Page 55     

                                                                                                                                                                    `                                                                                   

Twenty-First Rose

meditating on the life, death and passion of Jesus Christ for this meditation is the soul of this
prayer."
For, in reality, the Rosary said without meditating on the
sacred mysteries of our salvation would be almost like a body
without a soul: excellent matter but without the form which
is meditation-this latter being that which sets it apart from
all other devotions.
The first part of the Rosary contains five mysteries: the first
is the Annunciation of the Archangel Saint Gabriel to Our
Lady; the second, the Visitation of Our Lady to her cousin
Saint Elizabeth; the third, the Nativity" of Jesus Christ; the
fourth, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple and
the Purification of Our Lady; and the fifth, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple among the
doctors.
These are called the Joyful MYSTERIES because of the joy which they gave to the whole
universe. Our Lady and the
angels were overwhelmed with joy the moment when the Son of God was incarnate. Saint Elizabeth and
Saint John the Baptist were filled with joy by the visit of Jesus and Mary. Heaven and earth
rejoiced at the birth of Our Savior Holy
Simeon felt great consolation and was filled with joy when he took the Holy Child in his arms. The
doctors were lost in admiration and wonderment at the answers which Jesus gave and how could
anyone describe the joy of Mary and Joseph when they found the Child Jesus after He had been lost
for three days? 
The second part of the Rosary is also composed of five mysteries which are called the SORROWFUL
MYSTERIES because they show us Our Lord weighed down with sadness, covered with wounds, laden with
insults, sufferings and torments. The first of these mysteries is Jesus' Prayer and Agony in the
Garden of Olives; the second, His Scourging; the third, His Crowning with Thorns; the fourth,
Jesus carrying His Cross; and the fifth. His Crucifixion and Death on Mount Calvary.
The third part of the Rosary contains five other mysteries
which are called the GLORIOUS MYSTERIES because when we say them we meditate on Jesus and Mary in
their triumph and glory. The first is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; the second,
His Ascension into heaven; the third, the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles; the fourth,
Our Lady's glorious Assumption into heaven; and the fifth. her Crowning in heaven.
These are the fifteen fragrant flowers of the Mystical Rose

                                                                                                                                                                    `