LECTURE 17 DECEMBER 2024

I missed it and you probably also missed it.  The church calendar lists October 7^th as Our Lady of the Rosary Day.  Each member attending the October general council meeting was given a small pamphlet titled ‘Pray the Rosary Daily.’   Like many of my Catholic classmates I did not attend a Catholic school.  I did have one hour a week when I and my fellow Catholics who were in public school would walk over to the local Catholic school and be given instruction in my religion.  For this I received a quarter credit a year when in high school.  While in elementary school we were taught by the nuns who taught at the Catholic school.  In high school our classes were taught by seminarians who were only a few years older than us students and not trained to be a teacher or how to conduct a class. Instruction probably left a little bit to be desired.   

I remember I was given a Rosary when I made my First Communion.  My mother gave me basic instruction as best as she could, “You start by making the sign of the cross with the cross on the end.  Then you say an  “Our Father” for each large bead and a “Hail Mary” for each of the small beads.   When you have gone all the way around you make the sign of the Cross, kiss the cross, and you are done.”  She also did not have the benefit of a Catholic school education.  I received Rosaries as gifts on a few special occasions and when I was confirmed.  Instructions were never included.  Getting this pamphlet inspired me to find out when the Rosary came to be part of the Catholic experience.

Man has used a string of beads to keep track of numerous things.  Inca runners used them to recall and repeat information from the capital to the various settlements.  Members of several religions use strings of beads to keep track of the prayers that are repeated.  The word, Rosary, is based on the Latin, “rosarium” which was a wreath or chaplet of roses.  The Romans used them to recall a collection of sayings or prayers.  By the third century Christians were using strings of beads to count their prayers.

According to legend St. Ildephonse received directions on how to use the Rosary directly from Mary herself.  St. Dominic is said to have a vision of Mary in 1214.  She presented him with a Rosary and instructed him in the prayers to be said.  The prayer we know as the Hail Mary and the rosary have been tied together since Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) developed an early form of the Hail Mary and also the rosary. By the 12^th. Century the Rosary was in constant use.  The Hail Mary began as a prayer of praise based on the text found in the Gospel by Luke.  At the Annunciation, the angel Gabrial appeared to Mary and addressed her saying, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women.”  Over time the name “Mary” as well as “And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”  A second prayer, a prayer of petition, was also added.  The prayer as we have it today was given approval in the Roman Breviary of 1568.  The three sets of five mysteries each were developed to draw the person praying the Rosary closer to the faith.   Each of the fifteen mysteries is based on an aspect of our Lady’s life.  In 1597 the Hail Mary prayer and the rosary were given the form which was used for the next 320 years. 

The Joyful Mysteries are The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation and The Finding in the Temple.  The Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Mondays and Saturdays.  They may also be prayed on Sundays during Advent and the Christmas season.

The Glorious Mysteries are, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption, and the Coronation.  The Glorious Mysteries are prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The Sorrowful Mysteries are the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the crowning with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion.  The Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays.  They may also be prayed on Sundays in Lent.

On October 16, 2002, St. John Paul II, believing that the rosary should not end with the Coronation, added the Luminous Mysteries.  The Luminous Mysteries are the Baptism of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, Proclaiming the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist.  The Luminous Mysteries are prayed on Thursdays.

Recitation of the Rosary may vary from one group to another as additional prayers are added.  The basic recitation is as follows:

                Begin with the Crucifix – make the sign of the Cross and the Apostles’ Creed.  At the first large bead say “Our Father”.  Say a “Hail Mary” at each of the next three small beads.  At the next space say the “Glory be to the Father.”  At the second large bead announce the first mystery followed with an “Our Father.”  At each of the next ten small beads say a “Hail Mary.”  At the space after the tenth bead say the “Glory Be to the Father” followed by the prayer requested by Our Lady at Fatima,

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell.  Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”

At the next large bead announce the Second Mystery and say the “Our Father.”  This is followed by ten small beads for ten “Hail Mary’s”. Etc. for each of the five decades.  At the medal say the prayer “Hail Holy Queen.”

Additional pamphlets are probably available from the Marian Press, Stockbridge, MA 01263