The Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

12/17/2024
|By Fr. Michael Joseph Carlson, EP

Summary of the Course

The Holy Rosary seems to be custom-made for our present age — perilous and perplexing times in which we yearn for the earthly Reign of Jesus Christ through His Blessed Mother. Participants in Fr. Micheal Carlson’s initial series — sharing its title with the book on which it was based, St. Louis de Montfort’s Secret of the Rosary — were surely convinced of the Rosary’s value and efficacy. They also discovered how Our Lady personally guided the origin, development and global spread of this devotion.

She intended the Rosary to be a harmonious combination of vocal prayer and mental prayer. Having explained each of the prayers that comprise the Rosary’s vocal component, Fr. Michael dedicates this new series to examining the Rosary’s deepest substance — its mental component, which consists of meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary. 

Devout meditation on the wonders found in each set of Mysteries — whether Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, or Glorious — is what makes the Rosary such an efficacious means for spiritual growth and strengthening. Fr. Michael will discuss the role of mediation in the Rosary and the benefits this spiritual exercise brings to our souls. 

He will also cover a series of simple mediation methods taken from the writings of the Saints and renown Catholic authors. Next, he will apply those methods to each set of Mysteries by offering meditations that seek to uplift the soul and furnish many examples — from the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph — for our admiration and imitation.

Fr. Michael Joseph Carlson, EP Fr. Michael Joseph Carlson, EP

Fr. Michael Joseph Carlson consecrated himself to Our Lady in his youth through the method of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Monfort. He has a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and has made his life a constant search for men and women who live the same dedication to Jesus through Mary's hands. As a good religious, always cheerful and good natured, Fr. Michael has been assigned by his superiors to carry out his apostolate in various places, beginning in the United States, his native land, and in several countries in Central America, South America, and Europe. His native language is English, but he speaks Spanish and Portuguese fluently. He frequently comments on the daily liturgy on the Heralds of the Gospel YouTube Channel.

Course Lessons

1 TSMR
Lesson 1 – The role of meditation in the Rosary

Why is it so important to meditate on the Mysteries while reciting the Rosary? To discover the answer, we will hearken to the appeals of the Blessed Virgin Herself as well as the ardent words of St. Louis de Montfort and other authors who…
2 TSMR
Lesson 2 – How to meditate well

Meditating on the Mysteries is neither complicated nor mysterious, but it does require some diligence, perseverance and method. Due to our broken human condition, the merely spontaneous approach is usually counterproductive…
3 TSMR
Lesson 3 – Meditating on the Joyful Mysteries

Lesson Three will introduce course participants to some extra sources that provide fascinating particulars on the lives of Jesus and Mary and make it easier to meditate on the Mysteries. The methods learned in Lesson Two…
4 TSMR
Lesson 4 – A mediation on the Luminous Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries deal with the main events of Our Lord’s public life, starting at His Baptism and extending to His last great act before suffering His Passion: the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. We will meditate on …
5 TSMR
Lesson 5 – A mediation on the Sorrowful Mysteries

In this mediation, we will seek to accompany Our Lord’s Passion with the sentiments of compassion, contrition and gratitude that Our Saviour deserves from the faithful — the primary beneficiaries of His holocaust upon…
6 TSMR
Lesson 6 – A mediation on the Glorious Mysteries

The ultimate goal of expiatory suffering is eternal triumph and glory. In this Mediation, besides heeding some valuable messages that the glorious Mysteries convey, we will rejoice…

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