Rosary of Our Lady

7^th. October

The Rosary

Benedict XVI

Together we confirm that the holy rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the rosary is experiencing a new springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary.

In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said.

When reciting the rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow, and glory.

May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can "water" society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God.

The rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each "Hail Mary."

POPE BENEDICT XVI

His Holiness Benedict XVI was elected

to the See of Saint Peter in 2005.

Our Lady of the Rosary

http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/ourLadyRosary.html

There are two basic types of Our Lady of the Rosary image. In the older type, from the 16th through the 18th centuries, the Virgin Mary gives the Rosary to St. Dominic alone or to him and other saints, as at left.

The second type is the one that prevails today. The Virgin Mary stands alone or with the Christ Child and holds a rosary in her hand. There is very little consistency in images of this style, beyond the fact that the Virgin usually holds a rosary and wears blue and white.

By the 18th century (the time of the painting shown) the Rosary had evolved into the shape it retained until the 21st century: 15 sets of ten recitations of the "Hail Mary" prayer, each set preceded by the "Our Father" (the "Lord's Prayer") and followed by the "Glory Be."

Since the 15th century the 15 sets have been associated with 15 events from the stories of Mary and Jesus. Moving clockwise in the painting and starting with the roundel above the head of the putto on the right, the 15 sets are as follows:

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Later COMMENT:
"Is it worth mentioning Fr Donald that the late Pope our beloved John Paul II introduced the Mysteries of Light. I just wondered if at any time, are they going to be added to a new Rosary with 20 Mysteries.

Thanks for the meditation

B. . . "

To fill out the picture, here a CB Booklet Illustration of "The Holy Rosary"

John Paul II has added the 5 Mysteries of Light to the Rosary of Our Lady.

"· .. Announcing each mystery, and perhaps even using a sui­table icon to portray it, is as if it were to open up a scenario on which to focus our attention. The words direct the imagination and the mind towards a particular episode or moment in the life of Christ ...". JnP II.