The Holy Rosary
"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. “
Sister Lucia dos Santos
How to Pray the Rosary
1. While holding the crucifix in your right hand, announce and make the Sign of the Cross and then
recite the Apostles Creed.
2. Recite the Our Father on the first single bead.
3. Recite a Hail Mary for an increase of faith, hope and charity on each of the three grouped beads.
4. Recite the Glory Be on the next single bead.
5. Announce the first Rosary mystery and recite the Our Father on the same single bead.
6. On the adjacent ten beads (also referred to as a decade) recite a Hail Mary for each while
reflecting on the mystery.
7. Once complete, recite the Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer.
8. Each succeeding decade is prayed in a similar manner by recalling the relevant mystery, reciting
the Our Father, ten Hail Marys while reflecting on the mystery, the Glory Be, and the Fatima
prayer.
9. Once the fifth mystery is completed, the Rosary is concluded with the Hail Holy Queen, the Final
Prayer, Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel and the Sign of the Cross.
10. Asking for an Angel’s and/or Saint’s intercession can be recited also.
Consisting Prayers of the Holy Rosary
The Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Apostles' Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus
Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the
third day He arose again; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father
Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the
body, and life everlasting. Amen
The Our Father: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The Hail Mary: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at
the hour of our death. Amen
Glory Be: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is
now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Fatima Prayer: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls
to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your Mercy". (Our Lady at Fatima, 13th July 1917)
The Hail, Holy Queen: Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To
thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and
weeping in this valley, of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O
sweet Virgin Mary.
Final Prayer: Let Us Pray. O God whose only begotten Son by His Life has purchased for us the
rewards of eternal life, Grant that we beseech Thee while meditating upon these mysteries of the
Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain
what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord Amen.
Saint Michael Prayer: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard
against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Blessing of the Holy Rosary










Sinners are forgiven.
Souls that thirst are refreshed.
Those who are fettered have their bonds broken.
Those who weep find happiness
Those who are tempted find peace.
The poor find help.
Religious are reformed.
Those who are ignorant are instructed.
The living learn to overcome pride.
The dead (the Holy Souls) have their pains eased by suffrages.
Benefits of the Holy Rosary







It gradually gives us a perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ.
It purifies our souls, washing away sin.
It gives us victory over all our enemies.
It makes it easy for us to practice virtue.
It sets us on fire with love of Our Lord.
It enriches us with graces and merits.
It supplies us with what is needed to pay all our debts to God and to our fellow men; and finally,
it obtains all kinds of graces for us from Almighty God.
Promises of the Holy Rosary
(Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful
graces.
I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the
Rosary.
The Rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and
defeat heresies.
It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of
God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will
lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this
means.
The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying Himself to the consideration of its Sacred
Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise Him in His justice, he
shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God, and
become worthy of eternal life.
Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the
Church.
Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the
light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in
the merits of the Saints in Paradise.
I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for
intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death
All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus
Christ.
Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
The Joyful Mysteries
Prayed on Monday and Thursday and on the Sundays from Advent until Lent
First Joyful Mystery - The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary
The angel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce that she had been chosen by
God to bear His Son. The virtue most commonly associated with this mystery is humility.
Meditation
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). With those
words—her fiat—the Virgin Mary placed her trust in God. She was only 13 or 14; betrothed, but not
yet married; and God was asking her to become the Mother of His Son. How easy it would have been
to say no, or at least to ask God to choose someone else! Mary had to have known what others
would think, how people would look at her; for most people pride would prevent them from
accepting God's Will.
But not Mary. In humility, she knew that her entire life depended on God; how could she turn down
even this most remarkable of requests? From a young age, her parents had dedicated her to the
service of the Lord; now, this humble servant would devote her entire life to the Son of God.
Yet the Annunciation is not only about the humility of the Virgin Mary. In this moment, the Son of
God "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit
found as a man. He humbled himself…" (Philippians 2:7-8). If Mary's humility was remarkable, how
much more so that of Christ! The Lord of the Universe has become one of His own creatures, a man
like us in everything but sin, but even more humble than the best of us, because the Author of Life,
in the very moment of His Annunciation, became "obedient unto death, even to the death of the
cross" (Philippians 2:8)
How, then, can we refuse God anything He asks of us? How can we let our pride stand in the way? If
Mary can give up all worldly reputation to bear His Son, and His Son can empty Himself and, though
sinless, die the death of sin on our behalf, how can we refuse to take up our cross and follow Him?
