Counting prayers
Gino D'Oca expands on the Rosary The faithful's persistent yearning for a private audience with God, combined with (particularly in earlier history) the hierarchy's need for a reassertion of legitimacy against heretics, was the spiritual and social context from whence the rosary of the Blessed Virgin developed. Both, I'm sure you will agree, being very noble objectives. Heresy however is not always high on the agenda nowadays, but an escape from the hubbub of modern life is — hence the Holy Father, John Paul II's declaration that October 2002 to October 2003 be the year of the Rosary, seems even more pertinent. The practice of counting one's prayers (very often upon beads, chains or strings) is a far more established custom than the Rosary itself. (The notion of prayer repetition is also ingrained in liturgical and non-liturgical practice, the litany of saints being a prime example). Secular worry beads are still evident in the East and have been since ancient times, yet in the West they acquired a more spiritual function… The Rosary has its origins in the psalms, which monastic communities would recite as part of their daily petitions, such as psalm repetition for the deceased in purgatory. The laity attempted to mimic the clergy or brethren by counting their prayers on pebbles, which were carried in a pouch. This method of keeping track of prayer became known as the `poor man's Psalter'. The definite infiltration of the Rosary into Western Christianity is ill defined, however it is often attributed to the crusaders who obtained the practice from the Moslems. St. Dominic is often charged with establishing the rosary with the laity in the twelfth century, but the process was most likely extremely gradual and in fact it certainly occurred before the twelfth century. For instance the Franciscans and Dominicans are known to have popularised the practice with the laity as early as the eleventh century. The Rosary we know today on the other hand was almost certainly standardised somewhere in the late fifteenth century following extensive variations; for example as devotion to the Virgin increased, the Pater Noster (Our father) which was originally recited, lost favour to the Ave Maria (Hail Mary), hence the modern decades of the Rosary. Rather importantly the construction of the Rosary ought to be borne in mind, as it is this structure that unites so many millions of Catholics, and others, in their devotion. The contemporary Rosary is threefold: the introduction, the five decades, and the conclusion. Each of the decades is devoted to a particular event in the life of Jesus or of the Virgin Mary — these have become known as the `mysteries'. There are three sets of five mysteries, since each rosary has five decades. These are the joyful (focus on incarnation), sorrowful (centre on the passion), and glorious mysteries (concerned with the hope of final salvation). The mysteries are so appropriate for our everyday lives in that they embody the whole variety of human emotions evident through our remembrance of Jesus' life. And finally, the conclusion is usually ended with the offering of personal petitions or contemplations. This makes up the basic framework of the Rosary, and even from this dreadfully brief introduction, it becomes clear that praying the rosary is a truly spiritually dense and uplifting offering. The ritual of the Rosary, that application to Our Lady of perpetual succour, is thus called since it is composed of a succession of contemplations, throughout which the most significant wonders of the Catholic religion `seem to be strung one after another like so many fair and fragrant flowers in a garland' [1]. The wonder and enduring effect of the Rosary derives from the rhythmic perseverance with which the subject recites it, creating a `trance like state in which spiritual light may more easily flow into the soul' [1]. The tone with which one recites the Rosary must be sincere and deeply contemplative, and this is no facile achievement. The benefits of the Rosary are self evident to anyone who engages in it, but two of the fifteen promises of the Blessed Virgin (revealed to St. Dominic) for those who recite the Rosary are particularly poignant: `I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary'; `All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities'. Although the Rosary is a devotion centred upon the Blessed Virgin, it focuses upon the entire Christian faith. It is justifiably argued that `heresy' is born of arguments which suggest that in praying the rosary, requests may be The cult and history of the Blessed Virgin, and thus the rosary as a channel of devotion, is a major discipline in itself. I have neither the authority nor time to discuss Marian devotion, suffice it to say that the Rosary is a perfect example of the many spiritually creative practices entrenched in Catholic tradition. It is another of the many customs, not solely Marian, that have grown organically without forceful intervention throughout the ages, and still evident in Traditional Catholic practices. On the 7th October, for example, we commemorate the feast of The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The