To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.

Christ is the supreme Teacher, the revealer and the one revealed. It is not just a question of learning what He taught but of “learning Him”. In this regard could we have any better teacher than Mary? From the divine standpoint, the Spirit is the interior teacher who leads us to the full truth of Christ. But among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of His mystery better than His Mother.

— Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae

The Pope's Letter on the Rosary - Vatican website

Rev. Francis Peffley

What is prayer?
Prayer is talking to God, lifting our hearts and minds to God. 
"Prayer is the key of Heaven."   — St. Augustine

We pray so that we can go to Heaven.  St. Augustine says: "As our body cannot live without nourishment, so our soul cannot spiritually be kept alive without prayer."  St. Alphonsus says: "He who prays, is saved; he who prays not, is damned!"  Prayer is powerful (Jam.5: 16-18, 2 Kings 20:1-6).

Who prays? 
People who want to be happy forever with God in Heaven pray. When do we pray?   We pray anytime day or night.

Where do we pray?
We pray at home in our room (Mt.6: 1-6), at Church with our family (Mt.21:13), or anywhere.  Through prayer we can sanctify idle moments, we can pray while walking in a park, riding in a car or bus and give that extra free time to God.

Does God always answer our prayers? 
Yes. There are three answers to prayer - yes, no, and wait.  No prayer is unanswered, and no prayer is unheard.  St. Thomas Aquinas said: "God does not give us what we ask for in prayer if it is not favorable to our salvation."  We must ask for what is in keeping with God's will for us.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be given you besides." (Mt.6: 31-33)  “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul?" (Mt.16: 26)  God takes care of our needs, but not our greeds.

What are the qualities of good prayer?
Attention (Mt.6: 7,8), Faith (Heb.11: 6), Humility (Jam.4: 6, Mt.6: 1-6, Lk.18: 9-14), Right Priority (Lk.22: 42), Devotion (Mt.15:8), Fervor (Lk.22: 43,44), Perseverance (Lk.11: 5-10/18:1-8, Mt.24: 13), and Frequency.  We should pray at least 15 minutes everyday. In this life we prepare to be with God for eternity.  Since God is the most important Person in our life we should speak to Him everyday.  We spend far more time each day simply eating or in recreation and entertainment.  Our soul is more important than our body.  God is certainly more important than anyone or anything else in our life, so He deserves a priority of time.  How often we should pray?  Scripture says: "Pray always!" (Lk.18: 1, 1 Thess.5: 17, Eph.6: 18, Acts 6:4).

Why does God wish us to pray to Mary?
We pray to Mary because she is the Mother of God and her prayers are very powerful (Jn.2: 1 -11).  When we pray the Hail Mary we combine worship of God and honor of Mary.  We combine both our prayers to God and her prayers to God.  We do not worship Mary; we only worship God.  When we pray to Mary we honor her as the Mother of God, and as our Spiritual Mother (Rev.12: 17, Jn.19: 26,27). When we need help the most, we not only go directly to God by ourselves, we ask others to pray for us and with us.  When we pray the Rosary, we have Mary, the Holy Mother of God, pray to God for us and with us.  God wishes us to honor Mary because of her special role in God's plan of salvation.  He wished her to contribute to the redemption of man, just as much as Eve contributed to the fall of man.  As a father is filled with joy at the love and respect others give to his children, so too is God the Father overjoyed and seeks for us to honor His daughter Mary, the mother of His Son Jesus.

Why should we pray the Rosary?
Because it has been used and encouraged for centuries by the greatest saints and Popes, and because of its good effects - like a good tree it bears good fruit (Mt.7: 17).  Also, because of the 15 Promises of Mary to Christians who pray it (see below) and because she appeared at Lourdes and Fatima to ask us to pray the Rosary.  The Rosary has helped and changed thousands of lives, why not give it a chance to help yours.

How do we pray the Rosary?
By meditating on the 15 mysteries, by praying ten Hail Mary's on the beads, and one Our Father and the Glory Be at each mystery.

How do we meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary?  We meditate on the mysteries of the rosary by using our imagination to picture the mystery occurring right in front to us.  Then we keep this image fresh in our minds as we say the Hail Mary prayers.  As we meditate we repeat our prayers, as Jesus did (Mt.26: 44).  In the Rosary, we basically say, "Jesus and Mary, I love you” over again and again.  As we do, we grow in our love of God.  Saying, "I love you" never grows old.  When we truly love, it just grows deeper.

How should we start to pray the Rosary on a daily basis?
By praying just a decade, one mystery with 10 Hail Mary's each day until we feel we want to pray more.

"Among the different ways of praying, there is none more excellent than the Rosary. It condenses into itself all the worship that is due to Mary. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings." (Pope Leo XIII)

"Of all prayers the Rosary is the most beautiful and the richest in graces; of all it is the one which is most pleasing to Mary, the Virgin Most Holy. Therefore, love the Rosary and recite it every day with devotion: this is the testament which I leave unto you so that you may remember me by it." (St. Pius X)

"For Christians, the first of books is the Gospel and the Rosary is actually the abridgement of the Gospel." (Lacordaire)

"It is impossible that the prayers of many should not be heard if those numerous prayers form but one single prayer." (St. Thomas Aquinas: on Matt 18)

Fr. Francis Peffley