How To Pray the Rosary

While the rosary and the indulgences attached to it by the Church essentially concerns the decades and the meditation upon the mysteries only, the following is a customary way of preparing for the rosary and concluding it.

1. Preparation

Start by making the sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Then recite the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ,
 His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
 born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Sprit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Then say 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys (for the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity) and then 1 Glory Be:

Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.

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.

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2. The Rosary Proper

 

The Rosary is essentially the decades and their associated mysteries, and only these must be prayed to "pray the rosary", either in satisfaction of Our Lady's requests, or, to gain the indulgences attached to praying the rosary. 

The traditional Rosary is divided into three parts, each having five mysteries: Glorious, Joyful and Sorrowful. In his apostolic letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II proposed a new set of mysteries, which he called the Luminous, and which concern the period of the public life of Our Lord. For those who wish to say all 20 decades at once during the course of a day, they may be said in the following order: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. 

For those who wish to say only 5 decades per day, the Holy Father proposed the following schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Joyful	Sorrowful	Glorious	Luminous	Sorrowful	Joyful	Glorious

For those who prefer to follow the traditional order of the days it is:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Joyful	Sorrowful	Glorious	Joyful	Sorrowful	Glorious	Glorious

While meditating on the Mysteries, recite:

One Our Father (large beads),  10 Hail Marys (small beads) and  1 Glory Be (before the next large bead) to make a complete decade of the rosary. 

After each decade the Fátima Prayer may also be said (Pope Pius XII).

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

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3. Concluding Prayers

After the completion of five mysteries (5 decades), or 15 or 20, the following is customarily said:

Hail Holy Queen (or Salve Regina may be sung)

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

(Verse) Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.  

(Response) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
 

Rosary Prayer

(Verse) Let us pray, 

(Response) O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

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4. For the Intentions of the Holy Father

Catholics who say the rosary in a group, or, individually before the Blessed Sacrament, may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, which includes prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

For the intentions of the Holy Father.

Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Source: EWTN

Atom Bomb Survival

On August 6, 1945 during World War II, an atomic bomb was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, Japan. 140,000 people were killed or injured. There was a home eight blocks (about 1 kilometer) from where the A-Bomb went off. This home had a church attached to it which was completely destroyed, but the home survived, and so did the eight German Jesuit missionaries who prayed the rosary in that house faithfully every day. These men were missionaries to the Japanese people, they were non-military, but because Germany and Japan were allies during WWII, they were permitted to live and minister within Japan during the war.

Not only did they all survive with (at most) relatively minor injuries, but they all lived well past that awful day with no radiation sickness, no loss of hearing, or any other visible long term defects or maladies. Naturally, they were interviewed and examined numerous times (Fr. Schiffer, a survivor, said over 200 times) by scientists and health care people about their remarkable experience and they say "we believe that we survived because we were living the message of Fatima. We lived and prayed the rosary daily in that home."

More from patheos.com

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You may have heard about Father Hubert Schiffer and the other seven Jesuit missionaries who survived the atomic blast.  The priests lived less than a mile from the epicenter of the attack in Hiroshima; and for miles in all directions, every building was destroyed, completely flattened, and 140,000 living persons were killed instantly.

Except for the eight priests.  Father Schiffer and his companions sustained no injuries, or only minor injuries.  They all lived years beyond that day, experiencing no radiation sickness, despite being exposed to high levels of radioactivity.  None suffered a loss of hearing from the explosion, or any other visible long-term defects or maladies.

Father Schiffer, who was only 30 when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, told his story 31 years later, at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976.  At the time, all eight members of the Jesuit community who had lived through the bombing were still alive.  Before the gathered faithful, he reminisced about celebrating Mass in the early morning, then sitting down in the rectory kitchen for breakfast.   His memories were vivid:  He had just sliced and dug his spoon into a grapefruit when there was a bright flash of light.  Speaking before the Eucharistic Congress, he said that at first, he thought it might be an explosion in the nearby harbor.  Then he described the experience:

“Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunder stroke.  An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me ’round and round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind.”

More details have been reported by a priest who once met Father Schiffer at the Tri-City Airport in Saginaw Michigan.  Father Schiffer visited the state to give a talk before the Blue Army, an organization of pious Catholics which promotes the apparitions at Fatima.  The priest recounted their conversation:

The next thing he remembered, he opened his eyes and he was lying on the ground.  He looked around and there was NOTHING in any direction:  the railroad station and buildings in all directions were leveled to the ground.
The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces of glass in the back of his neck.  As far as he could tell, there was nothing else physically wrong with himself.  Many thousands were killed or maimed by the explosion.  After the conquest of the Americans, their army doctors and scientists explained to him that his body would begin to deteriorate because of the radiation.  Many of the Japanese people had blisters and sores from the radiation.  To the doctors’ amazement, Fr.  Schiffer’s body contained no radiation or ill-effects from the bomb. 
Fr.  Schiffer attributes this to devotion to the Blessed Mother, and his daily Fatima Rosary.  He feels that he received a protective shield from the Blessed Mother which protected him from all radiation and ill-effects.  (This coincides with the bombing of Nagasaki where St. Maximilian Kolbe had established a Franciscan Friary which was also unharmed because of special protection from the Blessed Mother, as the Brothers too prayed the daily Rosary and also had no effects from the bomb.)

