Dear Father Angelo,

I have two questions for you, small doubts that have recently come to me.

The first concerns the prayer of the Holy Rosary: how can we explain the repetition of the Hail Mary in the Holy Rosary in response to Jesus’ words: when you pray, do not waste words? It is true that Jesus said to pray always without tiring, but this doubt has arisen in me…

The second concerns Marian devotion: since Jesus says to the apostles in the Gospel, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you”, is praying to Our Lady necessary in order to reach Jesus?

Now, I personally believe that these doubts are raised by the devil, who fears my immense devotion to Our Lady and especially to the Holy Rosary, but resolving them would help me, perhaps even to explain it to other people who might ask me the same question.

Thank you in advance. Please keep me in your prayers.

I look forward to your kind reply to clarify my doubts.

The priest’s answer

Dearest,

1.The first question is answered directly by Saint Pope Paul VI in his apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus: “There has also been felt with greater urgency the need to point out once more the importance of a further essential element in the Rosary, in addition to the value of the elements of praise and petition, namely the element of contemplation. Without this the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and of going counter to the warning of Christ: “And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Mt. 6, 7).

By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of the one who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are unfolded. (MC 47)

2.Saint Pope John Paul II also reiterated the same concept in his apostolic exhortation Rosarium Virginis Mariae: “The Rosary, starting from Mary’s experience, is a distinctly contemplative prayer. 

Deprived of this dimension, it would be distorted, as Paul VI emphasized: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation risks becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas and contradicting Jesus’ warning: ‘When you pray, do not be like the pagans, who believe that they will be heard because of their many words’ (Mt 6, 7)” (RVM 12).

3.The Rosary, therefore, requires interior contemplation on the mystery being recited. The Our Father, the 10 Hail Marys, and the Glory Be are like the material structure that helps us persevere in contemplation.

John Paul II also says: “The Rosary is one of the traditional paths of Christian prayer applied to the contemplation of the face of Christ.

Pope Paul VI described it this way: “An evangelical prayer, centered on the mystery of the redemptive incarnation, the Rosary is therefore a prayer of a distinctly Christological orientation.

In fact, its characteristic element—the litany-like repetition of ‘Hail Mary’—also becomes an unceasing praise of Christ, the ultimate goal of the Angel’s announcement and the greeting of the mother of John the Baptist: ‘Blessed is the fruit of your womb’ (Lk 1, 42).

We will say more: the repetition of the Hail Mary constitutes the warp on which the contemplation of the mysteries is developed: the Jesus whom each Hail Mary recalls is the same one whom the succession of mysteries proposes to us, each time, as the Son of God and of the Virgin” (RVM 18).

4.However, even if it is not accompanied by contemplation because we are too tired or for other reasons, it remains a song of praise to Mary, repeated incessantly as a sign of our love.

Someone has observed that even lovers do something similar and never tire of repeating the same words of affection.

After all, from its origins, the Rosary, which was called the Marian Psalter, has been a litany prayer, a prayer of repetition, of incessant praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the people loved to honor with the Angelic Salutation.

The repetition of the prayer is not intended to insist on making God aware of our needs. It is simply a requirement of love.

5.In the second question, you quote a statement by Jesus that is also found in other passages of the Gospel in which the Lord always repeats the verb “you will ask,” that is, in the plural.

It is prayer made in communion with everyone, with a reconciled heart.

But it is also prayer that is reinforced by the prayers of others with whom we are in communion.

Now, there is no greater reinforcement that our prayer can receive than that which comes from prayer made in communion with Mary.

6.It has rightly been said that praying the Rosary is more Mary’s prayer than ours. Herein lies the key to its power and its charm on the heart of Jesus.

When we pray the Rosary, the Lord looks more at Our Lady’s prayer than ours, because she loves him more.

7.I am pleased with what you wrote at the end of your email: “My immense devotion to Our Lady and especially to the Holy Rosary.”

It is an immense grace.

Because love for Our Lady is a supernatural love, it is directly infused by God into our hearts.

This is why St. Louis Grignion de Monfort spoke of a sign of predestination, of eternal salvation, for those who love Mary.

With my best wishes that you continue in this way, I bless you and assure you that you are always in my prayers.

Father Angelo

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