Rosary

Our Lady of Lourdes - Mary appearing at Lourdes with Rosary beads.

The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, "rose garden"), is a traditional popular devotion in the Roman Catholic Church. The term denotes both a set of prayer beads used in the devotion and the devotional prayer itself, which combines vocal (or silent) prayer and meditation centered around sequences of reciting the Lord's Prayer followed by ten recitations of the "Hail Mary" prayer and a single recitation of "Glory Be to the Father"; each of these sequences is known as a decade.

Until the recent optional addition of five additional Mysteries by Pope John Paul II, the Rosary had been prayed in three parts of five Mysteries assigned throughout the week. Today the Rosary can be prayed in four parts, one part each day, with the "Mysteries" (which are meditated or contemplated on during the prayers) being rotated daily.

What distinguishes the Rosary from other forms of prayer is that, along with the vocal prayers, it includes a series of meditations. Each decade of the Rosary is said while meditating on one of the "Mysteries" of redemption. These mysteries were finally standardised in the 16th century, and while there has been some disagreement on them (the final mystery is sometimes the Last Judgment) the earliest sets bear a remarkable resemblance to those still used.

Many similar prayer practices exist in popular Roman Catholicism, each with its own set of prescribed prayers and its own form of bead counters. These other devotions and their associated beads are usually referred to as "chaplets." (To see types of prayer-bead prayers used by other religions, see article on prayer beads).

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary has the liturgical rank of universal memorial. It is associated with Our Lady of Victory and is celebrated on October 7 on the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar in commemoration of the "Victory of Our Lady" at the Battle of Lepanto.

The rosary is used sometimes by some adherents of other Christian denominations, particularly in the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Church, and occasionally by some Methodists. Evangelical Protestants, however, such as Baptists, Adventists, Assembly of God etc., do not use it and actively discourage their members from using this method of prayer.

History

Traditionally, the rosary is said to have come directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Dominic.

The rosary began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Divine Office, during the course of which the monks daily prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50, or even 150, Ave Marias (Hail Marys) for the Psalms. This prayer, at least the first half of it so directly biblically, seems to date from as early as the 2nd century, as ancient graffiti at Christian sites has suggested. Sometimes a cord with knots on it was used to keep an accurate count of the Aves.

The Rosary came to replace the popular devotional practice that consisted of reciting the 150 Psalms of the Bible in thirds or 50 at a time. Instead of the Psalms, 150 Our Fathers were recited. Over the course of the Middle Ages, the Lord's Prayer was replaced with the Angelic Salutation, commonly called the Hail Mary. The prayers of the Rosary were set by the late 16th century. From the 16th to the early 20th century, there were no changes in the Rosary until the mid-20th century when the addition of the Fatima Prayer became popular. There were no other changes until 2002 when John Paul II instituted five optional new Luminous Mysteries, for a total of 20 decades for the complete Rosary.

Key dates

The following table are key dates in the development of the rosary.

• 4th century prayer rope used by the Desert Fathers to count repetitions of the Jesus Prayer
• c. 1075 Lady Godiva refers in her will to "the circlet of precious stones which she had threaded on a cord in order that by fingering them one after another she might count her prayers exactly" (Malmesbury, "Gesta Pont.," Rolls Series 311
• Early to mid 12th century repetition of the Hail Mary prayer (in groups of 50) comes into use as a devotion
• 1160 St Rosalia is buried with a string of prayer beads
• 1214 traditional date of the legend of St Dominic's reception of the rosary from the Virgin
• Mid-13th century word "Rosary" first used (by Thomas of Champitre, in De apibus, ii. 13), not referring to prayer beads but in a Marian context
• 1268 Reference to guild of "paternosterers" in Paris in "Livre des métiers" of Stephen Boyleau.
• Early 15th century a Carthusian, Dominic of Prussia, introduces the meditations (mysteries)
• c. 1514 Hail Mary prayer attains its current form.
• 1569 Pope Pius V established the current form of the original 15 mysteries
• 1597 first recorded use of term "rosary" to refer to prayer beads.
• 1917 Our Lady of Fatima is said to ask that the Fatima Prayer be added to the Rosary. She also asks for the Rosary to be said to stop the war, and as part of the Immaculate Heart's reparation.
• 2002 Pope John Paul II introduces the Luminous Mysteries as an option for Roman Catholics

