By Leon Bent
October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. It provides an opportunity to review the origins and purpose of one of the most popular private devotions of the 20th Century. Indeed, ever since the reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Rosary in hand, to St. Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, in 1858.
Pope Leo XIII, who was best known for his ground-breaking encyclical on the social order, Rerum Novarum (“Of new realities”), in 1891, wrote no less than nine encyclicals on the Rosary to promote devotion to it. In fact, he became known in some circles as “the Pope of the Rosary,” an epithet that might surprise even careful readers of Catholic social thought.
The devotion began sometime in the 12th or 13th centuries. Illiterate Catholics could not read the Psalms themselves, so, they used the beads as counters for the “Hail Marys.” Some were also encouraged to meditate on a sequence of mysteries associated with the life of the Blessed Virgin.
Saint Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto—a victory attributed to the praying of the Rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the Universal Church in 1716.
The development of the Rosary has a long history. First a practice developed of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then there was a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Soon a mystery of Jesus’ life was attached to each Hail Mary. Though Mary’s giving of the Rosary to Saint Dominic is recognized as a legend, the development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of Saint Dominic. One of them, Alan de la Roche, was known as “the Apostle of the Rosary.” He founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary in the 15th century. In the 16th century, the Rosary was developed to its present form—with the 15 mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious. In 2002, Pope John Paul II added five Mysteries of Light to this devotion.
The purpose of the Rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the Gospel. The main focus is on Jesus—his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus’ Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was, and still is, intimately joined with her Son, in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The “Glory Bes” remind us that, the purpose of life is the glory of the Trinity.
The Rosary appeals to many believers. It is simple. The constant repetition of words helps create an atmosphere, in which to contemplate the mysteries of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of Jesus and Mary, forever.
It is a method of prayer at once simple and sublime; the prayers are so easy that a child can repeat them, and the mysteries are so profound that they supply a subject for meditation to the most learned theologians. It is a prayer of contemplation as well as a prayer of supplication, for it places before the mind the principal truths of the faith. The union of vocal and mental prayer makes the Rosary easy, pleasant, and profitable. As a method of prayer it is unrivalled; the longer and more devoutly it is practised, the more one appreciates its excellence and becomes convinced of its supernatural origin.
Praying the Rosary is like a trillion-strong Choir of Angels and Saints, eternally praising God, and singing Hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Heaven.
Now, this gold nugget! Everyone who recites the Rosary must feel its supernatural power; there is no prayer which affords more consolation in affliction, more tranquillity to the troubled breast. It soothes in sorrow, it imparts the peace spoken of in the Gospel. It brings deliverance from Satan’s evil designs.
And, this final flourish! Become apostles of the Rosary. Promote the Rosary. Urge the Rosary. Teach the Rosary. Shall I say, advertise the Rosary. It is through the Rosary that we can bring countless souls back to Christ from whom they have strayed. It is through the Rosary that we can make them lovers of Christ through the mediation of His Mother, the Mother of Miracles since the marriage feast at Cana even to the dawn of eternity.
The punch line! Say your rosary, and encourage everyone you know to do so, too!
The Last word! Pope Leo XIII (1810 – 1903) is widely known as the Pope of the Rosary. He called Rosary the “most excellent method of prayer.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.