"What is the devotion of the "Three Hail Marys"

The three Hail Marys are recited in honor of the three great priviledges bestowed upon the Blessed Virgin Mary by the most Blessed Trinity - the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son, and the Merciful Tenderness of the Holy Spirit.

When reciting the Rosary, why do we say five decades of the Hail Marys,  Joyful Mysteries,Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, it is a perfect number or is it a reminder of the 150 Psalms? What is the history of the Rosary?

There is a connection with Mary's Psalter (the Rosary) and the recitation of the 150 Psalm (psalter) of the Bible, as in ancient times, monks and clergy used to recite the entire psalter every day. But, as many people in that day were either illiterate or could not afford a psalter, the practice of saying one hundred and fifty Pater Nosters (Our Fathers in Latin)developed as an alternative to remind them of the 150 Psalms.

Now coming to the Rosary, according to tradition, it was St. Dominic de Guzman (in the 12th century) to whom Our Lady revealed the praying of the 150 Hail Marys along with his preaching of the salvation mysteries to combat the great heresy of his day. (The Dominicans were preachers). Saint Dominic though of the "Rosary"as a crown of roses on the head of the heavenly Queen. With the introduction of the Rosary, a new kind of psalter- the Marian Psalter - the Rosary - came into being. Rosary Beads usually contain 50 beads in groups of ten (the decades), with an additional large bead before each decade. These numbers were chosen to match the 150 Psalms, therefore 159 Hail Marys (the 15 Mysteries

When Greece was threatened by the Turks, back in 1571, the Italian navigators prayed the Rosary. They attributed the victory of the Battle of Lepanto (today Navpaktos) on October 7, 1571to our Lady. Then, in the sixteenth century, the feast of "Our Last of Victory" which was later the feast of "Our Lady of the Rosary" on 7th October was established by Saint (Pope) Pius V to commemorate that victory. The Pope, then, himself a Dominican, issued an apostolic letter establishing the twenty Mystery form of the Holy Rosary as the official, Church-authorized version. This was the prescribed format for the next four centuries. In the year 2002, Pope Jonh Paul II published an apostolic letter that added five more Mysteries (The Luminous Mysteries), making a total of twenty authorized Mysteries.

The Rosary is an "epitome of the whole Gospel." It is a contemplative prayer, and it has great intercessory power and every Catholic should pray it regularly. The Rosary - in Arabic- "misbahah", "praise tool", is NOT at all meant to "praise the Virgin, as if she were a goddess", but to praise the Lord through and with Mary who had sung: "My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." As a master of fact, the "Hail Marys" are preceded by the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father") and always followed by the "Glory" - not to Mary - but to the triun One God. The Muslim world has also a "misbahah", for the praise of Allah, with 33 beads - which, multiplied by three, reach the number of 99, the traditional "best names of Allah" (al-assmaa' al-husana). This is an opportunity to clarify that the Church never worshipped- not ever advocated the woeship of the Virgin Mary as a goddess, though , we might find among individuals, sometimes, some exaggerations in popular devotion, contrary to the Scriptures and also according to the Church directives. [ See CCC 2678 ]

By praying the Rosary,doesn't it seem that we are placing Mother Mary higher than God. since the 'Hail Mary' far outnumbers the 'Our Father'and 'Glory Be'?

Of course, our devotion must be to God the Father through Jesus Christ. However, the intercession of our Mother Mary is to take us to Jesus Christ and to God the Father. As John Paul II said,"To Jesus to Mary". Her intercession is not independent of Jesus Christ,like in the normal family the role of the mother is not separated(or should not be) from the one of the father.We venerate the  Virgin Mary (we don't adore her, we adore only God) because she is the Mother of God and she wants us to be with him. Besides, the prayer "Hail Mary" is almost all taken from the Gospel,which, along with the tradition of the Church, is the    source of Jesus Christ's teaching, and we glorify her for the (fruit of thine womb 'Jesus, who is the center of this prayer. Ask the Virgin  Mary to help you to know Jesus Christ better and  she will do it.         