Rosary beads

File:Rosary.jpeg

Rosary beads

Rosary beads

A set of Rosary beads contains fifty beads in groups of ten (a decade), with an additional large bead before each decade. Some have been known to have one hundred or one hundred-fifty. These numbers match the number of psalms, or a third or two-thirds of them. Although counting the prayers on a string of beads is customary, the prayers of the Rosary do not actually require a set of beads, but can be said using any type of counting device, by counting on one's fingers, or by counting by oneself without any device at all.

The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious materials including coral, rock crystal, gilded silver and gold. In the 19th and early 20th century they are sometimes made from the seeds of the "rosary pea" or "bead tree." Modern beads are most often glass, resin (plastic) or wood. Early rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often made as a series of chain-linked beads.

It is especially common for beads to be made of material with some special significance, such as jet from the shrine of St. James at Santiago de Compostela, or olive seeds from the Garden of Gethsemane. Beads are sometimes made to enclose sacred relics, or drops of holy water. A set of blessed Rosary Beads is a sacramental.

In addition to a string of beads the rosary comes in others forms for ease of use. A ring rosary is a finger ring with eleven knobs on it, ten round ones and one crucifix. A rosary bracelet is one with ten beads and often a cross or medal as well. The most modern form are rosary cards. A rosary card is either one with "handle" that moves like a slide rule to count the decade, or it has a whole rosary with bumps similar to Braille.

The Mysteries

The Crucifixion of Jesus - the fifth of the Sorrowful Mysteries

The recitation of the Rosary is traditionally dedicated to one of three sets of "Mysteries" to be said in sequence, one per night: the Joyful (sometimes Joyous) Mysteries; the Sorrowful Mysteries; and the Glorious Mysteries. Each of these three sets of Mysteries has within it five different themes to be meditated on, one for each decade of ten Hail Marys. Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 2002), recommended an additional set called the Luminous Mysteries (or the "Mysteries of Light"). Catholic faithful who prefer the original fifteen mysteries point to the belief that the Rosary is Mary's Psalter, containing 150 Hail Marys in its body for the 150 Psalms. The Luminous Mysteries make the total 200, but incorporate Christ's ministry.

In addition to meditating upon the events of the mysteries, many people associate certain virtues, or fruits, with each mystery. (The following list of mysteries and the fruits associated with them corresponds to moments in the life, passion, and death of Jesus and Mary's participation in them chronologically.)

Joyful Mysteries

1. The Annunciation. Fruit of the Mystery: Humble/Humility
2. The Visitation. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of Neighbor
3. The Nativity. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty/poor in spirit
4. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Obedience
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Joy in Finding Jesus or Zeal

Luminous Mysteries

1. The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit
2. The Wedding at Cana. Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary
3. Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Fruit of the Mystery: Repentance and Trust in God
4. The Transfiguration. Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Holiness
5. The Institution of the Eucharist. Fruit of the Mystery: Adoration

Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The Agony in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin
2. The Scourging at the Pillar. Fruit of the Mystery: Purity
3. The Crowning with Thorns. Fruit of the Mystery: Courage
4. The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
5. The Crucifixion. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance

Glorious Mysteries

1. The Resurrection. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith
2. The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God
4. The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death
5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in Mary's Intercession

Days of recitation

Day of recitation	Including the Luminous Mysteries	Without the Luminous Mysteries (Traditionally called "The Dominican Rosary")
Sunday	The Glorious Mysteries	Sundays from Advent to Lent: The Joyful Mysteries Sundays in Lent until Palm Sunday: The Sorrowful Mysteries Sundays from Easter to Advent: The Glorious Mysteries
Monday	The Joyful Mysteries	The Joyful Mysteries
Tuesday	The Sorrowful Mysteries	The Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesday	The Glorious Mysteries	The Glorious Mysteries
Thursday	The Luminous Mysteries	The Joyful Mysteries
Friday	The Sorrowful Mysteries	The Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturday	The Joyful Mysteries	The Glorious Mysteries

For those who use the traditional Catholic calendar, the Sorrowful Mysteries are also said on the three pre-Lenten Sundays.

