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The Rosary Then And Now

by Lois Donahue

To begin – it is said that 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 idea of the rosary as a garland seems to have come from a popular 13th century legend about a knight who picked flowers every day, made a garland or wreath of them and offered it to the Blessed Virgin. 

Later he became a lay brother and did not have the time to continue doing this. He was greatly concerned and even considered leaving the monastery. However, an old monk told him that the Blessed Virgin would be even more appreciative if he would say Hail Marys and thus make her a ‘spiritual’ garland. The legend goes on to say that one day, when he knelt in the forest praying his Hail Marys, outlaws saw a beautiful lady take flowers from his lips and weave a crown for herself. So much for legend – now let’s get down to information based on speculation and historical facts.

In Europe during the Middle Ages priests and monks were required to stop work seven times a day to chant the “Divine Office” which, in part, included the Book of Psalms and could be found in a book provided them by the Church known as the Breviary. (I think it is interesting to note that today our priests are still obliged to say the Divine Office which, as in years past, is to be found in its current form in the Breviary.) 

But back to the Middle Ages. 

At that time the bells, which were rung as a reminder that it was time for prayer, could be heard by the people in the surrounding countryside and they wished that they, too, could join in what was then considered to be “the great prayer of the Church”. Unfortunately, that was not possible because they, along with a great many of the lay brothers, were illiterate. However, as the familiar saying goes “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and an Irish monk suggested that people unable to read could replace the 150 biblical psalms with what was by then a very popular prayer – the Our Father. This became the practice, either by saying the 150 Our Fathers in succession or in three groupings of 50 each. So it was that although one problem was solved, another was created and that problem was the ability to keep count of how many of the prayers had been said or were still unsaid.

Ingenuity prevailed. Some people began putting 50 to 150 pebbles in a pouch attached to their belt. Others carried ropes with a corresponding number of knots. Over the years different devices for counting were used and eventually there emerged strings with 50 beads and a cross which were called ‘Paternosters’ (from ‘Our Father’ in Latin). These ‘beads’ (by the way, the Anglo-Saxon word ‘bede’ meant ‘prayer’) were used as late as the 14th century and still called Paternosters in spite of the fact that many used them to count Hail Marys. Interestingly enough, the early name for the Rosary was “Our Lady’s Psalter”. The reason for that seems to be threefold—there was great devotion to Mary during the Middle Ages, ‘Psalter’ is what the Book of Psalms was (and still is) called, and the word psalter itself comes from ‘the stringed instrument that accompanied the psalms’ and is defined as the translation of the Book of Psalms into the common language for use in home and church. No wonder the Psalter has been called the chief influence in shaping the Rosary. A word of caution – although, ‘by-way-of-the-Psalter’, seems to be the main way the Rosary developed, we must accept the fact that since a variety of types of rosaries sprang up, other influences might also have been at work.

But, speaking of the Hail Mary’s- The Hail Mary, as we know it today, took time in coming. At first it was no more than the words of the Angel Gabriel and of Elizabeth as taken from the Scripture… “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”(Lk 1:28) and “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”. (Lk 1:42) Since these words were from the Bible, a bit of explanation might be needed. In your Bible, which is also the case in others, you might find the words “favored one” rather than “full of grace”. However, “full of grace” is seen, for example, in the Ignatius Bible and found in the Jerome Biblical Commentary. Therefore, the difference, is obviously just a matter of translation, and should be no cause for confusion.

The next change in the Hail Mary also came during the Middle Ages when ‘Mary’ was inserted after the opening word ‘Hail’ and the name, ‘Jesus’, placed after the word ‘womb’. The final major change is said to have been made sometime between the 13th and 16th century when the final words, “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” were added. (Surprisingly, in 1571 it seems as though a Council of the Church called this addition “a superfluous but pious custom”. That may have been the thinking of the men of the Council but obviously the faithful thought differently since it has now been part of the Hail Mary for over 400 years which lends some credence to the words that “the rosary is a true ‘folk’ prayer, created to satisfy a deep human need, and shape by the wisdom and love of many generations of faithful.”

