Devotions and Prayers
Faith involves both the head and the heart. Catholic devotions and traditions enliven and nurture our Catholic faith, touching our hearts and allowing us to express our love of God.
CCC 2560 “If you knew the gift of God!”7 The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.
Praying the Rosary
The rosary is a traditional, Scripture-based Catholic prayer sequence centered on meditating on the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. It uses a string of beads to keep track of the prayers as they are recited.
Core Prayers of the Rosary
The rosary combines vocal prayer with mental meditation. It consists of the following standard prayers:
- The Apostles’ Creed: Recited at the very beginning while holding the crucifix. It summarizes Christian beliefs.
- The Our Father (Lord’s Prayer): Said on the single, isolated beads before each decade (set of ten beads).
- The Hail Mary: Recited ten times per decade while meditating on a specific “mystery” (significant event in salvation history).
- The Glory Be: A short hymn of praise to the Trinity said at the end of each decade.
- The Fatima Prayer: Often added after the Glory Be, requested by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 (“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins…”).
- Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina): Said at the closing of the entire rosary session.
The Four Sets of Mysteries
As you pray each decade, you meditate on one of twenty mysteries, divided into four categories:
- Joyful Mysteries: Christ’s incarnation and hidden childhood (e.g., The Annunciation, The Nativity).
- Luminous Mysteries: Christ’s public ministry and miracles (e.g., The Baptism in the Jordan, The Wedding at Cana).
- Sorrowful Mysteries: Christ’s passion, suffering, and death (e.g., The Agony in the Garden, The Crucifixion).
- Glorious Mysteries: Resurrection and the triumphs of Christ and Mary (e.g., The Resurrection, The Coronation of Mary).