How to Pray the Rosary as a Pathway to Contemplation

How to Pray the Rosary

as a

Pathway to Contemplation

Kathryn Marcellino

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Kathryn Marcellino

www.CatholicSpiritualDirection.org

Cover design and graphic design by Kathryn Marcellino. The art masterpieces used for each mystery are from the public domain with the framed borders added to them.

The scripture quotations are from The Challoner Revision of the Douay-Rheims Bible and the World English Bible, both in the public domain.

This book is available in print at most online retailers. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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ISBN 13-digit: 978-0-945272-53-3

Table of Contents

Introduction

A Pathway to Contemplation

How to Use this Book

How to Pray the Rosary

The Prayers of the Rosary

20 Mysteries Quick Reference Guide

The Joyful Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

Why Pray the Rosary

On Loving God

Making Progress in Prayer

A Biblical Prayer

The Family Rosary

The Fatima Message

The Fifteen Promises of the Rosary

About the Author

Introduction

It is marvelous to see the fruits of prayer in someone's life. In the life of Pope John Paul II, we have learned much about his love for the rosary, especially in his Apostolic Letter, The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Kathryn Marcellino has written this little book as part of the fruits of her own prayer.

Kathryn loves the rosary very much and wants to share that love with others. To do that, she has compiled this attractive little book which will hopefully lead many others to love Jesus and Mary more. Her thoughts and the art work she has selected have helped inspire me to pray. May this book do the same for you!

Fr. Donald Kinney, O.C.D.

Rector, Carmelite House of Studies

Mt. Angel, Oregon

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the honor and glory of God, to our Blessed Mother, Mary, and to my family.

The Rosary, A Contemplative Prayer

The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. . . . By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed. from Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the Rosary of the Virgin Mary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae)

A Pathway to Contemplation

God is love. He loves us and desires that we love him in return. Prayer is how we interact and communicate with God. The purpose of prayer is to have a personal loving relationship with God. One excellent way that we can increase our knowledge and of love of God is through praying the rosary.

This book is written to help you pray the rosary as it is meant to be prayed: as a meditation on Gospel events from the lives of Jesus and Mary. It contains instructions on how to say the prayers of the rosary, how to meditate on the mysteries and how to pray the rosary in a way to remain receptive to God's actions during prayer so that it becomes a pathway to contemplation.

The main part of the book includes Scripture passages and art masterpieces for each mystery to use as a visual aid while praying the rosary. It also includes information on the prayer of contemplation and how to recognize the transition from meditation to contemplation. There are also chapters on loving God, making progress in prayer and tips on saying a family rosary with children.

The reflections in the book come from the practice of daily prayer, and from the study of Church teachings, the writings of the Saints and Carmelite spirituality.

Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter, The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, said, "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness."

The rosary as a meditative prayer

Many people think of the rosary as merely reciting a number of vocal prayers on beads. While vocal prayer has a value in itself (when we think about the words and open our minds and hearts to God), the rosary is meant to be much more than a recitation of vocal prayers. It is meant to be a meditation on important events called mysteries in the life of Jesus and his mother. In this way the rosary is joining with Mary, the mother of Jesus, to ponder in the depths of our heart the same mysteries that Mary pondered and experienced in her life through her relationship with her Son. Such meditation helps us to get to know Jesus and Mary better and to love them more and more.

At Fatima, Portugal in