Why You Need the Rosary This Lent

The following post is adapted from the daily content of our upcoming series Full of Grace, presented by Good Catholic. Full of Grace can help you unlock the power of the Rosary this Lent. It begins this year on Ash Wednesday (February 26) and will conclude during Holy Week.

Why is the Rosary such a powerful prayer?

Because it gets to the very root of life’s purpose: to know, love, and serve God.

[Jesus taught] that man can be understood only in light of God, and that his life is made righteous only when he lives it in relation to God. But God is not some distant stranger. He shows us his face in Jesus. In what Jesus does and wills, we come to know the mind and will of God himself.

If being human is essentially about relation to God, it is clear that speaking with, and listening to, God is an essential part of it.
—Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth

Conversation with God is prayer. Prayer is essential to living a good and holy life. And through that prayer, we must turn our gaze to God—that is, to the face of Jesus Christ.

St. Therese of Lisieux called prayer “a simple look turned toward heaven...embracing both trial and joy.”

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The Rosary is exactly that: a simple look toward the face of Christ, embracing Jesus’ sufferings—and ultimate triumphs—in company with Mary.

The Rosary is a contemplative prayer, meaning that it directs us to meditate on the goodness of God and enter into His love. In particular, the Rosary brings us to the side of Our Blessed Mother, who serves as our Immaculate guide to the life of her Son.

To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ…No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.
—St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae

The Rosary is an excellent prayer because, in it, we accomplish the very purpose of our lives—to see and know the face of Christ—with the greatest guide to direct our efforts: Mary, the Mother of God.

There is no better time than Lent to embrace these mysteries and, with Mary’s help, let them transform our lives.

In The Rosary, God Brings Himself to Us

The Rosary is also powerful because it is a constant reminder that God brings Himself to us. Through the Hail Mary, we pray over and over the words of the Archangel Gabriel when he first announced to the world the coming of the Savior:

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women…
—Luke 1:28, 30-33

This moment is the focal point of the Rosary. It calls us to meditate on the focal point of all history: the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh.

The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God’s love.
—The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 458

The Rosary is a firm declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, announcing again and again to our hearts and to the world that God has come to save us. In this way, just as we turn to God whenever we pray the Rosary, God comes down to us and enters our lives.

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God wants to enter your life. How will you respond?

This Lent, say “yes” with Mary. Join us for our series, Full of Grace, and let Jesus transform your life through the Rosary.

Click the image below to learn more!