Approved form

• A sign of the cross on the Crucifix and then the "Apostles' Creed";
• An "Our Father" on the first large bead;
• A "Hail Mary" on each of the three small beads with the following intentions (the theological virtues):
  1. For the increase of faith
  2. For the increase of hope
  3. For the increase of charity
• A "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
• Announce the mystery
• An "Our Father" on the large bead
• A "Hail Mary" on each of the adjacent ten small beads;
• A "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
• Again an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, the Glory Be to the Father, and Fatima Prayer for each of the following decades;
• A "Hail Holy Queen" and a sign of the cross.

Common pious additions

Many people add a recitation of the Fatima Decade Prayer at the end of each Decade.

In the practice of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, they have an additional decade for the intentions of the students or the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A pious German custom is to insert a phrase in the middle of each Hail Mary (after "... blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus ... "), which refers to the specific mystery being meditated upon.

In the practice of the Dominican Order, the opening prayers are as follows mirroring the opening of the Divine Office:

1. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
3. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
4. O Lord, open my lips.
5. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
6. Incline your aid to me, O God.
7. O Lord, make haste to help me.
8. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Then one proceeds to the decades.

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto is an example of a concluding litany following the "Hail Holy Queen."

Other forms of the Catholic Rosary

Paternosters

In Monastic Houses, monks were expected to pray the Divine Office daily in Latin, the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church. In some Houses, lay brothers who did not understand Latin or who were illiterate were required to say the Lord's Prayer a certain number of times per day while meditating on the Mysteries of the Incarnation of Christ. Since there were 150 Psalms, this could number up to 150 times per day. To count these repetitions, they used beads strung upon a cord and this set of prayer beads became commonly known as a Paternoster, which is the Latin for "Our Father." Lay people adopted this practice as a form of popular worship. The Paternoster could be of various lengths, but was often made up of 5 “decades” of 10 beads, which when performed three times made up 150 prayers. Other Paternosters, most notably those used by lay persons, may have had only had 10 beads, and may have also been highly ornamented. As the Rosary (ring of flowers) incorporating the Hail Mary prayer became more common, it was often still referred to as a Paternoster.

"St. Anthony's Rosary"

The Irish (specifically the Gaelic-speaking) and their descendants have a tradition of saying thirteen Aves rather than ten, in honour of St. Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is 13 June, and in Ireland is commemorated on Friday the 13th in non-English speaking communities. These are rare today, and almost impossible to purchase.

The Franciscan Crown

The Franciscan rosary, or as it is properly called, The Franciscan Crown, developed in early part of the 15th century, and was officially established in 1422. The Franciscan Crown consists of seven decades of Hail Marys, each preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be. The Crown recalls the seven joys of Mary and how she responded to the grace of God in her life. In addition to developing this Marian devotion, the Franciscans are credited with adding the final words to the Hail Mary, Holy Mary, xdffdsMother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. In 1263, Saint Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion honoring the mystery of the Visitation.

File:Penal-Rosary.gif

Irish penal rosary

A Single-decade ring rosary

An alternative design.

The Birgittine Rosary

The rosary as prayed by the Birgittine order comprises 7 Our Fathers (to honour the joys and sorrows of the Blessed Virgin), and 63 Hail Marys, one for each (presumed) year of her life before the Assumption. The layout of the beads is a loop containing six decades, together with a short string of beads leading to the crucifix.

An example of the Birgittine rosary may be seen depicted on the Statue of the Crowned Virgin in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Single-decade rosaries

Religious persecution of Catholics began in England and Ireland under Henry VIII in 1540 and continued until about 1731. During what has been called the Penal Times, death became the common penalty for attending a Roman Catholic Mass or harboring a priest. Small, easily hidden Rosaries were used to avoid detection. Sometimes rather than a cross, other symbols of specific meanings were used:

• Hammer: nails of the cross;
• Nails: crucifixion;
• Spear: wound;
• Halo: crown of thorns;
• Cords: scourging;
• Chalice: Last Supper;
• Rooster: crowing/resurrection.

