Rosary
The Rosary is a string of beads that Catholics use to pray, to count their prayers. The name comes fron italian Rosario, that means "crown of roses". Eastern Christians also use similar strings of beads to pray, although among the Orthodox their use is mainly restricted to monks and bishops, not being common among laity or secular clergy.
The Rosary is consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Virgin Mary.
According to tradition, in 1214, St. Dominic received the first Rosary from the Blessed Virgin, in the first of a series of apparitions, as a means of converting the Albigensians and other so-called "sinners". However, the historical record indicates that the Rosary predates St. Dominic's time by centuries (indeed, similar prayer beads are found in many religions, and some have been found dating back to the antiquity), and the story of it being recieved by St. Dominic appears to be an invention from long after St. Dominic's death.
In her supposed apparition at Fatima (1916), the Virgin Mary allegedly revealed that every time a Hail Mary is recited, is like a rose was offered Her, so a complete Rosary is like a crown of roses. (This idea of a Rosary being a crown predates Fatima by centuries, and was expressed on several occasions by medieveal Catholics.)
Beads are usually in number of 50, though one hundred or one hundred and fifty are also known. These numbers were chosen to match the number of psalms, or a third or two-thirds of them. This was because in ancient times monks and clergy used to recite the entire psalter every day; the practice of saying one hundred and fifty Pater Noster's developed as an alternative for those who were illiterate or who could not afford a psalter. It was only in the Middle Ages, however, when prayer to Mary became common among Catholics, that the use of Ave Marias instead of Pater Noster's came about.
Traditionally, 15 decades are said, each decade consisting of ten Ave Marias and one Pater Noster. Each decade traditionally corresponds to a mystery of Redemption, although the mysteries did not originate until the 15th or 16th centuries, and even then there was not universal agreement on what they were.
In a common form beads are true olive seeds; in past times there was an opinable commerce of Rosaries made with pretended olive seeds from the Garden of Gethsemane. Beads are sometimes made with sacred relics (or believed).
Faithfuls pray so many Our Fathers and so many Hail Marys and so on, and count them using their beads. According to a widely spread use, the Rosary is recited with this order:
- a sign of the cross on the Cross and then the "Apostles Creed";
- an "Our Father" on the first red bead;
- a "Hail Mary" on each of the three small beads;
- a "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
- an "O my Jesus" on the large bead;
- an "Our Father" on the large bead;
- a "Hail Mary" on each of the adjacent ten small beads;
- a "Glory Be to the Father" on the next large bead;
- again an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, the Glory Be to the Father, and the Fatima prayer for each of the following decades;
- a "Hail Mary" and a sign of the cross.
External link: http://www.theholyrosary.org/ (this site, can be downloaded for free, 951k, in the uncommon yet appropriate formula of prayware, a prayer for the license).