While we are still on the subject of prayers, evidently it was in the early 15th century that the 50 Hail Mary’s or ‘Ave’s’ (the first word of the Hail Mary in Latin) as they were at times called, were grouped into five decades (the word decade meaning ten) and each decade was preceded by an Our Father. One source said it was during the 16th century that the “Glory Be” was inserted after each decade and that evidently this prayer had been added as a way of affirming belief in the Trinity at a time when there was a heresy questioning that belief. The “Apostles Creed” was also added during the Middle Ages and I was surprised to learn that it was sometimes recited at the end of the Rosary. Now, of course, it is said at the beginning and considered to possibly be a way to help us to think about or meditate on the fundamentals of faith.

There seem to be indications that the Our Father and the three Hail Mary’s which follow the Apostles Creed were also inserted in the Middle Ages and speculation is that those four prayers together were added to honor the unity of God and the Trinity. Regarding the three Hail Mary’s alone, some thought that perhaps they were included to honor the 33 years of Jesus’ earthly life. Others thought they might have been special prayers honoring the unity of the Trinity with the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Concluding what I learned about the actual prayers of the Rosary, I must say that, unfortunately, I found no record as to when the closing “Amens” came into use.

We must remember that just as there were changes in the actual prayers of the Rosary so too were changes made in how the Rosary was prayed. While there were things no longer in common use, like genuflecting or bowing for instance, something of great importance remains with us today and would seem to be an essential and permanent part of Rosary Devotion and that is “Meditation.”

As happened with other aspects of the Rosary- and, due without a doubt, to the continuing guidance of the Holy Spirit, changes also came to meditation. I cannot give you a specific time frame but here are some of the things which happened.

It all apparently began quite simply as the people focused their minds on happenings in the lives of Jesus and Mary and subsequently on the mysteries of faith while they were saying their prayers. (Because of what I told you above about Psalters, it might be interesting to note here that when 150 prayers were said, the word Psalter was applicable and when 50 were used, the appropriate word was Rosary.)

At one time a Carthusian monk came up with a list of 50 Mysteries to be meditated on while reciting 50 Hail Marys. Others offered their own lists of Mysteries and corresponding prayers. Today, without a doubt, the most familiar, to us at least, are the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries but they, too, have seen change. At one time, ‘The Last Judgment’ was the fifth Glorious Mystery and the fourth combined the Assumption and the Coronation. A much more recent change took place in 2002 when Pope John Paul II gave us the five Luminous Mysteries. Will there be more changes? Quite possibly since there seems to be no theological roadblocks.

Since the Rosary is an expression of popular piety, it is not surprising it existed in different forms over the years. Rosaries with added prayers, with different guidelines to mediation and, of course, with a variety of names such as the Franciscan Crown, the Rosary of the Immaculate Conception, the Seven Dolors Rosary, the Scriptural Rosary, etc.

In our process of learning about the Rosary, I would like to mention that at times some have believed that the Blessed Virgin gave the Rosary to St. Dominic in complete form. Although such has been proven to be only a legend, there is no doubt that St. Dominic contributed greatly to giving us the rosary as we know it and that ‘his Dominicans’ saw the Rosary as a great teaching tool. Wherever they preached they taught the people how to pray the rosary and encouraged them to meditate on the great truths of our faith with Mary’s help. It must also be noted that the Jesuits and the Franciscans were also influential in the development and popularity of the Rosary.

Before closing there are a couple of historical Rosary-related events I want to include. In 1571 on the first Sunday of October, Christian forces defeated the Turkish fleet in the naval battle of Lepanto thanks to processions being held and rosaries being said for their victory at the urging of Pope Pius V. Pope Gregory VIII was most grateful and established the feast of the Most Holy Rosary in 1573. There was another such victory in 1716 and Pope Clement XI, again in recognition of the influence of the rosary in a victorious outcome, made this a feast of the universal Church and we celebrate it on October7th. Understandably, the Church has designated October as the Month of the Rosary.

To end – I truly believe that if it were possible to learn about, to record and to include all the heartwarming answers God has given in response to ‘rosary’ prayers, there would be a great many more chapters added to any book written about the history of the Rosary. 

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"Nothing should
frighten or grieve you.
Let not your heart be troubled. Am I, your Mother,
not here with you?"

"Nothing should
frighten or grieve you.
Let not your heart be troubled. Am I, your Mother,
not here with you?"

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