In his book The World’s First Love, Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote:

If you wish to convert anyone to the fullness of the knowledge of Our Lord and of his Mystical Body, then teach him the rosary.

Today, we remember Our Lady of the Rosary. The Church has celebrated this feast since the sixteenth Century. Here is what we can learn from being people who pray the rosary well.

1. When we pray the rosary, we are being formed in the School of Christ. The Rosary is the first prayer many Catholics learn. It contains the entire message of the Gospels. While it is Marian in character, the Rosary is fundamentally centered on Jesus. Mary always points to Jesus. As we thumb through beads, we meditate on the life of Jesus through the one who knew him best.

2. The Rosary is a meditation that forms us as agents of peace. In all of Mary’s apparitions, Mary called for peace through prayer. Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the Rosary as a prayer for peace:

“The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each Hail Mary (Pope Benedict XVI, 3 May 2008).

In his Apostolic Journey to France, Pope Leo XIV made a direct appeal to all people before the Angelus at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. He said:

Today I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict. Let us accompany this prayer with concrete acts of penance and mercy, committing ourselves always to fostering dialogue and reconciliation.

May the Rosary form us to be people of peace, dialogue, and reconciliation.

3. We never fight our battles alone. We all face temptations; we all try our best to be better people and grow in holiness. The rhythmic pacing of reciting the Hail Mary acts as a spiritual anchor, meant to slow down the mind, calm anxieties, and re-center the heart in God’s presence. The angel’s greeting becomes our own intimate prayer.

Three solid reasons why to pray the Rosary today and throughout the month of October: the Rosary forms us in the school of Jesus, makes us agents of peace, and acts as spiritual armor.

Give thanks to all who taught us the Gospels through Mary’s discipleship. As we thumb through a string of beads, may we always imitate Mary’s life and ask her to give us her heart so that Jesus may be formed in us.