Fr. Alexis on Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Having warned His disciples about the pitfalls of praying for the wrong things with vain repetitions, having cautioned them about the dangers of praying for the wrong reasons such as being seen by others, our Lord then directs His disciples about the way they should pray giving as an example the most widely known prayer in Christendom, the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. Many times, we may say it without fully appreciating the significance of each phrase or how every sacred vessel of meaning orients us towards God, towards life, and towards each other in ways that can transform us, purify us, and ultimately make us a bit more like Christ. To help their fellow believers appreciate the treasure of the Lord’s Prayer, some of the Church Fathers have written beautiful commentaries that suggest not only what the petitions in the prayer mean, but how they should be reflected in our lives.

The Lord’s Prayer begins with pure revelation from on high. There is a God in heaven and He is our Father. Saint Augustine notes that the word “father” calls forth from within the soul both love, “for what is dearer to sons than a father,” and the sentiments of a humble petitioner [supplex affects] (Sermon on the Mount, book 2, chapter 4, PL 34.1276). The words “Our Father” should bring to mind immediately the parable of the prodigal son, which assures us that “He never turns away from us, but it is we who distance ourselves from Him” (Saint John Chrysostom, Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall, Letter 1). Saint Augustine further notes that just saying the words, “our Father” we have received the greatest possible gift, to be sons and daughters of God (Sermon on the Mount, book 2, chapter 4, PL 34.1276). Thus, love, humility, and gratitude are set before us as prime virtues with the mere utterance of the first words of this most holy prayer. Those words tell us not only who God is, but who we are and where our home lies. And this should warm our hearts, comfort our souls, and cause our spirit to leap for joy.

That this Father is “our Father” also means that we “belong to a great family” (Augustine, Sermon 9) and despite the vast inequality among fathers on earth, we are equal in the sense of having the same Father in heaven. That we say “our Father” and not “my Father” means that we share the same Father and that “we do not look for our own best interests, but for those of our neighbor.” This in turn “takes away hatred, quells pride, casts out envy, and brings in love, the mother of all good things. It eliminates the inequality of human things, and shows how far the equality reaches between the king and the poor man, if at least in those things which are greatest and most indispensable, we are all of us brethren” (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 19 on Matthew, PG 51.45). In other words, we learn that we are all brothers and sisters, children of a single of Father, children of heaven, and equal in the one honor that really matters, our relationship with God.

Finally, if our Father is in heaven, then our place is in heaven as well. But how are we to be in heaven while yet on earth? Saint John Chrysostom answers, “The distance between heaven and earth is even greater if we are negligent, but if we do our best, we shall find ourselves at its gates in a single moment, for these distances are not determined by the interval between places, but by the quality of one’s frame of mind [οὐ γὰρ μήκει τόπων, ἀλλὰ γνώμῃ τρόπων]” (Homily 1 on Matthew, PG 56.23). And this is precisely what the “Our Father” said from the heart does. It “lifts us up,” “gives wings to our mind,” (Homily 14 on Ephesians, PG 62.105) teaching us to “set our mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth” (Colossians 3:20). In so doing, we find not only stability and permanence (Discourse 6 to the Newly Illumined), but “goodness itself, sanctification, rejoicing, strength, glory, purity, eternity,… and as much can be conceived concerning the divine nature by the divine scriptures and our own thoughts” (Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Discourse 2 on the Lord’s Prayer). “Our Father which art in heaven!” What a treasure this is for those who know it to be true!

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Source: Fr. Alexis Trader, "Our Father which Art in the Heavens," Ancient Christian Wisdom blog, February 27, 2015, accessed May 28, 2015, http://ancientchristianwisdom.com/2015/02/27/our-father-which-art-in-the-heavens/.

St. Louis de Montfort on Praying the Rosary Slowly and Fervently

41st Rose:

It is not so much the length of a prayer, but the fervor with which it is said which pleases Almighty God and touches His Heart. One single Hail Mary that is said properly is worth more than one hundred and fifty that are badly said. Most Catholics say the Rosary, the whole fifteen mysteries or five of them anyway or, at least a few decades. So why is it then that so few of them give up their sins and go forward in the spiritual life? Surely it must be because they are not saying them as they should. It is a good thing to think over how we should pray if we really want to please God and become more holy.

