Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 481

 

YOUCAT Question n. 481 - How do you pray the Rosary?

1. In the name of the Father.  2. Apostles’ Creed (see 28). 3. Our Father. 4. Three Hail Marys. 5. “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.” 6. Five decades, each with one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and a Glory Be to the Father. The complete Rosary consists of Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.

The Joyful Mysteries (Monday, Saturday): The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

The Luminous Mysteries (Thursday): The Baptism in the Jordan, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and Repentance for Sin, The Transfiguration, The Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

The sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday, Friday): The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion.

The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday, Sunday): The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2678) Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. In the East, the litany called the Akathistos and the Paraclesis remained closer to the choral office in the Byzantine churches, while the Armenian, Coptic, and Syriac traditions preferred popular hymns and songs to the Mother of God. But in the Ave Maria, the theotokia, the hymns of St. Ephrem or St. Gregory of Narek, the tradition of prayer is basically the same. 

Reflecting and meditating 

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2679) Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes (cf. Jn 19:27), for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope (cf. LG 68-69).

(The next question is: What role did prayer play among the first Christians?)