Today is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. In 1954, Pope Pius XII decreed that this feast should be celebrated and, at the same time, the world should renew its consecration to our Heavenly Mother.
One of the best ways to honor the Blessed Mother on this day is to say the Rosary. Maybe the Dominican Way of saying the rosary. They do it a little differently and it is based on the idea that the Rosary is the layperson’s Divine Office. If you have ever attended evening or morning prayer in a monastery, you will notice that they alternate chanting the praises of God much like is done in the Dominican rosary.
The introductory prayers are the ones with which the Divine Office begins:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
V. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
R. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
V. Lord, open my lips.
R. And my tongue shall announce your praise.
V. Incline to my aid, O God.
R. Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia! (Or during Lent: Praise be to You, O Lord, King of eternal glory!)
After this the decades are begun immediately:
One Our Father,
Ten Hail Marys and
One Glory be to the Father, for each decade.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us. And after this, our exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Leader: Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary.
People: That we might be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
All: Let us pray. O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech You, that meditating on the sacred mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
When the Rosary is recited publicly, a Leader should be designated who will name the mystery before each decade and say the verses marked “V” above, as well as the ending prayers. The Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory be’s should be divided alternately between the Leader and congregation, or between one side of the congregation and the other. The leading of these prayers should likewise alternate, that is, the first decade should be led by the Leader and responded to by the congregation (or Side A and Side B), the second decade led by the congregation and responded to by the Leader (Side B and Side A), and so on.
For more information, visit the Third Order of St. Dominic, New England Region website for a history of the Rosary, how the Dominicans became the special promoters of the devotion and how Mary became Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.