Father Schiffer and the other Jesuits were examined and interviewed repeatedly by scientists and others who could not understand why they had escaped injury.  Father Schiffer reportedly said that he himself had been interviewed 200 times.
Here is an aerial photo of Fr. Schiffer’s church (in the foreground) and surroundings, shortly after the bombing.  Standing in the street in front of the church are four of the Jesuits.

Asked why they believe they were spared, when so many others died either from the explosion or from the subsequent radiation, Father Schiffer spoke for himself and his companions:

“We believe that we survived because we were living the message of Fatima. We lived and prayed the rosary daily in that home.”

Father Schiffer believed that the Blessed Mother had protected them from all radiation and illness because of their devotion to her,, and because they were living the message of Fatima.  “In that house,” he said, “the Holy Rosary was recited together every day.”
He died on March 27, 1982–thirty-seven years after that eventful day.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2014/08/fr-hubert-schiffer-and-the-jesuit-priests-who-survived-hiroshima/#ixzz3G5Dlb22S


https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-miracle-of-hiroshima-jesuits-survived-the-atomic-bomb-thanks-to-the-rosary-69261

https://www.bluearmy.com/the-incredible-story-of-the-miracle-at-hiroshima/

Ted Bundy at FSU

At 3:00 am on January 15, Ted Bundy entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University and murdered two girls before heading off to search for more victims. When he entered a third girl’s room with a bat for a weapon, he saw a rosary clutched in her hand, dropped the bat and fled. 

Later the girl told authorities that before she left for college she had promised her grandmother that she would pray the rosary every night for protection, even if she fell asleep in the process. This is what she had done that night, and she was still holding the rosary when the murderer entered her room. Bundy later confessed to over thirty murders.

Father Joseph M. Esper says in his book, With Mary to Jesus, "Ironically, when Ted Bundy was on death row, awaiting execution for his crimes, he asked Monsignor Kerr to serve as a spiritual counselor, and the priest took the opportunity to ask about that terrible night. Bundy explained that when he entered the girl's room, he had fully intended on murdering her; some mysterious power was preventing him."

Father Esper adds, "And not only does it (the rosary) aid our own spiritual growth -- it also undermines the kingdom of Satan. The famous Vatican exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth testified, 'One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism, "Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end."'

Pray the rosary daily for protection and to defeat the forces of Satan!

Our Lady of the Rosary vs. Satanic Priest, Bartolo Longo

 Bartolo Longo was born in 1841 to a devout Catholic family. When Bartolo grew up he decided to study law. Naples at that time was undergoing a tremendous spiritual crisis. Paganism and Satanism of all sorts were abounding. Bartolo was not immune to these influences and became a satanic priest, much to the horror of his family who tried their hardest to get him to convert. 

As Satanism began to torment his mind, his family convinced him to make a good confession. Alberto Radente, a saintly Dominican priest, helped lead him back to the Catholic faith and encouraged his devotion to the rosary. Bartolo had a miraculous conversion and In 1870, he became a third order Dominican and chose to live a life in penance for all the terrible sins he had committed against the church. 

One day, he nearly succumbed to the sin of despair, feeling that God could never forgive the tremendous sins he had committed against the church. At that moment he received divine inspiration and remembered The Blessed Virgin’s promise that she would help in all their necessities those who propagate her rosary. 

He set out to restore the dilapidated chapel at Pompeii and promote the rosary to whoever would listen. Pamphlets about the rosary were distributed to help the people learn to pray this powerful devotion. He tried to find an image of Our Lady of the Rosary worthy of hanging in the chapel, but was only offered a worm-eaten painting with an image that he felt was coarse and not worthy of veneration, however he accepted it from the convent in which it was stored.

As Bartolo continued his work of propagating the rosary, the chapel’s membership grew tremendously and many miracles began to be associated with Our Lady of Pompeii. Cures and spiritual conversions occurred due to the devotions through this new shrine. The people pledged their support to have a large church built that would properly honor Our Lady of the Rosary. 

In 1894, Bartolo and his wife gave the church over to the care of the Vatican. The original image found in the convent was restored for the last time in 1965.

The Symbolism of the Fish - ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthys)

Christian fish symbol

What is "Ichthys"?