To say the Holy Rosary to advantage one must be in a state of grace or at the very least be fully determined to give up mortal sin. This we know because all our theology teaches us that good works and prayers are only dead works if they are done in a state of mortal sin. Therefore they can neither be pleasing to God nor help us gain eternal life. This is why Ecclesiastes says: "Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner." [1] Praise of God and the salutation of the Angel and the very Prayer of Jesus Christ are not pleasing to God when they are said by unrepentant sinners.

Our Lord said: "This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." [2] It is as though He was saying: "Those who join My Confraternity and say their Rosary every day (even perhaps the fifteen decades), but without being sorry for their sins offer Me lip service only and their hearts are far from Me." [...]

44th Rose:

[...] Take great care to avoid the two pitfalls that most people fall into during the Rosary. The first is the danger of not asking for any graces at all, so that if some people were asked their Rosary intention they would not know what to say. So, whenever you say your Rosary, be sure to ask for some special grace. Ask God's help in cultivating one of the great Christian virtues or in overcoming one of your sins. 

The second big fault a lot of people make when saying the Holy Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over as quickly as possible! This is because so many of us look upon the Rosary as a burden which is always heavier when we have not said it—especially if it is weighing on our conscience because we have promised to say it regularly or have been told to say it as a penance more or less against our will.

It is really pathetic to see how most people say the Holy Rosary—they say it astonishingly fast and mumble so that the words are not properly pronounced at all. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most unimportant person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment and yet we expect Jesus and Mary to be pleased with it! Small wonder then that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before! Dear Confraternity members, I beg of you to temper the speed which comes all too easily to you and pause briefly several times as you say the Our Father and Hail Mary. I have placed a cross at each pause, as you will see:

Our Father Who art in Heaven, † hallowed be Thy name, † Thy kingdom come, † Thy will be done † on earth as it is in Heaven. † Give us this day † our daily bread † and forgive us our trespasses † as we forgive those who trespass against us, † and lead us not into temptation † but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, † the Lord is with Thee, † blessed art thou among women † and blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. †
Holy Mary, Mother of God, † pray for us sinners, now † and at the hour of our death. Amen.

At first, you may find it difficult to make these pauses because of your bad habit of saying prayers in a hurry; but a decade that you say recollectedly in this way will be worth more than thousands of Rosaries said all in a rush—without any pauses or reflection. [...]

47th Rose:

Dear Rosary Confraternity members, if you want to lead a fashionable life and belong to the world—by this I mean if you do not mind falling into mortal sin from time to time and then going to Confession, and if you wish to avoid conspicuous sins which the world considers vile and yet at the same time commit "respectable sins"—then, of course, there is no need for you to say so many prayers and Rosaries. You only need to do very little to be "respectable": a tiny prayer at night and morning, an occasional Rosary which may be given to you for your penance, a few decades of Hail Marys said on your Rosary (but haphazardly and without concentration) when it suits your fancy to say them—this is quite enough. If you did less, you might be branded as a freethinker or a profligate; if you did more, you would be eccentric and a fanatic. But if you want to lead a true Christian life and genuinely want to save your soul and walk in the saints' footsteps and never, never, fall into mortal sin—if you wish to break Satan's traps and divert his flaming darts, you must always pray as Our Lord taught and commanded you to do.

If you really have this wish at heart, then you must at least say your Rosary or the equivalent, every day. I have said "at least" because probably all that you will accomplish through your Rosary will be to avoid mortal sin and to overcome temptation. This is because you are exposed to the strong current of the world's wickedness by which many a strong soul is swept away; you are in the midst of the thick, clinging darkness which often blinds even the most enlightened souls; you are surrounded by evil spirits who being more experienced than ever and knowing that their time is short are more cunning and more effective in tempting you.

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Footnotes:

1. Eccl. 15:9.
2. Mark 7:6.

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Source: St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, Catholic Tradition, http://www.catholictradition.org/Classics/secret-rosary.htm.

Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange on for What We Should Pray

[435] Now the end of the life of the soul is eternal life, and the goods which direct us to it are of two kinds: spiritual goods, which lead us to it directly; and temporal goods, which can be indirectly useful to salvation in the measure in which they are subordinated to the first.

