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The Rosary
“The rosary is the weapon.” (St. Pio
of Pietrelcina [Padre Pio])
Several views
of its Origin:
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In the early part of the 13th century when the Albigensian heresy was
devastating the country of Toulouse, St. Dominic earnestly besought the help of
Our Lady and was instructed by her (in an apparition), to preach the Rosary
among the people as an antidote to heresy and sin. From that time forward this
manner of prayer was published abroad and developed by St. Dominic whom
different popes have declared (St. Dominic) to be the institutor and author of
the same devotion.
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From as early
as 360 AD church history mentions various religious using pebbles or beads to
count their daily prayers (the first being the hermit Paul of Egypt).
Eventually, the pebbles or beads were tied (knotted) to a cord to facilitate
ease in counting and carrying. Another example of this dates to 1040 AD when a
wealthy British lady bequeathed to a monastery her Christian prayer beads, “… a
circlet of gems which she had threaded on a string… and fingering them one by
one… she successfully recited her prayers…”
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The Rosary, as
we know it, developed over a long period of time. In the Divine Office, all 150
psalms were prayed in the course of a week. Around the year 800 AD in Ireland,
the custom arose to pray 150 “Our Fathers” instead of the 150 psalms. This
spread throughout Europe, becoming known as “the poor man’s office. So, in the
beginning it was a rosary of 150 “Our Fathers” with no “Hail Marys”. Then, an
early form of the “Hail, Mary” developed by joining the greetings of Gabriel,
the archangel, and St. Elizabeth (to Mary). Some Christians in the 12th
century began to pray rosaries of 150 “Hail Marys”, as well as rosaries of 150
“Our Fathers”. These practices continued into the following centuries and
eventually combined into a rosary that contained some of both prayers.
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By the middle
of the 15th century, a list of 50 mysteries had been compiled – some
or all to be meditated upon in conjunction with the recitation of 50 “Hail Marys”.
Thus, various forms of the rosary arose as a form of popular piety and prayer.
In 1489, a book was published describing a rosary much like the one we say
today. The “Glory Be’s” were added during the 16th century; and
during the 20th century the “Fatima Prayer” was, also, added to each
decade.
The Rosary originally developed as a prayer for those who
could not read the great prayers of Scripture, the Psalms, and as a way of
meditating on the events of our salvation, which are present in the gospels.
St. Dominic did have a great love for Mary and his
preaching helped spread the popularity of devotion to her. The order he
founded, the Order of Preachers or Dominicans, certainly played a very important
role in popularizing the Rosary in later centuries, as did the Confraternity of
the Rosary founded by a Dominican. In 1573 Pope Gregory XIII established the
feast of the Most Holy Rosary. And, in 1716, Pope Clement XI made this a feast
of the universal church.
[Thanks to
the Carmelites for this information and to the Catholic Encyclopedia.]
Why the
Daily Rosary?
[from The Pieta Prayer Booklet]
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Our Lady has 117
titles. She selected this title at Fatima, Portugal: “I am the Lady of
the Rosary.”
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St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying is – Pray the
Rosary.
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St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40
straight days in Rome, Italy, on just the “Hail Mary”.
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St. John Vianney, patron of
priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.
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“The rosary is the scourge of
the devil.” - Pope Adrian VI.
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“The rosary is a treasure of
graces.” - Pope Paul V.
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St. Pio
of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest)
said: “The rosary is THE WEAPON.”
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Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals
on the rosary.
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Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times
about Our Lady and the rosary. He prayed 15 decades daily.
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St. Louis Marie Grignion de
Montfort wrote: “The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the
Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who so loves His Mother.”
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