03 May, 2013 - Pope Francis is urging Catholic families this month of May to pray
the Rosary together saying it strengthens the family. The Pope said this on Friday
on his Twitter handle @Pontifex: “It would be a good idea, during May, for families
to say the Rosary together. Prayer strengthens family life.” The Holy Father himself
is showing the way when he will lead the Rosary at Rome’s Mary Major Basilica on the
first Saturday of May. Traditionally, May is dedicated to the Rosary, the Marian
devotion and prayer that helps the faithful meditate on some of the important events
or mysteries of Christ’s life and the Catholic faith. In the Rosary, the Gospel episodes
are divided into three sets of 5 mysteries each – the joyful, the sorrowful and the
glorious. For example, the joyful mysteries are the Annunciation, Mary’s visit to
Elizabeth her cousin, the birth of Jesus, presentation of Jesus in the temple and
finding Him after he went missing as a child. The sorrowful mysteries reflect on
the passion and death of Jesus, while the glorious focus on Jesus and Mary after the
Resurrection. Pope John Paul II added another set of mysteries – the mysteries of
light – drawing attention to Jesus’ Baptism, the Marriage Feast of Cana, His public
ministry, his Transfiguration and the Last Supper.