Second Joyful Mystery - The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Our Lord is in his Mother’s womb. He journeys with His Mother to Her Cousin Elizabeth’s house. The
virtue most commonly associated with this mystery is love of neighbour.
Meditation
"And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43). Mary has just
received life-changing news, news that no other woman will ever receive: She is to be the Mother of
God. Yet in announcing this to her, the angel Gabriel also revealed that Mary's cousin Elizabeth is six
months' pregnant. Mary does not hesitate, does not worry about her own situation; her cousin
needs her. Childless until now, Elizabeth is beyond the normal childbearing years; she has even hid
herself from the eyes of others because her pregnancy is so unexpected.
As the body of our Lord is growing in her own womb, Mary spends three months caring for Elizabeth,
leaving only shortly before the birth of Saint John the Baptist. She shows us what true love of
neighbour means: placing the needs of others above our own, devoting ourselves to our neighbour
in his or her hour of need. There will be plenty of time to think of herself and her Child later; for
now, Mary's thoughts lie only with her cousin, and with the child who will become the Forerunner of
Christ. Truly, as Mary responds to her cousin's greeting in the canticle we call the Magnificat, her
soul does "magnify the Lord," not least through her love of neighbour.
Third Joyful Mystery - The Nativity of Our Lord
The Birth of God in total poverty amongst the animals attending the fields. The fruit most commonly
associated with this mystery is poverty of spirit, the first of the eight Beatitudes.
Meditation
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). God has humbled Himself to
become man and the Mother of God gives birth in a stable. The Creator of the Universe and the
Saviour of the World spends His first night in that world lying in a feed trough, surrounded by
animals, and their food, and their waste.
When we think of that holy night, we tend either to idealize it—to imagine it as neat and tidy as the
Nativity scenes on our mantels on Christmas Eve—or we think of the physical poverty that Jesus and
Mary and Joseph endured. But the physical poverty is merely the outward sign of the inward grace in
the souls of the Holy Family. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"
(Matthew 5:3). On this night, Heaven and earth have met in a stable, but also in the souls of the Holy
Family.
The Beatitudes are expressions of the New Covenant, where happiness is assured already in this life,
provided a person totally gives himself to the imitation of Christ." Mary has done so, and so has
Joseph; and Christ, of course, is Christ. Here among the sights and sounds and stench of the stable,
their souls are one in perfect happiness, because they are poor in spirit.
Fourth Joyful Mystery - The Presentation in the Temple
The Ever-Virgin Mary took her Son to the Temple to present him. Simeon prophesized that a sword
would pierce Her Heart as well as Her Son’s. The fruit most commonly associated with this mystery is
purity and obedience.
Meditation
"And after the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they
carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord" (Luke 2:22). Mary had conceived the Son of
God as a virgin; she gave birth to the Savior of the World, and her virginity remained intact; through
her piety and that of Saint Joseph, she would remain a virgin for her entire life. So what does it mean
to refer to the "days of her purification"?
Under the Old Law, a woman remained impure for 40 days after the birth of a child. But Mary was
not subject to the Law, because of the special circumstances of Christ's Birth. Yet she obeyed it
anyway. And in doing so, she showed that a ritual concerned with the purification of the body was
really a symbol of the purity of soul of the true believer.
Mary and Joseph offered a sacrifice, in accordance with the Law: "a pair of turtledoves, or two young
pigeons" (Luke 2:24), to redeem the Son of God, Who needed no redemption. "The Law is made for
man, not man for the Law," Christ Himself would later say, yet here is the Holy Family fulfilling the
Law even though it does not apply to them.
How often do we think that we don't need all the regulations and rituals of the Church! "Why do I
have to go to Confession? God knows I'm sorry for my sins"; "Fasting and abstinence are manmade
laws"; "If I miss Mass one Sunday, God will understand." Yet here are the Son of God and His
Mother, both purer than any of us will ever be, abiding by the Law that Christ Himself came not to
abolish but fulfil. Their obedience to the Law was not lessened by their purity of soul but made all
the greater. Might we not learn from their example?
Fifth Joyful Mystery - The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple
The Christ Child was found in the Temple among the doctors and Jewish scribes. The virtue most
commonly associated with this mystery is fidelity to one’s duties.