Ι Iota	Χ Chi	Θ Theta	Υ Upsilon	Σ Sigma
Iesous	Christos	Theou	Yios *	Soter
Jesus	Christ	God's	Son	Saviour
			(* pronounced Iios - with emphasis on the 'o')

Clemens was a Greek theologian and noted that letters of the Greek word for fish, ΙΧΘΥΣ (pronounced Ichthys), made the following neat little acrostic:
So in addition to the simple and easily recognisable symbol, there is also a motto that describes Jesus as Christ, God's Son, and Saviour.

 As early as the 2nd century St. Clement of Alexandria suggested that Christians identify themselves with a seal depicting a fish or dove (Paedagogus, III, xi.) Even before that time, inscriptions on monuments suggest that the fish symbol was familiar to Christians.  

After Christ's crucifixion his followers were persecuted and the fish symbol was used as an identifying symbol that fellow Christians would recognize, but non-Christians would not. Therefore Christians could connect with each other through a secret code, such as a fish symbol, without revealing themselves to the oppressors.
By drawing one half of the fish in the dirt with their finger, a stick or their foot the Christian could learn if a stranger was friend or foe. If the party in question knew the "secret symbol " he would finish the other half of the Christian fish to identify himself as a fellow Christian.
When you stop to think about it this was ingenious. People can make patterns in sand or dirt very nonchalantly. It would have been a very good means of  covert communication -- remember, their lives were at stake. Christianity was against the law and punishable by death.

Early in the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine publicly declared that Christianity should be allowed, execution by crucifixion was abolished and the cross became the more prevalent symbol for Christians.

The fish is also symbolic of the fishermen Apostles, Andrew, Peter, and the Sons of Zebedee (John and James), whom Christ would make "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17 and Matthew 4:18,19). The archangel Raphael is often represented with a fish brought back to cure the aged Tobit of his blindness. The symbol of the fish is also a wonderful reminder of the miracle of the loaves and fishes and its prefiguration of the Eucharist. (Mark 8:5-9 and Matthew 14:16-21)
                                                           
 As early as the 2nd century St. Clement of Alexandria suggested that Christians identify themselves with a seal depicting a fish or dove (Paedagogus, III, xi.) Even before that time, inscriptions on monuments suggest that the fish symbol was familiar to Christians.
 

SOURCES:
CatholicNotebook
CatholicCity.com
NewAdvent.com
CatholicReference.net
Seiyaku.com


Footnotes:
*1  Carl Liungman's magisterial volume 'Dictionary of Symbols 1991, W W Norton & Company, New York. p38

The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy

1. Make the Sign of the Cross

How to Recite the Chaplet

The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. The Chaplet is preceded by two opening prayers from the Diary of Saint Faustina and followed by a closing prayer.

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. Optional Opening Prayers

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

3. Our Father

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.

4. Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

5. The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

6. The Eternal Father

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

7. On the Ten Small Beads of Each Decade

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

8. Repeat for the remaining decades

Saying the "Eternal Father" (6) on the "Our Father" bead and then 10 "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion" (7) on the following "Hail Mary" beads.

9. Conclude with Holy God (Repeat three times)

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

10. Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.






SOURCE: http://thedivinemercy.org/message/scripture/

The Significance and Spirit of Praying the Rosary

Let us look into the significance and spirit of this devotion.

It begins by making the sign of the cross, recalling our redemption by Christ's death on the cross. The

The Apostles' Creed is the first prayer. It brings to mind the chief points of the religion established by Christ.

The Creed is followed by one Our Father and three Hail Marys, which symbolize one God in three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Then begins the recitation of the fifteen decades, each of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and the Glory be to the Father, etc.

Each decade commemorates a mystery of the life of Christ, the whole fifteen decades recalling the chief events of our redemption.

While reciting a decade the mystery associated with that decade is meditated upon. It will thus be seen that the right recitation of the Rosary is a brief meditation in the truths of salvation. Of course, there is danger of the Rosary becoming a mechanical repetition -- that is not the fault of the devotion but of the individual. The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) or any prayer may become mere lip-service, but that is not the fault of the prayer. It is because of the danger that constant repetition of the Hail Mary might degenerate into a merely mechanical prayer that meditation on the mysteries of faith is an important feature of the Rosary.

The mysteries of Christ's life are divided into three groups of five each, the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious.
The Joyful Mysteries are:
1. The Annunciation. 2. The Visitation. 3. The Nativity. 4. The Presentation. 5. The Finding in the Temple.
The Sorrowful Mysteries are:
1. The Agony in Gethsemane. 2. The Scourging. 3. The Crowning with Thorns. 4. The Carrying of the Cross. 5. The Crucifixion.
The Glorious Mysteries are:
1. The Resurrection. 2. The Ascension. 3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 4. The Assumption. 5. The Coronation in Heaven.

It will thus be seen that the Rosary is an epitome, or brief record of the life of Christ. The right recitation of the Rosary recalls the great truths of salvation and implores the powerful aid of God's Mother, while at the same time specially honoring her by repeating in her honor the words of the Angel who, as messenger of the Blessed Trinity, saluted her "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women."