The Holy Rosary – an important and powerful prayer

 

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful prayer that is offered up to God, because Jesus is transubstantiated under the species of bread and wine, thus becoming His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, which is then offered up to the Eternal Father as a sacrifice, in an unbloody manner for the salvation of mankind. The second most important prayer for the Church and for personal sanctification is the “Liturgy of the Hours” also known as the “Divine Office”, whereby, all 150 psalms are said over the course of the week, usually by priests and religious but nowadays by millions of lay people. The Holy Rosary is the third most important prayer and although not compulsory, is recommended by countless Pontiffs and saints. Traditionally the Rosary was said as a parallel prayer by those who did not participate in the Liturgy of the Hours or who could not understand Latin. In the Rosary one finds a compendium of the life of the Saviour of the world from His Incarnation to the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

 

The family that prays together stays together

 

Many people these days are looking for a quick fix to their problems or they seek a miracle prayer that offers them hope in difficult time. In Ireland for example, it was always the custom in the family home to kneel down after the evening meals and say the Rosary together. Father Payton always said that “the family that prays together stays together.” The reason for this is that a spiritual bonding takes place as a result of the “showerings of graces” that fall on the family from Our Lady who is present with them as they pray. The miracle of the Rosary is contained in the promises of Our Lady to those who recite the Rosary devoutly when She say’s  that “You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary”

 

History of the Devotion

 

As early as the 2^nd century, ancient graffiti at various Christian sites and especially in the catacombs, clearly indicate evidence that there was a substantive devotion to Our Lady, in fact in some instances a cord with 10 knots was drawn on the walls of ancient Rome, indicating some prayer that invokes the intercession of Our Blessed Mother. The first clear evidence however comes in 1221 and which is written about in the book “Life of Saint Dominic” by Blessed Alan de la Roche O.P.  This great Saint is said to have had an apparition of Our Lady in 1214 as a result of his prayers and his attempts to suppress, unsuccessfully, the Albigensian heresy in Toulouse in France. According to Blessed Alan, Our Lady presented the Rosary to him as the greatest weapon for conversion of sinners. Another great champion of the Rosary was Saint Dominic himself. Shortly after the apparitions the bells of the church in Bologna in Italy began to ring out miraculously to summon the people to hear what Saint Dominic had to say on the Rosary. While Dominic was preaching and according to many witnesses the statue of the Blessed Virgin began to move its arms up towards heaven and then down as though towards hell. This happen three times over the next few days despite the violent thunder storms raging outside the church.  Many heretics converted returned to the Church and held fast to the holy Rosary. Saint Dominic went about spreading this particular devotion of the Holy Rosary, and to Our Lady, something which the Dominican order still does today.

 

The present form of the Rosary with 4 sets of 5 decades each, which makes up 20 mysteries or journeys of the life of Christ. This form is credited to two people, one is Blessed Alan O.P. and the other is Pope John Paul II, the Great who has just given us the new 5 Luminous Mysteries. Blessed Alan tells us that Saint Dominic appeared to him and told him how to perfect the prayers of the Rosary and in what sequence to put the mysteries. Blessed Alan also benefited from the apparitions to him of Our Lady who not only encouraged the devotion to the Rosary but gave 15 special promises to those who recite it devoutly. Blessed Alan went on to found the Rosary Confraternity in 1475 something which is still going today and which is found at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompei.

 

The 20 Mysteries

 

