The Rosary is one of the most precious gifts we have as Catholics. Being able to sit in prayer and reflect on the life of Jesus through praying the Rosary allows us to deepen our relationship with Jesus and His Mother. As teachers it is important that we pass on this great gift to our students. Below are five great reasons to encourage you to teach your students how to pray the Rosary.
1. Students know the bulk of the prayers already.
The praying of a Rosary includes many Hail Marys and Our Fathers. These are prayers that most students who have attended a Catholic school should know. Many of them will know these prayers off by heart and if students don’t know these prayers then they can easily learn them.
2. It is an interactive prayer.
When you pray the Rosary all of your students can be involved. You might ask a student to lead the rosary or choose 5 different students to lead a decade of the Rosary each. You could have one side of the classroom lead and the other respond. There are so many ways that allows all students to actively participate in this beautiful way of prayer.
3. The Mysteries help you explore key bible stories.
When reflecting on the different Mysteries of the Rosary students become familiar with key stories from the bible. Each of the four sets of Mysteries offer a nice chronological order of the life of Jesus that students will come to know and reflect on during the praying of the Rosary.
4. Rosary beads are cool.
Rosary beads are unique to the Catholic tradition and come in so many varieties and colours. They are something tangible that are held during prayer and act as a symbol of prayer. There are many Rosary Bead Making activities that can be attempted as class activities. This will give students greater ownership over the praying of the Rosary if they are using their own set of Rosary beads that they have made themselves. It is also a wonderful keepsake for the years ahead.
5. They will know it for life.
Once you have taught your students the Rosary and they have their own beads it becomes a very easy prayer for them to pray at anytime in their lives. Even if they do not remember the Mysteries just the meditative practice of praying 10 Hail Marys in a row will allow them to enter into a deeper sense of prayer and reflection in any place, at any time.
Hopefully these points will help inspire you and your colleagues to start teaching and praying the Rosary with your classes.
Brendan is a Catholic Secondary school teacher and the founder of https://www.thecatholicteacher.com.au/
We recommend you check out his site!
