By Hieu Nguyen
“Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world…,” said Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, 1917.
I did not get into the habit of reciting this powerful prayer until I went to the University of Iowa. Yet it took me a few years to have a deep devotion for the rosary.
The mysteries of the rosary are categorized into four groups: Joyful Mysteries, Luminous Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries and Glorious Mysteries. These mysteries have different biblical verses and fruits. For example, the birth of Jesus is the third Joyful Mystery and its fruit is poverty.
Some of my favorite mysteries are the nativity of Our Lord, the wedding of Cana and the Sorrowful Mysteries. The birth of Christ is one of the best gifts God the Father has given us. Jesus is the Word Incarnate and he lived a human life. The second Luminous Mystery reveals that Mother Mary can intercede for us. For example, she said to Jesus, “They have no wine” (John 2:3) at the wedding of Cana and Jesus transformed water into wine. The Sorrowful mysteries show us how much Christ loves us through suffering, carrying the cross and dying on the cross.
The rosary’s mysteries help me know and understand the lives of Jesus and Mary as I meditate when I pray. They also assist me in memorizing the Scriptures. Hence, I begin to love Christ even more and understand the joys and sorrows of the Blessed Mother.
I learned how to pray the rosary when I was a teenager but did not recite it every day. I started praying the rosary in college and my faith began to grow once I started praying more regularly.
This form of prayer leads me to spend time with Jesus. It is also a way to honor the Holy Trinity and Mother Mary. Through meditation on the mysteries, I have a better understanding of the Catholic faith and I feel a sense of peace, joy and hope.
Praying this prayer leads me closer to Christ and increases my prayer life. For instance, I know and pray by heart such powerful prayers as “Our Father,” “The Apostles’ Creed,” “Hail Mary,” “Glory Be” and “Hail Holy Queen.”
Through my prayers and reflection, I meditate on how I can serve God and his people. I pray for all people in the world and add prayer intentions when I pray the rosary.
Reciting the rosary is a way to evangelize and bring people to Jesus. I prayed this simple and powerful prayer with a group of men in the Navy while waiting to be discharged from service. After leaving the military, I decided to spend time praying the rosary daily. My life has changed in so many ways because I recite the rosary daily and carry a rosary with me whenever I go.
It is wonderful that the church has many saints who have a devotion to the Blessed Mother. St. Padre Pio said, “Go to the Madonna. Love her! Always say the Rosary. Say it well. Say it as often as you can! Be souls of prayer. Never tire of praying, it is what is essential. Prayer shakes the Heart of God, it obtains necessary graces!”
October is the month of the rosary. Let us honor Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary by praying the holy rosary every day.
(Hieu Nguyen is an employee of DHL Global Forwarding and a parishioner of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport.)