Our Lady of the Rosary

A disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray, and he gives them the Our Father - short, plain, and complete. Today the Church keeps the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, a devotion built entirely from prayers this simple, repeated until they carry a whole life of meditation on Christ.

Paul tells the Galatians that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, and that he himself has been crucified with Christ, so that it is no longer he who lives but Christ who lives in him. Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the Psalter, calls all nations to praise the Lord for his kindness and enduring fidelity. In the Gospel, a disciple asks Jesus to teach them to pray as John taught his own disciples, and Jesus gives the Our Father: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, give us each day our daily bread, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us, and do not subject us to the final test.

Lord Jesus, you taught us to call God our Father: Lord, have mercy. Christ Jesus, whom Mary held in her arms and pondered in her heart: Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you live in us who have been crucified with you: Lord, have mercy.

Introduction: Father, you gave us your Son's own prayer and his Mother's example of pondering your word. Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, we bring you our petitions:

1. For the Church, that she would pray as simply and as constantly as the Our Father teaches; we pray to the Lord.
2. For peace among nations, recalling that this feast began as thanksgiving for peace won through Mary's intercession; we pray to the Lord.
3. For all who pray the Rosary daily, and for those who have never learned it, that they might; we pray to the Lord.
4. For families who pray together, that the Rosary would remain a bond between generations; we pray to the Lord.
5. For daily bread for all who are hungry, and forgiveness for all who struggle to forgive; we pray to the Lord.
6. For all who have died, especially [name], through the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary; we pray to the Lord.

Concluding prayer: Father, you taught us through your Son to pray simply and to trust completely. Receive the prayers of your people, offered through the Rosary of your Blessed Mother, and give us daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from the final test. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.