The Rosary and the Confraternity of Christ the King

Our Lady's Holy Rosary is a primary devotion for all members of the CCR, as it should be for all Catholics. There is no prayer so complete, so compelling, so pure as the Rosary, short of the Sacraments themselves.

To honor Christ and His Mother, we pray the Rosary. To honor Christ the King and His Mother the Queen, we kneel as we pray the Crowning with Thorns and the Coronation.

Members of the CCR are encouraged to pray the Psalter (a sequence of psalms which ensures that the entire Book of Psalms is prayed once a week). But the Psalter is out of reach for many lay Catholics, at least the once-a-week Psalter. The Rosary, though, is Our Lady's Psalter. Each Hail Mary represents a Psalm; and just as in the Psalms we pray upon the mercies of God, in the Rosary we pray upon the great mysteries of the life of Christ and the story of our salvation. Combining all that is best of vocal prayer (the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be) and mental prayer (our deep reflection upon the mysteries), the Rosary is a powerful weapon against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

The rosary is an invincible shield. Specifically, it is a shield which repels the world, the flesh, and the devil. By meditating upon the joyful mysteries, our minds are constantly brought to the gifts of God, and the fact that they all come from beyond the world, giving us a firm shield against the temptations of the world. By meditating upon the sorrowful mysteries, we take note of the intense sufferings of Christ, the incredible mortification of His flesh, which gives us a strong shield against the flesh. And by meditating upon the glorious mysteries, we remember the great rewards that await us for our suffering, prayer, and good works, which provides an immoveable shield against the temptations of the devil.

The rosary is also a powerful sword, a sword which enables us to slay any enemies which stand in the way of our salvation. The joyful mysteries slay the demons of sadness and discouragement, as we reflect on the glorious things that God has done for us; the sorrowful mysteries slay the demons of weakness and cowardice, as we reflect on the incredible trials which He endured for us, and how little are the things He asks us to endure for Him; the glorious mysteries slay the demons of worry, of fear, of doubt, as we reflect on the power of Christ and the gifts that await us if we serve Him.

The Rosary can never really be fully plumbed; but for help praying it better, consider looking at some other sources:

• The Holy Rosary: A Devotional
• St. Louis Marie de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary (available for sale in several places)

But most importantly, pray the Rosary. No matter how tired, no matter how weak, no matter how discouraged, no matter how unenthused you might be, pray the Rosary. It will pay dividends far beyond anything you can imagine.

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!