The Rosary with the Great Artists: the Joyful Mysteries
The Virgin Mary El Greco [ Web Gallery of Art ] 'The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety , of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.' [St John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae , No 1. ] The Rosary here is the formula prayed by members of the Legion of Mary , the way I prefer. There are various ways of beginning and ending the Rosary but the Five Mysteries are the heart of the prayer. In the name