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 Divine Heart  of  Jesus,  convert  sinners,  save  the  dying, set free  the  holy  souls  in  purgatory.

Indulgence of 300  days,  every  time. — Pius  X,  Nov. 6,  1906.

HE Holy  Rosary,  on  account  of  the  meditations  on  the  mysteries in the  life  of  Our  Lord  and  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which  we  make while reciting  it,  is  one  of  the  most  useful  devotions  while  assisting  at Mass,  or,  keeping  the  Hour  of  Adoration.

The Eucharistic  Rosary  is  especially  recommended  for  this  purpose, as it  unites  meditation  on  the  sacred  mysteries  of  the  rosary  with  reflections on  the  life  of  Our  Lord  in  the  Holy  Eucharist. The rosary  is one  of  the  most  admirable  and  beneficial  devotions  practised  in  the Catholic Church. Its method  and  design  are  stated  to  have  been  revealed to  St.  Dominic  by  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  who  admonished  him to preach  it  with  all  the  fervor  of  his  soul  as  a  singularly  efficacious remedy for  the  overthrow  of  heresy  and  the  extirpation  of  vice. Our Lady said  to  him:  "Thou  shalt  inform  my  people  that  it  is  a  devotion most  acceptable  to  my  Son  and  to  me." It is  adapted  alike  to  the learned and  ignorant,  to  the  cloister  and  the  world,  and  to  every  capacity, the  words  being  so  easy  that  the  most  illiterate  may  learn  them,  and the mysteries  so  sublime  as  to  afford  matter  of  contemplation  and  entertainment to  the  highest  intellects. No Christian  could  slight  it  without irreverence,  or  neglect  its  frequent  use  without  serious  detriment  to piety. The numerous  indulgences  attached  to  the  recitation  of  the rosary make  this  form  of  devotion  a  powerful  instrument  for  the  relief  of the  poor  souls  in  purgatory.

The whole  rosary  is  composed  of  fifteen  decades  (the  chaplet  or  ordinary beads  containing  five  decades);  each  of  the  fifteen  decades  is  recited in  honor  of  a  mystery  of  Our  Lord's  life  and  that  of  His  blessed Mother, beginning  with  the  Annunciation,  or  Christ's  Incarnation,  and ending with  Mary's  Coronation  in  Heaven.

A decade  consists  of  one  Our  Father,  ten  Hail  Marys,  and  a  Glory  be  to the  Father. While reciting  a  decade,  let  faith  place  before  your  mind  the mystery honored, and  pray  that  the  virtue  it  particularly  teaches  may  be impressed  on  your  heart. It is  a  pious  custom  to  recite  a  chaplet,  that is, five  decades  of  the  beads,  every  day. If you  persevere  in  this  pious practice, you  will  increase  daily  in  the  love  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  and  consequently in  Christian  perfection.