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[Lola Maroun]

The Rosary[1] (/ˈroʊzəri/; Latin: rosarium, in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"),[2] also known as the Dominican Rosary[3][4] (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the Franciscan Crown, Bridgettine Rosary, Rosary of the Holy Wounds, etc.), refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or beads used to count the component prayers. When referring to the prayer, the word is usually capitalized ("the Rosary", as is customary for other names of prayers, such as "the Lord's Prayer", and "the Hail Mary"); when referring to the prayer beads as an object, it is written with a lower-case initial letter (e.g. "a rosary bead").

The prayers that compose the Rosary are arranged in sets of ten Hail Marys, called "decades". Each decade is preceded by one Lord's Prayer ("Our Father"), and traditionally followed by one Glory Be. Some Catholics also recite the "O my Jesus" prayer after the Glory Be; it is the best-known of the seven Ftima prayers that appeared in the early 20th century. Rosary prayer beads are an aid for saying these prayers in their proper sequence.

Usually, five decades are recited in a session. Each decade provides an opportunity to meditate on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall events in the lives of Jesus Christ and his mother Mary.

In the 16th century Pope Pius V established a standard 15 Mysteries of the Rosary, based on long-standing custom. This groups the mysteries in three sets: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II said it is fitting that a new set of five be added, termed the Luminous Mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to 20. The mysteries are prayed on specific days of the week; with the addition of the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday, the others are the Glorious on Sunday and Wednesday, the Joyful on Monday and Saturday, and the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday.

Over more than four centuries, several popes have promoted the Rosary as part of the veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church,[5] and consisting essentially in meditation on the life of Christ.[6] The rosary also represents the Catholic emphasis on "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ", and the Mariological theme "to Christ through Mary".[7]

Common pious additions to the Rosary are sometimes inserted after each decade and after recitation of the Salve Regina. Instead of ending each decade with the Gloria Patri, Pope Pius IX would add: "May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."[9]

Other popular additions include the shorter form of the Prayer to Saint Michael; the Memorare, and a prayer for the intentions of the Pope. In many cases, the Litany of Loreto is recited before the end.[11]

When a group recites the Rosary, it is customary that the prayers that constitute the decades are divided into two parts. The second part of the Our Father begins with "Give us this day our daily bread"; the second part of the Hail Mary begins with "Holy Mary, Mother of God"; and the second part of the Glory Be with "As it was in the beginning". This lends itself to antiphonal prayer.[14]

Sometimes, a chosen leader will recite the first half of the prayer while other participants recite the second. In another style, recitation of the first part of the prayers is rotated among different persons while still maintaining the traditional Leader-Congregation alternation.

The Mysteries of the Rosary are meditations on episodes in the life and death of Jesus from the Annunciation to the Ascension and beyond. These are traditionally grouped by fives into themed sets known as the Joyful (or Joyous) Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries.[8] Pope John Paul II recommended an additional set called the Luminous Mysteries (or the "Mysteries of Light") in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 2002).[15]

Typically, a spiritual goal known as a "fruit" is also assigned to each mystery. Below are listed from the appendix of Louis Marie de Montfort's book Secret of the Rosary for the original 15 mysteries, with other possible fruits being listed in other pamphlets bracketed:

Traditionally the full Rosary consisted of praying all 15 traditional mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious) together.[17] Alternatively, a single set of five mysteries can be prayed each day, according to the following convention:

Pope John Paul II placed the Rosary at the very center of Christian spirituality and called it "among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation."[20][21][22] Pope Pius XI is quoted as saying, for example, "The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight."[23]

Saints and popes have emphasized the meditative and contemplative elements of the rosary and provided specific teachings for how the rosary should be prayed, for instance the need for "focus", "respect", "reverence" and "purity of intention" during rosary recitations and contemplations.[24] Scriptural meditations concerning the rosary are based on the Christian tradition of Lectio Divina (literally "divine reading") as a way of using the Gospel to start a conversation between the person and Christ. Padre Pio, a rosary devotee, said: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him."[25] From the sixteenth century onwards, Rosary recitations often involved "picture texts" that further assisted meditation. Such imagery continues to be used to depict the Mysteries of the rosary.

References to the Rosary have been part of various reported Marian Apparitions spanning two centuries. The reported messages from these apparitions have influenced the spread of Rosary devotion worldwide.[26][27] In Quamquam pluries, Pope Leo XIII related Rosary devotions to Saint Joseph and granted indulgences in favour of Christians who, in the month of October, would have added the Prayer to Saint Joseph at the end of the Holy Rosary.[28]

Praying the Rosary may be prescribed by priests as a type of penance after the Sacrament of Penance. Penance is not generally intended as a "punishment"; rather, it is meant to encourage meditation upon and spiritual growth from past sins.[29]

Knotted prayer ropes were used in early Christianity; the Desert Fathers are said to have created the first such, using knots to keep track of the number of times they said the Jesus prayer[30] or the 150 psalms.[31]

According to pious tradition, the concept of the Rosary was given to Dominic of Osma in an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the year 1214 in the church of Prouille, though in fact it was known from the ninth century in various forms. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary.[32]

According to Herbert Thurston, it is certain that in the course of the twelfth century and before the birth of Dominic, the practice of reciting the Ave Maria 50 or 150 times had become generally familiar. According to 20th century editions of the Catholic Encyclopedia, the story of Dominic's devotion to the Rosary and supposed apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary does not appear in any documents of the Catholic Church or the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) prior to the writings of the Dominican Alanus de Rupe (also Alan de la Roche), some 250 years after Dominic.[33] However, recent scholarship by Donald H. Calloway seeks to refute this claim.[34]

From the 16th to the early 20th century, the structure of the Rosary remained essentially unchanged.[33] There were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. According to John Henry Newman, Mariology is always Christocentric.[39] During the 20th century, the addition of the Fatima Prayer to the end of each decade became common. There were no other changes until 2002, when John Paul II suggested the five optional Luminous Mysteries; variations of these had previously been proposed by George Preca,[40] and were implemented during the mid-20th century by figures such as Patrick Peyton.

When Penal Laws in Ireland restricted or banned the Mass, the Rosary became a substitute prayer ritual within private homes.[42] During the 18th century, de Montfort elaborated on the importance of the rosary and emphasized that it should be prayed with attention, devotion, and modesty (reverence).[43]

In Brazil, two million men engage in a movement called Tero dos Homens ("Men's Rosary").[44] It consists of weekly meetings to pray a set of mysteries.[45] In neighboring Hispanic countries, the movement is called Rosario de Hombres Valientes.[46]

The theologian Romano Guardini described the Catholic emphasis on the Rosary as "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ."[36] This opinion was expressed earlier by Leo XIII who considered the rosary a way to accompany Mary in her contemplation of Christ.[47]

During the 16th century, Pope Pius V associated the rosary with the General Roman Calendar by instituting the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary), which is celebrated on 7 October.[48]

Pope Leo XIII issued twelve encyclicals and five apostolic letters concerning the rosary and added the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary" to the Litany of Loreto. Leo XIII explained the importance of the Rosary as the one road to God from the faithful to the mother and from her to Christ, and through Christ to the Father, and that the Rosary was a vital means to participate with the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ.[47] Leo instituted the custom of praying the Rosary daily during the month of October.[49]

Pope John XXIII deemed the Rosary of such importance that on 28 April 1962, he issued an apostolic letter where he appealed for recitation of the Rosary in preparation for the Second Vatican Council.[51]

Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae which emphasized the Christocentric nature of the Rosary as a meditation on the life of Christ. He said: "Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as by the hands of the Mother of the Redeemer."[21]

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