Oct 21 Sat
In the rosary we practice vocal prayer. In it, the first is the prayer our divine Redeemer himself pronounced when his disciples asked him, "Lord, teach us to pray." It shows us the way to render God glory, and addresses all the needs of our body and soul. How could the eternal Father refuse to come to our aid when we employ the very words of his Son? We can ask for whatever we want: for an apostolic work, for a friend, for a personal need.
The second prayer begins with the salutes of the archangel Gabriel and of St Elizabeth, and ends with that pious supplication in which we beg our Lady's help now and at the hour of our death.
St Josemaría urges us to "think about what you are saying, who is saying it, and to Whom. Because talking fast, without pausing for reflection, is only noise—the clatter of tin cans."
Though it is true that we always say the same things in the rosary, "don't people in love always say the same things to each other...? Might it not be that you find the rosary monotonous because, instead of pronouncing words like a man, you mumble noises, while your mind is very far from God? Moreover, listen: before each decade we are told the mystery to be 'contemplated.' Have you ever contemplated these mysteries?"
Later, our contemplation of the other mysteries of the rosary should also be something very personal. "An aspiration, or a brief consideration of each mystery is enough. This will give rise to some internal words in our heart: some words from Scripture, an aspiration we know, or anything else that comes to our mind and heart in that moment. It doesn't matter if it's always the same. What's important is that we pray briefly each day about the mysteries of the rosary."
The rosary is a brief but light-filled contemplation of the life of our Lord and our Lady, a contemplation that is always very personal. "We shall hear their family conversation. We shall see the Messiah grow up. We shall admire his thirty years of hidden life. We shall be present at his Passion and Death. We shall be amazed at the glory of his Resurrection. In a word: carried away by Love (the only real love is Love), we shall contemplate each and every moment of the life of Christ."
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