Mary the Mother of Jesus and the Rosary 1. Pray the Hail Mary together as a group Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 2. Brief History of the Rosary (Provide a lecture to students regarding the History) The rosary is a form of combined prayer and meditation that has been around for over 1200 years. The Irish monks used to recite the 150 Psalms of the Bible as part of their worship. People living near the monasteries were drawn towards this beautiful and harmonious devotion, and they became very eager to join in with the monks' prayers. Unfortunately, the people were not able to do this because the psalms were very hard to memorize. It was suggested to the people outside the monastery that they recite a series of 150 "Our Father" prayers in place of the psalms. People started to devise methods in order to keep track of their prayers. At first, 150 little pebbles were placed inside small leather pouches to keep count. But that became troublesome. So people began using a thin rope with 50 knots. They would say it 3 times because 3X50 = 150 prayers. Eventually, they placed small wooden beads on string. Later, people started saying the "Angelic Salutation" (the first part of what we now know as the "Hail Mary") as part of the prayer string. The popularity of this prayer led to the adoption of 50 Hail Mary s being said for each piece of wooden bead or knot on the prayer string. In the 1200s, the prayers of the Rosarium (now called Rosary) were broken out into sets of 10 and these groupings became known as decades (a group of 1
10 is a decade). Each decade of ten "Hail Mary" prayers would be preceded by one "Our Father". Around the year 1700, the Joyful, Sorrowful, and the Glorious mysteries were designed as a way to meditate about Jesus s life with Mary. As you can see, the rosary we know today is the result of many evolutions (changes) dating back several hundred years. Although the manner in which the rosary is recited has changed, the results of praying the rosary are still the same. The power and divine graces the rosary offers are still available to everyone. 4. FOR THE TEACHER - Praying the Rosary with Middle School Students: Thoughts: Why pray the Rosary with middle school students? First of all, many of our students do not have much experience with traditional prayers of the Church; sadly, that includes experiences of the Mass. We wanted to end our group in a spirit of prayer that would send students home refreshed, renewed, and filled with hope in the Lord. Since Mary is the Mother of our Lord, whose role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it, and since she is also our Mother whose prayers adhere to the plan of the Father, we the Church are sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope (CCC 964, 2679). Why wouldn t we want to introduce this form of prayer to our students? Middle School students do not often find their own time for quite, reflective prayer. Incorporating prayer into group time is important, not only because it is one of the six tasks of catechesis, but because it is where we experience our personal and communal relationship with God. The tradition of Christian prayer is one of the ways in which the tradition of faith takes shape and grows (CCC 2651). If prayer is so important, and it is going to be incorporated it into group time, think about time, environment, and the development of the students in learning to practice prayer. Most middle 2
school students need structure and have difficulty sitting quietly for long periods of time. However, saying a quick prayer does not give them a chance to settle and be refreshed at the end. By saying a decade of the Rosary, they have structure with the format of the prayer with time to settle and reflect on a different mystery each month. Many students also learn and have positive experiences if they are able to have something to touch (Gardner s Theory of Multiple Intelligences). Rosary beads are a tangible sacramental to help focus the movement and rhythm of prayer. Of course explain the need to be reverent during this prayer and while using the Rosary beads to the surprise of the students, the Rosary beads are NOT a Catholic Necklace. 3
Activity: Create a Rosary to Pray. 6. Use your Rosary (and have each student hold their rosary) to explain the following When you say the Rosary there you begin with the Sign of the Cross, then the Apostle s Creed, then the Our Father, Three Hail Mary s and a Glory be to the Father. (show this section of the rosary) The Rosary is then divided into 5 sections each section is separated by a bead and that bead is where you say the Glory be to the Father AND an Our Father. (show the bead that separates the decades) When you begin each decade you can tell a story using the Joyful Mysteries. You say the mystery and then the 10 beads of a decade are for Hail Mary s. (show the 10 beads that make a decade) At the end of the fifth decade, you finish with a Glory be to the Father. 7. Read the story of Mary and the 1st Joyful Mystery : A. 1 st Joyful Mystery: Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born without sin. She was pure and that is why she was asked by an angel if she would be the mother of Jesus. Mary replied, YES to being the mother of God. Mary saying YES became the 1 st Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. When Mary said, YES, she became a model for each of us. A model is someone who we try to be like. She said YES to God and so should we. God asks us to be good to one another and we should say YES by being nice to one another. God asks us to help one another and we should say YES by helping other people. 8. Say one decade of the rosary, as a group. NOTE: If possible, say the remaining 4 decades on the next 4 days. 4
2 nd Joyful Mystery: After Mary said YES to the Angel, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth and tell her the GOOD NEWS that she was having a baby. She shared her joy of being Jesus mother with Elizabeth. Elizabeth was happy for her and said, Hail, You are Full of Grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb. That is how the Hail Mary was started. This became the 2 nd Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. C. 3 rd Joyful Mystery: Mary and her husband Joseph went to Bethlehem on a donkey where Jesus was born. Jesus was born in a stable with sheep, cows, and goats. BUT, Jesus had visitors the Three Wise Men, who brought him gifts on His Birthday. Jesus birthday is Christmas. We celebrate Jesus birth and this is the 3 rd Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. D. 4 th Joyful Mystery: When Jesus was just a baby, Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple (church) to be presented to the rabbi (priest). Jesus was a good baby and behaved in church, just like we are supposed to behave in church. When we go into church for mass, we present ourselves to God and pray to HIM. When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple this became the 4 th Joyful Mystery. E. 5 th Joyful Mystery: When Jesus was just a boy of 8 or 9, He went to the Temple to see the others at church. He started talking about God, His father. Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple and this became the 5 th Joyful Mystery. 5