should we only say the sorrowful mysteries during Lent?

Certainly it is fitting to pray the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary during the penitential season of Lent, and particularly during Holy Week. However, the Rosary itself is in the nature of a private devotion, and the Church does not want to unnecessarily limit the faithful when it comes to matters of private devotion and personal piety.

The most recent magisterial statement from the Holy See on the Rosary is the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (“Rosary of the Virgin Mary”) promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002. You may be familiar with it; it is the document where the Holy Father introduced the luminous mysteries of the Rosary. Toward the end of the document, he took up the question as to when one might pray the luminous mysteries. Here is what he said (from paragraph 38):

38. The Rosary can be recited in full every day, and there are those who most laudably do so. In this way it fills with prayer the days of many a contemplative, or keeps company with the sick and the elderly who have abundant time at their disposal. Yet it is clear – and this applies all the more if the new series of mysteria lucis [“Luminous Mysteries”] is included – that many people will not be able to recite more than a part of the Rosary, according to a certain weekly pattern. This weekly distribution has the effect of giving the different days of the week a certain spiritual “color”, by analogy with the way in which the Liturgy colors the different seasons of the liturgical year.

According to current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the “joyful mysteries”, Tuesday and Friday to the “sorrowful mysteries”, and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the “glorious mysteries”. Where might the “mysteries of light” be inserted? If we consider that the “glorious mysteries” are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has always had a special Marian flavor, the second weekly meditation on the “joyful mysteries”, mysteries in which Mary's presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday. Thursday would then be free for meditating on the “mysteries of light”.

This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations. What is really important is that the Rosary should always be seen and experienced as a path of contemplation. In the Rosary, in a way similar to what takes place in the Liturgy, the Christian week, centered on Sunday, the day of Resurrection, becomes a journey through the mysteries of the life of Christ, and he is revealed in the lives of his disciples as the Lord of time and of history.

As you can see, the Holy Father recommends a weekly cycle throughout the year that includes all four sets of mysteries. At the same, he explicitly says he does not intend “to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer . . .” so if you prefer to pray the sorrowful mysteries every day during Lent you are certainly welcome to do so. However, the Church does not require that approach, and St. John Paul II specifically recommends a different approach that includes all four sets of mysteries. Regardless, what’s truly important is that the Rosary is “experienced as a path of contemplation.”

Courtesy of Leon Suprenant