When I was a young boy, we would pray the Rosary as a family after dinner during the seasons of Lent and Advent. Although as a kid, I often dreaded the family Rosary and found it to be very boring, it nevertheless set a foundation for my spiritual connection with Mary.
While I often found the Rosary tedious as a boy, there was one thing that always caught my attention. When we prayed the Rosary, my mother would always close her eyes during the recitation of the Rosary. She would furrow her brows, and I could see that she was thinking very deeply about something. I remember one day asking her why she closed her eyes and what she was thinking about. She said that she was meditating on each of the mysteries of the Rosary.
Up to that moment, I did not know that the Rosary consisted of more than just the words of the Hail Mary, but she explained that the Rosary was more than just the recitation of words. She said that the power of the Rosary was the meditation on the mysteries that were announced at the beginning of each decade. From that moment, I learned that the beauty of the Rosary consists – not just in the words – but in the meditation surrounding the life of Jesus and his Mother. John Paul II in his encyclical letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” said that when we pray the Rosary, we contemplate the face of Christ along with Mary. He further said that the Rosary without meditation is like a body without a soul.
The power of the Rosary comes from the meditation on the mysteries. I believe that many people think that the Rosary is boring because they have not yet discovered how to contemplate the mysteries. If the Rosary is only a vocal prayer, we will tire of it very quickly, but if we discover the deeper contemplation of the 20 distinct mysteries, we discover that the Rosary is a compendium of the bible. It is a meditation on the heart of the Gospel and reflects the central moments of our salvation in Christ.
While the contemplation on the mysteries is the real heart of the Rosary, we should not dismiss the value of the words. St. Teresa of Jesus says that no matter how advanced we are in the spiritual life, we will always have a need for simple vocal prayer – like the simple recitation of a “Hail Mary” and an “Our Father.” The Rosary combines both the simple prayer of a child and the sophisticated contemplation of the mystic. I like to think of the words of the Rosary as if they were beautiful music playing in the background. This music sets the tone for a deep and meaningful conversation with a friend.
Perhaps you have had the experience of a profound and touching conversation with a friend while listening to beautiful music playing in the background. Although the music is not the central reality of the conversation, it adds to the ambiance and encourages an intimate mood for sharing. The words of the Rosary are the same. They are like beautiful music playing in the background while we are conversing with Mary and Jesus about the mysteries of our faith. The words and the mystical contemplation together form a beautiful prayer: sophisticated enough for mystics and simple enough for children.
If you have not yet discovered the power of the Rosary, perhaps today can be a new beginning. Go to your local Catholic bookstore or do an internet search for a guide to praying the Rosary. With a good guide, you can learn all the 20 mysteries and make the Rosary a beautiful combination of simple vocal prayer and advanced meditation.
Father David Kime is the dean of the LaPorte/Starke Deanery in the Diocese of Gary. He also serves as pastor of Queen of All Saints in Michigan City.
