Our Lady of the Rosary

Turning to the disciples in private he said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

There is nothing more Catholic than the Rosary and there is no prayer that can bring the person who says it such peace and such power.  For some of us, the only time we will hold a Rosary will be when, for artistic reasons, the undertaker threads one into our cold and stiff fingers while we lay quietly in our casket.  For other Catholics, the Rosary is a living and vibrant thing, another proof of God's love for us, and a powerful source of meditation and a force that can, and has, changed the course of history.  But where did this powerful prayer come from?  What were its origins? 

Imagine, if you will, you are a peasant and your day is spent working in the fields. As you work, you hear the beautiful sounds of the brothers in the neighboring monastery singing the Psalms of David as they gathered several times a day to pray the Divine Office. As a peasant, you were not educated like the brothers, you did not have a Bible, they were very costly and only the wealthy could have a personal copy of the Scriptures.  Even if you were to come into possession of this wonderful book, it would do you no good as you were unable to read.  But, if there was one thing that was true, you were just as pious as the brothers in the monastery.  You loved the Lord and you prayed faithfully, but you wanted to do as the brothers did and pray a divine office. Given the limitations of money and education, you would not be able to sing the Psalms, there were too many for you to memorize and you did not own a Bible.  The brothers suggested that as you work that you pray one-hundred and fifty Our Father's, one for each of the Psalms.  You liked this idea but you often lost count as you worked.  When you prayed this office at home, you took one-hundred and fifty pebbles and used them to count the prayers.  This would not work so well when you were working in the fields.  Then you came up with the idea of carrying a knotted string that you could keep in your hands, moving one knot for each Our Father that you said.  This worked for a long time, but it was only the beginning.  Eventually, you said your prayers while thinking of the Bible stories you heard at church. Soon, the Rosary evolved into the prayer we know today using the Hail Mary, consisting of the words spoken to Mary at the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel, and our request that Mary prays to Jesus for us and to help us at the hour of our death. While we pray the familiar words of these basic prayers, namely, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be, we meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary and the major events that led to our salvation. 

Contrary to what rabid, anti-Catholic Bible thumpers believe, the Rosary is not mindless repeating of words in order to get God's attention.  The Rosary is a prayer that brings those that pray it closer to Jesus, closer to His Mother, and of course, closer to God.  Those that pray (not just say) the Rosary open up for themselves a world where they gain insight into what Jesus did for mankind and what He did for them personally.  

Praying the Rosary is not an affront to God. The most important person in Heaven right now, besides Jesus, is Mary, His Mother.  She was assumed, that means, brought up to Heaven, because after her death, Jesus did not want her body to decay so she received what we will all certainly receive at the end of time, a glorified physical body that will dwell with God, Jesus, and all of the Saints forever.  As great as Mary, the Mother of God is, we do not offer her worship. We hold her in great reverence because we are imitating Jesus Himself who loved His mother so much that from the Cross, when his strength was all be spent, He placed Mary into the care of John the Apostle who from that moment cared for Mary as if she was his own mother. 

There is so much misunderstanding between Protestants and Catholics when it comes to Mary and the vast majority of it comes from true ignorance of the truth that has been fostered by anti-Catholic bigots over the years. When Jesus gave Mary to John from the cross, He was not only speaking to John but to us as well.  He gave us His Mother as our heavenly mother, one that we can turn to in our neediness and be assured that she will be an advocate for us and using her mother's love, pass our prayers, with her recommendations, to Jesus.  Recall, if you will, how Jesus began his ministry early at the Wedding Feast at Cana at the request of His Mother and said the wisest words ever recorded, "Do whatever He tells you."

Yes, it's time for the commercial...The Poor Souls in Purgatory need our prayers.  Oddly enough, one of the most powerful prayers for them is the Rosary.  Please, Please, Please pray for the Poor Souls today.  They really need our help.  Thank you!