Meditation
"Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?" (Luke 2:49). To begin to understand the
joy that Mary and Joseph felt on finding Jesus in the Temple, we must first imagine their distress
when they realized He was not with them. For 12 years, they had been always at His side, their lives
dedicated to Him in obedience to the Will of God. Yet now—what had they done? Where was the
Child, this most precious Gift of God? How could they ever endure it if something had happened to
Him?
But here He is, "sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions" (Luke
2:46). "And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have
sought thee sorrowing" (Luke 2:48). And then those wondrous words emerge from His lips, "Did you
not know that I must be about my father's business?"
He has always been obedient to Mary and Joseph, and through them to God the Father, but now His
obedience to God is even more direct. He will, of course, continue to obey His mother and His foster
father, but today marks a turning point, a foreshadowing of His public ministry and even of His death
on the Cross.
We are not called as Christ was, but we are called to follow Him, to take up our own crosses in
imitation of Him and in obedience to God the Father. Like Christ, we must be about the Father's
business in our own lives—at every moment of every day.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
Prayed on Tuesday and Friday and on the Sundays in Lent
First Sorrowful Mystery - The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden
Christ having celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples on Holy Thursday, goes to the Garden of
Gethsemane to pray and to prepare for His Sacrifice on Good Friday. The virtue most commonly
associated with this mystery is sorrow for sin.
Meditation
"My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt" (Matthew 26:39). Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, kneels
before His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knows what is coming—the pain, both physical
and spiritual, that He will suffer over the next several hours. And He knows that it is all necessary,
that it has been necessary ever since Adam followed Eve down the path of temptation. "For God so
loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish,
but may have life everlasting" (John 3:16).
And yet He is truly Man, as well as truly God. He does not desire His own death, not because His
Divine Will is not the same as His Father's, but because His human will desire to preserve life, as all
men do. But in these moments in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Christ prays so intensely that His
sweat is like drops of blood, His human will, and His Divine Will are in perfect harmony.
Seeing Christ in this way, our own lives come into focus. By uniting ourselves to Christ through faith
and the sacraments, by placing ourselves inside His Body the Church, we too can accept God's Will.
"Not as I will, but as thou wilt": Those words of Christ must become our words, too.
Second Sorrowful Mystery – Our Lord is Scourged at the Pillar
Pilate orders our Lord to be whipped in preparation for His Crucifixion. The spiritual fruit most
commonly associated with this mystery is mortification of the senses.
Meditation
"Then therefore, Pilate took Jesus and scourged him" (John 19:1). Forty lashes, it was commonly
believed, were all that a man could stand before his body would give out; and so 39 lashes was the
gravest punishment that could be imposed, short of death. But the Man standing at this pillar, arms
embracing His Destiny, hands bound on the other side, is no ordinary man. As the Son of God, Christ
suffers each blow not less than another man would, but more, because each stinging lash is
accompanied by the memory of the sins of mankind, which led to this moment.
How Christ's Sacred Heart aches as He sees your sins and mine, flashing like the glint of the rising sun
off the metal ends of the cat o' nine tails. The pains in His Flesh, as intense as they are, pale in
comparison with the pain in His Sacred Heart.
Christ stands prepared to die for us, to suffer the agony of the Cross, yet we continue to sin out of
love of our own flesh. Gluttony, lust, sloth: These deadly sins arise from the flesh, but they take hold
only when our souls give in to them. But we can mortify our senses and tame our flesh if we keep
Christ's Scourging at the Pillar before our eyes, as our sins are before His at this moment.
Third Sorrowful Mystery – Our Lord is Crowned with Thorns
Pilate, having reluctantly decided to proceed with Christ's Crucifixion, allows his men to humiliate
Our Lord. The virtue most commonly associated with this mystery is love of humiliations.
Meditation
"And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing
the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: Hail, king of the Jews" (Matthew 27:29).
Pilate's men think this is a great sport: This Jew has been turned over to the Roman authorities by
His own people; His disciples have fled; He will not even speak in His own defence. Betrayed,
unloved, unwilling to fight back, Christ makes the perfect target for men who wish to work out the
frustrations of their own lives.
