The Rosary in May
THE HOLY ROSARY IS AN IMPORTANT DEVOTION THAT HONOURS OUR BLESSED LADY WHILE FOCUSSING ON THE EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF JESUS.
According to pious tradition, the concept of the Rosary was given to Dominic of Osma in an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the year 1214 in the church of Prouille. It was known from the ninth century in various forms. The Rosary is a rich practise of prayer evolving over the centuries. The first recorded use of the word ‘rosary’ did not appear until 1597. Third century Christian hermits and monks in Egypt used stones and later prayer ropes to keep track of their prayers. Catholics were not the first to pray with beads. While the exact origin of prayer beads is unknown, men and women of many faiths and cultures have and do use beads to pray. The word bead in English is actually derived from an old English word bede that means prayer.
The rosary is a scripture-based prayer that begins with the Apostles Creed. The Our Father introduces each mystery. The first part of the Hail Mary is the Angel’s words spoken to Our Lady. Pious V added the second part of the Hail Mary. The various mysteries centre on the events of Christ’s life. Pope John Paul II added the Luminous mysteries in 2022. The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into contemplative prayer and enter into the silence of our hearts where Christ’s spirit lives. The Rosary can be prayed privately or in a group.
The Rosary begins with the sign of the Cross and Apostles Creed while holding the Crucifix then 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary’s and 1 Glory Be are prayed at the beginning. Each decade begins with an Our Father 10 HailMary’s and 1 Glory Be. The prayer – ‘O my Jesus forgive us our sins, lead all souls to Heaven especially those in most need of your mercy’ is repeated at the end of each decade. The Rosary finishes with the Hail Holy Queen – Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail our life our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry poor children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this vale 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 thy womb – Jesus. O clement, 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 Hail Mary prayer came together slowly. It took more than a thousand years. The earliest version simply added Mary’s name to the message delivered by the Angel Gabriel to Mary – Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee.
Around 1050 AD the words Elizabeth used to greet Mary during the Visitation were added – Blessed art thou among Women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. In 1261, Pope Urban lV added the name of Jesus to the end of Elizabeth’s words.
St. Peter Canisius published the Hail Mary in his 1555 Catechism with almost the entire final petition - Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners. Eleven years later, the Catechism of the Council of Trent included for the first time the entire final petition concluding with the words – now and at the hour of our death. Amen. The version of the Hail May that we pray today was given official approval in 1568.
The Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Mondays and Saturdays.
The Annunciation – the Angel Gabrielle informed Mary she was to be the Mother of Jesus.
The Visitation – Mary travelled to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also with child.
The Nativity – the birth of Jesus who was laid in a manger.
The Presentation – the child Jesus is taken to the temple in Jerusalem.
The finding in the temple - Jesus was found in the temple after being missing for three days.
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES are prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The agony in the garden – Jesus prayed at Gethsemane – confronted with the sins of the world.
The scourging – Jesus was whipped and scourged before his Crucifixion.
The crowning with thorns – Jesus was mocked and a painful crown was made with thorns and placed on His head.
Carrying His cross – Jesus was made to carry a wooden cross made heavy with our sins.
The Crucifixion – Jesus was crucified to save mankind.
The Glorious Mysteries – are prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays.
The Resurrection – Jesus rose from the dead.
The Ascension – Jesus rose into Heaven.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit – He appeared to the Disciples as tongues of fire.
The Assumption – Our Blessed Lady was raised up into Heaven.
The Coronation – Our Lady was crowned Queen of Heaven.
The Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light were introduced as a proposed addition to the traditional prayers by Pope John Paul ll in October 2002 at the start of the Year of the Rosary. These mysteries focus on the public ministry of Jesus Christ.
The Mysteries of Light – are prayed on Thursdays
The Baptism in the river Jordan – Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. God proclaimed Jesus as His Son.
The Marriage feast of Cana – Jesus changed the water into wine.
The Proclamation – the call to conversion
The Transfiguration – Jesus prayed with Peter, James and John and was transfigured.
The Institution of the Eucharist – while Jesus was eating with His disciples he said ‘this is my body this is my blood’.
It is widely believed that in 1214 st. Dominic had a vision of Mary. She is said to have presented him with the rosary - both the beads and the prayers to be prayed. Dominic had a tremendous devotion to Mary and the rosary, which he promoted wherever he travelled to preach. He encouraged Catholics to gather in small groups to pray together what was an early form of the rosary. These were quite possibly the first expressions of the prayer groups and small communities that are still having a powerful impact today.
St. Louis de Montfort was ordained a priest in 1700. He was known not only as a preacher but especially for his devotion to Mary and his practise of praying the rosary. Through this devotion he wrote often on the idea of being consecrated to Jesus through Mary, recognising that a powerful way to connect with God is through His Mother. His writings make up some of the earliest works on Mariology or the study of the theology of Mary.
The earliest form of the rosary developed when Pope Gregory the Great [590-604] popularised an earlier version of the Hail Mary prayer by asking it to be prayed on the fourth Sunday of Advent using a string of beads to keep track of the prayers. Many individuals began praying the Hail Mary in a repetitive fashion to keep track of the prayers. After the full development of the Hail Mary prayer the term ‘rosary’ was finally given in 1597. For 320 yers from 1597 the form of both the Hail Mary and the rosary remained the same. During these 320 years, there was much written and spoken about the rosary. Most notably, Pope Paul Vl said when we pray the rosary we can experience the key moments of the Gospel. It is a simple, beautiful and focused meditation.
