Why do Catholics pray the rosary before Mass?

It’s easy to answer why we pray the rosary before Mass. It’s because our mother told us to!
 
Since the holy Mass is the highest form of prayer, faithful souls desire to enter it with the greatest possibility that it would bear lasting fruit in their daily lives. However, they quickly fail to obtain those fruits (or, they say “I don’t get anything out of Mass!”) because their minds and hearts are preoccupied with so many things besides God. Those faithful souls who sincerely and ardently desire the miracle of grace which is contemplation during the holy Mass ought to pray the rosary before Mass. 
 
Here are some reasons why.
 
Mother Mary guides us to Jesus at Mass. The Blessed Virgin Mary shows us the easy, short perfect way to contemplating her Son. Mother Mary herself was always praying. In all circumstances, she was never far from contemplating God whether at prayer or at her other duties. The Gospels tell us that Mary “…kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” St. Elizabeth joyfully witnesses to Mother Mary’s powerful ability to pray when she said, “blessed are you who believed that what the Lord spoke to you would be fulfilled.” Like St. Elizabeth, we allow Mother Mary to reveal Jesus's sacred mysteries to us when we pray the holy rosary. Mary prepares our hearts and minds to enter deep union with the mystery of Christ at Mass. It is as if, by the beads of the rosary, she takes us by the hand and says, “Come with me and I will show you the mysteries of the life of my Son.”
 
The holy rosary lifts us from distraction to contemplation. We know that many distractions abound before and during Mass. People of our culture lose interest in God if they don’t feel like they are being entertained by Him. Entering the sacred mysteries requires us to focus on God and to intentionally set aside being entertained. The rosary easily and powerfully achieves this by opening hearts and minds to meditation and contemplation. Perhaps, an analogy would be helpful here. We are familiar with the way large wings and powerful engines easily and speedily lift a massive passenger jet high into the air above the clouds in just a few short moments. In much the same way, the Blessed Mother and her rosary quickly and easily raise the soul up into union with God. By the time we have prayed our rosary, our hearts are lifted up from earthly distractions and ready to enter into heaven at the Mass.
 
The rosary is Christocentric. What does that mean? It means that the rosary is centered on Christ. Those who are spiritually immature (or worse, those guided by the evil one) will fail to grasp that the rosary is incredibly powerful in leading faithful souls to perfect union with Jesus Christ himself. Yes, most of the prayers of the rosary begin with the words “Hail Mary” but these are not a distraction from God. Too few Christians recognize that those words are taken from the “Word of God” and were first spoken by God Himself when He commanded the Archangel Gabriel to go and announce them to the Virgin Mary. The rosary is also Christocentric because at the very center of the Hail Mary are the words “blessed is the fruit of thy womb JESUS.” Jesus’s own name is at the center of the Hail Mary. Lastly, the rosary is Christocentric because it is always a mediation on the joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ. Mother Mary was present in every one of those mysteries. Christ is at the center of her life and her heart. By meditating on the rosary, the soul is deeply prepared to enter into the mysteries of the life of Jesus made present in the Mass. The rosary ultimately inclines our hearts to desire holy Communion with Jesus, all by the powerful help of Mother Mary. 
 
Pray the rosary at home with your family and before Mass. Ave Maria!