They dressed Him in purple robes, place a reed in His hand as if it were a sceptre, and drive deep
into His head a crown of thorns. As the Sacred Blood mingles with the dirt and sweat on Christ's face,
they spit in His eyes and strike His cheeks, all the while pretending to offer Him homage.
The regalia with which the centurions adorn Christ represents the honours of this world, which pale
before the glories of the next. Christ's Lordship is not based on the robes and sceptres and crowns of
this world, but on His acceptance of His Father's Will. The honours of this world mean nothing; the
love of God is all.
Fourth Sorrowful Mystery – Our Lord Carries the Cross to Calvary
Jesus carries the Cross of Redemption at Calvary for our sins. The virtue most commonly associated
with this mystery is bearing of trials.
Meditation
"But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me" (Luke 23:28).
His sacred feet shuffle through the dust and stone of the streets of Jerusalem, His body bowed under
the weight of the Cross, while Christ walks the longest walk ever made by man. At the end of that
walk stands Mount Calvary, Golgotha, the place of skulls, where, tradition says, Adam lies buried.
The first man's sin, which brought death into the world, draws the New Man to His Death, which will
bring life to the world.
The women of Jerusalem weep for Him because they do not know how the story will end. But Christ
knows, and He urges them not to weep. There will be tears enough to cry in the future, when the
final days of the earth approach, for when the Son of Man returns,
"shall he find, think you, faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). Christ knows what awaits Him, yet He moves
ever forward. This is the walk He was preparing for 33 years earlier when the Blessed Virgin held His
tiny hands and He took His first steps. His entire life has been marked by the patient acceptance of
His Father's Will, the slow but steady climb toward Jerusalem, toward Calvary, toward the death that
brings us life.
And as He passes before us here on the streets of Jerusalem, we see how patiently He bears His
Cross, so much heavier than ours because it bears the sins of the entire world, and we wonder at our
own impatience, at how quickly we set aside our own cross each time we fall.
"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew
16:24). In patience, let us heed His words.
Fifth Sorrowful Mystery - The Crucifixion of Our Lord
Jesus is condemned to die on a Cross, which He did for humanity to reconcile us to His Father. The
virtue most commonly associated with this mystery is forgiveness of injuries.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). The Way of the Cross is at an
end. Christ, the King of the Universe and the Saviour of the world, hangs bruised and bloodied upon
the Cross. But the indignities that He has suffered since His betrayal at the hands of Judas are not yet
at an end. Even now, as His Sacred Blood works the salvation of the world, the crowd taunts Him in
His agony (Matthew 27:39-43): “And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging their heads, And
saying: Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days dost rebuild it: save thy own
self: if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests, with
the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of
Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him
now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God."
He is dying for their sins, and for ours, and yet they—and we—cannot see it. Their eyes are blinded
by hatred; ours, by the attractions of the world. Their gaze is fixed on the Lover of Mankind, but they
cannot get past the dirt and the sweat and the blood that stains His body. They have something of
an excuse: They do not know how the story will end.
Our gaze, however, too often wanders away from the Cross, and we have no excuse. We know what
He has done, and that He has done it for us. We know that His Death has brought us new life, if only
we unite ourselves to Christ on the Cross. And yet, day after day, we turn away.
And still, He looks down from the Cross, on them and on us, not in anger but in compassion: "Father,
forgive them." Were sweeter words ever spoken? If He can forgive them, and us, for what we have
done, how can we ever withhold forgiveness from those who have done us wrong?
The Glorious Mysteries
Prayed on Wednesday and Saturday and on the Sundays from Easter until Advent
First Glorious Mystery – The Resurrection of Our Lord
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day to reveal He is the Messiah, the Lord who redeems. The
fruit most commonly associated with this mystery are the theological virtues of faith and hope.
Meditation
"Why seek you the living with the dead? He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). With those words,
the angels greeted the women who had come to Christ's tomb with spices and ointments, to care for
His body. They had found the stone rolled back, and the tomb empty, and they did not know what to
make of it.
But now the angels continue: "Remember how he spoke unto you, when he was in Galilee, Saying:
The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day
rise again" (Luke 24:6-7). And Saint Luke simply says, "And they remembered his words."
Unless Christ rose from the dead, Saint Paul tells us, our faith is in vain. But He did rise from the
dead, and faith—the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen—is not vain, but
a virtue. We know that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross accomplished our salvation, not because we
know that He died, but because we know that He lives. And in living, He brings new life to all who
have faith in Him.
