Novena and Hymn in Honor of Our Lady of the Rosary

Holy Mother Church devotes the month of October to the Holy Rosary and specifically honors our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. In 1206 Mary appeared to St. Dominic after he had been praying and doing severe penances because of his lack of success in fighting the Albigensian heresy. Mary praised him for his valiant battle against the heretics and then gave him the rosary as a mighty weapon, instructing him to spread its use.

 While the rosary received its beginning hundreds of years ago, it remains in modern times a popular form of devotion. It is a prayer loved by countless saints and encouraged by the Church. During his papacy St. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical on the Holy Rosary that the Rosary is “an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society.” The rosary is a powerful prayer to our Lady and is a devotion all of the faithful should try to incorporate into their daily lives. A simple practice to honor our Lady is to recite a rosary or even just one decade of the rosary daily.

The following novena prayer honors our Lady of the Rosary and seeks her intercession. As a nine day novena, this prayer would be recited daily, accompanied by a daily Rosary, from September 28-October 6, the eve of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. However, this particular novena is also said as a 54 day novena, 27 days of petition and 27 days of thanksgiving, regardless if the request has been granted or not. On each day of the 54 day novena, the novena prayer is said with a Rosary, rotating through the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries.

Our Lady Of The Holy Rosary Novena Prayer
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet. Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart, and for this special favor which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: (Mention your request).

I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son. If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused. I know, dearest Mother, that you want me to seek God's holy Will concerning my request. If what I ask for should not be granted, pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.

I offer you this spiritual “Bouquet of Roses” because I love you. I put all my confidence in you, since your prayers before God are most powerful. For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus, your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation. Amen.

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Another way to honor Our Lady of the Rosary is to sing the beautiful hymn below.

Hymn to the Queen of the Holy Rosary
O Queen of the Holy Rosary!
O bless us as we pray,
And offer thee our roses
In garlands day by day.
While from our Father's garden,
With loving hearts and bold,
We gather to thine honor
Buds white and red and gold.

O Queen of the Holy Rosary!
Each mystery blends with thine,
The sacred life of Jesus
In every step Divine.
Thy soul was His fair garden,
Thy virgin breast His throne,
Thy thoughts His faithful mirror,
Reflecting Him alone.

Sweet Lady of the Rosary,
White roses let us bring,
And lay them 'round thy footstool
Before our Infant King.
For nestling in thy bosom
God's Son was fain to be,
The Child of thy Obedience
And spotless purity.

Dear Lady of the Rosary,
Red roses cast we down,
But let Thy fingers weave them
Into a worthy crown.
For how can we poor sinners
Do aught but weep with Thee,
When in they train we follow
Our God to Calvary.

--composed by Emily Shapcote, 1906