History of the Rosary

The Rosary is without a doubt the first prayer and principal devotion of the faithful and has been in use all through the centuries. From the time of the apostles and disciples down to the present, since it is composed of the Our Father ( A slightly shorter version of the Lord's Prayer. The Catholics believe the portion of the prayer after deliver us from evil was added later.) and the Hail Mary (Luke 1:28).

The Rosary in it's present form and the way it is said today was established by St. Dominic from the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1214 . Orginally the Rosary was called the Psalter of Jesus and Mary. There is exactly the same number of Hail Mary's as there are Psalms in the Book of Psalms of David. Then in 1460 Blessed Alan de la Roche re-established this devotion as the Rosary - "Crown of Roses", the voice of the people, which is the voice of God. That is to say that every time people say the Rosary devoutly they place on the heads of Jesus and Mary 153 white roses and sixteen red roses ( the fifteen decade rosary). Being Heavenly flowers, these roses will never fade or lose their beauty. Making a large crown of roses for a complete Rosary and small wreath of flowers or small crown of heavenly roses, which is placed on the heads of Jesus and Mary. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of devotions and the most important one.

About 1500 AD , it became possible to reproduce woodcut picture prints, inexpensively for the first time. These picture Rosaries became immediately popular, since the vast majority of people could not read. The new picture rosaries usually showed only fifteen pictures one for each Our Father bead, because it was expensive to draw and print 150 different pictures. One for each Hail Mary thought in the medieval Rosary. One of the most popular of these sets of fifteen mediations was written of St. Louis de Monfort in about 1700.

Return to the medieval method was published by Provost Ualter of Innichen in early 20th century as a series of thoughts for each Hail Mary in German. In 1920 Father Kilian Baumer composed another series of Hail Mary mediations, which were published in Fribourg, Switzerland. Published in 1946 with special thoughts for each Hail Mary is Dr. Magnus Seng, a Canadian surgeon. Each of these writers composed pertinent statements, or thoughts to be read before or after praying each Hail Mary of the Rosary. The scriptual Rosary is actually nothing more than an application of the scriptures to the way the Rosary was once prayed throughout western Christendom in the Late middle ages.

The scriptural Rosary we say today has 4 mysteries, The Joyful, which is prayed on Monday and Saturday, is marked by the joy radiated from the event of in the incarnation. The Luminous, prayed on Thursday,moves from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, who is "the light of the world"(John 8:12), The Sorrowful, is prayed Tuesday and Friday and optional on Sundays during Lent. During the Lent devotion of the Way of the cross, it focuses on the individual moments of the passion, realizing that this is the culmination of the revelation of God's love and the source of our salvation. The Glorious mysteries, prayed on Wednesday and Sunday, "The comtemplation of Christ's face can't stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!! The Rosary has always expressed this knowledge born of faith and invited the believer to pass beyond the darkness of the passion, in order to gaze upon Christ's glory in the Resurrection and Ascension...Mary herself would be raised to that same glory is the Assumption.

Orginally Monks were the only ones, who recited. As I have shown you through printing the Rosary is for all people. The fruits of the Rosary are many, including being reminded of the central points of our faith. The Rosary provides both comfort and a way of growing in conformity to the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. One who is regularly being instructed in the path of descipleship by this prayer draws closer to Christ and receives the grace to be a disciple. The Rosary has long been a part of Catholic devotional life. Based on scripture, the Rosary is also, as ecumenical prayer, which can interest Christians of various faith traditions. The heart of the Rosary is meditation on the mysteries of our salvation as related in the Bible.

The Most Holy Rosary is the prayer which our Blessed Mother herself, through most of her apparitions of the past century has most frequently implored us to pray for peace. Now is the time when our joint effort of praying the Rosary comtinuously can effect the outcome of world peace more than ever. This humble prayer is more powerful than any weapon devised by the means of modern technology. I had a priest tell me the rosary he carried in his pocket was the best weapon ever. Are we brave enough to use it for Heaven's sake and for the wellbeing and peace of humanity? No power on earth or in Hell can withstand it's force. All we need to do is to pick it up and pray it with all our Heart and Soul, and each one of us can help prevent the Holocaust which awaits us if we do not take prayerful action immediately. One doesn't need to be catholic to pray the Rosary: Mary is Mother to us all and will not abandon her children in the greatest hour of need. Pray, Pray, Pray, Please Pray, alone, in groups, in Church, at work. Wherever you happen to be. But pray and see the difference that you can make. And, don't stop until peace is the only outcome. We have been a witness to the fall of Communism in Russia, which is something that Mary promised the saying of the Rosary would bring about. Let's pick up our Rosaries and begin!! I believe in God the Father Almighty....