A Scriptural and Meditative Rosary
For Seminarians
by Rev. Timothy J. Meurer

Introduction

Seminary is filled with challenges. Even having the awareness and courage to embark on the journey is not a given for every man with a vocation. For those who join, the road to ordination is long and arduous, usually taking the better part of a decade if not longer, with constant obstacles both from within and without every heart along the way. The prayer of Holy Mother Church is undeniably necessary for any vocation to survive the rigors of formation.
This burden must be born not just by the seminarians themselves, nor by their formators and teachers, but by all the Faithful. Certainly the families of seminarians and their parish communities are personally invested in their education; but all Catholics should be actively invested in the growth of the Body of Christ, of Whom the priests serve as shepherds and ministers of the Holy Sacraments. Without these priests, the spiritual core of the Church would founder amidst the storms that rage in society.
Let us then support all young men with a vocation to the ministerial priesthood, praying for them from the earliest pangs of God’s call to its fulfillment in ordination. Let us call to mind the many trials that seminarians undergo over this period of discernment and formation and so entrust them to the care of Almighty God, Mary Theotokos, St. Charles Borromeo, St. John Vianney, Blessed Carlo Acutis, and all holy Saints and Angels.

Prayer for Vocations
Lord Jesus Christ
Be the Way, the Truth and the Life.
For our seminarians and those discerning a vocation, please bless and protect them from all evil.
Keep them pure and lead them to holiness.
O, Holy Family, watch over them,
over their health of soul and body.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of Grace, guide them with Holy Spirit.

After Fatima Prayer:
God our Father, please send us holy men and women, all for the Sacred and Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, all for the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, all in union with Saint Joseph.


The Joyful Mysteries

1. The Annunciation

 [The Archangel Gabriel] came to [Mary] and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” … And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:28, 38)[1]
Let us pray for young men to discern God’s call to the priesthood in their hearts through prayer and engagement in Holy Church. And then, should they hear the call, may they respond with the humility and courage of Mary to do God’s will for the salvation of souls.
 

2. The Visitation

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechari’ah and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1:39-40)
Let us pray for local communities to encourage vocations to the priesthood. May it begin in the intimate recesses of the home, as Pope St. John Paul II reminds us: “The family can be considered a ‘garden’ or a ‘first seminary.’”[2] And then, in turn, may parish communities support vocations through prayerful support for seminarians and their families.
 

3. The Nativity of Our Lord

And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)
Let us pray for seminarians embarking on their first year of formation, that they may adjust to lives of prayer and study. May they find support in the seminary staff that attend to them and find role models in more experienced seminarians who accompany them.
 

4. The Presentation in the Temple

And when the time came for their purifications according to the law of Mosses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord… (Luke 2:22)
Let us pray that seminarians may foster a total devotion to God and His Church, following the example of the Holy Family. When they are called upon to perform unwanted or difficult tasks according to the needs of the community, may they do so with joy and love.
 

5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

… they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions… And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:46, 49)
Let us pray that seminarians cultivate silence and prayer in the chapel as a first priority. Knowing the temptations to make studies and leisure of greater importance, may seminarians never fail to pray every day both in community and individually. In doing so, may they grow ever closer to their Heavenly Father and better know His will and love.


The Luminous Mysteries
 

1. The Baptism in the Jordan

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for this it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. (Matthew 3:13-15)
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten the minds of seminarians in their studies. May they remain vigilant and disciplined so as to probe the depths of God and His Church with diligence. In so doing, may they be prepared for effective evangelization of Divine Mysteries for the benefit of all the Faithful.
 

2. The Wedding at Cana

… there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. (John 2:1-2)
Let us pray for seminarians to submit to the guidance of Mary in service to each other. May they offer their time and talent to one another, assisting each other in intellectual, spiritual, pastoral, and personal challenges, so as to build a culture of success, excellence, and harmony.
 

3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
Let us pray for seminarians as they embark on field assignments in the surrounding community. As they go forth into parishes, schools, prisons, hospitals, and other missions for practical application of their formation, may they embrace the work that they perform with courage and humility and grow in appreciation for the Church’s role in all aspects of modern society.
 

