The Rosary: A Journey to the Beloved

by Gary Jansen

In The A Journey to the Beloved, Gary Jansen offers a short introduction to a prayer that has touched the lives of millions. "Though traditionally considered a Catholic act of devotion," he contends, "the Rosary, with its primary focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, is ultimately a catholic, or universal, prayer—one that can appeal to Christians of all faiths and denominations." The Rosary, attempts to cut through the myths of this sacred prayer and get to the heart of the matter—which is an ecumenical, meditative journey that illuminates the teachings of the New Testament. Written for Catholics and Protestants and divided into two sections, The Rosary offers useful instructions on how to get the most out of this spiritual exercise of repeating prayers. It includes a visual and scriptural journey through the mysteries of the Rosary—including excerpts from the New Testament and reproduction of famous paintings by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Raphael, and many others.

Genres: Religion, Prayer, Nonfiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2008

Reviews

[Will Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars for His Pious Effort

I appreciate his viewpoints on the Rosary, they are enriching. I pray daily myself, and the Rosary for the day is always included. One point I would like to add to his excellent presentation is that I pray the Rosary daily because it is God's will that we (I) do so. Our Lady of the Rosary, the Queen of Peace in Medjugorje, and Jesus King of All Nations all request (or command) that we pray Rosaries daily for World Peace, protection, and other worthwhile intentions. God bless Gary Jansen for serving God with this book!

[Elizabeth Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful little book. Or, as Paulo Coelho says on the front cover, "A wonderful book. Just wonderful, but very important." Everyone is talking about mindfulness these days... well, this book has taught me how to pray the rosary more mindfully. It incorporates a breathing exercise to do while saying the Hail Mary, it taught me how to better meditate on the mysteries, and it taught me that praying the rosary is praying with Mother Mary.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book for many years and I finally finished took it out and finished it. I love the artwork throughout the book.

The Rosary is a journey to the Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ through the heart of Mary.

Each mystery has its own meditation that prompts you to dig deeper and meditate on the mystery more.

Great resource to have, especially during quiet prayer reflection or even during adoration to sit quietly to enjoy the presence.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely little book, though nothing extraordinary or different. The dust jacket mentions the rosary as being a prayer not only for Catholics but for all Christians so I was interested in how the author was going to address the two issues I see raised most often among non-Catholics when referring to the rosary; namely the repitition and the Marian devotion. He does a good job with the repitition basically explaining that the repeated prayers are a background to meditation on the mysteries. Regarding Marian devotion, he basically suggests saying Our Fathers rather than Hail Marys if that is a problem, and meditating on the Second Coming and the Kingdom of God rather than on the Assumption and the Coronation.

After an introductory chapter, each of the mysteries is presented in a two-page spread. The page on the left has a scripture reading related to the mystery and the page on the right has a famous work of art illustrating it.

This is a beautiful book and if you are a collector of rosary books or are new to the rosary, it could be the one for you.

[Orpiment99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A general introduction to praying the rosary, this is not a bad book by any means. For those who are interested in the "how-to" part of learning to pray the rosary this book suffices as a simple introduction. The author relates some of his life experiences and how praying the rosary helped him overcome these difficult situations, or rather, seeing things in a different light by the power of prayer. For those looking for more information on the origins of the rosary, this is not the book for you.

Also, this book is geared more towards Protestants (which oddly enough, contains some "substitutes" for two of the Glorious Mysteries, which I'm not a fan of) than Catholics. The author definitely shows that the rosary can be prayed by all Christians despite being a devotion originating in the One, True Church: the Catholic Church.

Artwork is also provided for the 20 "episodes," to help in contemplation and focusing while praying the Mysteries. Some of the artwork I would not have personally chosen to include but it will suffice.