rosaryThe Rosary

The word rosary comes from the Latin word rosarius which means crown of roses.

The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. The purpose of the beads is to help keep track of where you are at in the prayer.

There have been various forms of the beads over the last 900 years.  The current Roman Catholic version of the beads has been in use for over 700 years.
Although the rosary is a traditional Catholic devotion; there is also an Anglican rosary or prayer beads. It has been adapted by Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and non-denominational Christians and they may have various forms.  The Lutheran Church uses the Catholic rosary beads but each "Hail Mary" is replaced with the "Jesus Prayer”.

The prayer consists of a verbal action and a mental meditative action. While you are saying the words by moving your lips in a rhythmic pattern you are simultaneously contemplating the mystery of the Bible. Almost all the words are from the Bible. One Mystery (the Assumption of Mary) is based on Catholic tradition. The majority meditative part of the rosary is praying about Jesus. The majority of the verbal part of the rosary is from the Bible and the majority of the spoken words are asking the mother of God to prayer for us to the Lord Our God. You can see a detailed break down here.

How to Say the Rosary Rosary

  1. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed.
  2. Say the Our Father.
  3. Say 3 Hail Marys.
  4. Say the Glory Be to the Father.
  5. Announce the First Mystery, then say the Our Father.
  6. Say 10 Hail Marys.
  7. Say the Glory Be to the Father.
  8. Say the O My Jesus.
  9. Announce the Second Mystery, then say the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be and O My Jesus.
  10. Announce the Third Mystery, then say the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be and O My Jesus.
  11. Announce the Fourth Mystery, then say the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be and O My Jesus.
  12. Announce the Fifth Mystery, then say the Our Father, Hail Marys, Glory Be and O My Jesus.
  13. Conclude by saying the Hail Holy Queen.
  14. Make the Sign of the Cross.

Rosary2Prayers of the Rosary

For a more detailed Biblical break down of the rosary you may go here.

Sign Of The Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; he ascended into Heaven sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in Heaven; hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
O My Jesus
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of your Mercy. Amen.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us,
And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of they womb, Jesus.
O clememt. O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The Rosary is divided into five decades. Each decade represents a mystery or event in the life of Jesus. There are four sets of "Mysteries of the Rosary" (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious).

 “Joyful Mysteries”(Mon & Sat)

First Decade: The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Second Decade: The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)
Third Decade: The Birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:1-21)
Fourth Decade: The Presentation of Our Lord (Luke 2:22-38)
Fifth Decade: The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

“Luminous Mysteries”(Thurs.)

First Decade: The Baptism of Our Lord in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-16)
Second Decade: The Wedding at Cana, when Christ manifested Himself (Jn 2:1-11)
Third Decade: The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15)
Fourth Decade: The Transfiguration of Our Lord (Matthew 17:1-8)
Fifth Decade: The Last Supper, when Our Lord gave us the Holy Eucharist (Mt 26)

“Sorrowful Mysteries”(Tues & Fri)

First Decade: The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-56)
Second Decade: Our Lord is Scourged at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26)
Third Decade: Our Lord is Crowned with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-31)
Fourth Decade: Our Lord Carries the Cross to Calvary (Matthew 27:32)
Fifth Decade: The Crucifixion of Our Lord (Matthew 27:33-56)

“Glorious Mysteries”(Wed & Sun)

First Decade: The Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord (John 20:1-29)
Second Decade: The Ascension of Our Lord (Luke 24:36-53)
Third Decade: The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41)
Fourth Decade: The Assumption of Mary into Heaven (Song of Songs 2:2,10-11)
Fifth Decade: The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth (Gn 3:15a) (Jdt 13:18) (Jdt 15:9) (Rv 12:1) (Sir 24:4) (Sir 14:9) (Cor 4:17) (Lk 8:21)(Gal 4:19)

Resources:

 

The Rosary is a Prayer Tool for ALL Christians

As an ex-protestant, I can honestly tell you that I went through several phases before the rosary became my favorite prayer. 

At first it was a challenge to memorize the words, but with a little time “Hail Mary” rolled off my lips as easy as “Our Father”. Taking small steps and working on a phrase here and there and it became second nature. 

Until the Hail Mary was memorized it as not easy to meditate on the Mysteries, but once it happened, I found it easier to meditate on the Mysteries because my mind was not bouncing around like a tree full of monkeys. 

The next phase was the Mysteries themselves.  Each of the 20 mysteries slowly became strong sign posts or milestones in the life of Jesus. After 20 mysteries you have reviewed some of the highest and lowest point of Christ life with little time for the wild monkeys to pull you back to a broken car or the next chore to run.

It is also important to either speak the words out loud or to whisper the words as you mediate on the mysteries. I find that if you just listen to someone else (on the radio for example) while you try to meditate, you will soon drift away from prayer.

It takes about 20 minutes to pray one set of mysteries. It can take 60-80 minutes to pray all four sets of the mysteries.

Here are some explanations of  the more common “issues” people might have with the rosary.

Doesn’t the Bible tell us not to repetitively pray?


“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” (Mat 6:7 NAB) or if you like “Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do." (Mat 6:7 - NRSV) or “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Mat 6:7 KJV)


First the words are not babble, empty phrases or vain repetitions. 90% of the words are from the Bible. Just like the “Our Father” prayer given by the Lord two sentences later in the Bible and no Christian has a problem saying that prayer quite often.


Secondly, the prayers that are repeated are not for the sake of hounding, badgering or amplifying the words. Saying the words over and over is a meditation technique. It preoccupies part of our mind with the rhythm movement of the lips and vocal chords and the fingers on the beads, while the remainder of the mind can better contemplate the Mystery at hand.

Thirdly, the prayers are not pagans, or heathens. They are praying scripture from a Christian Bible.


Is the rosary giving too much attention to Mary?

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, is pure scripture.

Holy Mary, mother of God (all Christian agree) ,

“pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”  This is asking her to pray for us not praying to her. This is an intercessory type pray that is one of two valid forms of pray to God. This is the most foreign to a protestant, but it is demonstrated many times in the Bible and you most likely have ask a friend to pray for you in times of trouble.  That fact that it is repeated 10 times for every “Our Father or Lord’s Prayer” goes back to the rhythmic nature of the vocalization of the words as a tool to help you meditate on the Mystery at hand.

For example: You are thinking about the crowning of Jesus with a crown of thorns while saying scripture over and over. In this example what do you think sticks in your mind the most?