Our Lady of the Rosary

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which was first celebrated during the 1500's as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. The Feast was initially established to commemorate the victory of the Christian naval fleet at Lepanto through the intercession of the Mother of God. It is said that as they prayed the rosary the winds changed direction and favored them and this resulted in their victory even though they were outnumbered by the Ottoman naval fleet. The weak and the vulnerable can always turn to Our Blessed Mother for her prayers and for God's help and protection.

In many apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary around the world she has asked people to pray the rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of wars. Rosary is a powerful weapon to end wars and obtain peace without any bloodshed or violence. May we adopt this peaceful instrument of peace to promote brotherhood and peace among all people. 

The Holy Rosary is a meditative devotional prayer in honor of the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary. This prayer is prayed on a set of beads strung together to make the rosary beads. It has been the most common form of meditative prayer among Catholics for many centuries especially since Our Lady taught the formula of the rosary to Saint Dominic. 

​The rosary meditation comprises of three traditional mysteries, "Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious" and one modern set of mysteries "Luminous" that was introduced in the twentieth century by Pope John Paul II. Each of the sets of mysteries reflect on key events surrounding the birth, life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. 
The Joyful Mysteries reflect the events around the birth and early childhood of Jesus in the care of Mary of Joseph.
The Luminous Mysteries reflect the key events during the public ministry of Jesus. 
The Sorrowful Mysteries reflect on the passion and death of Jesus.
The Glorious Mysteries reflect on the resurrection of Jesus and the events that followed immediately afterwards.
You can find out more about how to pray the rosary here:  
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/rosaries/how-to-pray-the-rosary.cfm