The rosary is a type of meditative prayer focused on the events in the life of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin. The rosary was popularized by St. Dominic (1170-1221) who is said to have received it from the Blessed Virgin to combat the Albigensian heresy.
During medieval times monks had adopted the practice of daily praying the 150 psalms, the psalms being divided into three sets of 50 each. Since many of the lay brothers of these orders were illiterate and couldn't read the psalms, the practice arose of reciting the Our Father 150 times. This became the "poor man's breviary." This practice spread to the laity and as time went on other easily remembered prayers were added. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the rosary settled into its present form which consists of the Apostle's Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.
The rosary is not just a Catholic prayer; many members of other denominations also pray this meditative prayer.
Recommended reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paragraphs 2678, 2708
Meagher, Paul K. OP, O'Brien, Thomas C. & Aherne, Sister Consuelo M. SSJ, Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Religion, Corpus Publications, Washington, D.C., 1979, pages 3091-3092
Drummey, James J., Catholic Replies, C. R. Publications, Norwood, MA 02062, 1995, page 138
Q. What are the Rosary beads used for?
Q. Why do we pray with beads to the Blessed Mother?
Q. What is the significance of ten Hail Mary's per decade of the Rosary?
The word "bead" derives from the Middle English "bede" which originally meant "prayer." The beads of the rosary are used to keep track of the prayers. Early beads were nothing but pebbles which were transferred from one pocket to another. As presently configured, the Our Father is prayed on the solitary beads that separate the groups of ten beads (the decades), the Hail Mary is prayed on each of the ten beads of the decade, then the Glory Be is prayed on the solitary bead separating the decades; the whole process is then repeated. A set of fifty Hail Mary's, with the accompanying Our Father's and Glory Be's, constitutes one circuit of the beads on most rosary sets today. As each decade (ten Hail Mary's) is recited, the person meditates upon one of the events of Jesus' and Mary's life; so that upon completing one circuit of the beads, five events have been contemplated and fifty psalms (represented by the Hail Mary's) have been honored.
A quick look at the construction of the Hail Mary discloses that although it is addressed to Mary, the focus is prayer to God (parenthetical words are insertions into the scriptural reference, where applicable). "Hail (Mary), full of grace, the Lord is with you" is the greeting of the angel Gabriel at the annunciation (Luke 1:28). "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Jesus)" is Elizabeth's greeting to Mary at the visitation (Luke 1:42). "Holy Mary, Mother of God" addresses the person to whom we are speaking, using the title accorded her during the 5th century. This title is discussed in the chapter titled "MARY". "Pray for us" is a request for prayer to God; no different from asking our neighbor to pray for us except that Mary is already in heaven. "Sinners now, and at the time of our death" is an acknowledgment of our sinful status and the times when the prayer to God are requested in our behalf. These are the two most important times in our lives: Now, because we recognize our sinful nature and desire God's assistance to change it; At the time of our death, because then we will be judged and will be most needful of God's mercy.
Recommended reading:
Frazier, T. L., "The Rosary Dissected", This Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics & Evangelization, September 1994, pages 16-20