4. The Transfiguration

… he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. (Luke 9:28-29)
Let us pray for seminarians to attune their bodies and souls to be inhabited by God. May they cultivate healthy physical and spiritual habits so as to be best prepared for the work of the Church and on guard for spiritual warfare. Let them heed carefully the words of St. Peter: Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
 

5. The Institution of the Eucharist

… the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Let us pray for the love of God in the Eucharist to be the source and summit[3] of life in each seminary. In every chapel on seminary campuses, may seminarians be found daily in meditation and adoration of Christ really, truly, and substantially present[4]. As such, may they “be united more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered himself for us to the Father as a pure sacrifice, and with him to consecrate [themselves] to God for the salvation of all”[5].


The Sorrowful Mysteries
 

1. The Agony in the Garden

And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him… And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but then, be done.” (Luke 22:39, 41-42)
For seminarians struggling in discernment and discipline. May God give them counsel – in union with the efforts of formators, spiritual directors, fellow seminarians, and those at home – so that they may be led to a place of peace in their decisions and habits.
 

2. The Scourging at the Pillar

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barab’bas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15:15)
Let us pray for seminarians maligned and persecuted by family or country. May God grant them fortitude and perseverance to stay true to the Faith and their vocation, and that whatever injuries they suffer may be joined with Christ’s as the ultimate witness of love for the salvation of the world.
 

3. The Crowning with Thorns

And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and they knelt down in homage to him. (Mark 15:17-19)
Let us pray for an increase in humility in every seminarian. May they never take for granted the generosity of those who support them in their formation, both within and without the seminary campus. And may they never consider themselves superior to their confreres or the least of God’s beloved in the world.
 

4. The Carrying of the Cross

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. As they were marching out, they came upon a man of Cyre’ne, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. And… they came to a place called Gol’gotha (which means the place of a skull) … (Matthew 27:31-33)
Let us pray for seminarians suffering from physical or mental ailments. May they seek proper care to return to good health. And if the ailments be chronic or terminal, may God grant them the strength and resolve to persevere in times of weakness and so be a sign of victory in the midst of pain and suffering, in union with Christ on the via Crucis.
 

5. The Crucifixion

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” and having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46)
Let us pray for all seminarians who have died prior to the completion of their studies and ordination to the priesthood. May God credit to them their pursuit in the pastoral vocation as a great merit and so admit them into the company of the Blessed forever. May those who remain take inspiration from their discernment of God’s will and so live lives pleasing to Him in legacy of the deceased.


The Glorious Mysteries
 

1. The Resurrection

Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag’dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. (John 20:1)
Let us pray that the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ may be the constant motivation of seminarians. May their formation instill a personal love for Christ crucified, and so draw them in hope to the dayspring of the Resurrection for themselves and the life of the world.
 

2. The Ascension

[Speaking to the disciples, Jesus said:] “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar’ia and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. (Acts of the Apostles 1:8-9)
Let us pray for seminarians on the cusp of ordination to the diaconate and the priesthood. May they embrace the same Great Commissioning that God conferred upon the Apostles to be His heralds of the Gospel and His ministers of the New Covenant. May they see themselves as alter Christus, drawing their priesthood from the High Priesthood of Christ, Who sits forever at the right hand of the Father.
 

3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4)
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to enflame the hearts of seminarians. May they be emboldened to use all the tools formed in the seminary for the express tasks of God, never lacking in the energy and joy of God to be found in them, as found in the Apostles at Pentecost.
 

4. The Assumption of Our Lady

My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” (Song of Solomon 2:10-11)
Let us pray that the love of Mary may accompany and lead seminarians to her Divine Son. May seminarians, in daily devotion to Mary and contemplation of her abundant titles, be drawn, through her, ever closer to her Son, Who so drew her – body and soul – into Paradise.
 

5. The Crowning of Mary, Queen of Heaven

And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and her head a crown of twelve stars… (Revelation 12:1)
Let us pray that – in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus – the Immaculate Heart of Mary may be ever enthroned and glorified within every seminarian. May they offer due honor and reverence to Church Triumphant, remember and intercede for Church Penitent, and pray in union with Church Militant, longing for the glories of Heaven to be revealed in the last days.