Spiritual goods are habitual and actual grace, the virtues, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, and merits, the fruits of the virtues and of the gifts. According to what we have just said, humble, trusting, persevering prayer is all-powerful to obtain for the sinner the grace of conversion and for the just man actual grace that he may persevere in the performance of his duties. Prayer, made under the same conditions, is all-powerful to obtain for us also a more lively faith, a firmer hope, a more ardent charity, a greater fidelity to our vocation. The first petition we should make, as the Our Father points out, is that the name of God may be sanctified, glorified by a radiating faith; that His kingdom may come is the object of hope; that His will may be done, fulfilled with love, by an ever purer and stronger charity.

Moreover, prayer can obtain our daily bread for us in the measure in which it is necessary or useful for salvation, the supersubstantial bread of the Eucharist and the suitable dispositions to receive it well. Besides, prayer obtains for us the pardon of our sins and disposes us to pardon our neighbor; it preserves us from temptation or gives us the strength to triumph over it.

To accomplish all this, prayer must have the indicated [436] condition: it must be sincere, humble (it is a poor man who is asking), trusting in the infinite goodness, which it must not doubt, persevering, in order to be the expression of a profound desire of our hearts. Such was the prayer of the woman of Canaan, whom the Gospel mentions and to whom Christ said: "O woman, great is thy faith. Be it done to thee as thou wilt" (Matt. 15:28).

Even if the Lord leaves us contending with great difficulties from which we have prayed Him to deliver us, we must not believe that we are not heard. The simple fact that we continue to pray shows that God is helping us, for without a new actual grace we would not continue to pray. He leaves us to battle with these difficulties in order to inure us to warfare. He wishes to show us that the struggle is profitable for us and that, as He said to St. Paul in similar circumstances, the grace granted us suffices to continue a struggle in which the very strength of the Lord, which is the source of ours, is more clearly shown: "My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity" (Cf. II Cor. 12:9). We see this especially in the passive purifications of the senses and the spirit, which are at times a spiritual tempest, in which we must continually ask for efficacious grace, which alone can prevent us from weakening.

In regard to temporal goods, prayer can obtain for us all those which should, in one way or another, assist us in our journey toward eternity: our daily bread, health, strength, the success of our enterprises. Prayer can obtain everything, on condition that over and above all else we ask God for greater love of Him: "Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). If we do not obtain these temporal goods, it is because they are not useful to our salvation; if our prayer is well made, we obtain a more precious grace in place of them.

"The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him" (Ps. 144:18). And the prayer of petition, if it is truly a lifting up of the soul to God, prepares the soul for a more intimate prayer of adoration, reparation, and thanksgiving, and for the prayer of union.

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Source: Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, trans. by M. Timothea Doyle (Rockford, IL: TAN Books, 1989), 435–436.

Fr. Antonio Royo Marin on the Soul of the Rosary

The Soul of the Rosary

The meditation on the principal mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary constitute the soul or the formal substance of the Rosary, just as how the vocal prayer of the Our Fathers and Hail Marys constitute its bodily material. Both things are absolutely necessary for the Rosary to exist. Whoever limits himself to praying the Our Fathers and Hail Marys, but without meditating on the mysteries, would have without doubt an excellent prayer but would not be reciting the Rosary; and he who meditates attentively on the mysteries, but without reciting the Our Fathers and Hail Marys, would have an excellent meditation but clearly would not have recited the Rosary. For the Rosary to exist, precisely two things must be indispensably joined: the vocal prayers and meditation on the mysteries. We shall indicate more below on a practical method for combining both aspects, which, even though there may be certain theoretical difficulties, are easily overcome in practice with a little effort and good will aided by God's grace.

As is known, the mysteries are divided into three groups of five. The first five recall the intimate life of Jesus and Mary during their hidden life and teach us how to sanctify principally the ineffable joys of the Christian home. The second five recall the main scenes of the passion and death of Jesus and teach us to sanctify the inevitable sufferings of our life in this valley of tears and miseries. The final five, lastly, place before our eyes the triumphant glories of Jesus and Mary and speak to us of heaven, where we shall enjoy forever a sublime and incomparable glory (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17). These form all the aspects of human life, and by which its joys and pains, its sorrows and hopes are sanctified and oriented towards those ineffable joys for which we hope in eternal blessedness above.

Method of Praying the Rosary Effectively

In order to obtain from the holy Rosary all of its impetrating and sanctifying efficacy, it is evident that it is not enough to recite it in a mechanical or distracted manner, like a record player or a tape. It is necessary to recite it worthily [translator's note: sometimes translated as modestly], attentively, and devoutly just as with the Breviary or as with any other vocal prayer well made.

