The form makes the Rosary both an excellent devotion and a perfect prayer.  Prayer is the first duty of all men.  It is an article of faith that no man can work out his salvation without prayer.  The real essence of prayer consists in the union of vocal prayer with meditation, or interior prayer.  The true prayer is a conversation, or intercourse, of man with God.  The combination of meditating with vocal prayer is an excellent means of participating in Divine grace.  Meditation makes us realize our needs, the faults which we should lay aside, and the virtues which we must acquire.  Sin makes man blind, meditation opens his eyes.  Vocal prayer alone is not of itself a protection from sin, daily experience teaches this.  There are many who say vocal prayers and yet fall into grievous sin and remain in that state.  The reason is because they omit the contemplative prayer.  Those who combine vocal prayer with meditation do not easily incur God’s disfavor, or if they do they at once resolve to amend and they lose no time in returning to God.  A combination of meditation and vocal prayer is therefore calculated to preserve us from sin, and to rescue us from that state, if unfortunately we find ourselves in it.  It is also the most effective means for us to reach Christian perfection and eternal salvation.

We should therefore combine with vocal prayers proper meditation if we desire our prayers to be more perfect.  When we say the “Our Father,” or the “Hail Mary,” we should not merely utter the words with our lips, but should contemplate the purport of the words, lifting the mind to God, to whom we are praying, otherwise our prayer will be merely a prayer of the lips.  Remember the words of our Divine Saviour:  “These people glorify Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”

In saying the Rosary we combine vocal prayer with meditation upon the Sacred Mysteries.  Where there is time for it a longer meditation is very beneficial and of great spiritual advantage.  But if time is lacking, or when the Rosary is said in common with others, one should at least at every decade briefly put the mystery before the mind.  Pondering upon the mysteries whilst saying the prayers is ordinarily requisite to gain the indulgences attached to the Rosary.

The Rosary in its union of vocal prayer and meditation is a perfect prayer.  The parts of the Rosary so appropriately succeed one another as to form a beautiful chain of prayers.  We begin the prayers of the Rosary with the sign of the Cross, with which the Church commences all her prayers.  This sign reminds us of the Most Holy Trinity in whose Name we were baptized, and to whom we belong absolutely, through creation, redemption, and sanctification.  By making the sign of the Cross we place ourselves vividly in the presence of God, to whom we are praying, and awaken within us acts of faith, reverence, love, and confidence.  Through the sign of the Cross there are dedicated to God in prayer the thoughts of the mind, the words of our lips, and the sentiments and feelings of the heart.  Most assuredly the devout signing ourselves with the Cross is an excellent introduction and preparation for prayer.