"My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." - Luke 1:46-47
Each decade of the rosary commemorates a particular event called a mystery in Mary's existence. And while saying the rosary we should devoutly meditate upon the event suggested by these mysteries. The Joyful Mysteries cluster about the happy motherhood of Mary; the Sorrowful Mysteries present her to us as the Co-Redemptrix of our fallen race; while the Glorious Mysteries relate the reward and triumph that is hers for all eternity. Hers was the privilege to bring the Savior of mankind into the world; to share with Him by sympathy and by suffering His sacred passion and death; and finally to be placed by Him on the exalted throne in heaven where for all eternity she reigns Queen of Angels and of men. With the contemplation of these mysteries before us the recitation of the rosary must ever grow dearer and sweeter and more and more sublime.
Hail, heavenly Queen! Hail, foamy ocean star!
O be our guide, diffuse thy beams afar;
Hail, Mother of God ! above all virgins blest,
Hail, happy gate of heav'n's eternal rest.
Hail, foamy ocean star! Hail, heav'nly Queen!
O be our guide to endless joys unseen.
Hail, full of grace, with Gabriel we repeat;
Thee, Queen of heav'n, from him we learn to greet;
Then give us peace which heav'n alone can give.
And dead thro' Eve, thro' Mary let us live.
Tuesday - The Sorrowful Mysteries
Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And you, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. – Pope Leo XIII
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which thou embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once thou rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thy example and thy aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holy, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
- text taken from The Rosary Devotions for Every Day by Father Mark J Smith, SJ, International Catholic Truth Society, 1924; audio is from Rosary Army