These rosaries, especially the smaller ring-type, have since become known as soldiers' rosaries, because they were often taken into battle by soldiers, most notably during WWI. These single-decade Rosary variations can be worn as a ring or carried easily and are still popular. A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary. This is often worn as jewelry, and used through the day. Some ring Rosaries use a small bearing on the inside of the ring to permit easy turning. A finger Rosary is similar to a ring, but is a bit larger. Rosaries like these are used by either rotating or just holding them between a finger and thumb while praying. A hand Rosary is a decade in a complete loop, with one bead separated from ten other beads, this is meant to be carried while walking or running, so as not to entangle the larger type. Credit card-sized Rosaries have also appeared, especially among members of militaries, where holes or bumps represent the prayers and the persons praying move their fingers along the bumps to count prayers.

Rosaries in other Christian denominations

The most common prayer used in the Eastern Christian Churches (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic) is the Jesus Prayer, which makes use of the more ancient prayer rope (Chotki), a knotted rope (rather than beads) joined together with a knotted cross. The prayer rope is not as fixed in form as the Western rosary (it may have 10, 33, 50, 100, or 500 knots on it), and it normally makes use of beads only as dividers between sections. The Eastern prayer rope is often divided into decades, but it may also be divided into sections of 25 or some other number, or not divided at all. Among Old Believers, the lestovka continues to be used. It is made of leather rather than rope and the "beads" are made up of folded strips of leather.

Among members of the Anglican churches, the use of a particular set of prayer beads called Anglican prayer beads is fairly popular. This set is also known as the "Anglican Rosary" or as "Christian prayer beads," the latter term arising from the popularity this set has gained among Protestants generally (see Scriptural Rosary). Anglican bead sets contain 28 beads in groups of seven called "weeks," with an additional large bead before each. In total, there are 33 beads representing the years of Jesus' life on Earth. A number of Anglicans use the Jesus Prayer, just like the Eastern Christians, but there are no Church-appointed prayers or meditations in the Anglican practice. Some Anglo-Catholics use the traditional Roman Catholic rosary complete with prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A recent creation known as the Ecumenical Miracle Rosary uses the same beads as the Catholic Rosary but with different prayers and with mysteries which focus on Christ's miracles.

Rosaries worn outside of religion

Rosaries or rosary-like necklaces are often worn for non-religious purposes as a fashion or jewelry item, and are sold in different variations in popular jewelry and clothing stores. Such ornamental use, especially the wearing of a rosary around the neck, was heavily popularized by singer Madonna in the early 1980s and has experienced a come-back in recent years. Wearing a rosary around the neck can be considered disrespectful if the person wearing it doesn't affiliate with the Christian religion. Ornate or medieval-style rosary sets are occasionally featured in goth fashion, particularly among romantic Goths or for ironic contrast to an otherwise dark outfit.

Wearing of a Rosary that one actually uses to pray is neither uncommon nor sacrilegious in various Catholic-adherent cultures, and was a common practice in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, particularly among monastics (monks and nuns). Rosaries are also worn hanging from or looped over a belt, particularly with some religious habits, pinned to and hanging from a shoulder or neckline, or wrapped around a wrist or arm as a bracelet. Some Christians feel that it is sacrilegious for a non-believer to wear a rosary around the neck. Previously the Roman Catholic Church has stated that wearing of the rosary around the neck by both Christian believers and non-believers is very disrespectful.^{[citation needed]}

As penance

Praying the rosary may be prescribed by priests as a form of penance after confession. Penance in this form is not generally intended as a "punishment"; rather, it is meant to encourage reflection upon and spiritual growth from past sins.^{[citation needed]}

Rosary manufacturing and distribution

Rosaries are in rare cases made of expensive materials from gold and silver to mother of pearl and Swarovski black diamond designs. Yet most rosaries used in the world today for praying are made of simple plastic or wooden beads connected by cords or strings. Catholic missionaries in Africa have reported that rosaries made of tree bark have been used there for praying for the lack of conventional rosaries. It is widely reported that the demand for rosaries in third world countries far outweighs the supply.

