Rosary Workshop - Prayer
WHY PRAY the ROSARY?
 WHY DO PEOPLE BELIVE IT IS SO POWERFUL?
Msgr. Romano Guardini (1885 - 1968) wrote a wonderful book, THE ROSARY OF OUR LADY,which has recently been re-released through the Sophia Institute Press (Manchester N.H.) in which he shares that each bead of the rosary has its origin in Holy Scripture and Christian tradition.
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THOUGHTS    -   GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL
ORIGIN OF THE PRAYERS    -    ROSES & PRAYERS
DO PROTESTANTS PRAY THE ROSARY?
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He tells us this word is living and is very rich and mysterious.

~ THOUGHTS ~

... our words have a life and spirit of their own ...
Our words travel out from us into the unknown forever much like ripples created by a pebble when tossed into a pond. Those sound waves carry a spirit of goodness or evil and permeate everything they touch. They have a life or spirit of their own even though they are not heard. This is why gossip and scandal, any kind of negativism, words not of God are dangerous even past the point of hearing.
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... New life in the spoken word ...
Guardini speaks about the importance of the formation of the words we say and how it gives the listener an inner glimpse of (our) thoughts. How it remains within us unless we release it into the space around us.
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... God's Word protects and changes us ....
Filling the space around us with the Word of God not only protects us, it fulfills its destiny as all prayer reaches God. The seed is planted. It changes forever the world around us -  and who we are - even though we may not be aware of it.
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... When we speak God's word to others ...
Guardini inspires us with how if we keep the word in side of us and do not share it, we are masters over it. This too, makes one realize when we speak Gods word to others, the Holy Spirit becomes operative in many ways unknown to us.
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... A variety of prayers ...
There are many kinds of prayer. It is the way we talk to God. It is the way we keep our relationship with him alive. Prayer is vital in our spiritual life and we are encouraged to pray in many ways but always from the heart. It may be improvised, verbal, private, public or rote. It may be songs of praise shouted at the top of our lungs from the mountain top or quiet worship and meditation on the life of Christ as in the Rosary. Prayer of the heart should be a beginning and an ending for each day. For many, this prayer includes the Rosary.
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... The rosary in our prayer life ...
For many, this prayer form is lost in misunderstanding. The argument is often that it is better to go straight to God. Certainly this is good, we all should especially in the prayer of praise. But how wonderful it is when we bring along a few friends. God loves family. Especially when we bring along the mother of Jesus. She knows the way. The Rosary walks us through a garden of meditation on the life of Christ as written in Scripture.
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... Mary's roll in prayer ...
Prayer that is carried by the mother of Jesus to her son has a very special quality as it is believed she takes our prayer and enriches it before giving it to her son. What loving mother wouldn't. And we know that Jesus listens to his mother. What loving son wouldn't.
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... Do you have a problem with Mary interceding for you? ...
Ask Jesus how He wants you to respond to his mother. Remembering that she was given to us at the foot of the cross. If Jesus is our brother, Mary is our mother. This fact remains whether we believe it or not.
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... The rosary is a prayer for peace ...
The Rosary is enjoying a new awareness as it  is becoming recognized more by the young and Protestants are taking on a new interest in the Rosary. It is being rediscovered by Catholics and this is an encouraging sign. The basic goal of the Rosary is to bring peace into the world - the peace of Christ - through Mary - into the hearts of the children of God - in the power of the Holy Spirit- uniting us as one. It is especially encouraging to note that more and more men are saying the rosary.

~ GOSPEL in a NUTSHELL ~

Meditations on the mysteries of the rosary are from New Testament events and today are a standard part of the rosary. They are divided into 3 sets of 5, one being meditated on at the beginning of each decade. We begin hearing about mysteries, called Incarnation;, Passion and Resurrection; around the mid 15th century. It is listed in a book by 1489 very close to the order we now know as the Gospel events:
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JOYOUS MYSTERIES
(Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation and Finding Jesus in the Temple).
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SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
(Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crown with Thorns, Carrying the Cross and Crucifixion).
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GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
(Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption and Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven).

