The Rosary's Spiritual Fruits

It’s been almost a decade since some former co-workers introduced me to the Spiritual Fruits of the Rosary. Are you familiar with them? Do you know they exist? I confess; I was not familiar with them, and I did not know they existed.

When I went to work for a PR/marketing firm in Atlanta that was owned and staffed by Catholics, I enjoyed the perk of gathering around a conference table with my co-workers on a regular basis to pray the Rosary. I learned about the mysteries’ spiritual fruits during those sessions.

It appears as though different groups focus on different sets of spiritual fruits. That’s not to say that all of them are different; regardless of where I looked online, the spiritual fruit for the first Joyful Mystery (the Annunciation) is always Humility. Others, however, note different fruits for different mysteries.

For example, let’s look at the spiritual fruit of the first Luminous Mystery (Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan). The spiritual fruit I learned for that mystery is Gratitude for the Gift of Faith. I suspect that Zoe Cannon, one of our columnists, learned the same fruit because she named her column Gratitude for the Gift of Faith.

Some lists I found online, however, identify the spiritual fruit of the first Luminous Mystery as Openness to the Holy Spirit. I suppose one could argue that anyone who is grateful for the gift of faith must, inevitably, be open to the Holy Spirit. Maybe there’s another column in that thought. We’ll see.

My goal this week is to introduce you to the concept of the Spiritual Fruits of the Mysteries of the Rosary. For me, they have added another dimension to my daily Rosary because of the focus they help provide.

My Georgia co-workers used the set of spiritual fruits available from the Dominican Friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. You can find them online by starting at www.rosary-center.org/joyful.

Here are those spiritual fruits:

Joyful Mysteries:

• First, Annunciation; spiritual fruit, Humility
• Second, Visitation; spiritual fruit, Love of Neighbor
• Third, Nativity of our Lord; spiritual fruit, Spiritual Poverty
• Fourth, Presentation; spiritual fruit, Purity of Mind and Body
• Fifth, Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple; spiritual fruit, Obedience

Luminous Mysteries:

• First, Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan; spiritual fruit, Gratitude for the Gift of Faith
• Second, Wedding Feast in Cana; spiritual fruit, Fidelity
• Third, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God; spiritual fruit, Desire for Holiness
• Fourth, Transfiguration; spiritual fruit, Spiritual Courage
• Fifth, Jesus Institution of the Eucharist; spiritual fruit, Love of the Eucharistic Jesus

Sorrowful Mysteries:

• First, Agony in the Garden; spiritual fruit, God’s Will Be Done
• Second, Scourging at the Pillar; spiritual fruit, Mortification of the Senses
• Third, Crowning with Thorns; spiritual fruit, Reign of Christ in our Hearts
• Fourth, Jesus Carries His Cross; spiritual fruit, Patient Bearing of Trials
• Fifth, Jesus’ Crucifixion; spiritual fruit, Pardoning of Injuries

Glorious Mysteries:

• First, Jesus’ Resurrection; spiritual fruit, Faith
• Second, Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven; spiritual fruit, Christian Hope
• Third, The Descent of the Holy Spirit; spiritual fruit, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Fourth, The Assumption of our Blessed Mother; spiritual fruit, To Jesus through Mary
• Fifth, The Coronation of our Blessed Mother; spiritual fruit, the Grace of Final Perseverance

As I pray the Rosary, I recite the name of each mystery, adding, “The spiritual fruit of this

mystery is….” I then pray the Our Father to begin that mystery and continue.

October is the month of the Holy Rosary. You may wish to look into the spiritual fruits and add them to your Rosary routine. To find lots more information on them, simply do an online search for “Spiritual Fruits of the Mysteries of the Rosary.”