RosaryVR Mission
RosaryVR will use the power of beauty (in the form of art, nature, music, wisdom, Holy Scripture and more) in a virtual reality environment to both teach and provide a contemplative Rosary experience.
St. Pope John Paul II - RosaryVR's Patron Saint
St. Pope John Paul II was a very charismatic pope who had a love for the Rosary. He published the Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (On the Most Holy Rosary), in the year 2002. Some of its points that undergird our mission include:
- "The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas..."
- "Announcing each mystery, and perhaps even using a suitable icon to portray it, is as it were to open up a scenario on which to focus our attention. The words direct the imagination and the mind towards a particular episode or moment in the life of Christ. In the Church's traditional spirituality, the veneration of icons and the many devotions appealing to the senses, as well as the method of prayer proposed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the Spiritual Exercises, make use of visual and imaginative elements (the compositio loci), judged to be of great help in concentrating the mind on the particular mystery."
Expanding on St. Pope John Paul II's recommendation of using visual and imaginative elements to better concentrate the mind on each of the Rosary mysteries, RosaryVR uses the tools of VR immersion, music, imagery, 360 video, art and scripture and meditations to assist in the contemplative aspect of the Rosary.
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
In addition to recommending the use of visual elements to better contemplate the mysteries of the Rosary, Pope St. John Paul II introduced the Luminous mysteries to the Rosary. Click the link below to read the Apostolic letter.
RosaryVR Tools
VR Immersion
Virtual reality provides an immersive environment that is ideal for prayer, meditation and contemplation.
Music
Music stimulates the emotions bringing forth joy, sorrow and many other feelings. Music is a wonderful enhancement to prayer.
Imagery
Imagery provides another prompt that may assist us in prayer. Sacred icons, nature or a magnificent Cathedral bring forth feelings of peace, conducive to prayer.
360 Video / Video
Video is a very popular form of communication today. The video format may serve as a visual prompt leading to enhanced contemplation on the mysteries of the Rosary.
Art
Art has always served as a medium to stir the emotions and stimulate thoughtful introspection. It is a wonderful prompt for contemplative prayer.
Scripture and Meditations
Introducing scriptural quotations and other meditations as part of the Rosary helps promote one of the main goals of the Rosary - to contemplate the life of Christ.