 ~ ORIGIN of 4 BASIC 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.

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

~ SIGN of the CROSS ~

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 seeExodus17:9 -14. The sign is considered a life giving symbol. We are sealed in Christ.

~ 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.

~ 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) is made:
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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~ PATER NOSTER ~

(Our Father)
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(Liturgical Prayer)
To the early monks and clergy, the most important part 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:
⁸ .... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ "This is how you are to pray:

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.
 

~ AVE ~

(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:

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'.
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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....'
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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.'
 

~ 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.

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.
*the word 'world' is twofold:  it means - time (old English) or place

~ ROSES and PRAYERS ~

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
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... a new moment in time, another point in space ...
It is objected that there is much repetition in the Rosary because the Lord's prayer and the Hail Mary are said so often: therefore it is monotonous. That reminds me of a woman who came to see me one evening after instructions.
She said, "I would never become a Catholic. You say the same words in the Rosary over and over again, and anyone who repeats the same words is never sincere. I would never believe anyone who repeated his words and neither would God." I asked her who the man was with her. She said he was her fiancé. I asked: "Does he love you?" "Certainly, he does.""But how do you know?" "He told me." "What did he say?" "He said "I love you.'" "When did he tell you last?" "About an hour ago." "Did he tell you before?" "Yes, last night." "What did he say?" "'I love you.'" "But never before?" "He tells me every night." I said: "Do not believe him. He is repeating: he is not sincere."
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The beautiful truth is that there is no repetition in "I love you." Because there is a new moment in time, another point in space, the words do not mean the same as they did at another time or space...

~  PROTESTANTS and the ROSARY ~

  
 ... praying the Catholic rosary with intensity ...
"I've just recently discovered the Anglican and the Catholic rosaries, and have been praying the Catholic rosary with intensity. I will pray through the fifteen mysteries of the full rosary three times a day (that's a lot of "Hail Mary's" for a Protestant!) and feel the annointing of the Lord upon me. I am convinced the rosary releases the super natural power of God into our lives. It cleanses us, sanctifies us and draws us closer to Jesus, through the help of his Blessed Mother Mary.
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     In my present (Episcopal) parish, I have shared my enthusiasm for the rosary, and many of my parishioners, who are former Catholics, have retained this devotion and have been delighted in my encourgement of their using it.  Now, I feel that Mary is asking me to pray the rosary with intensity,  as I prepare to serve a new church as rector.

     Thank You! Thank You! -  Fr.JJ  (USA)

 ... The words were foreign to me ...
Recently we were at a Catholic Charismatic Retreat at the Mary Grove Retreat House in the Upper Michigan Peninsula.   After dinner we we went back to our rooms to kill time before the evening prayer meeting started.  It had been snowing so we stayed in to keep warm instead of taking our usual walk.  Several gals came into our room and we ended up sharing stories.  One gal was telling us she was Lutheran - born and raised a Lutheran and was not too impressed with Catholics.
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One day she was praying and felt prompted to say these words - 'Hail Mary'  so she did, altho she said, 'these words were foreign to me'.  Then the words 'full of grace' came to her.  She thought it strange but curious so she decided to go along.  'The Lord is with you' and on -  before long, she had learned this little prayer and continued to say it over and over again.  It gave her great joy so she adopted the words as her very own.
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Then one day she was with some Catholic friends and was sharing her little prayer with them.  They told her that her little prayer was called the 'AVE MARIA' or HAIL MARY' and had been around for -  almost - two thousand years.  She was shocked. When they explained the rosary to her, she decided to say it, now knowing in her heart that Mary herself had taught this little prayer to her. Today she is a Catholic and loves to tell people about how Mary drew her home by teaching her this sweet prayer of love.
 

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