October is, in the tradition of the Church, the month of the Rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on July 7 remembers the victory of Lepanto (1571), attributed by Pope Saint Pius V to the Rosary prayer he asked of the entire Christian faithful. Leo XIII, at the end of the 19th century, dedicated a long series of encyclicals to the Rosary and consecrated the month of October to this prayer. And in 1917, in Fatima, the Virgin herself presented herself as “the Lady of the Rosary.”

But the question many ask is simpler: why repeat the same prayer so many times?

A Prayer That Looks to Christ

In the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002), Saint John Paul II answered this objection decisively. The Rosary, he wrote, is a “christological prayer.” The Hail Marys are not the focus; they are the rhythm, the musical background against which one contemplates the face of Christ. Praying the Rosary is “to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ” (RVM 3).

Therefore, the Pope proposed adding the Luminous Mysteries (Baptism in the Jordan, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist) so that the Rosary would encompass the entire public life of Jesus, not just his infancy, Passion, and glory.

Repetition as a School of Love

Saint John Paul II uses a beautiful image: the repetition of the Rosary is like Jesus’ threefold question to Peter: “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). Whoever loves does not tire of repeating the same thing. The repeated Hail Mary is not a mechanical formula but the way love finds to remain.

In practice, this changes the way one prays. Some suggestions the apostolic letter itself proposes:

Announce the mystery and, if possible, read the corresponding biblical passage.
Make a brief silence before the Our Father to allow the scene to sink in.
Pray slowly, focusing on the scene and not on the count of the beads.
Conclude each decade with a brief prayer asking for the fruit of that mystery.

The Rosary as Scripted Prayer

Each mystery is a page from the Gospel. By praying the entire Rosary throughout the week, one unconsciously covers the essence of the New Testament: from the Annunciation to the Assumption, passing through the Jordan, Cana, Gethsemane, and the empty tomb. That is why the Popes have insisted so much: the Rosary is the “compendium of the Gospel,” accessible to those who lack time or education for longer meditations.

In this Rosary month, the invitation is simple: pray one Rosary per day, slowly, looking at Christ with Mary’s eyes.

To Deepen

The book Rosarium Virginis: Contemplating the Mystery of Christ with Mary accompanies each mystery with Scripture and Church tradition, so that the Rosary ceases to be a distracted repetition and becomes a contemplation. Learn more about the book here.