Rosary

The Rosary (Latin: rosarium, "rose garden", Spanish:Rosario), is a traditional devotion in the Roman Catholic Church. The Rosary is also prayed by some in the Anglican Communion, most notably Anglo-Catholics.

To pray the rosary you should use a Rosary. A Rosary is a string of beads with a crucifix. A short string of five beads is attached to the crucifix which leads to a large circular strip of beads made of five sets of one large bead and ten smaller beads, called decades. You begin on the crucifix with a Sign of the Cross and an Apostles' Creed. Say an Our Father on the large bead and one Hail Mary for each of the next three smaller beads. On the next large bead, say a Glory Be to the Father, announce and meditate on the first mystery and say an Our Father. Say a Hail Mary for each of the following smaller beads, and end the decade with the Glory Be. Begin the cycle again with an Our Father, meditate the second mystery according to the same schema and so on for the third, fourth and fifth mysteries. You end with the Prayer after the Rosary and a Sign of the Cross.

Mysteries of the Rosary

The Joyful Mysteries

Said on Mondays and Saturdays, and Sundays of the Christmas Season.

• The Annunciation (Humility) Luke 1:26-38
• The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing she is to be the Mother of God
• The Visitation (Charity) Luke 1:39-56
• Elizabeth greets Mary: "Blessed art Thou amoung women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!"
• The Nativity (Poverty) Luke 2:1-20
• The Virgin Mary gives birth to the Redeemer of the World.
• The Presentation (Obedience) Luke 2:22-39
• The Blessed Mother presents the Child Jesus in the Temple
• Finding in the Temple (Piety) Luke 2:42-52
• The Blessed Mother finds Jesus in the Temple.

The Mysteries of Light, as proposed by Pope John Paul II

Said on Thursdays

• The Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:13-17
• When Jesus comes up from the water the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descends on him
• The Wedding at Cana John 2:1-11
• Jesus affirms the good of marriage, turns water to wine and manifests his glory
• The Kingdom of God Matthew 4:17
• The proclamation of the Gospel, and the call to repentance
• The Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-8
• Jesus' face shines like the sun, and his garments become white as light
• The Eucharist Matthew 26:26-28
• The institution of the Sacrament and the establishment of the Priesthood

The Sorrowful Mysteries

Said on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Sundays of Lent

• The Agony in the Garden Luke 22:41-47
• Jesus prays in agony, an angel appears strengthening him, and his sweat becomes like blood
• The Scourging at the Pillar John 19:1
• Pilate tells the crowd he will flog Jesus and let him go, and he has Jesus scourged
• The Crowning with Thorns Mark 15:16-19
• The soldiers put a crown of thorns on him and mock him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
• The Carrying of the Cross Luke 23:24-32
• Jesus carries his cross, Simon helps him, Jesus speaks to the women
• The Crucifixion John 19:17-30
• Jesus is crucified, gives his mother to John, thirsts, cries out, dies, and is pierced in the side

The Glorious Mysteries

Said on Wednesdays and Sundays of Easter Season and Ordinary Time

• The Resurrection Matthew 28:1-10
• The women come to the tomb, the angel tells them he is risen, and Jesus meets them on the way
• The Ascension Mark 16:19
• After speaking to them, Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God
• The Descent of the Holy Spirit Acts 2:1-4
• On the day of Pentecost, the sound of wind, tongues of fire appeared, and the Holy Spirit descended on them
• The Assumption of Mary into Heaven Romans 8:29-30
• Mary whom he predestined, was conformed to the image of Jesus, and glorified, in the twinkling of an eye.
• The Coronation of Mary and the glory of all the Saints Revelation 12:1
• A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Before the Mysteries of Light proposed by Pope John Paul II, the 15-Decade Rosary (in honor of the 150 Psalms) was prayed as follows:

• The 5 Joyful Mysteries on Mondays and Thursdays
• The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays
• The 5 Glorious Mysteries on Wednesdays and Saturdays
• On Sundays of Christmas the 5 Joyful Mysteries
• On Sundays of Lent the 5 Sorrowful Mysteries
• On all other Sundays of the year, during Advent and Ordinary Time, the 5 Glorious Mysteries.

