 |
|
|
Holy Rosary | | Saturday, October 1, 2011 In the Catholic Church, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. This week in morning assembly 8th grade students will begin leading us in reciting the Rosary. We will pray one decade each day, which includes one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer. The origin of the Rosary dates back to the ninth century when Irish monks would recite and chant the 150 Psalms of the Bible as a large part of their worship.
The Psalms were very hard to memorize and printed copies of them were not easily available. Therefore, it was suggested to the people outside the monastery that they recite a series of 150 "Our Fathers" instead of the Psalms.
As this form of prayer became more popular, people started to find ways to keep track of their prayers. At first, 150 little pebbles were placed inside small leather pouches to count the number of prayers being said. Because these pebbles were hard to handle, a thin rope with 50 knots was used instead. Eventually, they used a string with small pieces of wood on it.
Later, the Irish monks traveled throughout Europe and brought this form of devotion with them. In some areas, both clergy and lay people began to recite the "Angelic Salutation" (the first part of what we now know as the "Hail Mary") as part of this devotion. The popularity of this prayer led to the adoption of fifty Angelic Salutations being said, one for each piece of wood or knot on the prayer string.
Over the centuries Mary has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary, they are giving her a rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. The Holy Rosary is a wonderful prayer because it tells the story of our salvation. Each decade represents one episode of the life of Jesus.
|
|
|
|
|
