The Holy Rosary - for Beginners
An Overview of the Holy Rosary: for Catholics and Non-Catholics alike
Ever since I started making and selling the Rosary bracelets, I have had a lot of my non-Catholic friends and followers express their interest and curiosity in the Holy Rosary. Most people know that it’s “something Catholics pray” but many have no clue why we have such a strong devotion to it or how to even begin to pray it. This article will serve as an overview to this most wonderful prayer that I know, without a doubt, has changed my life and improved my marriage, my motherhood and overall my devotion to the Catholic Faith and therefore my closeness with God.
History
The main prayer in the Rosary is, of course, the “Hail Mary” which traces back all the way to when the Angel Gabriel first appeared to Mary and told her that she was to be the Mother of God. Another prayer that is recited multiple times during the Rosary is the Our Father, or, “The Lord’s Prayer” which can also be found in the Bible. While these prayers go all the way back to the time of Jesus, the full Rosary in its current form was not given to us until later.
The Rosary and its method was given to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself in the year 1214. In short, St. Dominic was on a mission to convert the Albigensians and many others and one day, feeling very discouraged by the amount of sinfulness in the people, he withdrew to a forest where he prayed continuously for three days and three nights. There, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and provided the Rosary specifically as a means to convert the people and “reform the world”. Afterward, St. Dominic preached many sermons about the newly discovered devotion and there were even miraculous events that took place. Shortly after, the people were converted and gave up their former bad lifestyles. St. Dominic spent the rest of his life spreading devotion to the Rosary as far and wide as he was able. The entire story can be found here.
“One Day Through the Rosary and the Scapular, I Will Save the World” -Our Lady to St. Dominic
Beautiful artwork credit to Raul Berzosa
Our Blessed Mother also told St. Dominic, “I promise my special protection and the greatest Graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary”
Devotion
Our Lady of Fatima
While St. Dominic did an excellent job of spreading devotion to the Holy Rosary, there have been many times in history since then where the Rosary was hardly prayed at all. Our Lady of Fatima is another title of Mary referring to her beautiful and famous apparitions in Fatima, Portugal - she appeared to three young children in the year 1917 on the 13th of each month from May to October. She again emphasized the importance of praying the Rosary every day. On her last apparition, on October 13th, a great miracle took place known as the miracle of the sun and thousands were there to witness. Many non-Catholics have written of this miracle and how it led to their conversion.
“Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world”
-Our Lady of Fatima to the three children
“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray”
-St. Louis Marie De Montfort
Another Saint that contributed largely in spreading devotion to the Rosary, was St. Louis Marie De Montfort. He died in the early 1700’s and wrote several books on the Blessed Virgin Mary and specifically on the Rosary. Many of his books are featured in my Top 10 Recommended Spiritual Reading Books. Additionally, many of his books are also available completely for free on Spotify.
Method
The method of praying the Rosary might seem a little confusing at first, but once you have done it a few times, it will feel easier and more natural. Many of the prayers are repeated and you’ll have them memorized in no time. Each time you pray the Rosary, you will pray 5 “decades” (1 Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s and 1 Glory Be) and for each of these “decades”, you will meditate on a “Mystery” of the Rosary. The Mysteries are life events of Our Lord and Our Lady. Many Saints have said how the Rosary without fervent meditation on the Mysteries isn’t nearly as meritorious as one prayed with devout meditation and focus on the Mysteries. These life events are the history of the Catholic Church and truly make praying the Rosary such a beautiful combination of recited prayer and personal meditation. Some people will pray the whole 15-decade Rosary, but typically the “daily Rosary” only refers to one, 5-decade Rosary.
FREE Download
For a more thorough breakdown of how to pray the Rosary, you can download this free e-book.
Countless non-Catholics have told of their devotion and Graces received as a result of praying the daily Rosary.
Praying the Rosary isn’t just for Catholics (although, if you start to love the Rosary you just might find yourself wanting to find out more about the Faith) One example is the story of Immaculee Ilibagiza who wrote the book Left to Tell (affiliate link) which tells of her personal experience surviving the Rwandan Holocaust. Her story is truly heart wrenching and inspiring, her survival is nothing shy of a miracle!
She attributes this miracle to her devotion to the Rosary and actually wrote a separate book about the Rosary.
If you read the reviews on Amazon, it’s truly inspiring how many people (non-Catholics!) share of their experience with praying the Rosary and the peace it brings them and many answers to their prayers. You can check out the book on Amazon (affiliate link)
I also have written a separate blog article sharing of my own personal story of my increased devotion to the Rosary, you can read that here:
My Rosary Bracelets
If you happen to explore my Rosary bracelets, you might notice the beads are a bit different from a traditional Rosary. In order to make the bracelets small enough to fit a wrist without falling off, most of my bracelets do not include the beginning “Our Father, 3 Hail Mary’s, Glory Be” - so when you’re praying with the bracelet, you would still pray that part but there are no beads to follow along. The beads start at the Hail Mary’s of the first decade.
If you are brand new to praying the Rosary and it seems a bit overwhelming to start praying every day, I encourage you to at least start by praying three Hail Mary’s each day. You can gradually add one decade, two decades and so on until praying the whole Rosary doesn’t seem so overwhelming. You are in my prayers! God Bless You!