Second Glorious Mystery – The Ascension of Our Lord
Forty days after His Resurrection, Christ ascended to return to His Heavenly Father. The virtue most
commonly associated with this mystery is the desire for heaven.
Meditation
"Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Just as the angels
announced Christ's Resurrection by reminding the faithful women of His words, so now they remind
the Apostles, standing on Mount Olivet, looking up into the clouds into which Jesus had ascended,
that He had promised to come again.
"Art thou the Christ the Son of the blessed God?" the high priest had asked (Mark 14:61). And Christ
had answered, "I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of
God, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62). His answer had enraged the high priest and
the Sanhedrin, and gave them a reason to put Him to death.
For those who believe in Christ, though, the answer brings not rage, nor fear, but hope. In ascending
to Heaven, Christ has left us for a little while, though He has not left us alone, but in the loving
embrace of His Church. Christ has gone before us to prepare the way, and when He returns, if we
have been faithful to Him, our reward will be great in Heaven.
Third Glorious Mystery – The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Taking place ten days after the Ascension, The Blessed Mother was with the Apostles, praying in the
Cenacle, for Her Son to send His Spirit into the hearts of them. The fruit most commonly associated
with this mystery are The Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Meditation
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat
upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
After the Ascension, the Apostles had gathered with the Mother of God in the upper room. For nine
days they had prayed, and now their prayers are being answered. The Holy Spirit, like a mighty wind,
like tongues of fire, has come upon them, and just as at the Annunciation, when the Spirit of the
Most High overshadowed Mary, our world is forever changed.
Christ had promised not to leave them—us—alone. He would send His Spirit, "the Spirit of truth," to
"teach you all truth" (John 16:13). Here in this upper room, the Church is born, baptized in the Spirit
and endowed with the truth. And that Church becomes for us not only Mother and Teacher, the
certain measure of truth, but the conduit of the Spirit. Through Her, through the Sacraments of
Baptism and Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descends upon us
as He did upon them, through the Church that He gave birth to on that day.
Fourth Glorious Mystery – The Assumption of Mary
When at the end of her earthly life, the Mother of God was received, body and soul, into Heaven,
where choirs of angels sing Her praises. The fruit most commonly associated with this mystery is the
grace of a happy death.
Meditation
"And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her
feet…" (Revelation 12:1). This holy vessel, this Ark of the Covenant, she whom all generations will call
blessed because of the great things God has done for her, has completed her life on earth. Mary
wants nothing more than to be once again with her Son, and she expects nothing more than to leave
this life behind. How could God honour her more than He already has by choosing her to be the
Mother of God?
And yet He has one final gift in this life for His most humble of servants. Mary's body shall not suffer
the corruption of death but shall become the first fruits of Christ's Resurrection. Her body, as well as
her soul, will be assumed into Heaven and be a symbol for us of the resurrection of the body.
Every Sunday at Mass, we recite those words in the Nicene Creed: "I look forward to the resurrection
of the dead and the life of the world to come." And in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we
get a glimpse of what they mean. Though we know that, at our death, our body will suffer decay, we
can still look forward with hope because we know that Mary's life in the world to come will one day
be ours as well, so long as we unite ourselves to her Son.
Fifth Glorious Mystery – The Coronation of Mary
The Blessed Virgin Mary is crowned Queen, for she is always victorious. She is crowned by Her Son as
His Mother, by the Holy Spirit as His Most Chaste Spouse, by God the Father as His Beloved
Daughter. The fruit most commonly associated with this mystery is final perseverance.
Meditation
"…and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Revelation 12:1). While the Assumption was God's final
gift to Mary in this life, He had another to bestow on her in the next. "The Almighty has done great
things to me"—and now He does one more. The humble servant of the Lord who became the
Mother of God is crowned the Queen of Heaven.
Twelve stars: one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel, whose entire history led to that moment, that
first Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, the Annunciation. When Mary submitted herself to the will of
God, she had no idea what He had in store for her—neither the heartaches and sorrows nor the
glory. At times, as she pondered all of these things in her heart, she must have wondered where it all
might lead. And perhaps she even wondered if she could bear the burden, and persevere to the end.
Yet her faith never wavered, and she did persevere. And now the crown is placed upon her head, a
symbol of the crown of sainthood that awaits each one of us, if only we follow her example, by
following her Son.