Plastic beads are inexpensive to make, but not easy to assemble. Hence the major cost component for making simple rosaries is the assembly effort. A large number of inexpensive rosary beads are manufactured in the orient, specially in China and Taiwan, although Italy has a strong manufacturing presence in moderate cost and high end rosaries.

Assembled rosaries are often purchased as retail religious items. Yet literally hundreds of millions of rosaries have been made and distributed free of charge by Roman Catholic volunteers worldwide. A number of rosary making clubs exist around the world for the purpose of making and distributing rosaries to missions, hospitals, prisons, etc. free of charge. The largest such non-profit organization in the United States is Our Lady's Rosary Makers whose 17,000 members annually distribute roughly 7 million free rosaries. A good number of other volunteer-based clubs and groups exist worldwide and distribute tens of millions of free rosaries every year.

Controversy in the Eastern Catholic Churches

In recent years, the Eastern Catholic Churches have embarked on a campaign of de-Latinization reforms, removing imported devotions and practices that have obscured and replaced traditional and authentic devotions and practices of the Eastern Catholic Churches. One such devotion is the Rosary.

See also

• Legion of Mary
• Saint Louis de Montfort's Secret of the Rosary
• Our Lady's Rosary Makers
• Prayer rope
• Prayer beads
• Anglican devotions
• Western Rite Orthodoxy and prayer of the Marian Rosary
• Rosario, the Spanish word for "rosary" is used as a name for people and places.
• Japa mala for Asian prayer beads
• Tasbeeh for Islamic prayer beads

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: A Consideration of the Rosary by J. Neville Ward (Doubleday, 1973); revised as Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: Meditations on the Rosary (Seabury Classics, 2005) - an ecumenical Methodist minister's book on the Rosary. ISBN 1596280123
• "Stories of the Rose: The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages" by Anne Winston-Allen (1997, Pennsylvania State University Press) - the most current source in English on the history and development of the Rosary in its earliest years. ISBN 0-2710-1631-0
• The Lourdes Pilgrim, by Oliver Todd, Matthew James Publishing, 2003, p. 41.

External links

General

• Guide to Making a Knot Rosary

Including the Luminous Mysteries

• How to recite the Holy Rosary Printer-friendly PDF document (includes prayers, bead use, mysteries)
• The Rosary Evangelization Apostolate
• Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• The Holy Rosary The Holy Rosary site (contains prayers, history, and images)
• Spiritual Treasure: The Holy Rosary Pray the rosary with this beautiful site with graphics
• Knights of Columbus, promotion of the Rosary is a key mission
• Praying the Rosary History, meaning, prayers, and mysteries of the rosary
• 59Beads.com An online meditative prayer aide
• Thesaurus Precum Latinarum the Rosary in Latin
• Rosarium Virginis Mariae John Paul II's apostolic letter on the Rosary, 16 October 2002
• The Rosary Foundation A charity created for the sole purpose of promoting the rosary.
• Holy Rosary on line
• Perpetual Web Rosary A continuing online rosary in which everyone is invited to participate
• How to Pray the Rosary Online workshop to help people learn how to pray the Rosary.

Without the Luminous Mysteries

• Catholic Encyclopedia entry on the Rosary
• Purpose of the Rosary (includes the fifteen promises of Our Lady to Christians who recite the rosary)
• OHCA online Rosary in both Latin and English
• Index of documents about the rosary
• Apostolic Constitution of Pius V establishing the first 15 mysteries
• Naturalism and the Rosary Criticism of Pope John Paul II's addition of the Luminous Mysteries
• Secrets of the Rosary St. Louis de Montfort's 16th century text online, with many anecdotes about the benefits of the Rosary
• Paternoster-Row, a website on rosary history, historical rosaries and paternosters
• Ecumenical Rosary A rosary designed for ecumenical use, see Ecumenical Miracle Rosary
• The Most Holy Rosary A web site with a large image for each mystery, and with texts of all the prayers, to be used as one prays the rosary.

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