On these mysteries...

During Lent I have been working hard to keep my mind on the rosary while praying it.  It always seems dreadful when one reaches the final collect and prays ‘..that by meditating on these mysteries...’ and one realises that one has not been meditating on these mysteries at all.

So I have been using the practice of inserting a short clause after the Holy Name in each Ave, relating to the particular mystery.  I try to use a different clause in each Ave, which makes ten for a mystery (I think I read this in St Louis de Montfort, or somewhere like that).

Thus in the Annunciation one might pray: ‘...and blessed is the fruit of they womb Jesus, whose coming was announced by Gabriel.  Holy Mary...’ for the first Ave, then ‘...and blessed is the fruit of they womb Jesus, who became incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Mary...’ in the second Ave, and so on.

The result has been that I have been much more focused, and also enjoying the rosary far more.

I have also been praying all four sets of mysteries each day, which has led me to notice many links between them which I had previously missed (particularly with regard to the Luminous Mysteries, which still feel new to me).  Things like the occasions on which the Father’s voice was heard to confirm Our Lord’s authority (the Baptism and the Transfiguration).

I have also been making links between the seven sacraments and the mysteries of the rosary:

Baptism: at Our Lord’s baptism; 

Confession: the Proclamation of the Gospel and the Call to Repentance; 

Holy Communion: the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper; 

Confirmation: the Descent of the Holy Spirit; 

Matrimony: the Wedding Feast at Cana; 

Holy Orders: the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper; 

Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick): The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord (and his promise to the penitent thief on the Cross) (?)