What places are conducive for prayer?

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The most appropriate places for prayer are personal or family oratories, monasteries, places of pilgrimage, and above all the church, which is the proper place for liturgical prayer for the parish community and the privileged place for Eucharistic adoration. [ See CCC 2696 ]

What is better: to pray or to meditate?

To arrive at perfection,says St. Bernard, we must meditate and pray: by meditation we see what we want; by prayer we receive what we want. Some people spend a great deal of time in reading and in meditating, but pay but little attention to prayer. there is no doubt that spiritual reading and meditation on the eternal truths, are very useful things, "but," says  St Augustine, "it is of much more use to pray." By reading and meditating we learn our duty; but by prayer we obtain the grace to do it."It is better to pray than to read: by reading we know what we ought to do; by prayer we receive what we ask." What is the use of knowing our duty, and then not doing it, but to make sure us more guilty in God's sight? We may read and meditate as we like, but we shall never satisfy our obligations, unless we ask of God the grace to fulfill them.                                                                                                          

Does the Church have an approved means of meditation that we can use?

The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola which is a program of meditations, prayers,considerations, and contemplative practices can help Catholics become more fully alive in their faith. The Ignatian method of prayer uses visual imagination to draw nearer to God.

 These exercise are divided into segments which focus upon a different theme - human sin; Christ's life on earth, Christ's death on the cross and Christ risen life. A key theme throughout the Spiritual Exercises is discernment and the need to discern good desires and evil desires in one's life.

How is Personal Prayer Important for Spiritual Growth?

St Paul urges us to "pray constantly" (1Thes 5:17), but to make progress we must- first, foremost and always - set aside regular private time for personal prayer. Every spiritual master in the history of the Church has taught that holiness begins and ends in personal prayer - even if we participate in public liturgies or other group prayer - we will never draw close enough to the Lord.
Private, personal prayer is the way we open ourselves to grace by unmasking our hidden nature and revealing our true selves to God. In silent prayer we grow in faith. We are transformed.
 In this context, I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of lectio divina: the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture

accomspanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with openness of heart.The ultimate goal of personal prayer is mystical union with God.

Should Prayer Follow a Pattern?

Prayer needs silence - not so much an absence of sounds, but an inner silence in which all worries and mental distraction are quelled and the soul finds a sense of peace. Also, if we are to do justice to prayer, it is better to follow a pattern or a discipline for praying, however we must guard against the pattern becoming routine, rigid , monotonous and meaningless.

Normally we should begin our prayer with an Act of Humility, for it is fitting that when about to converse with God,we should recall what we are.

After this Act of Humility, we should read a few lines from the Bible and meditate on them, then make a profound and prolonged act of faith in some fundamental truth or other: God: his perfections, his goodness, or Christ: the mysteries of his life, his passion, his glory, or again our Christian duties, our vocation - the duties of our state to be accomplished with ever greater holiness, our last end; and sin.

This gaze of faith on the truth and the goodness of God gives spontaneous rise to an Act of Hope. The soul desires beatitude,eternal life, the peace promised by the heavenly Father to those who follow Jesus Christ.

The Act of Hope, in its turn, disposes us to an Act of Charity. Our prayer for others is very often efficacious.

The souls in purgatory are waiting for our prayers.
We should also pray for hardened sinners and intercede for all who need our prayers. In this culminating point of prayer  the knowledge of faith, the love of  hope, and that of charity tend, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to fuse in a gaze of faithful and generous love,which is the beginning of contemplation.

 Gradually it introduces us into the intimacy of Christ, the intimacy of love. Nothing can better correct our defects of character, give us a lively desire to resemble him who said to us: "Learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls." Prayer thus made renders our hearts more and more like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for one imitates, even without being aware of it, those whom one loves truly and deeply.