On this day, when we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, it is very appropriate to talk about the Holy Rosary, a classic Christian meditation closely associated with the Virgin Mary.
In fact, she carried the Lord in her womb and in her heart. If we want Jesus to be born more deeply in our hearts, she, being our spiritual Mother, will gladly help us. What pleases her most is that we listen to her Son and allow Him to dwell in our hearts. Her joy is to see Jesus taking shape in our lives. What mother would not want her child to receive the respect, love, and attention He deserves? How much more does this apply to the Mother of God, whose Son brings us salvation!
Therefore, if we learn to contemplate Mary as our spiritual Mother and ask her to help us know her Son better, she will introduce us to that relationship of loving trust with Jesus in which she herself lives.
The Holy Rosary is an excellent means to this end. In her apparitions, Our Lady repeatedly asks us to pray this prayer faithfully.
The Holy Rosary is also called the “little psalter,” while the “great psalter” comprises the 150 psalms of Sacred Scripture.
Now, how does the Rosary help us internalize our life of faith? If we look at it more closely, we will discover that it is a surprising work of spiritual art, for it contains many of the basic elements of prayer:
As an opening: the profession of faith (the Creed), the prayer that Jesus taught us, and the three Hail Marys of the introduction, in which the three theological virtues are requested—faith, hope, and charity—followed by a “Glory Be” in adoration of the Triune God.
In relation to our theme, let us focus above all on the aspect of frequent repetition and on the mysteries of salvation contemplated in the Holy Rosary.
By repeating the Hail Marys, we pronounce again and again the angel’s announcement to the Virgin, while meditating on the different stages of Jesus’ life. Thus, the intention of this form of prayer is that the mysteries of faith revealed to us remain imprinted on our hearts—that is, that they are not only in our understanding as theoretical knowledge and memory, but that they penetrate our hearts and even our unconscious.
The continuous repetition of the angelic salutation, with which the event of the Incarnation of the Word of God began, helps us grasp the wonder of the work that God accomplished in the Virgin Mary. As we internalize these words, our hearts also open to receive the grace that God grants to the world by sending His own Son.
When the Virgin was “overshadowed by the Holy Spirit” (cf. Lk 1:35), the union of divinity and humanity in the Son of God took place—a union that had never happened before and will never happen again. This unique event of love, which we meditate on in the first joyful mystery, invites us, like Mary, to welcome the Lord into our hearts. If Mary conceived the Lord physically through the work of the Holy Spirit, we too, through the action of the same Holy Spirit, can receive Him when our soul is in God’s grace and open to the coming of Jesus.
We are called to become “temples of the Holy Spirit” (cf. 1 Cor 3:16), and the Holy Spirit wants the Lord, who is born in our hearts, to grow in age and wisdom (cf. Lk 2:52).
To understand this better, let us briefly look at what happens in the Holy Mass, where what must also happen within us becomes visible. The priest invokes the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine, and when he pronounces the words of consecration properly, the offerings become the Body and Blood of Christ, as we Catholics firmly believe. When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus unites Himself to us sacramentally— that is, He dwells within us.
Thus, we see how the prayer of the Holy Rosary, so simple and beautiful, causes the Lord to take shape in us more and more. Therefore, I highly recommend it to all who want to be led by Mary’s gentle hand toward a deeper union with her Son.
Meditation on the reading of the day (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception): https://en.elijamission.net/destined-to-the-praise-of-god-2/