The rosary has been described by Pope St. John Paul II as the “School of Mary.” He writes, “With the Rosary, the Christian people sit at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty of the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae) In the school of Mary, we submit ourselves to her loving lessons on growing closer to Christ.
In the rosary we hear the words of the gospels. In the phrase “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women,” we hear the words of the Angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that God wants her to be the mother of His divine Son. (Lk. 1:28) As well as the words of Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary when she came to visit, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (Lk. 1:42) We also pray the Our Father which comes from the words of Our Lord in the gospels of Luke (11:2-4) and Matthew (6:9-15). We pray the Apostles Creed in which we proclaim central truths of the Catholic Faith. We also pray the 20 different mysteries of the major events of the life of our Lord.
When we pray the rosary especially as a family we learn by heart a great deal about our faith. It gives each member of the family, no matter how young, the opportunity to come to know Jesus and His love all of mankind. We also, in a special way, beg Mary for her intercession. As she intercedes for us, she fulfills the role that God gave her, to bring Jesus to us and us to Jesus. I cannot encourage you enough to pray the rosary each day. Pray it each day with your family. Pray the rosary with your children. Enroll yourself and your whole family in school of Mary!
Fr. Jacquemin
