We meet frequently at St Benet’s to pray the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rosary is a way to pray in the company of all God’s angels and saints, and especially of Our Lady, for the needs of the world, and to meditate on the great mysteries of Our Lord’s life.
The beads you hold in your hands are there to help count the number of prayers. Many people find the physical holding of Rosary beads, and the repetition of its simple prayers helps focus their prayer. The Rosary divides up into five sets of ten Hail Marys. Each of these sets of ten prayers is commonly referred to as a “decade.”
In each decade there is much to think and pray about. As we repeat the prayer, “Hail Mary,” we are reminded that in all our work and worship, we are assisted by Our Lady’s presence and prayer. We never pray alone. We entrust our cares and concerns to her, knowing she will present them to her Son. At the same time we also think about one of the great mysteries of the Gospel, such as Christ’s birth, or death, or resurrection. As we pray contemplating his life, we enter ever more deeply in to the paschal mystery of our redemption.
The Rosary is one of the most important ways in which we make intercession for the world, in which we draw closer to the saving mysteries of the gospel, and in which we are renewed in our trust in the Communion of the Saints.