in common that the Christian family can recite” (Marialis Cultus). In many instances, it is a concrete aim of Christian life for many families. The family Rosary is a source of good for everyone for it invites God’s mercy to the home.
Pope John Paul II said, “The Angelus and the Rosary must be for every Christian and even more for Christian families, like a spiritual oasis during the course of the day, from which we can get strength and confidence: (Angelus, Oct. 5, 1980). He challenges us to be faithful to the traditional exercises of Marian piety in the Church: saying the Rosary, etc. Little by little our life identifies with Christ’s life and enables us to live in a climate of intense devotion: we rejoice with Christ joyful; we suffer with Christ suffering’ and look forward in hope to the glory of Christ risen. The Rosary is a pathway to grow in holiness, an excellent means of meditative prayer, and a powerful pro-life weapon of defence.
In the Apostolic Letter of the Supreme Pontiff to the bishops, clergy and faithful, on The Most Holy Rosary, Pope John Paul II proclaimed the year from October 2002 to October 2003 as the ‘Year of the Rosary’. He admits that the Rosary is his favourite prayer, a marvelous prayer, marvelous in its simplicity and its depth… The Rosary, reclaimed in its full meaning, goes to the very heart of Christian life; it offers a familiar yet fruitful, spiritual and educational opportunity for personal contemplation, the formation of the People of God, and the new evangelization (The Most Holy Rosary, Oct. 16, 2002, #2). Pope John Paul II entrusts to the power of the Rosary, the cause of peace in the world and the cause of the family. He tells us that by focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary makes us peacemakers in the world. He sees the Holy Rosary, an age-old tradition as particularly effective as a prayer, which brings the family together, recreating the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth. Jesus is in this way the centre of the home, with whom they share their joys and sorrows, placing their needs and their plans in His hands, drawing hope and strength from Him to persevere in a life of grace.
In order to revitalize and instil new interest in praying the Rosary, Pope John Paul II has introduced the Mysteries of Light, five significant moments in the public life of Jesus:
Christ’s Baptism in the Jordan.
Christ’s self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana.
Christ’s proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion.
Christ’s Transfiguration.
Christ’s institution of the Holy Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery.
The Rosary helps us to be conformed more closely to Christ until we attain true holiness. As we reflect on the Joyful, Mysteries of light, Sorrowful, and Glorious, Christ is revealed as the Lord of time and of history, as the King of our hearts and our homes. Our Holy Father calls us to return to the age-old Catholic tradition of the daily family Rosary.