Why Catholics Pray the Rosary

Adapted from More Grace

“Why do you pray the Rosary?  Why do you repeat the Hail Mary over and over again?  Doesn’t it get boring?”  These are common questions to the Catholic practice of praying the Rosary- probably the most popular and powerful Catholic prayer after the Mass.  To non-Catholics (and even many Catholics), the Rosary seems tedious, confusing, and foreign.  But in the Rosary lays the history of our faith, because in the Rosary we find the most important moments and mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary of Nazareth- the two greatest people who ever lived.

When we pray the Rosary, we step into history.  We know for a fact that Jesus and Mary of Nazareth are historical figures.  The New Testament and two millennia of Church Tradition attest to the reality of the life, preaching, death and Resurrection of Jesus, who was born to the humble Mary in first-century Palestine.  In fact, there is far more evidence for the existence of Jesus than for the existence of Julius Caesar.  Surprised?  Think about it- Caesar is dead, and there are not countless buildings around the world that bear his symbol and continue his mission, and there is no one who prays to Caesar.  Jesus Christ is the Lord of history, and through the Rosary we step into His earthly life.  When we pray the Rosary, we ponder over the most important events in the lives of the two only sinless- and the most important- two people in human history:  Jesus and Mary.

Where did the Rosary come from?  Wasn’t it just “made up” by the Catholic Church?  Good question.  The Rosary is deeply rooted in Catholic Tradition.  A popular tradition is that St. Dominic- the great founder of the Order of Preachers, or the Dominicans- had a vision of Mary in which he was given the Rosary.  The Dominicans still today have a special devotion to Our Lady.

More likely, the Rosary developed during the Middle Ages.  Prayer beads have been used since ancient times (an example of how Christianity takes what is good and beautiful in other cultures, and assumes them into the fullness of Christian truth), and prayer beads were often used by the faithful to pray during the Latin Mass of the Middle Ages.  Over time, between the 12th and 15th centuries, the Rosary was developed into a 50-Hail Mary prayer in which the faithful think about important moments in the lives of Jesus and Mary.  The Rosary was not just “made up” by the Church:  it was given to us over time by God.  Just as our understanding of Theology took time to develop, so our understanding of the Rosary took time to develop.

In the Rosary are four sets of “mysteries” of the lives of Jesus and Mary.  When we say the prayers, we meditate on these mysteries.  In the sorrowful mysteries, we think about the most tragic events in Jesus’ life:  His agony in Gethsemane on Holy Thursday; His torture and suffering during His Passion on Good Friday; and finally His death upon the Cross.  In the joyful mysteries, we dwell upon the happier moments:  the Annunciation to Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah, and her visit to Elizabeth her cousin; the birth of Christ in Bethlehem; and Jesus’ Presentation as a baby in the Temple and later His presence there as a young boy.

In the glorious mysteries, we think about some of the most theologically important events in the lives of Jesus and Mary.  Jesus’ rising from the dead on Easter and His Ascension into heaven; the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and the Assumption and Coronation of Mary as Queen.  Finally, in the luminous mysteries (my personal favorite set of mysteries), which were given to us by Pope St. John Paul II, we think about some of the best moments from Jesus’ ministry:  His baptism, the wedding feast at Cana, the Sermon on the Mount, the Transfiguration and of course, the Last Supper and the Eucharist.
Each mystery provides a unique insight into the lives of Jesus and Mary, and each has its own message for each of us.  When we are suffering, we can pray with the suffering Christ in Gethsemane, praying the sorrowful mysteries.  Or perhaps if we’re suffering, we can find hope and solace in the glorious mysteries, knowing that despite our present trials, the Resurrection of Easter Sunday will come, and like Jesus and Mary we will live in the heavenly kingdom forever.  When we just want to think about some of the most interesting moments in Jesus’ ministry, we can dwell upon the luminous mysteries and the lessons they teach us.

History has attested to the power of the Rosary.  In 1858, Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, where she revealed the healing Lourdes spring and prayed the Rosary with the young Bernadette.  In 1917, Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal, asking the children to pray the Rosary for the end of the First World War and that humanity would return to God.  Mary specifically asked that humanity pray the Rosary for peace.  The twentieth century, as we know, was the most violent in human history- how many wars and conflicts can be avoided by the sincere prayers of people to God!  In my last article, I wrote about the power of Mary’s intercession to God.  As Queen, Mary has a special role in interceding on our behalf.  Praying the Rosary only taps into more of the graces that we can receive from God through Mary.  Our Orthodox brothers and sisters call Mary Theotokos, which means “God-bearer.”  She who bore God in her womb has asked us to pray the Rosary- therefore there can be no harm in doing so!

During the sixteenth century, the popularity of the Rosary skyrocketed with the victory of Christian Europe against the Muslim Turkish fleet.  In 1453, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the capital of the Byzantine Empire (the remnants of the Eastern Roman Empire), fell to Muslim forces.  The capitol of the Eastern Christian world was now out of Christian hands.  During the 1500’s, Christian Europe was in danger of invasion from the Turkish forces, prompting Pope Pius V to “bring out the big guns.”  On October 7, 1571, an outnumbered European navy faced a massive Turkish fleet in the Battle of Lepanto.  Pope Pius requested that all of the faithful pray the Rosary for the intention of a Christian victory.  Despite being outnumbered, the Christians had a smashing victory, leading to the preservation of Christendom and the establishment of the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7.  There was no doubt that the intercession of Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, had a defining role in the Christian victory of Lepanto.

A saint of our times, Pope St. John Paul II (the Great), was a saint primarily because he was a man of deep prayer.  He had a deep devotion to Mary and the Rosary, and indeed attributed his life being spared in an assassination attempt to the help of Our Lady.  As Pope, he was obviously a very busy man.  It’s been said that in between his frequent meetings, he would pray an entire Rosary.  Walking from one room to another, he would take his Rosary out of his pocket and pray.  Even just a decade or two can work wonders in our life.  Personally, I find that I’m more at peace when I pray the Rosary daily.  Daily Eucharist is the most important part of our spiritual life- followed very closely, I would argue, by daily Rosary.

Some critics will say, “but why repeat the Hail Mary over and over again?  Why would Mary want to hear this constantly?”  Well, who doesn’t like to be told, “I love you,” frequently and genuinely?  All humans are created by Love and are created to love.  When we pray the Hail Mary repeatedly- with genuine love and devotion, meditating upon the words and what they mean- we are telling our Mother that we love her, over and over again.  She is pleased to hear these words- she wants to hear them!  Our mothers on earth love to be told that we love them; it fills them with a joy that only they can truly understand.  How much more does Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church, love being told by her children that we love her.  Sometimes, prayer can be hard.  We often don’t know what to say, or perhaps don’t have anything to say.  The Rosary gives us something to say.  Like a married couple after a long, tiring day with kids who, in their exhaustion, can only say “I love you,” sometimes all we can say to Jesus and Mary is simply, “I love you.”  We do this when we pray the Hail Mary, and all the more when we pray the Rosary.  In doing so, we bring phenomenal peace to our lives, our families, our Church, and to the world.