The Rosary is made up of 20 Mysteries, which are begun with an Our Father, followed by 10 Hail Mary’s and a Glory Be at the conclusion of the decade. Despite objections from Protestants that it has no “biblical basis,” and is therefore some type of idolatry, it is worth noting that there is an actual biblical basis of this unique prayer said by almost 1.2 billion people on a daily basis. The first parts of the Rosary are called the “Joyful Mysteries” and here we contemplate the joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of Her Son, Our Lord. The Annunciation in Nazareth (Lk1, 26-28) The Visitation to Her cousin Elisabeth (Lk1, 39-45) The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Lk2, 21-40) The Presentation in the Temple (LK 12,2-6) and the finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem (Lk 2,39-52) The Church asks that these mysteries be said on Mondays and Saturdays. The next 5 mysteries are called the “Mysteries of Light” and were introduced by Pope John Paul II, the Great on the 16^th of October in 2002, the “Year of the Rosary.” These mysteries commemorate the decisive moments in the life of Christ. The first mystery is the Baptism of the Lord (Mt3, 13-17) The wedding at Cena (Jn 2, 1-12) The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Mk1, 15, Mk2, 3-13, Lk 7, 47-48 and Jn20; 22-23). The Transfiguration of the Lord (Lk 9; 28-35). And the Institution of the Eucharist (Mk14, 22-25, Jn 13; 1). These mysteries are said on Thursdays only. The five “Sorrowful Mysteries”, The Agony in the Garden (Lk22, 39-46) The Scourging at the Pillar (Jn 19, 1) The Crowning of Thorns (Mk 27, 27) The Carrying of the Cross (Jn 19, 17-22) And the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus on the Cross (Jn 20, 1-18) to be said on Tuesday’s and Friday’s. The last of the “regular Rosary” are called the “Glorious Mysteries”. The Resurrection of Our Lord from the Dead (Jn 20, 1-18) The Ascension of the Lord into Heaven (Lk 24, 50-53) The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (Acts 2, 1-13) The Assumption of Our Blessed Lady into Heaven, (body and soul) (Dogmatically declared by the Church in 1950) and the Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven and Earth (Rv 12, 13). These mysteries are said on Wednesdays and Sundays.

 

Special Rosaries

 

There are other special Rosaries which are said by certain religious orders and which can be said by anyone, but only in addition to the “regular Rosary” and not to substitute it. There is the “Servite Rosary” which is the Rosary of the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady. This is said over a seven week period and one contemplates the following; The prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:34–35). The flight into Egypt. (Mt 2:13–15). The loss of Jesus for three days (Lk 2:48–49). The Blessed Virgin Mary meeting Jesus, carrying His cross (Is 53:7, 12 and Is 53:3) Her standing beneath the cross on Calvary, (Jn 19:25–27). The Sacred Body of Jesus, taken down from the cross (Lam 2:13, 18).and finally the 7^th mystery The Blessed Virgin oversees the burial of the Sacred Body of her Son (Lk 23:52–55). The normal way to say this Rosary is with one Our Father and Seven Hail Mary’s.

 

The Franciscans have their own special Rosary called the Franciscan Crown Rosary. In 1263, Saint Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion and therefore this rosary was firmly 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, and completed by two more Hail Marys after the 7th decade to complete the number 72 which is thought to be the age of Mary at the time of her Assumption. The Crown recalls the seven joys of Mary and how she responded to the grace of God in her life. The Annunciation (Lk 1, 26-33) The Visitation (Lk 1, 39-45) The Birth of Jesus (Lk2, 6-12) The Adoration of the Magi (Mk 2, 1-2, 10-11) The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2, 41-50) The Resurrection of Our Lord (Mk 16, 1-7) and the Assumption and Coronation (Lk 1, 46-55)

 

Saint Anthony’s Rosary is said only in Ireland, the Irish (specifically the Gaelic-speaking) and their descendants have a tradition of saying thirteen Hail Mary’s rather than ten, in honour of St. Anthony of Padua whose feast day is 13 June. Also called the St. Anthony Chaplet, its prayers are accompanied by a poem called the “Miraculous Responsory” or si quideris, written by Saint Bonaventure.

 

The Rosary of the Holy Wounds. This devotion to the Holy Wounds and the Promises were revealed by Our Lord to Sr. Mary Martha Chambon (1841-1907), of the Monastery of the Visitation of Chambery. The cause for her beatification was introduced in 1937.  Here one says the normal 5 decades but for we focus on the five wounds of Our Lord for the mediation.