In theory it ought to be remembered that it is difficult to recite the Rosary well, precisely because vocal and mental prayer must be joined together; otherwise the Rosary as such becomes invalidated. But in practice it is easy to encounter some methods which efficaciously help to recite this great Marian devotion correctly and piously. We shall try to explain the manner of reciting it worthily, attentively, and devoutly.

A) Worthily. The first condition required, as a minimum, is the recitation of the Rosary in a dignified manner, corresponding to the majesty of God, to Whom we ought principally to direct our prayer. The best way is to pray it kneeling before the Tabernacle—and this way carries with it a plenary indulgence—or before a pious image of Mary. But it can also be prayed in any other dignified posture or setting (e.g. modestly seated, walking through the countryside, etc.). It would be undignified to recite it in bed (unless it be for reasons of infirmity), or constantly interrupting it in order to answer questions outside of prayer, or in a public and crowded place that would make attention almost impossible, etc.

B) Attentively. Attention is necessary in order to avoid the irreverence that could occur if it were fully voluntary. How can we desire God to listen to us if we do not begin by listening to ourselves?

Nevertheless, not all distraction is culpable. We do not have a despotic control over our imagination but only a political one as the philosophers teach, and we cannot avoid those distractions that afflict us without permission, like a disobedient and indomitable servant or like the mad house. Involuntary distractions do not invalidate the meritorious effect and impetratory value of prayer, provided that efforts be made to contain and avoid the distractions. Listen to the Angelic Doctor admirably explain this point most interestingly by asking "whether attention is necessary for prayer" (Summa, IIa-IIæ, q. 83, a. 13):

This question applies chiefly to vocal prayer. Accordingly we must observe that a thing is necessary in two ways. First, a thing is necessary because thereby the end is better obtained: and thus attention is absolutely necessary for prayer. Secondly, a thing is said to be necessary when without it something cannot obtain its effect. Now the effect of prayer is threefold. The first is an effect which is common to all acts quickened by charity, and this is merit. On order to realize this effect, it is not necessary that prayer should be attentive throughout; because the force of the original intention with which one sets about praying renders the whole prayer meritorious, as is the case with other meritorious acts. The second effect of prayer is proper thereto, and consists in impetration: and again the original intention, to which God looks chiefly, suffices to obtain this effect. But if the original intention is lacking, prayer lacks both merit and impetration: because, as Gregory [Hugh St. Victor, Expos. in Reg. S. Aug. iii] says, "God hears not the prayer of those who pay no attention to their prayer." The third effect of prayer is that which it produces at once; this is the spiritual refreshment of the mind, and for this effect attention is a necessary condition: wherefore it is written (1 Corinthians 14:14): "If I pray in a tongue . . . my understanding is without fruit." 

It must be observed, however, that there are three kinds of attention that can be brought to vocal prayer: one which attends to the words, lest we say them wrong, another which attends to the sense of the words, and a third, which attends to the end of prayer, namely, God, and to the thing we are praying for. That last kind of attention is most necessary, and even idiots are capable of it. Moreover this attention, whereby the mind is fixed on God, is sometimes so strong that the mind forgets all other things, as Hugh of St. Victor states [De Modo Orandi ii].

Having kept in mind these principles of the Angelic Doctor for the purpose of facilitating attention in praying the holy Rosary and in order to extract from it its maximum sanctifying efficacy, we propose the following method, which has been used with great success for many people who suffer greatly from interior distractions when trying to pray the Rosary:

1. While praying the Our Father, attend solely to the marvelous thought behind each of the words, without thinking about the corresponding mystery since it is psychologically impossible to attend effectively to two things at the same time.

2. During the first three (more or less) Hail Marys, fix your attention exclusively on the thought of those Hail Marys, saluting the Virgin, without taking account of the pertinent mystery, for the reason given above.

3. During the next three Hail Marys (again, more or less since this shouldn't be measured "by the millimeter"), think exclusively on the corresponding mystery which is being recited (e.g. the Incarnation of the Word, the Crucifixion, etc.) without thinking about the Hail Marys that are being recited, for doing both things at once is incompatible with each other.

