Praying the Rosary

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Praying the Rosary

The devotion of the Rosary has been treasured in the Catholic Church for many centuries. It is a summary of Christian faith in language and prayers inspired by the bible. For many Catholics the rosary is considered an essential form of prayer; it offers the mysteries of Christ’s life alongside those of Mary. This paper will discuss the tradition of the rosary, the meaning of the prayers included in the rosary and the mysteries of the rosary.

The rosary is what is referred to as a prayer in common, it can be prayed individually but it is often prayed together as a group. The rosary is a meditation on the events in the life of Jesus and Mary. In this prayer we repeat over and over again the words that were spoken to the Virgin Mary by the angel Elizabeth (Kelly). It is simple but profound, both traditional and modern. It is easy to say the rosary, but the spiritual riches of this devotion are deep and spiritually satisfying.

According to the Roman Breviary, “The rosary is a certain form of prayer wherein we say decades or tens of Hail Marys with an Our Father between each ten, while at each of these decades we recall successively in pious meditation one of the mysteries of our Redemption” (Thurston and Shipman). Whenever a prayer is to be repeated a large number of times it is likely that some mechanical apparatus is used because it is less troublesome than counting upon the fingers. In almost all countries, then, we meet with something in the nature of prayer-counters or rosary beads. The use of beads, knotted cords, ropes, chains and other tallying devices have been used in prayer for centuries and not only by Christians.

At different points in the development of the physical rosary, it was a simple long cord that had 150 knots, and at other times it had only 50. The tallying devices of early rosaries were made from whatever material was on hand, including apricot or olive pits, bone, wood, stones or pebbles. As the rosary developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, metal smiths began mass producing rosaries using glass, pewter, lead, and iron (Thurston and Shipman). Beginning in the eighteenth century, women would sometimes adorn their rosary chains or cords with figurines, dried flowers, gems, even dried fruit. Eventually the crucifix was added to the rosary and reserved for the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed. The crucifix and the first five beads of a rosary make up the pendant. The first three hail Marys were added as a petition for faith, hope, and charity. In calling upon these virtues at the beginning of each rosary, we are calling upon the same Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary, the same Holy Spirit that we call upon at ever mass and in all of the sacraments of the Catholic faith (Kelly).

The origin of the devotion of the rosary is traditionally connected with St. Dominic.