The Rosary : for little Catholics r ~~rh£& 6rkU) 25 * (35c IN CANADA) ^> 8 \ \4 THE ROSARY FOR LITTLE CATHOLICS IMPRIMATUR : J* JOHN GREGORY MURRAY ARCHBISHOP OF ST. PAUL AUGUST 14, 1952 CATECHETICAL GUILD EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA COPYRIGHT 1952 BY ARTISTS AND WRITERS GUILD, INC. AND CATECHETI GUILD EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U. EXPLAINED BY FRANCIS McGRADE ILLUSTRATED BY BRUNO FROST Millions of people pray the Rosary every day.Priests, sisters, fathers and mothers, boys and girls—they all pray the Rosary and think of the Blessed Virgin and the wonderful things Jesus did for her and for us. Many families say the Rosary together every day. This is one of the best ways for a family to pray together and be happy. Every Rosary has a crucifix; most of them have five groups of beads called decades. There are ten small beads in each group. There is one bead, usually larger, by itself between each decade. For each bead in the Rosary we say a prayer. So the first thing to do is to learn the four prayers of the Rosary by heart. We start the Rosary at the crucifix with ‘The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. On the large beads we say , IpH * —*jr 7he Our 7atber Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. •>»«? On the small beads we say thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy sinners, ' now and at the hour of our death. Amen. PMPI ! " ' SSSwiR ""WSSftJ&Sfc We finish each decade with / Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the begin- ning, is now, and ever shall be, world with- out end. Amen. a i. 4 S»§i The beads of the Rosary stand for more than the prayers we say. Each decade recalls a scene from the life of Jesus. These scenes are The Mysteries. There are fifteen of these Mysteries in all. Five are called the Joyful Mysteries, five the Sorrowful Mysteries, and five the Glorious Mysteries. We usually pray one group of five decades at a time. Each group of ten Hail Marys, or a decade, is said while meditating on a Mystery. We recall the name of the Mystery and think of what it means to us. Then we say an Our Father on the large bead, and ten Hail Marys on the small beads. This is followed by a Glory Be to the Father. Jbe Joyful ^Mysteries The five Joyful Mysteries tell about the birth and childhood of Jesus. They remind us of the joys that the Divine Child and Mary had together. Jbe first Joyful Mystery: THE ANNUNCIATION God sent His archangel Gabriel to a girl whose name was Mary. She lived in Nazareth. The message was that God wanted her to become the Mother of His Son Jesus. Mary said she would. 7he Second Joyful ^Mystery THE VISITATION The archangel had told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was also going to have a baby. So Mary went to visit Elizabeth and help her. Elizabeth's baby was called John the Baptist. 7he 7bird Joyful Mystery-. THE BIRTH OF JESUS Then Jesus was born in a stable at Bethlehem. He could have been born in a palace, because He was God, but He wanted to show that He chose to live in poverty. Jbe fourth Joyful !Mystery : THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple. Accord- ing to the Jewish law, every first son had to be offered to God. (Of course there were very few people who yet knew that Jesus was God!) Jhe fifth Joyful !Mystery: THE FINDING IN THE TEMPLE When Jesus was twelve years old, Mary and Joseph were separated from Him in Jerusalem. But they found Him in the temple where He was amazing all the teachers with His knowledge. Jesus was doing God's work even at this age. S9S WKSak d i The Sorrowful SMysXeries Next come the Sorrowful Mysteries. They tell about how Jesus suffered and died to make up for our sins. He gave His life for us that we might share His life in heaven. 7he Tirst Sorrowful Mystery: THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN The time came when Jesus let wicked men capture Him. As He waited for them in the Garden of Olives, He knew what would happen to Him; He saw all men's sins, including ours, that caused His suffering. He began to sweat drops of blood. Jbe Second Sorrowful JWystery: THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR Pilate, the Roman governor, turned Jesus over to the Roman soldiers to be whipped. They beat Him until He was cut all over. He let them beat His body to make up for our sins. 7he 7bird Sorrowful Mystery-. THE CROWNING WITH THORNS The soldiers took thorny branches and made a crown. They pressed the crown of sharp thorns on His sacred head to show that they did not believe He was God. We caused Him that pain because we disobey God when we disobey our parents and teachers whom God puts over us. fhe fourth Sorrowful JHystery-. THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS Finally Jesus was condemned to die on a cross. The cross was thrown on His shoulders and He had to carry it up the hill Himself. The cross was heavy, but the burden of men's sins weighed Him down even more. The fifth Sorrowful Mystery . THE CRUCIFIXION When Jesus reached the top of the hill called Calvary, He was nailed to the cross. He hung on it, suffering, for three hours. Finally, He died. Jhe Qlorious ^Mysteries Now we come to the last set of Mysteries. These are called the Glorious Mysteries. They tell how Jesus rose from the dead, remained on earth, and then went up to heaven. 7he first (jlorious JMystery: THE RESURRECTION Three days after Jesus died on the cross, He rose again to life, just as He had said He would. He has promised to bring us back to life again, if we keep His life in our souls. Jhe Second Qlorious Mystery: THE ASCENSION Jesus stayed on earth forty days more, teaching His Apostles and showing Himself to many people. Then He ascended into heaven. But before He went, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to take care of His followers. The Jbird Qlorious Mystery-. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Ten days after His Ascension Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. He came in the form of tongues of fire to make the Apostles brave and to help them under- stand all the things Jesus had said; also to share the life of the Blessed Trinity which they were to preach to the world. 7be fourth Qlorious JAystery-. THE ASSUMPTION Every human being must die. Our Blessed Mother died too, but Jesus did not allow her to remain in a grave. He took her body and soul into heaven to be there with Himself forever in glory. Jbe Tijth Qlorious Mystery: THE CORONATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN The Rosary begins and ends with the Blessed Virgin. In the beginning she gave everything she had to God. In the end she is glorified as the Queen of Heaven. Our Lady is in heaven praying that we shall all join her there. Pray the Rosary every day that you may be happy with Jesus and Mary for all eternity. - Seven hundred years ago many people turned away from God. One day Our Lady appeared to a holy priest named Dominic, and gave him the Rosary. She promised that if people prayed the Rosary, they would return to God. And that's just what happened! Right now the world is in trouble again. Not long ago, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three children at Fatima. She said that our sins have caused our troubles. She promised again that peace will return if we are sorry for our sins and pray the Rosary. 1 Let us pray the Rosary every day!