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 the praises  of  God. Again, if  we  care  to  further analyze this  twofold  element — the  vocal  part  and the mental  part — we  will  find  in  the  former  a  series of prayers  the  most  perfect  the  Church  possesses, and in  the  latter  a  series  of  the  most  salutary  reflections of  which  the  mind  of  man  is  capable. A lively faith is  the  groundwork  of  all  prayer,  for  how  can men praise  a  God  whom  they  know  not,  or  ask  benefits of  Him  in  whom  they  do  not  believe? Hence, the Rosary  begins  with  that  grand  profession  of faith,  the  sign  of  the  cross,  wherein  is  expressed  a belief  in  the  threefold  mystery  of  the  unity  of  God's nature,  of  the  Trinity  of  the  divine  persons,  and  of the  Incarnation. Then, as  though  ill-content  with so brief  an  exposition  of  his  belief,  the  pious  follower of the  Rosary  is  next  led  on  to  give  a  fuller  declaration of  his  faith  in  the  inspired  words  of  the  Apostles' Creed. Thus he  declares  himself  not  only  a  believer but a  stanch  defender  of  all  the  truths  from  the  Alpha to the  Omega  of  Christian  doctrine. Then begins the Rosary  proper. First comes  the  "  Our  Father," of the  excellence  of  which  prayer  it  is  enough  to  say that it  is  the  sublimest  of  all  prayers,  having  Christ Himself for  its  Author,  and  containing  as  it  does  a  petition for  every  blessing  pertaining  to  man's  temporal and spiritual  welfare. The "  Hail  Mary  "  follows,  in which  with  loving  persistency  we  repeat  the  words God addressed  to  Mary  through  the  Angel  Gabriel, while with  St.  Elizabeth  we  congratulate  her  on  the great things  the  Omnipotent  hath  done  to  her. And as often  as  we  recall  Mary's  transcendent  dignity  as