4. During the last three or four Hail Marys, think exclusively on the practical consequences which flow from the corresponding mystery (e.g. the humility of Mary, the love of the Cross, etc.) without thinking about either the mystery itself or the Hail Marys that are being recited.

5. During the Glory Be, focus solely on glorifying the Most Holy Trinity without thinking about anything else whatsoever.

This method, which during its first attempts may seem somewhat artificial and complicated, ultimately produces a very easy and simple result once the soul becomes habituated to it. In the beginning it takes a little getting used to, but afterwards follows the easiest results, and the soul will experience a living pleasure in praying the Rosary. From this manner of praying, we draw out the maximum benefit of the vocal prayers, of the meditation on the mysteries, and of each respective mystery's practical fruits, joined together in a comfortable, easy, and simple manner for all whose attention is affected in different ways during vocal and mental prayer. To the one who may have doubts, we ask him at least to try this method for some time with complete seriousness, and we accept whatever his final verdict may be.

C) Devotedly. This condition follows automatically from the preceding ones that we have just indicated. Devotion consists—as we have said in another place—in a promptness of the soul for those things regarding the service of God. It is impossible for the soul not to feel full of devotion if it is correctly praying the Rosary in a manner as perfect as we have indicated.

Here is one of the most important things to which we must draw attention. The primary end of all vocal or mental prayer is the union of the soul with God in a manner that is as intimate as possible. All others—including the impetration of the graces for which we ask—are secondary in relation to this supreme goal. From which it must be concluded that, if during the Rosary or any other vocal prayer that is not obligatory, the soul has begun to feel full of a love of God so intense that to continue praying would result in increasing pain or would become nearly impossible, it ought immediately to cease the prayer, without any pain of scruples, in order "to abandon itself to burning in silence" because that living flame of love "tastes of eternal life and pays every debt" as St. John of the Cross says. Nevertheless, if the prayer is obligatory (e.g. the recitation of the Breviary for the priest or religious who have taken their solemn vows), one would have to renounce the spiritual delight of the contemplative prayer in order to fulfill the obligation. Here results the truth, that "obligation comes before devotion," from which so many instances of abuse have come because of illegitimate purposes and for the sake of comfort.

The Rosary, Great Sign of Predestination

The Rosary, prayed with the qualities that we have just mentioned, constitutes one of the greatest and clearest signs of predestination that we can possess in this world, combining the infallible efficacy of impetratory prayer for final perseverance and the omnipotent intercession of Mary, who is the universal Mediatrix of all graces. [...] [To close, we have only] to beg from Mary that she place in at least one of the readers of these words the ardent desire of a great devotion to the Virgin under the double invocation of Carmel and the Rosary:

When the white pall

shall cover my remains...,

may your Scapular save me

and may my cold fingers be clutching

the beads of your Rosary!

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Source: Fr. Antonio Royo Marín, La Virgen María, trans. by R. Grablin (Madrid, Spain: BAC, 1996), 471-476.

Fr. Antonio Royo Marin on the Body of the Rosary

[One reason why] the Rosary occupies the first place among all other Marian devotions is because of its structure and theological content.

In effect the Rosary—and this applies solely to the Rosary above all other Marian devotions—contains the benefits of mental and vocal prayer in the most objectively perfect degree possible. The reason is because among other vocal prayers there are none more perfect than the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, which constitute the body of the Rosary, and among themes for meditation the great mysteries of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ occupy the first place and which constitute the soul of the Rosary.

The Body of the Rosary

The Rosary is formed, as we have said, of the most beautiful and sublime prayers of Christianity, including naturally the liturgical prayers that form the most important part.

I. The Our Father. The Our Father, having sprung from the divine lips of Christ, is, without any possible discussion, the most beautiful prayer of Christianity. Its recitation for the Christian people constitutes the culminating moment during the liturgical prayers of the Holy Mass. [...]

