Rosary Thursday 5pm

Like many millions of people across the globe you may already be praying  the Rosary on Thursdays. Worldpriest is now naming each Thursday as Rosary Thursday, and invites you to offer your Rosary on that day for the intentions of Pope Francis and the intentions of our parish community.

In 2002 Pope John Paul II invited Catholics to pray the Mysteries of Light on Thursdays. These Mysteries focus on the public life of Jesus, the Light of the world.  Included are Jesus’ Baptism, Cana, his revealing of God’s Kingdom, his Transfiguration and the institution of the Eucharist.

Pope Francis invited all Catholics to rediscover the beauty of the rosary prayer. Especially associated with the Dominicans, the Rosary is a prayer which has nourished the faith of the Christian people through the centuries. Inviting us to contemplate the mysteries of the Rosary the Holy Father said that  “The recitation of the rosary is the most beautiful prayer we can offer to the Virgin Mary; it is a contemplation on the stages of the life of Jesus the Saviour with his Mother Mary and is a weapon that protects us from evils and temptations”. 

The Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer. There are four mysteries in the Rosary: the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Joyful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries, and the Luminous Mysteries. Each mystery has five decades dedicated to different parts of the salvation history of Christ. We are invited to meditate on each mystery. By doing so we are drawn into the mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as we reflect on the role of our Blessed Mother in the story of salvation.   

Saint Francis de Sales is reputed to have said that ‘The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary’. Theologically rich in Biblical content the rosary is a priceless treasure and a magnificent, powerful and universal prayer.

Each Thursday the rosary will be recited in the Church of the Sacred Heart at 5pm as part of the organisation  ‘Worldpriest’ and its initiative  to unite priests and laity so that everyone can come into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.