MARY
MOTHER OF JESUS,
MOTHER OF GOD
Part Eight: VIIIb
Prayers of Mary: The Rosary
“Pray unceasingly.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Above is the Rosary that Mary presented to St. Dominic in 1266.
Note what is similar in each of these drawings of the Rosary. First, the
Fatima Prayer is not a part of the Rosary. Second, the Rosary ended
with the “Hail Holy Queen” prayer. This is the authentic Rosary of Mary.
Praying the Rosary
The Content of an Authentic Rosary
of Mary and John Paul II
To Pray the Rosary:
Recite the Apostles' Creed
Recite the Our Father
Recite the Hail Mary three times for the next three beads
Recite the Our Father
Recite the Hail Mary on ten beads, 5 times, contemplating
one mystery for each set of 10.
Finish each set with the Glory Be.
Recite the Our Father in between each set.
Conclude with the Hail Holy Queen
Praying the Rosary
Prayers of the Rosary
The Apostles Creed c. 700 AD
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son,
our Lord, who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell, and on the
third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, sits at
the right hand of the Father. He will
come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the
communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen
The Our Father
Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
your name, your kingdom come, your
will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread; and
forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors; and do not subject us
to the final test, but deliver us from
the evil one.
Christian doxology (cf. Rev 4:8)
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Some medieval theologians considered the 150 Psalms to
be veiled mysteries about the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus. They began to compose "Psalters of Our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ" - 150 praises in honor of Jesus. Soon
psalters devoted to 150 praises of Mary were composed.
When a psalter of 150 praises in Mary’s honor numbered
50 instead of 150, it was called a rosarium, or bouquet.
The present devotion, differing from the medieval
version, is composed almost entirely of direct quotations
from the Bible. It is appropriately called "the Scriptural
Rosary."
The thoughts or meditations on the 150 Hail Mary beads
took the form of woodcuts (graphic pictures). This exhausted
the practice easily because of the volume of pictures. Picture
rosaries were shortened to one picture/thought for each Our
Father as it is today.
Historians trace the origin of the Rosary back to ninth century
Ireland. Today, as then, the 150 Psalms of the Bible, The Book
of Psalms of King David, were an important form of monastic
prayer. Monks and clergy recited or chanted the Psalms as a
major source of hourly worship.
People living near the monasteries realized the beauty of
this devotion. But unable to read or memorize the lengthy
Psalms, the people were unable to adapt this form of prayer
for their use.
The salutations were grouped into decades
and an Our Father was put before each
decade. This combined the Our Father and
the Angelic Salutation for the first time.
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
1072
An Irish monk suggested to the people around the
monastery that they might pray a series of 150 Our
Fathers in place of the 150 Psalms. At first, pebbles were
carried in a pouch to count the 150 Our Fathers; later
ropes with 150 or 50 (1/3 of 150) knots were used.
Eventually string with 50 pieces of wood was used.
Next the Angelic Salutation (Lk 1:28) was added. St. Peter
Damian (d. 1072) was the first to mention this form of
prayer. Soon the Angelic Salutation replaced the 50 Our
Fathers.
1208
1365 1409
1470
Special thoughts - meditations were attached for each Hail Mary
bead.
St. Louis de Montfort wrote
the most common set of
meditations for the rosary
used today.
The Dominican Order spread
the form of the "new rosary"
throughout Western Christendom.
Blessed Virgin appeared to
St. Dominic with rosary and
scapular.
THE TIMELINE OF THE ROSARY
A movement was begun attempting
to return to a form of the medieval
rosary - one thought for each Hail Mary.
Luke 1:28
Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.
Luke 1:42
Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Luke 1:43;
. . .the mother of my Lord . . .
(Holy Mary, Mother of God.)
Prayer of petition; confession of
sinfulness
Pray for us sinners;
Petitioning Mary dates to 3rd century
“now and at the hour of our death. Amen”
The sign of the cross; invoking the Holy Trinity
In the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Murillo
Virgin and Child with a Rosary
1650-55
Hail, Holy Queen Prayer
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished
children of Eve; to thee do we send
up our sighs, mourning and weeping
in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward 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.
