Secret of the Rosary

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"Madonna with the Rosary" by Murrillo, 1650.

The Secret of the Rosary is a book about the Holy Rosary written by Saint Louis de

Montfort a French priest and Catholic saint who died in 1716. The English translation of the
book bears theImprimatur of Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy of the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Brooklyn.

The book revolves around the views of the rosary and the power of the rosary and consists
of a number of short sections called Roses each being about one or two pages long. Each
Rose discusses a separate viewpoint about the Rosary and may be addressed to a different
cross section of the audience, e.g. priests versus lay people.

This book published on its own discusses two different methods of praying the rosary, while
three additional methods (i.e. five altogether) are listed in the book God Alone, based on the
collected writings of St. Louis.

The book consists of an introduction, plus two main parts. Part I: “What the Rosary is” and
Part II: “How to Recite it”. The book is structured in terms of 53 Roses, i.e. sections. The
introduction consists of three Roses, Part I embodies the First Rose to the Fortieth Rose
and Part II includes the Fiftieth Rose.
The introduction has three Roses: The White Rose for priests, the Red Rose for sinners,
and the Mystical Rose Tree for devout souls. These three Roses epitomize the multi-view
approach taken by the book. The advice to priests about using the Rosary to save sinners
directly relates to the advice given to sinners on how to use the Rosary for salvation. This
theme continues throughout the book, each Rose gently leading to another, in the process
gradually revealing various “secrets” on how to approach the Rosary, how to recite and how
to use it for optimal spiritual benefits.

Roman Catholic Mariology

A series of articles on

Rosary

Blessed Virgin Mary

Devotions & spirituality
Our Lady of the Rosary
Battle of Lepanto
History of the rosary
Praying methods
Rosary & Scapular

Prayers & Promises

The Mysteries
Rosary based prayers
Rosary of the Holy Wounds
Three Hail Marys
Fatima Prayer
Fifteen rosary promises
Power of the Rosary

Writings

Secret of the Rosary

God Alone
 Ingruentium Malorum
Marialis Cultus
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
The Power of the Rosary

People & Societies

Saint Dominic
Bl. Alanus de Rupe
Pope St. Pius V
St. Louis de Montfort
Rosary Pope (Leo XIII)
Confraternity of the Rosary
Our Lady's Rosary Makers

An example of the multi-perspective, yet pragmatic, method with which the book deals with
the Rosary is the way the concepts of focus and respect are conveyed through a set of
Roses. This starts with the Forty First Rose called “Purity of Intention”. This Rose points out
that it is not the length of a prayer that matters, but the fervor, purity and respect with which
it is said, e.g. a single properly said Hail Mary is worth many that are badly said. This Rose
is followed by the two Roses “Attention” and “Fighting Distractions”. These provide advice
for achieving the proper mindset for saying the Rosary. The topic then concludes with the
Rose “With Reverence” which returns to respect. Although each of these is a separate
Rose, they are cleverly inter-related to present multiple dimensions for focus and respect.

Hence, although the book is highly readable and unassuming on the surface, it is based on
a well structured “multi-perspective analysis” of the Rosary. The fifty three sections are
intricately connected and clearly thought out. Hence the term “secret” is quite becoming, for
the book reveals these interconnections in terms of a coherent theme. But the typical reader
need not be concerned with the analyses because the flow of the text is natural, pure and
pious and appeals to laymen as well as priests. The book has been read by Catholics
worldwide for over two centuries and continues to be a great spiritual resource.
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