Praying the Rosary Before the Blessed Sacrament

As a Priest, I am sometimes asked the following question by my parishioners:

Father, is it okay to pray the Rosary when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the Altar?

I usually reply by questioning the person: "Why do you ask?" And the response I receive is quite often the same:

The Rosary is a Marian prayer; it doesn't seem to be appropriate to focus on Mary when Jesus is right here before us. Shouldn't we focus on the presence of Jesus when He is on the Altar?

Perhaps you too have walked into a church where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the Altar for Adoration and seen an individual with prayer beads, obviously praying the Holy Rosary, and wondered to yourself, "Wouldn't it be better to focus on the presence of Jesus on the Altar?"

This is a good question, and the answer may help to give us a better understanding of what the devotional prayer known as the Holy Rosary really is.

The simple answer to the question is this: Yes, it is perfectly okay to pray the Holy Rosary in front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed. The basis for this answer lies in the fact that the Church sanctions and even blesses this devout practice — therefore it cannot be wrong.

The current edition of the Manual of Indulgences published by the Church's Apostolic Penitentiary states the following:

A plenary indulgence is granted when the Rosary is recited in a church or oratory [...]. A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

Why is there more weight given to praying the Holy Rosary in a church or oratory than elsewhere? The reason is because a church is the House of God, and the Real Presence of God (Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament) dwells there. So the act of praying the Holy Rosary in the Real Presence of Jesus comes with many graces. If the Church offers indulgences for doing so, it cannot be something that is wrong or contrary to the Faith.

The problem with the objection against praying the Rosary in front of the Tabernacle or Monstrance on the Altar is that the objection is based on a false understanding of what the Holy Rosary is. While the Rosary is indeed a Marian prayer, it is also in a very real sense a Christocentric prayer — that is, it is Christ-centred. In fact, every Marian devotion is also Christ-centred, because we are devoted to Our Lady primarily because of her privileged relation with her Son.

The Holy Rosary is essentially a pious, devout meditation on the mysteries of the life of Christ, surrounded by the life of Mary. Even when we meditate specifically on the Mary-centred mysteries (such as the Assumption of Our Lady), we are also contemplating the goodness and mercy of God the Father who, through His Beloved Son, obtained for Our Lady the grace of her bodily Assumption into Heaven. Thus we can say the Holy Rosary is a Christ-centred Marian devotion. And it should be obvious to all the faithful that meditating on the life of Christ while before the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is certainly an appropriate and praiseworthy thing to do.

Do not be afraid then to pray the Holy Rosary when you are in the Presence of Jesus. Not only can you receive a plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions), but you can also receive tremendous graces and insights into the Person and Mystery of Jesus Christ by doing so.