collect (a particular liturgical reading) for this day reminds us that the Rosary is a prayer through which we can meditate upon the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, events with which Mary was so closely related: ... grant, we beseech thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most Holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Some have argued and may argue that there is no biblical foundation for the Rosary. Although I do not see biblical foundation as being always nec The Pater Noster (Our father) and Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and are clearly imprinted in scripture. At the Annunciation the Archangel Gabriel cries out, at witnessing Mary's purity, `Ave Maria gratia plena' (hail Mary full of grace), which is taken up by Elizabeth, `benedicta tu in mulieribus' (blessed art thou amongst women ). Whilst in Matthew 6:9_13 and Luke 11:2_4, we witness the birth of the Pater Noster. Likewise, all of the mysteries are apparent in scripture. The Rosary is a tremendously indulgenced prayer in that it can guide us into a deeper affection of our neighbour. In other words it aids us in `getting our priorities right', something that is all too easy for us to overlook. The Rosary is a truly Trinitarian prayer in that it encapsulates us in the loving warmth of the Holy Trinity — it is a prayer offered to us, from God through our Mother Mary. It should never be jettisoned as an `anti-ecumenical' prayer, due to its Marian nature; let not petty `ecumenical' correctness sacrifice a priceless spiritual treasure which continues to give divine warmth to all who seek comfort in it. Perhaps we should all take up `counting our prayers' ?! [1] Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary , Marina Warner, 1985. www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/rosmed.html http://indigo.ie/~colmgren/latsoc/template/links.html www.newadvent.org/faq/rosary.pdf ![[picture of king with lamb]](cropped.jpg)
Photo: FreeFoto.com
made of Mary which would not be granted by God. The latter is rightly anathema since when one recites the Rosary one approaches God through our intercessor Mary, and not Mary in isolation _ hence her role as Theotokos, or the `God Bearer' is central.
essary or even safe (i.e. need I mention the dangers of literal and/or `blind' biblical quotations taken out of their historical context — working on biblical precedent we should be stoning women!) the principal components of the Rosary all have their origins in, or can be related back to, the Bible (yet in the case of the Credo (creed) from deep-rooted Christian documentation).![[passion]](passion.jpg)
Photo: FreeFoto.comSources
Useful Links
Rosary Group
The faithful's persistent yearning for a private audience with God, combined with (particularly in earlier history) the hierarchy's need for a reassertion of legitimacy against heretics, was the spiritual and social context from whence the rosary of the Blessed Virgin developed. Both, I'm sure you will agree, being very noble objectives. Heresy however is not always high on the agenda nowadays, but an escape from the hubbub of modern life is — hence the Holy Father, John Paul II's declaration that October 2002 to October 2003 be the year of the Rosary, seems even more pertinent.
The practice of counting one's prayers (very often upon beads, chains or strings) is a far more established custom than the Rosary itself. (The notion of prayer repetition is also ingrained in liturgical and non-liturgical practice, the litany of saints being a prime example). Secular worry beads are still evident in the East and have been since ancient times, yet in the West they acquired a more spiritual function…
The Rosary has its origins in the psalms, which monastic communities would recite as part of their daily petitions, such as psalm repetition for the deceased in purgatory. The laity attempted to mimic the clergy or brethren by counting their prayers on pebbles, which were carried in a pouch. This method of keeping track of prayer became known as the `poor man's Psalter'. The definite infiltration of the Rosary into Western Christianity is ill defined, however it is often attributed to the crusaders who obtained the practice from the Moslems. St. Dominic is often charged with establishing the rosary with the laity in the twelfth century, but the process was most likely extremely gradual and in fact it certainly occurred before the twelfth century. For instance the Franciscans and Dominicans are known to have popularised the practice with the laity as early as the eleventh century. The Rosary we know today on the other hand was almost certainly standardised somewhere in the late fifteenth century following extensive variations; for example as devotion to the Virgin increased, the Pater Noster (Our father) which was originally recited, lost favour to the Ave Maria (Hail Mary), hence the modern decades of the Rosary.
Rather importantly the construction of the Rosary ought to be borne in mind, as it is this structure that unites so many millions of Catholics, and others, in their devotion. The contemporary Rosary is threefold: the introduction, the five decades, and the conclusion.
