Rosary Workshop - History of Rosary
 ORIGIN of the PRAYERS
FOUR BASIC ROSARY PRAYERS
The basic prayers of the Rosary are from scripture. Traditionally there are more prayers than the following 4 but this makes up the foundation of what we now call the Christian Rosary. The standard Rosary is a circle of 5 decades or 50 small beads punctuated with 4 larger beads. There is a pendant of two large and three small beads ending in a cross.  The smaller beads on the rosary are the Ave's or 'Hail Marys'  and the larger are called Paternosters or the 'Our Fathers'.  The following prayers form the foundation of and are the basic prayers recited on the rosary.
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SIGN OF THE CROSS   -   AMEN   -  1. APOSTLES CREED

2. PATER NOSTRE   -   3. AVE MARIA   -   4. GLORY BE

~ SIGN of the CROSS ~

(The sign of the cross; or blessing ones self; and the amen; have roots back to the Old Testament. It was carried into the Christian liturgy and prayer life from these foundations.)

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Was part of the Diadiche or early Catechism taught to the new Christians by the Apostles and was used during the baptism of new members into the Church. The signing of the cross on one fore head has its written beginnings as early as the Old Testament. In Ezekial 9:4 'Pass through the city (Jerusalem) and mark their foreheads with an X' (form of a cross); ...to mark the innocent. Also see Ex 12:7 and Rev 7:3, 9:4 and 14:1. Also see Exodus17:9 -14. The sign is considered a life giving symbol. We are sealed in Christ.
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~ THE AMEN ~

Has its origin in the liturgy of the Jewish Synagogue.  It was an unwritten response and in Hebrew (aman) it means to 'strengthen' or 'confirm'.  'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from eternity and let the people say Amen ....' Christ is quoted 'Amen, amen I say unto you ...' Today we use it to affirm or confirm as we respond: 'so be it' or 'I agree' which also has its roots in Old Testament.
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1

~ APOSTLES CREED ~

The Apostles Creed is the first prayer said after the 'Sign of the Cross'.
(In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen)
This brief statement is an overview of what Christians believe. It dates back to the Apostles themselves and was used during baptism. The earliest written form known is Tertullian, 200 AD, and the present form dates before 700 AD.
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I believe in the Father almighty creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ his only son, Our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit  and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified,died and was buried.
He descended to the dead.  On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father,
He will come again to judge the living and thedead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting,
Amen
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2

 ~ PATERNOSTER ~

(Our Father  -  Liturgical Prayer)
To the early monks and clergy, the most importantpart of the liturgical prayer was the 150 Psalms or Psalter. Many of the Psalms are songs of praise and thanksgiving. Most of the laity could not read so they chanted 150 'Our Fathers' instead of the 5 books which made up the Psalms.  This prayer is said on the 6 large beads and is from Scripture. It has not basically changed over the centuries although you will recognize minor differences used today. All quotes are taken from the NAB. (Matthew 6:9): Jesus prefaces it:
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⁸ .... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
⁹ "This is how you are to pray:
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SALUTATION
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
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PETITION
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread;
¹² and forgive us our debts,  as we forgive our debtors;
¹³ and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.
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3

~ AVE MARIA ~

 Hail Mary  -  Devotional prayer
Slowly the 150 Paternosters were replaced by 150 Ave's, both of which were totally scriptural in the beginning. The tradition of the five books of Psalms carried over after a time and the Ave's were broken up into decades with the Our Father as dividers. Prayers of the faithful were added creating the petition.  The Hail Mary is said on the 53 small beads and like the Our Father, is broken down into two parts:
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SALUTATION
1. 'Hail (Mary) full of grace, the Lord is with thee...'
Gabriel's salutation to Mary at the Annunciation: (Luke 1:28).
Mary was added to identify. The angel called her 'full of grace'.
2. 'Blessed art thou among women,
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, (Jesus).'
Elizabeth's greeting at the Visitation when she sees Mary:
(Luke 1:42). The addition of the name of Jesus becomes
part of the custom for many from the year 600
and is officially added during the 14th century..
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PETITION
1. Holy Mary, Mother of God
Comes from the Council of Ephesus in 431 to explain term 'Theotokos',
(God bearer) or Mother of God, Jesus being part of the triune God. Heretics of the
time believe Mary is the mother of Christ, not God. The people of Ephesus rioted,
carrying torches into the streets and shouting,
'Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners....'
It is believed this part of the prayer came into common usage during the
16th century. Later, the prayer was completed with
'.. now and at the hour of our death.'
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4

~ GLORIA PATRI ~

Glory Be  -  Doxology
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
world without end, Amen.
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It is said at the end of each decade.
This prayer is know as the lesser doxology (GloriaPatri) and has its roots
to the 4th century but was probably not said as apart of the Rosary until much later.
It was the common formula for the Christians of that time and has not changed.
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