The Rosary is a form of prayer and meditation combined that has been around for over 1200 years.
Summary
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- 1 History
- 2 Characteristics of the Rosary prayer
- 3 How to pray the Rosary
- 1 The Basics
- 4 The rosary world of missions
- 5 Mysteries of the rosary
- 6 Prayers of the Rosary
- 1 Apostles’ Creed
- 2 Our Father
- 3 Hail Mary
- 4 Glory
- 5 God save you, Queen
- 7 The 150 Psalms of the Bible
- 8 Lady of Guadalupe
- 9 Related Links
- 10 Sources
History
The rosary is a form of prayer and meditation combined that has been around for over 1200 years. The origin of the Rosary dates back to the 9th century, where Irish monks recite and sing Psalms 150 of the Bible as an important part of their worship. People living near the monasteries were drawn towards this beautiful and harmonious devotion, and they became very eager to join the prayers of the monks.
The traditional story of the Rosary was that Mary appeared to Santo Domingo in the 12th century. At that time, tradition says he gave her the rosary and promised her that if Dominic spread devotion to the rosary, his religious order would prosper. It is very true that Domingo dedicated himself entirely to the Blessed Virgin, but no one knows for sure if the Virgin herself gave Domingo del Rosario. If he did, it is very true that she did not give him a rosary that looks like the one we have today.
Originally, the rosary with 150 beads, the same number of psalms in the Bible. In the 12th century, religious orders recited Psalm 150 together as a way to mark the hours of the day and the days of the week. Those people who cannot read wanted to share in this practice, so praying on a chain of 150 beads or knots that started as a parallel to the prayer of the psalms. It was a way that illiterates could remember the Lord and their mother throughout the day. The “Divine Office”, the official prayer of the church, is the recitation of the psalms over a period of four weeks, and is still prayed today.
This rosary was prayed first as we do today, a person who ran his fingers over each bead and said a prayer, usually the “Our Father”. The “Ave Maria” as we know it was not even close at the time.
The Ave Maria has its origin in the rosary. When people prayed the rosary in the 12th century, Gabrielle’s greeting “God save you Mary, full of grace or you are, the Lord is with you,” she often said together with the Our Father. Later, Elizabeth’s greeting “Blessed are you among women” was added. It was not until the 16th century that the words “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death,” they added. Several people have added other things than the rosary over the centuries. In the fifteenth century, a Carthusian monk, divided into fifteen the rosary in parentheses (or decades) and a Dominican mystery assigned to each of the last decades. These mysteries are the events in the life of Jesus as written in the Gospels. By meditating on these events, even the illiterate can learn the stories of the Bible. These decades were the same as ours except for the last two glorious mysteries. In those two, the Coronation and the Assumption, together formed by the fourteenth and fifteenth decades of the decade, was the Last Judgment.
The 16 of October of 2002 , Pope John Paul II said that the next year would be the “Year of the Rosary”. For the first time in centuries, a change was made to the rosary. The Pope added and defines five new mysteries that deal with events in the public life of Jesus. These new mysteries are called the “Luminous Mysteries” or “mysteries of light”. Today’s complete Rosary is made up of twenty decades of Hail Mary, separated by a Our Father and a Glory to the Father and sometimes the Fatima prayer. Evidence once again that the rosary is a living prayer that grows with the Church. Usually break the rosary into four sets. The four groups are the Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries, and the Luminous Mysteries. A set prays a rosary in which it has five decades. Each set is prayed on the designated days of the week. However, there are variations, and in some countries the rosary may even have different mysteries.
Despite all the additions and changes, the important nucleus of El Rosario has always been the same. It is a way for God’s people to sanctify the day, and to remember the life of Jesus and his mother. That these humble origins will always be with us every time we pray the rosary.
Characteristics of the rosary prayer
- Praying the rosary and holding the fingers on the beads, as each prayer that is said. Fingers on the beads helps keep track of the prayers and avoid distractions.
- It is a biblical prayer in its content, the prayer focuses on the life of Christ in the Scriptures. Mary, who knew Christ and the best is the first among the saints, pray the Rosary with us.
- It is both a mental prayer and a vocal prayer. The person praying meditates on the life of Christ accompanied by Saint Mary and in his own life in relation to his life.
- It is a prayer that can be prayed individually or in groups. It is made up of several prayers, the sign of the cross, the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory to the Father and Hail.
- It is structured by four great groups of mysteries in the life of Christ and Mary: The Joyful Mysteries, Mysteries of the Mysteries of Light, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. Each of these are subdivided into five specific events involved in the mystery. The rosary is divided into five decades, (series of 10), each decade represents a mystery and the Hail Mary prayer is said to celebrate each account.
