1. The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.” ~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

The Rosary includes four Mysteries: the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Joyful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries, and the Luminous Mysteries. Each mystery has five decades dedicated to different parts of the salvation history of Christ. We are meant to mediate on each mystery. By doing so we are learning and contemplating about the life of Christ. Even if you are not taking formal theology classes praying the Rosary draws you into the mystery of Christ and bring you understanding.

2. “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” ~St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio reminds us the road to heaven means remembering the Blessed Mother. To forget her in your life would be forgetting one of the greatest gifts God gave us besides Christ. If you do remember her then to invoke her help and comfort for all things necessitates you to say the Rosary. The Rosary was her gift to us to help us on this earth so that we may get to heaven; it is a powerful weapon and means to purify our souls. 

3. “The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” ~St. Josemaria Escriva

Often the Saints refer to the Rosary as a powerful weapon. Obviously they do not consider it a weapon to do harm or to hurt another. The Rosary is weapon insofar as it can defend us against all types of evil. St. Josemaria Escriva makes a point though not be forgotten. When we use this weapon, when we intercede to Mary through the Rosary we should have confidence. Confidence in that Mary will indeed hear us. She will pray for us to her Son our Lord. She will not turn deaf to our cries and wants to bring us to Christ. She did not give us the Rosary to then only abandon us in our time of need but the opposite. When we pray the Rosary it should be with complete faith and trust that our prayers will be heard and answered. 

4. “Say the Holy Rosary. Blessed be that monotony of Hail Mary’s which purifies the monotony of your sins!” ~St. Josemaria Escriva

Monotony has a bad reputation. Often if I hear complaints about the Rosary it is related to the monotony of the prayers and that it can be boring. St. Josemaria Escriva turns what can seem to be a negative about praying the Rosary into a brilliant positive. Have you ever had a fault that you wanted to change but you were having trouble and you seemed no matter how hard you tried you fell into sin? If you have then you can relate. Deciding to change is often not enough to heal our souls of imperfections. Everyday we must commit ourselves to striving to rise above temptation and battle our desires and impulses towards sin. While trying to improve we may fall and in those instances we must rise and strive again. Gaining strength against temptation can take time. Sinning and getting back up can be monotonous, however we are not alone. The Rosary should be our aid to fighting sin. Persevering in saying the Rosary will lead the cycle of sin to be broken.

5. “In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection.” ~St. John Paul II

Praying the Rosary can bring us into friendship with Christ; it can introduce us to Him as a person that is very close to us and not as an idea that is far away. The Rosary can in time become a friendly dialogue between you, Christ, and His Mother. That dialogue can open the door to immense grace as well as knowledge of our Lord.

6. “No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary.” ~Bishop Hugh Doyle The power of the Rosary is immense. You cannot recite it repeatedly and not be changed in some way for the better. If you continue to say it Mary will not leave you alone to live in sin, she will bring her Son to you. 7. “A similar need for commitment and prayer arises in relation to another critical contemporary issue: the family, the primary cell of society, increasingly menaced by forces of disintegration on both the ideological and practical planes, so as to make us fear for the future of this fundamental and indispensable institution and, with it, for the future of society as a whole. The revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age.” ~St. John Paul II

The threats to the family are great in this modern age. With more divorces and broken homes staying together as a family unit can seem daunting. To help bring peace to your family say the Rosary together and it will give you strength to love one another, to be selfless, and to be Christ-like to your family. 

8. “You always leave the Rosary for later, and you end up not saying it at all because you are sleepy. If there is no other time, say it in the street without letting anybody notice it. It will, moreover, help you to have presence of God.” ~St. Josemaria Escriva

Finding the moments to recite the Rosary during your busy day can be a challenge. St. Josemaria tells us that saying the Rosary while you go about your tasks for the day is better then not saying it at all and it will bring God to your attention during the day. 

9. “The word rosary means “Crown of Roses,” that is to say that every time people say the Rosary devoutly they place a crown of one hundred and fifty-three white roses and sixteen red roses upon the head of Jesus and Mary. Being heavenly flowers these roses will never fade or lose their exquisite beauty.” ~St. Louis De Montfort

Each Rosary said with faith is a treasure to Christ and Mary. Each prayer is beautiful and special. They treasure our prayers because we are honoring them as well as loving them. Picturing Mary with a crown of roses is fitting because when we say the Rosary we are acknowledging her place in heaven as the Mother of Christ. Each prayer of the Rosary is a rose that we crown her with adding to her heavenly magnificence. 

10. “In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with real concentration for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth.” ~St. Louis De Monfort

While praying the Rosary you must always seek to pray not only without distraction, but also with love. The Rosary is not impersonal in the sense you say five decades and you can cross off something on your to do list.  Rather the Rosary is directed to our Blessed Mother, it is an opportunity to connect with her and Christ. For example while mediating the Sorrowful Mysteries we are able to reflect intimately on Christ’s Passion. The Rosary is indeed personal for we must open our hearts to Mary as we lay our intentions before her. For with open hearts we allow God into the deepest recesses of our souls, where we are most vulnerable. There God comforts us and give us the grace we need thus answering our prayers.

11. “Finally, when people say the Rosary together it is far more formidable to the devil than one said privately, because in this public prayer it is an army that is attacking him. He can often overcome the prayer of an individual, but if this prayer is joined to that of other Christians, the devil has much more trouble in getting the best of it.” ~St. Louis De Monfort

Praying as a community is powerful and should never be underestimated. Strength in numbers can apply to fighting spiritual battles. Imagine gathering together with a group and praying the Rosary for a single intention. The devil will have a harder time distracting a group from their prayer due to their numbers. In a way praying with more people is protecting your prayer. 

12. “The rosary should be said with faith–for our Blessed Lord said, “Believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.” ~St. Louis De Monfort

Praying with faith is completely abandoning your fear and doubt; it is to pray with trust in God’s love for us as well as to be certain of his all-powerfulness. God will answer your prayers when you pray with faith. The Rosary should be prayed without fear or doubt: it should be prayed with faith.

13. “If you wish to convert anyone to the fullness of the knowledge of Our Lord and of His Mystical Body, then teach him the Rosary. One of two things will happen. Either he will stop saying the Rosary — or he will get the gift of faith.” ~Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen

All Christians are called to spread the Word of God to non-believers. If we answer this call we may even bring someone to Christ. While introducing someone to Christ we would all be remiss if we did not share the Rosary. Through the Rosary a seed may be planted and faith in Christ may come and grow. 

14. “The faults of children are not always imputed to the parents, especially when they have instructed them and given good example. Our Lord, in His wondrous Providence, allows children to break the hearts of devout fathers and mothers. Thus the decisions your children have made don't make you a failure as a parent in God's eyes. You are entitled to feel sorrow, but not necessarily guilt. Do not cease praying for your children; God's grace can touch a hardened heart. Commend your children to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When parents pray the Rosary, at the end of each decade they should hold the Rosary aloft and say to her,"With these beads bind my children to your Immaculate Heart", she will attend to their souls.” ~St. Louise de Marillac

The Rosary can save souls. A parent whose children are going astray or have diverted from a path towards God can still be saved. Offering the Rosary for their souls will bring them back. With the Rosary and the Blessed Mother all parents have a place to send their worries and prayers concerning their children that they can trust will be heard. 

15. “Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.” ~Saint Louis de Montfort

St. Louis de Montfort wants all people to take seriously the great gifts of saying the Rosary daily. To so say it once in awhile is good; however to say it daily will stop us from ever leaving our faith and to stay the course towards Christ.