In the second year of preparation for the Diocesan Golden Jubilee 50th anniversary celebration in 2024, the focus is on Mary, and how to imitate her example of faith and trust in God.
To assist the diocese in its prayer in this Marian year, women religious serving in the diocese have compiled a 32-page resource booklet with detailed instructions for praying the rosary, including the full text of all the prayers and reflections for each of the mysteries — joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious — by sisters from the various religious communities.
“The rosary is a prayer based in Scripture. The Lord’s Prayer and the greetings of the Archangel Gabriel and of Elizabeth to Our Lady provide the text for the vocal prayers of the Our Father and the Hail Mary,” they write in the introduction. “Along with the vocal prayers, when praying the rosary we reflect in our hearts upon the mysteries revealed in Scripture. We ponder the lives of Jesus and Mary and relate them to our own lives.”
The booklet, which can be downloaded to be printed out or viewed on personal computers, tablets and smartphones, is similar in style to two others on the Eucharist that the sisters created for the first year of jubilee preparation. The rosary booklet is illustrated with 20 beautiful images of Our Lady and Jesus from classical art — including Fra Angelico’s “Virgin Mary Annunciate,” Raphael’s “The Visitation,” and Simone Cantarini’s “Our Lady of the Rosary with Child,” which graces the cover.
“The Sisters are happy to share in this role of spiritual motherhood, praying for the diocese and leading the faithful toward deeper prayer,” they write in the introduction of the booklet, compiled by the Jubilee subcommittee on consecrated life, chaired by Sister Mary Sheila Maksim, a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia and principal of St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School in Woodbridge. A video made to accompany the booklet shows two sisters praying the rosary and sharing reflections on the mysteries.
The booklet asks for prayers for the 14 religious communities of women currently serving in the diocese: Adorers of the Holy Cross; Benedictine Sisters of Virginia; Daughters of Saint Paul; Dominican Nuns; Saint Dominic’s Monastery; Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia; Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist; Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; Handmaids of Reparation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Poor Clare Nuns; Mary, Mother of the Church Monastery; Poor Sisters of St. Joseph; Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary; Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette; Sisters of St. Joseph; and Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
“Please join us in using this booklet to pray for all the people of the diocese — Catholic and non-Catholic — and for the many diocesan ministries included among the intentions for each decade,” the sisters write. “As we prepare for our diocesan jubilee, may Our Lady draw everyone in our diocese closer to her Son.”
Find out more
The rosary booklet and other prayer resources are available for free download from the Diocesan Golden Jubilee website: arlingtondiocese.org/prayerguides.
The video of sisters praying the rosary is at bit.ly/Rosary-video.