How to pray the Rosary
The basics
- The Rosary is prayed with a rosary of beads called Rosario. Starting with the cross, each bead is held in the fingers and said a standard prayer is, like the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory to the Father, and from God save you, Queen.
- To pray, heels follow him around the chain to the left, praying on each count, to finally return to the cross.
- The accounts are divided into five decades (or sections), each decade representing an event in the life of Christ. These five events are grouped into a “mystery”, which is a “truth” of the life of Christ.
- There are four of these ” Mysteries ” of the five events each focused on an important part of the life of Christ. When praying the Rosary, every day of the week a mystery is assigned to pray for that day.
The world of missions rosario
World Mission of the Rosary
The purpose of the World Missionary Rosary Day is prayer for world peace and conversion. The five different colors represent the five continents, for which we pray.
- The green decade is for Africa.
- The red decade is for America from Mexico and Canada.
- The blank decade is for Europe.
- The blue decade is for the islands in the South Pacific.
- The yellow decade for Asia.
- The first three Hail Marys are recited of faith, hope and love.
Mysteries of the rosary
- The Rosary prayer focuses on the life of Christ in the Scriptures … which is in part a history lesson. To this end, the rosary beads are divided into five decades (or sections), each decade representing an event in the life of Christ. These five events are grouped into a “mystery”, which is a “truth” of the life of Christ. There are four of these “mysteries” of five events each focused on an important part of the life of Christ. When praying the Rosary, every day of the week a mystery is assigned to pray for that day.
Rosary prayers
- The following prayers are used while praying the rosary:
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, Almighty Father, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. It was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 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 flesh and eternal life. Amen
Our father
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive our offenses as we also forgive those who offend us, and do not let us fall into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Ave Maria
God save you Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, now and forever for ever and ever. Amen.
God save you Queen
God save you, Queen and Mother of mercy, life, sweetness and our hope. So that the exiled children of Eva cry. We send to you we sigh, moaning and crying in this valley of tears. Ea, well, defend oh! Most pious, your eyes of mercy towards us and after this exile show us Jesus, blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. Oh merciful! Oh pious! Oh sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, Holy Mother of God. That we may be worthy to fulfill the promises of Christ.
The 150 psalms of the bible
Unfortunately, people were not able to adapt to this form of prayer, because the psalms were very difficult to memorize and printing copies of the psalms were not available. As a result, people outside the monastery were suggested to recite a series of “Our Father” instead of 150 prayers from the psalms. As this form of devotion became increasingly popular, people began to devise methods in order to keep track of their prayers. At first, 150 small pebbles were placed inside leather bags to keep score. Since this method was rather problematic, a thin rope that has 50 knots in it was used instead (which was used three times for a total of 150 sentences). Finally, the instrument of choice became the use of the chain with small pieces of wood. In later years, Irish monks traveled throughout Europe and brought this form of devotion with them. In some areas, both clergy and laity, he began to recite the “Angelic Salutation” (the first part of what is now known as the “Ave Maria”), as part of this devotion. The popularity of this prayer directed at the adoption of 50 Angelic Salutations is said for each piece of wood or knot in the prayer chain. During the 13th century, medieval theologians began to interpret Psalms 150, such as veiled mysteries about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They began to write a series of psalters, or praises in honor of Jesus for each interpretation of the psalms. Further, 150 psalters honoring Mary is also made up. In order to adapt to the existing prayer chain, these psalters were divided into groups of 50 and known as “Rosariums”. Although the “rosary” refers to roses and rose gardens, it is used to signify a collection of prayers that could be compared to a bouquet of roses.
Lady of Guadalupe
As seen today, the rose is a very popular symbol associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary and is a sign that it is often used as it did in the history of the Lady of Guadalupe. The interpretation of the psalms in written psalters to lead the application of the special thoughts or meditations attached to each account. This innovative version of the Rosary was widely spread by Blessed Alano de la Roche, of the Dominican Order, as they revived the works of divine inspiration that SanDomingo and his Brotherhood of the Rosary had begun some centuries before. The Rosarium prayers were broken after in groups of 10 and these groups became known as decades. Every decade of the ten “Hail Mary”, the prayer would be preceded by a “Our Father”. Around the year 1700, the thoughts used in the rosary began to become narrations. Saint Louis de Montfort composed the most common system of stories that came to be used as meditations for each decade of the Rosary. These stories were divided into five Joyful, Five Sorrowful, and five Glorious Meditations which are known as the “mysteries”. Recently, in 2002, Pope John Paul II introduced another series of five meditations referred to as the “Luminous Mysteries”. As you can see, the rosary that we know today is the result of many evolutions that go back hundreds of years. Although the way the rosary is recited has changed, the results of praying the rosary remain the same. Countless interventions still occur today,
