A Rosary for Life

The Joyful Mysteries

1. ANNUNCIATION - Mary faithfully received her unexpected pregnancy with the utmost trust in God. May all pregnant women do the same and welcome the life within them.

2. VISITATION - Mary and Elizabeth cared for each other and shared their immense joy. May we also nurture and celebrate motherhood as a precious gift.

3. NATIVITY - The birth of God into the human family raises up our dignity and makes every child, born and unborn, a reflection of the Christchild. May we share God's love and respect for the children, seeing each life as immeasurable and irreplaceable.

4. PRESENTATION - Mary and Joseph presented the child Jesus in the temple as a recognition that every child belongs to God and is an expression of his creative will. May we never malign a child's sacred dignity as simply an extension of a woman's body.

5. FINDING JESUS IN THE TEMPLE - Mary and Joseph were anxious when Jesus could not be found. As the years passed, many would fail to find his divinity behind his humanity. Now the confusion comes full circle; may we always discern the humanity of the unborn child.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. AGONY IN THE GARDEN - Our sweet Lord sweated blood, so terrible was his anguish. May parents agonizing over whether to choose life or death for their unborn babies have the fortitude and submission of self to say with Jesus to the Father, "Thy will be done." God chooses life.

2. SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR - All innocent flesh resonates with the scourged flesh of Christ. May each one of us recognize the terrible sin of dismembering and tearing the unborn child asunder in the womb.

3. CROWNING WITH THORNS - Christ is tortured and humiliated. Never should we cower to human opinion, pain, or mockery against the cause of life. May we offer up these indignities for the love of Christ in reparation for sin and for the conversion of sinners.

4. CARRYING THE CROSS - Despite exhaustion and suffering, Jesus fulfilled his mission and carried his cross to Calvary. We have a purpose as well, the proclamation of the Gospel of Life. May we remain faithful in our pro-life work, despite all fatigue and discouragement.

5. CRUCIFIXION - Jesus forgave his murderers. He died so that we might live. May we put aside all malice, and seek the conversion of the lovers of death to the Gospel of Life. May we be forgiven our passive toleration of abortion in the past.

The Glorious Mysteries

1. RESURRECTION - Love is indeed eternal; life has conquered death. Jesus transformed his tomb into the womb of new life. This is the mystery of the resurrection. May we never seek to change the womb back into a tomb through abortion.

2. ASCENSION - Having accomplished his saving work, the Lord returns to the Father, and offers the commission, "You shall be my witnesses even to the very ends of the earth." Many who are contemplating abortion are coerced, wounded, fearful, and near despair. May we draw them to the Lord and to his
peace.

3. DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - The Holy Spirit grants us life and then breathes eternal life into us. Abortion and contraception blasphemes this work of the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of God direct us as we pray for the unborn, for expectant mothers, for anxious fathers, and for a softening of the stony hearts of abortionists and their supporters.

4. ASSUMPTION - Utterly chaste and pure, Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. Seeking virtue and grace, may we treat our bodies and those of others, including the unborn, with respect and decency.

5. CORONATION - As Heaven's Queen, the honor of all motherhood is elevated in Mary. May she make us bearers of the loving presence of her Son, especially to pregnant mothers considering abortion.

The only other supplement to the conventional Rosary is at the very end--

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe

God made you his chosen instrument in bringing about the conversion of millions of pagans in Mexico.

Your powerful intercession conquered the holocaust of human suffering among the Aztec people.

Pray for us now, that we might be God's instrument in overthrowing the holocaust of human abortion. By your intercession, dear Mother of Mercy, may Our Lord touch and bring about a lasting change in the hearts of all the enemies of the unborn children. Amen.