 

Another of the special Rosaries is the “Trisagion Rosary” or Trinitarian Rosary, usually said by the Trinitarian Fathers and Confraternities. The Trisagion Rosary has three groups of nine beads. In reciting the chaplet, each group is preceded by the Trisagion and the Pater Noster. A special prayer is said on each of the nine beads: “To you be praise, glory, and thanksgiving for ever, blessed Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Power and Might; heaven and earth are full of Your Glory.” Each group of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri ("Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."), and the whole rosary ends with a closing prayer. There are many other types of Rosary which can be said according to the particular devotion and all too numerous to mention here in this short work. However, it should be noted again that any special rosary that is said, should be said in addition to the normal rosary and not to replace it.

 

 The Church has entered the Marian era

The Church seems to have entered a Marian era  where devotion to Our Lady is spreading all over the World, with the help of some great organisations like the Legion of Mary, and Rosary Archconfraternities and Confraternities and others like the Dominican Fathers, the Servites and prayer groups almost on a parish by parish basis. From the time of Pope Pius IX, who defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Pontiffs have displayed an extraordinary devotion to the Mother of God.

Pope Leo XIII wrote 12 Encyclical letters on the Rosary alone, and these are listed briefly as follows; “Supremi Apostolatus Officio” (1883-On Devotion to the Rosary) “Superiore Anno”(1884-On Recitation of the Rosary) “Quod Auctoritate” ( 1885 Which…Authority) “Vi E Ben Noto” (1887 On the Rosary in Public Life) “Octobri Mense” (1891 Month of October-On the Rosary) “Magnae Dei Matris” (1892Great Mother of God-On the Rosary) “Laetitiae Sanctae” (1893 Sacred Joy-Commending Devotion to the Rosary) “Iucunda Semper Expectatione” (1894 Always Joyful Expectation-On the Rosary) “Adiutricem” (1894 “Female Helper”-On the Rosary) “Fidentem Piumque Animum (1896 Confident and Devoted Soul-On the Rosary) “Augustissimae Virginis Mariae” (1897-Most August Virgin Mary-On the Confraternity of the Rosary) and finally “Diuturni Temporis” (1898-Long Space of Time-On the Rosary)

Pope Saint Pius X wrote Ad Diem Illud Laetissimum ( 1904 On that Most Happy Day-50^th Anniversary of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Pope Benedict XV wrote Fausto Appetente Die (1921 On Saint Dominic and the Rosary)

Pope Pius XI whote “Ingravescentibus Malis” (1937 “Evergrowing Evils”- On the Rosary)

Pope Pius XII wrote “Ingravescentibus Malis” (1937 “(Approaching Evils”) and Ad Caeli Reginam (1954-On the Queen of Heaven) He also defined the Dogma of the Assumption of Our Lady Body and Soul in Heaven (Munificentissimus Deus, (November 1^st 1950)

Pope John XXIII, the Pope of the Second Vatican Council wrote “Grata Recordatio” (1959 Pleasant Recollection- On the Rosary)

Pope Paul VI wrote two documents, one Encyclical “Christi Matri” (1966 Mother of Christ)and the 1974 “Marialis Cultus” (Devotion to Our Lady)

Finally Pope John Paul II wrote “Redemptoris Mater” in 1987 and the very special “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” in 2002. He also proclaimed October 2002-2003 as the “Year of the Rosary” Pope Benedict has continually exhorted the faithful to pray the rosary and like Pope John Paul II, gives a Rosary beads to all whom he meets.

 

There are great Saints who have been devoted to the Rosary and it would be amiss not to mention Saint Louis De Monfort’s book “Secrets of the Rosary” a must for those who seek “True Devotion.” Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, whom the Church celebrates on October 7^th asks the three children of Fatima to “Say the Rosary every day for world peace”. Despite the difficulties of this life with all its hardships and sorrows, we have the Holy Rosary and the assurance of Our Lady that “ In the end, My Immaculate Heart will Triumph.” Those in any kind of trouble, financial, legal, health or family should return quickly to the recitation of the Holy Rosary with great urgency, for they will not be disappointed by the response of Our Lady, Mother of all humanity and a Mother who cares for each one of us in a very special way.

 

This feature is categorised under Devotions