STUDY PROGRAM

Contemplating the Mysteries
of the Holy Rosary

Pray the Rosary as it was intended

Contemplating the mysteries, while saying vocal prayers, is how the Rosary was intended to be prayed. This study supplies you with details for each mystery to make then come to life as you pray the rosary. Be transported and virtually live each mystery.

Contemplating the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

P 0.00

This is the regular price for this program, but it may vary depending on location and date. Kindly check the schedule below for the posted price.

  • All five deep sessions
  • Includes program guide & workbook
  • Based on the book of the same name

Program Overview

Pray the Rosary is praying the Gospels

Part instructional, part meditation, and part catechetical, this program will elevate the way we pray the rosary by learning how to meditate while saying the vocal prayers, and examining the background, characters, and meaning of the different mysteries.

In the Aposotlic Letter entitled Rosarium Virginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Virgin Mary) by Pope John Paul II, the word "contemplate" appears sixty-seven times. He reminds us that we are meant to reflect on the mysteries of the rosary while we pray it.

In the book “Signs if Life” by Scott Hahn, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI) is quoted saying that in the rosary, “repetition is a way of settling oneself into the rhythm of tranquility. It’s not so much a matter of consciously concentrating on the meaning of each single word, but allowing myself on the contrary to be carried away by the calm repetition and of steady rhythm. So much the more so, since this text does not lack content. It brings great images and visions and above all the figure of Mary – and then, through her, the figure of Jesus – before my eyes and in my soul.”

This is the model we are asked to use when we pray the Rosary, but there is very little instruction on how to do it. This program will teach us how. The first part of the program will suggest how we can meditate while saying vocal prayers. This is something we are not used to, so it will take some explaining and practice. The second part will bring to life each mystery. We will inspect each mystery and the important characters, and aspects of it. We will also examine the different doctrines that revolve around the event, allowing us to appreciate it even more.

The program is based on the book Contemplating the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, which can be purchased online or during the program.

FAQS

Do I need to be Catholic to attend?
No. However the talks will surround Catholic doctrine and customs. None of the topics will belittle other belief systems, but there may be times when examples may have to be made to differentiate Catholicism from them.
Do I need to know how to pray the rosary?
Preferably yes, but you may attend the program even if you don’t know how to pray the rosary, or are new to the rosary. The program will not teach the mechanics of using the beads, but the first session will explain how to meditate while saying the vocal prayers.
Do I need to bring a rosary?
No, it isn’t a requirement for this program. But it would be good to bring a rosary with you all the time.
Do I need to bring a bible?
No need, but bringing one will really help, especially when some scriptural verses are quoted.

Program Features

Topics Breakdown

1. Prayer,
Mary: Queen and Mother,
How to Meditate on the Mysteries while praying the Rosary.

In this first session we will examine the concept of prayer, why we pray, and how we should pray.

We will explore the different types of prayers (vocal, meditation, and contemplation) and how our body can be used in prayer.

We will appreciate why we pray to Mary, the angels, and saints.

We will explore how we can turn our vocal prayers of the Rosary into a way of meditating the Mysteries.

2. The Joyful Mysteries.

We will learn of the spiritual and material things that God created, and of the gifts and free will he gave to God revealed to the prophet Isaiah, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” Isaiah 11:1

This prophecy is fulfilled when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that her son will, “be given the throne of David his father...”(Luke 1:32) This becomes apparent when we realize that Isaiah was talking about Jesse's son, King David, whose kingdom was reduced to nothing but a “stump.”Jesus is the “bud” that blossoms from out of that stump and becomes the King of the House of David. It shouldn't be a coincidence that, in their native tongue, the word “Nazareth” – where Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary – means “shoot” or “branch.”

IN THIS SESSION will we discover how God's promise of a Messiah is fulfilled through the consent of Mary through Gabriel's own words. We will explore the meeting of the unborn Jesus, and St. John the Baptist, and how Mary is inferred as the New Ark of the Covenant. We will put ourselves in the place of St. Joseph and Mary as they look in vain for a place for the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem. We will understand what Mary was doing in the Temple during the Presentation. And we will investigate the five days Jesus was missing before he was found in the Temple.

3. The Luminous Mysteries

The prophet Isaiah revealed that God will send a servant. Isaiah says, “It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

During the Presentation in the Temple, the prophet Simeon acknowledges that Jesus is this servant when he says: “my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles...” (Luke 2:30-32)

IN THIS SESSION we comprehend that Jesus reveals he is this light through public miracles, actions, and teachings. We recognize that he did not come to assemble just the tribes of Jacob (whom God renamed “Israel”) into a kingdom, but all nations in what is the “Kingdom of God.”

We will discover why Jesus allowed himself to be baptized even if he had no sins to repent for. We will explore the Miracle at Cana, and how Mary is perceived as the New Eve. We will understand the “Kingdom of God” as Jesus taught it through the apostles – which they didn't comprehend right away. We will see how the Transfiguration is similar to the Baptism in the Jordan, as well us discover what Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about. We will also take a long close look at the Last Supper and how covenants in the Old Testament (which incidentally means “old covenant”) is replaced by this “new and everlasting covenant” as Jesus declares himself being the sacrifice when he infers that his body and his blood are separated – just as when the blood is separated from the body of animal sacrifices.

4. The Sorrowful Mysteries

The prophet Ezekiel foretold that Messiah will cleanse the temple, and water will flow from its side. “I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.” (Ezekiel 47:1)

Right after Jesus entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession, he made his way to the Temple. Since it was closed, he came back the next day and cleansed it of money changers. When the Jews asked him for a miracle to prove his authority, he tells them to destroy the “Temple” and in three days he would rebuild it. Saint John, in his Gospel, is quick to explain, “But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” (John 2:21) Because the “Temple” is where the spirit of God dwells, we understand that the body of Jesus is a Temple – in fact the real temple – because God's spirit dwells in him. It is only at the crucifixion that the second part of Ezekiel prophecy is fulfilled, for when a soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance, “blood and water immediately flowed out.” (John 19:34)

IN THIS SESSION we will see how Jesus fulfills what the Psalms and prophets have foretold about the Messiah. We will appreciate how his passion and death “buys back” our relationship with God – something that was severed by Adam and Eve's disobedience.

5. The Glorious Mysteries

Since the beginning of time, mankind has always made sacrifices to God. Genesis recounts the offerings of Cain and Abel. They would burn their offering so that the smoke can carry their sacrifice when it rises up to God. But “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” (Genesis 4:4)

Whereas we are not sure if the smoke of other earthly sacrifices is accepted by God, the Ascension visually shows that God accepts Christ's sacrifice by accepting him into heaven.

IN THIS LAST SESSION we will understand how the Resurrection and Ascension completes the mission of Jesus so that the Holy Spirit can “breath life” into The Church during Pentecost; and how it is an example for Mary's Assumption, and our own resurrection when Christ returns. Finally we will probe why Mary is Queen, by virtue of being the mother of a Davidic king.

Schedule