Some devotees of this form of prayer and praise of God in honor of Mary recite and meditate once every day on all 15 Mysteries or on all 20 Mysteries (including the Mysteries of Light), which normally takes from 30 to 45 minutes.

The Rosary is comparable and parallel to the Old Testament Psalm 136, which recalls with praises of thanksgiving each of the marvelous works of the Lord and repeats 26 times, "for his mercy endures for ever!"

History

By tradition, the Catholic laity living near monasteries of monks and cloistered convents of nuns, seeking to imitate the monastic practice of daily praying the 150 Psalms prophesying the Incarnation of Christ, and his life, passion, death, resurrection and glory for our salvation, and the sufferings and joys of his mother with him from the Annunciation to the Resurrection and Ascension, found the practice difficult to perform in the midst of the demands of their daily duties and chores, and this was especially so for those who could not read and found memorizing the entire book of the Psalms, the Psalter, almost impossible. To assist their desire to join with the monks and nuns and priests in daily praise of God with the prayers of the Psalter, their pastors, the priests and bishops, recommended a simple substitute—praying the Lord's Prayer 150 times, paying close attention to the meaning of the words, because it is the prayer that Jesus himself taught his apostles to pray. Most historians trace the origin of this initial form of the Rosary back to the so-called Dark Ages of 9th century Ireland, about the year A.D. 800, when Charlemagne was made Holy Roman Emperor.

People at first carried in a small leather pouch or in their pocket 150 pebbles. With each devoutly prayed "Our Father" they would take one pebble out, or put one in. However, pebbles can be dropped and lost, so they adopted the use of a thin rope with 150 knots, moving from knot to knot and praying the "Our Father" on each knot until the end. Eventually they found that a string with 150 wooden beads was an easier tool, or implement, to use. This is analogous to singing or playing a long piece of sacred music or a hymn with 150 verses out of love of God, just as many churches in worship sing favorite old hymns of prayer and praise again and again, and people at home might recite favorite old poems of faith and devotion again and again.

Soon after the development of this prayer-devotion of the "Our Father", others began using the "Angelic Salutation", first mentioned as a devotion in Europe by St. Peter Damian, who died in 1072. This initial form of an abbreviated substitute for the hymn-prayers of the Psalter was recommended as a devout remembrance of the wondrous, incomprehensible miracle of the Incarnation of God the Son when the angel Gabiel came to Mary in Nazareth and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Because Gabriel addressed Mary directly, her name was added to his salutation and said after the initial "Hail". Saying this simple "Angelic Salutation" 150 times for the 150 Psalms of prophesy, with a devout intention of honoring the Incarnation and the mother of Jesus, was deemed to be sufficient, because of its profound spiritual meaning within the whole of the mystery of salvation, and because it was uttered by an angel from heaven sent by God, Gabriel himself, the same angel who had appeared to the prophet Daniel. The simplest and most ignorant peasant could thus offer up his and her prayer of the heart in union with the official daily prayer of the whole Church to God, using words brought from heaven itself, remembering that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The mouth uttered praise, and the mind was directed to the mystery of the Incarnation and the wonder of our salvation. It is also much shorter than the Our Father, and thus took less time. Many people prayed the "Angelic Salutation" with devotion, while others, equally devout, preferred the "Our Father".

Some medieval theologians of the 13th century, by deep meditation and skillful interpretation of the 150 Psalms as veiled, or allegorical, prophesies about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, began to compose 150 praises of Jesus based on interpretations of the 150 Psalms as "Psalters of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". Soon, to honor his mother also, 150 praises of Mary were also composed as "Psalters of Our Lady Mary Mother of Our Lord". A Psalter of 50 Marian praises was commonly called a bouquet of spiritual fragrance offered from the heart like a bouquet of roses, in Latin a "rosarium". Many mothers receive bouquets of flowers on Mother's Day, and songs are sung in honor of them, in fulfillment of the commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12). Defenders of devotion to Mary point out that sons are pleased when their mothers are honored, and that when a woman in the crowd blessed his mother, Jesus the Son of Mary agreed, but he also said, "Yes! Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28), and they also point out that Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself, also said, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord!" (Luke 1:45). Mary herself testified, "Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed!" (Luke 1:48). He also said, "Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:50). And to the rich young ruler who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus included the commandment, "Honor your father and mother" (Matthew 19:19). They conclude that to honor Mary the mother of Jesus is to honor and please Jesus himself, God the Son, who chose Mary and honored her above all others by making her his own mother and becoming incarnate in her womb and being obedient to her (Luke 2:51). Because she heard the word of God and kept it, and therefore she certainly did the will of God, they reason that, according to the Bible, by Jesus' own testimony, she is therefore most truly his mother.

