The Holy Rosary
October Monthly Devotion
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Image take from Passionistnuns.orgThe month of October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. Primarily, the Catholic Church picked October for this dedication, because October 7 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth.” ~ St. John Paul IIThe Rosary is a scripturally based prayer which helps us to contemplate the events of the Gospels while reciting the Hail Mary. The repetition of the prayers allows for an interior silence that assists us in meditating on the mysteries and connecting them with Christ.
The Rosary is broken into 4 groups called mysteries each consisting of 5 events called decades pulled from Scripture thanks to Bl. Alan de la Roch:
Joyful Mysteries (events during Jesus' childhood)
Luminous Mysteries (a deeper look at Jesus' public life)
Sorrowful Mysteries (recall Jesus suffering and death for us out of his great love)
Glorious Mysteries (events after Jesus' death)
To learn how to pray the Rosary, visit Hallow's website or follow along with Sr. Maris Stella on YouTube
Tradition tells us that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic around 1200AD as an aid to the conflicts with the Albingensians. From there many popes and the Dominican order have promoted the devotion to the Blessed Mother through this prayer. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted on October 7 to remember the victory over the Turks at Lepanto in 1571 which was attributed to the praying of the Rosary; this victory stopped the spread of Islam into Europe.
You can find more details about the history of the Rosary on the University of Dayton's International Marian Research Institute's website by clicking here.Celebrating the month:
Pray a rosary (or a decade) each day of October
Pray it for someone else’s intentions and send them a card
Meditate on the fruits of each mystery and how it relates to your intention
Learn about approved Marian apparitions
Kid version: make a rosary out of food (marshmallows and pretzels, m&ms and twizzlers, etc), eat the “bead” as you say that prayer
Praying the Rosary as a family is hard and can be very daunting. Watch this video with Kendra Tierney on Formed.org or pray along with Many Hail Marys everyday at 7:45EST for encouragement and support.