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Five New Mysteries
Pope John Paul II has declared October 2002 through October
2003 as the Year of the Rosary, and announced five new mysteries to be prayed.
These mysteries are called the Mysteries of Light, or the Luminous Mysteries, and focus on Jesus' divinity and
ministry.
The new mysteries are:
Along with the new mysteries comes a new schedule for praying the rosary.
The new mysteries are not a requirement, however we are encouraged to pray them as they truly help us to
journey through the life of Jesus in our prayers.
Some people may feel disturbed at the idea of "changing" the Holy Rosary. It is worth noting that the rosary is
a form of prayer that has evolved over time, from memorizing and reciting all 150 psalms, to subsituting a Hail
Mary for each psalm, then adding the meditations. The most recent commonly used addition to the Holy Rosary
would be the Oh My Jesus prayer, added in 1917 when the Blessed Virgin Mary taught it to the Fatima seers.
Additionally, the final prayer of the Holy Rosary is most commonly the Hail Holy Queen, but many people use
other Marian prayers, such as the Memorare.
The Holy Rosary is an intensely personal form of prayer, in that we meditate on each mystery in our own way,
trying to grasp its full significance and learn from it. There are no prescribed forms of meditations that must
be used, and in fact, many people who have never had a strong rosary devotion will often simply hold a rosary
in their hands while praying any of hundreds of different prayers.
The Holy Rosary is not a required form of prayer in the Catholic church, but it is a special form, because it
helps us to observe the life of Jesus through the eyes of His Blessed Mother. The new mysteries and schedule
only serve to enrich the experience of praying the rosary.
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