The Holy Rosary becomes a type of prayer that has a very ancient origin or provenance, carried out in order to be able to establish the year in which the prayers of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary were made. In the following article we will learn everything about how to perform this type of prayer and what it consists of if you still do not know.
Rosary (Catholicism)
The Rosary from the medieval Latin language of “rosarium”, and this from the Latin “rosarium” rose garden, becomes a type of traditional Catholic prayer that commemorates the 20 “mysteries” (About 15 in the traditional form) of the life of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, which are recited after each of them is announced by an Our Father, then 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory to the Father.
It becomes frequently designated as a Holy Rosary by all Catholics. “The Church has come to recognize at all times a particular kind of efficacy of the Rosary, which is why she has come to entrust to it, through its communal recitation and also its constant practice, the most difficult causes.”
Likewise, the string of beads used to pray the rosary is called a “rosary.” The beads are separated every 10 by others of different sizes and the string is joined at its two ends to a cross.
Beginnings of the Rosary
In the origins or the History of the Holy Rosary Catholic, the ancient traditions of prayer from the Christian East and West are intertwined. The rosary has its roots in the 9th century, when the way to honor Mary, who is the mother of Jesus in the East, began to be known in the Western regions.
It is the repetition of the acclamations and also the praises that are presented in the Gospel of Luke (this is the greeting of the angel Gabriel to the virgin Mary in the book of Luke 1:26-28; and also the greeting of his cousin Elizabeth to Mary in the book of Luke 1:42) until the Hail Mary could be formed together with a rich complement of hymns and various prayers typical of the Eastern liturgies.
Among the various most important influences is the translation into the Latin language of the Akathistos to the mother of God herself, a type of hymn from the Greek eastern liturgy of the late 6th century that meditates on the mystery of the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary.
A man named André Duval was the one who cited Thomas Esser, who referred to the existence of a manuscript from the year 1501 which was preserved in the Munich library, which highlights that the rosary had its main origin first in the Order of Saint Benedict, and later it was consolidated through the work of the Carthusian Order, and it was expanded through the action of the Dominicans.
Rosary Crown
The so-called crown of the rosary or also known as the chamandula, as it is usually known in certain countries of the world, is made up of about 50 beads in groups of 10 which are known as the “tens”, with one bead that is much larger. thicker between each ten, or a bead that is somewhat further apart from those of the Hail Marys. The string is closed at both ends, hooking them in a simple way, or to an intersection plate.
The plate usually has a triangular or similar shape, with the vertex downwards, from which, usually, however, not always, especially in the case of antique rosaries, a section of commonly about 5 beads emerges, being something much greater than the extremes, like those of the Lord’s Prayer. From the last one comes a type of link from which a Crucifix, or a cross, hangs.
Mysteries of the Holy Rosary
Each series of the mysteries comes to comprise about 5 different themes for what meditation is, each of which comes to represent a moment in the life of the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The rosary is one that represents the roses, as a prayer that are usually offered to the Virgin Mary, in the different stages of her life as the mysteries.
Traditionally, the rosary was dedicated to one of the 3 series of “mysteries” which were to be recited sequentially, 1 for each night. According to that current practice, Monday and also Thursday were dedicated to the “Joyful Mysteries”on Tuesday and Friday at “Painful Mysteries”on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at “Glorious Mysteries”.7
In order to be able to say that the Rosary tends to be more fully a “compendium of the Gospel”, it is convenient that, after having remembered the incarnation and also the hidden life of Christ (which are the mysteries of joy), and before reaching To consider the sufferings of the passion (which are the mysteries of pain) and also the triumph of the resurrection (which are the mysteries of glory), meditation comes to focus in the same way on certain particularly significant moments of public life (which correspond to the mysteries of light).
This type of incorporation of the new mysteries, without prejudging any type of essential aspect of the traditional structure of this type of prayer, leads to having to make it live with a renewed interest in Christian spirituality, as a true introduction to the depth of what the Heart of Christ is, the abyss of joy and also of light, of pain and of glory.
Traditionalist Catholics decided not to incorporate this kind of new way of praying the rosary, always preserving the 150 Hail Marys with the 15 mysteries.
- The Joyful Mysteries: On Monday and Thursday, and also during the Advent and Christmas season (Monday and Saturday).
