What is the Rosary?

If you were to ask what object is most emblematic of Catholics, most people would probably say, "The rosary". But, just what is the Rosary?

The Rosary is a set of prayers which sprouted from the liturgical prayers of the Church and grew into a means of establishing a prayerful relationship with God. Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae  tells us that the Rosary "marks the rhythm of life."

The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose being one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary. The origins of the Rosary are “sketchy” at best. Some say the Rosary is a powerful set of prayers handed down to man from our Blessed Mother. The use of “prayer beads” and the repeated recitation of prayers to aid in meditation stem from the earliest days of the Church and have roots even in pre-Christian times. Evidence exists from the Middles Ages that strings of beads were used to help a person count the number of Our Fathers or Hail Marys recited. Actually, these strings of beads became known as “Paternosters,” the Latin for “Our Father.” By the way, if you are saying or reciting the Rosary, you are not reaping the full benefit of it. The Rosary is a prayer, you need to pray it to get maximum benefit from it.

The structure of the Rosary gradually evolved between the 12th and 15th centuries. Eventually 50 Hail Marys were recited and were linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. During this time, this prayer form became known as the Rosarium (“rose garden”), actually a common term used to designate a collection of similar material. Finally, during the 16th century, the structure of the five decade Rosary based on the three sets of mysteries prevailed.

Tradition holds that St. Dominic (d. 1221) devised the Rosary as we know it. Moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother, he preached the use of the Rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensian, who had denied the mystery of Christ’s incarnation. Some scholars take exception to St. Dominic’s actual role in forming the Rosary since the earliest accounts of his life do not mention it, the Dominican constitutions do not link him with it, and contemporaneous paintings of St. Dominic do not include it as an identifying symbol the saint.

In 1922, Dom Louis Gougaud stated, “The various elements which enter into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the Rosary are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St. Dominic’s time, which continued without his having any share in it, and which only attained its final shape several centuries after his death.” However, other scholars would rebut that St. Dominic not so much “invented” the Rosary as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith. Moreover, at least a dozen popes have mentioned St. Dominic’s connection with the Rosary in various papal pronouncements, sanctioning his role as at least a “pious belief.”

The Rosary gained greater popularity in the 1500s. At this time, the Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe. In 1453, Constantinople had fallen to the Moslems, leaving the Balkans and Hungary open to conquest. With Moslems raiding the coast of Italy, the control of the Mediterranean was now at stake. In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria, the half-brother of King Philip II of Spain. While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the Rosary and implore our blessed Mother’s prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Moslem fleet greatly outnumbered the Christian fleet in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Moslems were soundly defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, Pope St. Pius V in thanksgiving established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7 where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also continue to give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and to remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother. -- Many consider this the first Rosary miracle.

Mindful of the action of Pope Pius V, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in an Angelus address given in October, 1983, stated, “The Rosary also takes on fresh perspectives and is charged with stronger and vaster intentions than in the past. It is not a question now of asking for great victories, as at Lepanto and Vienna, rather it is a question of asking Mary to provide us with valorous fighters against the spirit of error and evil, with the arms of the Gospel, that is, the Cross and God’s Word. The Rosary prayer is man’s prayer for man. (remember, this is Pope John Paul II saying this). It is the prayer of human solidarity, the collegial prayer of the redeemed, reflecting the spirit and intent of the first of the redeemed, Mary, Mother and Image of the Church. It is a prayer for all the people of the world and of history, living and dead, -- called to be the Body of Christ with us and to become heirs together with Him of the glory of the Father.”

How can we say this? "It is a prayer for all the people of the world and of history, living and dead, called to be the Body of Christ with us and to become heirs together with Him of the glory of the Father.” -- How are all the people in the world included in the Rosary? -- We, at St. Peter, last October, had an "International Rosary". The Rosary was prayed in 11 different languages by our parishioners. How can we, an English speaking parish justify praying in many different languages? -- The answer is in the Rosary. We Catholics call our religion "universal" How can we say that? -- Again, the answer is in the Rosary. In the prayer that Jesus taught us when he was asked how we should pray.

When we pray the Rosary, we say "Our" father, and Holy Mary Mother of God, Pray for "us" sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Our and Us- meaning that when we pray the Rosary we are not alone, we are part of a larger group of believers. Sometimes that group is our family, sometimes its the Church, sometimes it could be another group, such as Knights of Columbus, we pray the Rosary at every business meeting, and through the use of Internet, our group can be multitudes of people in multiple countries. -- "all the people of the world and of history, living and dead, called to be the Body of Christ with us and to become heirs together with Him of the glory of the Father.”

The fact that our Church continues to include the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the liturgical calendar testifies to the importance and goodness of this form of prayer. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the Rosary is beyond description.”

Devotion to the Rosary is one of the most distinguishable features of popular Catholic spirituality. The Rosary inspires us to meditate on the mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary. Meditation is an important of our lives as Catholics. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, meditation “engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”

Through Mary, we are led to a closer relationship with her son, Jesus. The Rosary is an invitation for us to present our needs to God and to love Him more. When we recite the twelve prayers that form the decade of the rosary, we need to deeply reflect on the mystery associated with that decade. Simple recitation, whether vocally or in silence, is not enough because we miss the true essence of the prayers.

Praying the Rosary involves reflecting on the grace of God. By praying the Rosary, we meditate on the events in the life of Jesus Christ and this lets us know God more. 

In recent times the Mother of God has appeared in various parts of the world and asked for the recitation of the Rosary, the prayer she gave to the world centuries ago. It is her favorite prayer, for it is essentially a meditation on the life of her Divine Son. The Rosary is a combination of vocal prayer (the Our Fathers & Hail Marys) and of mental prayer, namely, reflection on important events in the life of Christ and His Mother.