Each of the decades is devoted to a particular event in the life of Jesus or of the Virgin Mary — these have become known as the `mysteries'. There are three sets of five mysteries, since each rosary has five decades. These are the joyful (focus on incarnation), sorrowful (centre on the passion), and glorious mysteries (concerned with the hope of final salvation). The mysteries are so appropriate for our everyday lives in that they embody the whole variety of human emotions evident through our remembrance of Jesus' life. And finally, the conclusion is usually ended with the offering of personal petitions or contemplations. This makes up the basic framework of the Rosary, and even from this dreadfully brief introduction, it becomes clear that praying the rosary is a truly spiritually dense and uplifting offering.
The ritual of the Rosary, that application to Our Lady of perpetual succour, is thus called since it is composed of a succession of contemplations, throughout which the most significant wonders of the Catholic religion `seem to be strung one after another like so many fair and fragrant flowers in a garland' [1]. The wonder and enduring effect of the Rosary derives from the rhythmic perseverance with which the subject recites it, creating a `trance like state in which spiritual light may more easily flow into the soul' [1].
Photo: FreeFoto.comThe tone with which one recites the Rosary must be sincere and deeply contemplative, and this is no facile achievement. The benefits of the Rosary are self evident to anyone who engages in it, but two of the fifteen promises of the Blessed Virgin (revealed to St. Dominic) for those who recite the Rosary are particularly poignant: `I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary'; `All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities'.
Although the Rosary is a devotion centred upon the Blessed Virgin, it focuses upon the entire Christian faith. It is justifiably argued that `heresy' is born of arguments which suggest that in praying the rosary, requests may be
made of Mary which would not be granted by God. The latter is rightly anathema since when one recites the Rosary one approaches God through our intercessor Mary, and not Mary in isolation _ hence her role as Theotokos, or the `God Bearer' is central.
The cult and history of the Blessed Virgin, and thus the rosary as a channel of devotion, is a major discipline in itself. I have neither the authority nor time to discuss Marian devotion, suffice it to say that the Rosary is a perfect example of the many spiritually creative practices entrenched in Catholic tradition. It is another of the many customs, not solely Marian, that have grown organically without forceful intervention throughout the ages, and still evident in Traditional Catholic practices. On the 7th October, for example, we commemorate the feast of The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The collect (a particular liturgical reading) for this day reminds us that the Rosary is a prayer through which we can meditate upon the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, events with which Mary was so closely related:
... grant, we beseech thee, that meditating on these mysteries in the most Holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.
Some have argued and may argue that there is no biblical foundation for the Rosary. Although I do not see biblical foundation as being always nec
essary or even safe (i.e. need I mention the dangers of literal and/or `blind' biblical quotations taken out of their historical context — working on biblical precedent we should be stoning women!) the principal components of the Rosary all have their origins in, or can be related back to, the Bible (yet in the case of the Credo (creed) from deep-rooted Christian documentation).
Photo: FreeFoto.comThe Pater Noster (Our father) and Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and are clearly imprinted in scripture. At the Annunciation the Archangel Gabriel cries out, at witnessing Mary's purity, `Ave Maria gratia plena' (hail Mary full of grace), which is taken up by Elizabeth, `benedicta tu in mulieribus' (blessed art thou amongst women ). Whilst in Matthew 6:9_13 and Luke 11:2_4, we witness the birth of the Pater Noster. Likewise, all of the mysteries are apparent in scripture.
The Rosary is a tremendously indulgenced prayer in that it can guide us into a deeper affection of our neighbour. In other words it aids us in `getting our priorities right', something that is all too easy for us to overlook. The Rosary is a truly Trinitarian prayer in that it encapsulates us in the loving warmth of the Holy Trinity — it is a prayer offered to us, from God through our Mother Mary. It should never be jettisoned as an `anti-ecumenical' prayer, due to its Marian nature; let not petty `ecumenical' correctness sacrifice a priceless spiritual treasure which continues to give divine warmth to all who seek comfort in it.
Perhaps we should all take up `counting our prayers' ?!
Sources
[1] Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary , Marina Warner, 1985.
Useful Links
www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/rosmed.html
http://indigo.ie/~colmgren/latsoc/template/links.html
www.newadvent.org/faq/rosary.pdf
Rosary Group
8.30 am Quiet Place Thursdays
Contact Michael Puljic, mtp101