During the same 13th century, then, five Psalters were being used to honor and praise God:

• The Book of Psalms, the 150 Psalms
• The 150 Our Fathers
• The 150 Angelic Salutations
• The 150 Praises of Jesus
• The 150 Praises of Mary

The first historical evidence of the rosary is from Saint Dominic (A.D. 1221), who founded Order of Preachers or Dominicans.

Then about 1375, Henry of Kalkar, the Visitator of the Carthusian Order, divided the 150 Angelic Salutations into fifteen groups of ten, fifteen decades, each decade beginning with an Our Father first, to certainly orient the prayers primarily to God.

In the 15th century, about 1409, Dominic the Prussian (another Carthusian), wrote a book attaching a "Psalter" of fifty reflective thoughts relating the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary to a devotional rosarium of 50 Angelic Salutations, a thought for each one of the fifty. Eventually this Psalter was divided into decades, ten thoughts with ten Angelic Salutations, each decade introduced by an Our Father first. Because the form was not firmly fixed, very gradually various forms of this meditative prayer-devotion were composed and proposed from about 1425 through 1470. It was roughly during this period that the greeting of Elizabeth was included, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb", and her testimony under the influence of the Holy Spirit that Mary is the mother of God, "Whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Greek Κύριος Kyrios "Lord" = God).

When the Dominican Alan of Rupe, Alain de Roche, a disciple of Saint Dominic, founded the first Rosary Confraternity, he also instituted the more modern form of the rosary, and with that launched the Dominican Order as the foremost preachers and missionaries of the Rosary. The form he favored was to refer a special thought for each bead of the Rosary, in preference to a single meditative thought for the whole, which he called the "old" Rosary. The prayer form of 150 special thoughts for the 150 "Hail Mary"s spread rapidly throughout Western Christendom. This form of meditation, with 150 different thoughts, one for each bead, was gradually abandoned as the Christian world transitioned to the Renaissance.

In 1500 for the first time, inexpensive woodblock prints could be made of pictures of the events meditated upon in praying the Rosary, but it was difficult and expensive to draw and then print reproductions of 150 different pictures for each of the 150 Hail Marys. The ten pictures for each of the ten thoughts in each decade were printed around the words of the Our Father. Since the vast majority of the common people were still illiterate these picture rosaries were immensely popular, as a form of directed meditation on the events of our salvation, much easier than attempting to memorize them. This was the time of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. It was also the century of the reported apparition in Mexico of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But gradually, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the use of 150 meditative thoughts gradually died out, and only the 15 brief Our Father thoughts, one for each entire decade of 10 Hail Marys, were printed in the picture rosaries. These fifteen became known as the mysteries of the rosary, because they directly present the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption in the lives of Jesus and Mary.

Near the end of the 20th century, Pope John Paul II, who was specially devoted to the mother of Jesus, proposed five more decades, which he called the Mysteries of Light, directly related to the mysteries of the ministry of Jesus and the preaching of the Gospel to the multitudes and to his apostles on earth, before his passion and death, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.

Many Popes, and particularly the Dominicans, have urged the regular recitation of the rosary, which means "a crown of roses" as a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother.

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Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:15) "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28) "Behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed." (Luke 1:48) "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:42) "The holy women who hoped in God." (1 Peter 3:5) "And why is this granted unto me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43) "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous." (1 John 3:7) "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30) "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever." (Daniel 12:3) "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father." (Matthew 13:43) "And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Revelation 12:1) "His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' " (John 2:5) "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4) "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. ... My brothers, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (1 John 5:16 and 20) "If he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." (2 Maccabees 12:44-45)

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Rosary in Latin

The Madonna of the Rosary by Miguel Cabrera.

The rosary in Latin is as follows:

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen

(the Apostles' Creed):

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.

(the Our Father):

PATER NOSTER, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

(the Hail Mary):

AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

(the Glory Be):

GLORIA PATRI, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.