Saint Thomas, following Saint Augustine, demonstrates in the marvelous article of his Summa how the Lord's Prayer is most perfect and how it contains all things for which we must ask and in the order for which we must ask them (IIa-IIæ, q. 83, a. 9). The Saint explains such in the following words:

The Lord's Prayer is most perfect, because, as Augustine says (ad Probam Ep. cxxx, 12), "if we pray rightly and fittingly, we can say nothing else but what is contained in this prayer of our Lord." For since prayer interprets our desires, as it were, before God, then alone is it right to ask for something in our prayers when it is right that we should desire it. Now in the Lord's Prayer not only do we ask for all that we may rightly desire, but also in the order wherein we ought to desire them, so that this prayer not only teaches us to ask, but also directs all our affections. Thus it is evident that the first thing to be the object of our desire is the end, and afterwards whatever is directed to the end. Now our end is God towards Whom our affections tend in two ways: first, by our willing the glory of God, secondly, by willing to enjoy His glory. The first belongs to the love whereby we love God in Himself, while the second belongs to the love whereby we love ourselves in God. Wherefore the first petition is expressed thus: "Hallowed be Thy name," and the second thus: "Thy kingdom come," by which we ask to come to the glory of His kingdom. 

To this same end a thing directs us in two ways: in one way, by its very nature, in another way, accidentally. Of its very nature the good which is useful for an end directs us to that end. Now a thing is useful in two ways to that end which is beatitude: in one way, directly and principally, according to the merit whereby we merit beatitude by obeying God, and in this respect we ask: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"; in another way instrumentally, and as it were helping us to merit, and in this respect we say: "Give us this day our daily bread," whether we understand this of the sacramental Bread, the daily use of which is profitable to man, and in which all the other sacraments are contained, or of the bread of the body, so that it denotes all sufficiency of food, as Augustine says (ad Probam Ep. cxxx, 11), since the Eucharist is the chief sacrament, and bread is the chief food: thus in the Gospel of Matthew we read, "supersubstantial," i.e. "principal," as Jerome expounds it. 

We are directed to beatitude accidentally by the removal of obstacles. Now there are three obstacles to our attainment of beatitude. First, there is sin, which directly excludes a man from the kingdom, according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, etc., shall possess the kingdom of God"; and to this refer the words, "Forgive us our trespasses." Secondly, there is temptation which hinders us from keeping God's will, and to this we refer when we say: "And lead us not into temptation," whereby we do not ask not to be tempted, but not to be conquered by temptation, which is to be led into temptation. Thirdly, there is the present penal state which is a kind of obstacle to a sufficiency of life, and to this we refer in the words, "Deliver us from evil." (English Fathers trans.)

 [...] It is absolutely impossible to ask for more things, more excellently, or in a better order than how we ask in the Our Father. There is the primary end (the glory of God), the secondary end (our own salvation), the fundamental means to obtain salvation (following the will of God) and the secondary means (all that is necessary for life, symbolized by bread). And after the positive part follows the negative part or the removing of the obstacles, from the greater to the lesser: sin, temptation, and all the evils of life. We repeat that it is impossible to think of anything more perfect, more complete, or more exhaustive.

The Our Father forms an essential part of the holy Rosary. [...] It is not possible to think of a more perfect or fitting beginning to all of the rest of this sublime Marian prayer.

2. The Hail Mary. The Hail Mary, or angelic salutation, is, again without any possible discussion, the most beautiful and sublime of all Marian prayers. Every time we recite it devoutly, we remind Mary of the culminating moment of her life: the Incarnation of the Word in her virginal womb. [...] We have already commented amply [on the meaning of the prayer elsewhere, so we will not repeat it here....] As Lacordaire said most beautifully, "Love has only one word, which it is always speaking but never repeating" because it always has a perennial beauty and freshness. [...]

3. The Glory Be. This precious doxology constitutes the principal formula which the Church has used from her earliest times to glorify the Most Holy Trinity. With it, she renders to the Most Blessed Trinity a homage of recognition, love, adoration, and praise of Its infinite excellence. The Church uses this prayer constantly in her liturgy and its recitation is obligatory to end each psalm in the recitation of the Divine Office. There is no other better way to close each one of the mysteries of the Rosary than with the recitation of the Glory Be since we ought not to forget that the ultimate and absolute end of all prayer and of all creatures, including Mary and Jesus as man, is the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity. The Rosary reminds us of this, how, if we must go to Jesus through Mary, the final end cannot be other than the one and triune God, according to that saying of Saint Paul: "All things are yours..., whether the world, or life, or death, or the present, or things to come, all is yours; but you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3:21-23).

As seen, the bodily material of the Rosary, consisting of the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be, cannot be more sublime and perfect. 

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Source: Fr. Antonio Royo Marín, La Virgen María, trans. by R. Grablin (Madrid, Spain: BAC, 1996), 467-471.