October is the month of the Rosary
The feasts in October includes one of the most popular, time-honoured devotion of Catholics, the devotion to the Holy Rosary – Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (October 7).
Beads and Psalms: In ancient times, beads were a tool for memorizing prayer. Monks prayed the psalms from the Bible each day and used beads to keep track of them. Many Christians wanted to continue the tradition of the monks but they could not read and some could not afford Bibles so they prayed 150 Hail Marys since there are 150 psalms in the Old Testament.
The traditional Rosary is divided into three parts, which tells the story of Jesus’ life (see “How to Pray the Rosary” pamphlet):
- The Joyful Mystery of the Rosary = The Announcement of Jesus’ arrival, Jesus’ birth and Jesus’ childhood
- The Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary = Jesus’ Suffering and death
- The Glorious Mystery of the Rosary = Jesus’ Resurrection from death and Ascension into Heaven, and his Mother Mary’s Assumption into Heaven and her Crowning as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Each Mystery consists of five mysteries, which are scripture readings from the Bible.
1 decade = 10 Hail Marys
1 rosary = x 5 Decades / 5 Mysteries
1 rosary = 50 Hail Marys x 3 parts with 5 Mysteries each = 150 Hail Marys in a Traditional Rosary
These prayers, together with others, are prayed from the heart while reflecting on the Scriptural mysteries of Jesus and Mary. This prayer was named the Rosary, which came from a Latin word meaning “garland of roses.” Praying the rosary is like offering a bouquet of prayers to God in honour of Jesus and Mary.
In October 2002 our Holy Father John Paul II wrote the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (the Rosary of the Virgin Mary)." This letter introduced five new mysteries, called the Luminous or Mysteries of Light, which are
(1) Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan,
(2) Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana,
(3) Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with the call to conversion,
(4) the Transfiguration, and
(5) the Institution of the Eucharist.
Try to make a more concerted effort to pray the Rosary together as a family during the month of October, read the Apostolic Letter to understand the beauty of this devotion more deeply, and pray the new Luminous mysteries.