Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Holy Rosary

Rate this book
**The New Mysteries of Light are included in this edition** "To say the Holy Rosary," says St. Josemaría in this pocket book of meditations on the mysteries of the Rosary, "is a continuous act of faith, hope and love, of adoration and reparation." He reveals the secret of overcoming monotony and routine when praying the Rosary, and portrays each Mystery with illuminating eyes of faith — helping you become absorbed in contemplation when you pray to Mary. This handsome book is small enough to carry with you everywhere and use whenever you have a moment to spend in prayer.

54 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2002

77 people are currently reading
166 people want to read

About the author

Josemaría Escrivá

141 books177 followers
Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer (9 January 1902 – 26 June 1975) was a Roman Catholic priest from Spain who founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. He was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, who declared Saint Josemaría should be "counted among the great witnesses of Christianity."

Josemaría’s father’s textile business failed in 1915, so the family relocated to Logroño, where José found other work. It was in Logroño that Josemaría sensed his vocation for the first time. After seeing some bare footprints left in the snow by a friar who had walked that way a short time earlier, he felt that God wanted something from him, though he did not know exactly what. He thought that he could more easily discover what it was if he became a priest, so he began to prepare for the priesthood, first in Logroño and later in Saragossa. Following his father’s advice, he also studied for a law degree at the University of Saragossa. His father died in 1924 and Josemaría was left as head of the family. Ordained on March 28, 1925, he began his ministry in a rural parish, and afterwards in Saragossa.

In 1927, with the permission of his bishop, Fr. Josemaría moved to Madrid to work on his doctorate in law. There, on October 2, 1928, God showed him clearly the mission he had been hinting to him for several years; and he founded Opus Dei. From that day on he worked with all his energies to develop the foundation that God asked of him, while he continued to fulfill the various priestly responsibilities he had at that time. These brought him into daily contact with sickness and poverty in the hospitals and the poor districts of Madrid.

When the civil war broke out in 1936, Josemaría was in Madrid. The religious persecution forced him to take refuge in a variety of places. He exercised his priestly ministry in a clandestine fashion until he was finally able to leave Madrid. After escaping across the Pyrenees to southern France, he took up residence in Burgos.

At the end of the war in 1939 he returned to Madrid. In the years that followed he gave many retreats to lay people, priests, and members of religious orders. In the same year, 1939, he completed his doctorate in law.

In 1946 he took up residence in Rome. There he obtained a doctorate in theology from the Lateran University and was named consultor to two Vatican Congregations, as well as honorary member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, and prelate of honor to His Holiness. He followed closely the preparations for the Second Vatican Council and its various sessions (1962-1965), keeping in touch with many of the council fathers. From Rome he frequently went to different countries in Europe, including Britain and Ireland, to spur on the apostolic work of Opus Dei. It was with the same objective that, between 1970 and 1975, he made long trips to Mexico, Spain, Portugal, South America, and Guatemala, holding catechetical gatherings which large numbers of men and women attended.

He died in Rome on June 26, 1975. Thousands of people, including many bishops (a third of all the bishops in the world), requested that the Holy See open his cause of beatification and canonization.

On May 17, 1992, Pope John Paul II beatified Josemaría Escrivá. He proclaimed him a saint ten years later, on October 6, 2002, in St. Peter’s Square, in Rome, before a great multitude. In his homily on that occasion, the Pope said: “Following in his footsteps, spread in society the awareness that we are called to holiness, without distinction of race, class, culture or age."

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
175 (77%)
4 stars
29 (12%)
3 stars
16 (7%)
2 stars
3 (1%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for booklady.
2,744 reviews186 followers
January 5, 2023
We have been praying this Rosary book - along with all our other Rosary books - for some time now. Only today did this jump out at me when my husband read from the text of the 5th Glorious Mystery, The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin: "You are a garden, a sealed fountain. -Veni: cornonaberis. -Come: you shall be crowned (Song of Songs 4:7, 12 and 8)."

When he read cornonaberis, it sounded like Corona Virus to me. A few letters difference, a slight variation of sound, a world apart in meaning, yet irrevocably bound at the same time. There are no coincidences, are there?

This is only one of the 20 mysteries and they are each a delight to pray. This is a Rosary book you want to add to your collection! MOST highly recommended. The sketches are black-and-white and yet I like them better than many of most magnificent color paintings for their charming simplicity, delicacy and humility.
Profile Image for Sandra Vel.
324 reviews
February 24, 2024
Mini-librito para aprender a meditar sobre cada uno de los misterios del Santo Rosario.
Si rezas el Rosario y al llegar a los misterios solo los "enumeras" o lees un pequeño párrafo sobre su descripción, este mini-librito te dará pistas de reflexión para poder meditar sobre ellos.
Sin embargo, es para lectores que ya conocen cómo rezar el Rosario ya que no contiene explicación sobre él, sino solo breves meditaciones para cada misterio.
Profile Image for M..
738 reviews155 followers
May 15, 2015
I've read this book out of curiosity to know more about the Opus Dei and its founder. I found a tool for praying the Rosary and contemplating, the warm faith of a man who lived and worked for God. Who dedicated his life as a humble servant, and still showed the joy Christ gives us by being faithful to His teachings, to Him. The edition I read at http://www.escrivaobras.org includes the reflections on the Luminous Mysteries from various writings, and a reflection on the Litany to the Virgin Mary.

I think this little fragment will condensate his spirit and warmth perfectly. I'm amazed and I'm in love. I feel encouraged, I feel inspired. I feel closer to God by listening to Josemaría's exhortations and reading his writings.

Duc in altum. —Go to the sea! —Reject the pessimism that makes you a coward. Et laxate retia vestra in capturam —and throw your nets for fishing

We must trust in these words of the Lord: to get inside the ship, grab the oars, rise the sails and throw yourself into that sea of the world that Christ gives us as inheritance.


"Et regni ejus non erit finis". —His Kingdom will have no end!

Doesn't it make you happy to work for a Reign like that?
Profile Image for Jonathan Widell.
173 reviews30 followers
March 9, 2015
A Holy Rosary that is a bit different in that it portrays Virgin Mary as having the triple role of the Mother of God the Son, the daughter of God the Father and the Wife of the Holy Spirit. That bold distinction breathes new life into the Hail Marys, which are recited dozens of times. It also makes the entire Rosary feel more Marian and the last two Glorious Mysteries, namely the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary, come across as a logical dénouement of the story that is being told.
Profile Image for Kathy.
Author 2 books6 followers
March 1, 2010
Escriva places himself and the reader in the mysteries of the rosary as children allowed to witness these wonderful events. This is a charming way to pray the rosary. These meditations never fail to stir up feelings of love, trust, or wonder.
14 reviews
April 28, 2019
Really good book

Simple and easy to read book , will definitely read again and recommend to any body that want to pray the rosary
2 reviews
May 20, 2019
Me gusto muchísimo

Excelente apoyo para lograr la meditación de cada misterio de una manera más contemplativa. Ideal para varones que creen El Rosario es cosa de mujeres
Profile Image for Steven R. McEvoy.
3,793 reviews172 followers
January 5, 2023
Though there are many editions of St. Josemaria Escriva’s meditations to accompany the rosary prayers, this edition is updated and has meditations for all 20 mysteries - the mysteries of light drawn from the saint’s writings on the passages. It also has beautiful woodcuts of each station that can be used for visual focus while meditation upon these scenes from the bible.
10 reviews
November 26, 2024
Läs den hära boken om du vill komma närma till Gud och hennes obefläckad Moder, Maria.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.