- The Sorrowful Mysteries: On Tuesday and Friday, and during the time of Lent (Tuesday and Friday).
- Luminous Mysteries: On Thursdays.
- Glorious Mysteries: On Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday, and during Easter time (Sundays and Wednesdays).
Forms of Prayer
While holding the crucifix, the sign of the cross is made and then the so-called Act of Contrition is recited. In the first large bead you get to recite 1 Our Father. In each of the following 3 small beads, 1 Hail Mary is recited. 1 glory is recited before the next count which is large. Then the first mystery of the rosary of that day is announced and 1 Our Father is recited. In each of the next 10 small beads, which is known as 1 decade, 1 Hail Mary is recited while reflecting on the mystery.
Later, 1 glory is recited after the 10 Hail Marys. You can also pray the Fatima prayer. Each of the following decades comes to be recited in the same way: announcing the corresponding mystery, then reciting 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and 1 Glory while meditating on the mystery.
When the 5th mystery has been completed, the rosary usually ends with the recitation of the Litany and the Hail Queen. There are also different ways of praying it that vary according to the way of meditation, the prayers that are added when praying it and even the motivation of the prayer itself.
The Fifteen Promises of the Virgin Mary
The 15 promises that the Lady of the Rosary gave according to the writings of Blessed Alano are the following:
- Whoever manages to constantly pray the Rosary will receive any kind of grace that is asked of them.
- She promises her special protection and a large number of benefits to those who come to devoutly pray her Rosary.
- The Rosary becomes the shield against hell, which destroys vice, also frees from sins and also abolishes heresies.
- The Rosary is what makes the virtues human so that souls can obtain divine mercy.
- In the hearts of all men, the love of the world with the love of God also elevates them to desire heavenly and eternal things.
- The soul that is entrusted by the Rosary will not perish.
- He who prays the Rosary with great devotion, considering its sacred mysteries, will not be oppressed by misfortune, nor will he die an unfortunate death, rather he will be converted if he is a sinner, who will persevere in grace if he is just and, in every case will be admitted to eternal life.
- The true devotees of this Rosary will not die without the Sacraments.
- All those who come to pray the Rosary will have in life and also in death the light and in the same way the fullness of grace and they will all be partakers of the blessed merits.
- All souls devoted to the Rosary will be released from Purgatory very soon.
- The children of the Rosary will enjoy great singular glory in heaven.
- Everything that can be requested through the Rosary will be quickly achieved.
- Those who spread the Rosary will be helped in all their needs.
- The Lord Jesus has been asked for the grace for all the brothers and the devotees to have in life and also in death like brothers all the blessed of the heavenly court.
- Those who come to pray the Rosary all become her very beloved children and the brothers of the beloved Lord Only Begotten Jesus.
- Devotion to the Holy Rosary becomes a manifest sign of the predestination of glory.
The Rosary and the Mendicant Orders
In the 14th century, the mendicant Orders that were issued by the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites and also the Augustinians, which were founded, together with their female branches, in the first half of the 13th century, came to spread the prayer. of the Psalter of Mary in their preachings and also among the lay people that they came to accompany spiritually.
The Brotherhoods of the Rosary
In the year 1470 the Dominican called fr. Alain de la Roche or Alano de Rupe (born in 1428 and died in 1475), founded in the Douai region (which is a city in northern France, which is close to the Rhineland area) the so-called Brotherhood of the Psalter of the Glorious Virgin Mary.
The main objectives were: having to spread devotion to the Rosary, creating a type of atmosphere of Marian spirituality among each of his brothers and also having to ask for the intercession of the Virgin. Well, being inspired by Alain de la Roche, the prior of the Dominicans of Cologne (which is the city located in the Rhineland area) created the first Rosary Brotherhood in 1475.
It became so successful among the faithful people and also the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, that various Brotherhoods of the Rosary quickly began to be founded in many other Dominican convents, coming to pass under the responsibility of the General Curia of the Order. of Preachers (of Rome) in the year 1485. From that very moment the Dominicans were the great disseminators of the Rosary, although many other religious did so in the same way, in addition to the lay people and various priests.
Four Factors
There are about 4 factors that contributed to the success of said prayer, which are the following:
- It’s a prayer…