History of the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen)
The origin of the prayer is disputed between Petrus of Monsoro (d. 1000),
Bishop of Compostella, and Adhémar, Bishop of Podium (c. 1096), the first
to answer the call to a Crusade. It was definitely popularized and set in its
current form by St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the Abbey of Cluny in the 12th
century. From that time, it has enjoyed wide liturgical use from the Mass
to the Divine Office.
Since the time of St. Bernard (1090–1153), the Salve Regina has been
sung by religious in monasteries throughout the world in honor of
the Blessed Mother.
In 1221, very soon after the death of St. Dominic,
Bl. Jordan of Saxony instituted a procession after
Night Prayer, which was to accompany the
singing of the Salve.
Praying the Rosary
ENHANCING YOUR ROSARY TIME
The great Carmelite saint, Térèse Martin of
Lisieux (1873-1897), better known as St. Térèse
of the Child Jesus or “The Little Flower,” once
said she had trouble keeping her mind from wandering when
praying the Rosary.
Performing the Rosary devoutly takes only about 20 minutes.
Try these methods to stay focused and enhance your prayer
experience.
Praying the Rosary
ENHANCING YOUR ROSARY TIME
Holy Images
For each Mystery, concentrate on a picture that illustrates
that event in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Many organizations
offer free, illustrated Rosary pamphlets.
Use a holy image of each Mystery
Use pictures of the mysteries as you pray the Rosary.
Praying the Rosary
ENHANCING YOUR ROSARY TIME
Mental Picture
For each Mystery, imagine the scene, moment by moment.
For example: for the First Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation:
What was the Virgin Mary doing when the Archangel
Gabriel arrived?
What did the angel look like?
How did Mary feel when she saw the angel appear?
When she heard the angel speak?
Praying the Rosary
ENHANCING YOUR ROSARY TIME
Virtues
Each Mystery represents a particular virtue.
For example: for the First Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation,
the virtue is humility.
Concentrate on the virtue associated with the Mystery and
ask God's grace to achieve it.
The suggested virtues for each Mystery can be found
at the Illustrated Mysteries menu on-line at
ixeh.net/faith/Treasure/treasure.html.
Praying the Rosary
ENHANCING YOUR ROSARY TIME
Scripture Reading
Before reciting a decade, read a passage in the Bible
associated with that particular Mystery.
Let the passage guide your meditation. Rosary pamphlets
often include passages from the Bible.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
The Blessed Mary herself gave us the reasons as given to
St. Dominic (1170-1221) and Blessed Alan de la Roche
(1428-1475).
Here are the fifteen promises of Mary to Christians who
recite the Rosary.
1 Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of
the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
Signal Graces are signs sent by God to help us make the right decisions in life.
2 I promise my special protection and the greatest graces
to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
3 The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will
destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4 It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will
obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God;
it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the
world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire
of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify
themselves by this means.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
5 The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation
of the Rosary, shall not perish.
6 Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying
himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries
shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not
chastise him in His justice; he shall not perish by an
unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the
grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
7 Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall
not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8 Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have
during their life and at their death the light of God and
the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they
shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
9 I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been
devoted to the Rosary.
10 The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high
degree of glory in heaven.
11 You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation
of the Rosary.
12 All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided
by me in their necessities.
Why Pray the Rosary
FROM MARY HERSELF
13 I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates
of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire
celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14 All who recite the Rosary are my son, and brothers of
my only son Jesus Christ.
15 Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
The Mysteries of the Rosary
The Mysteries of the Rosary are designed to help focus
our prayers on the life, ministry, and Passion of Our
Lord. It is recommended that you meditate on
the mysteries of the rosary based upon the days
of the week.
The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
(Monday and Saturday)
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
(Tuesday and Friday)
The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
(Wednesday and Sunday)
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
(Thursday)
VATICAN CITY
(16 October 2002)
Pope John Paul II marked the
24th anniversary of his papacy
by introducing changes to the
Rosary.
The Fatima Prayer
The Decade Prayer for the rosary,
commonly known as the Fatima Prayer,
was revealed by Our Lady of Fatima on
July 13, 1917. She asked the three
shepherd children, Francisco, Jacinta,
and Lucia, to recite it at the end of each
decade of the rosary.
It was approved for public use in 1930.
The Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell, and
lead all souls to Heaven, especially
those in most need of Thy mercy.
End of
Mary the Series, Her Prayers, Part VIIIb
Go to
Mary the Series, Her Prayers, Part VIIIc