This feast was fixed
for the first Sunday in October by Pope Clement XI, in perpetual
commemoration of a celebrated double victory gained by the Christians
at Lepanto, in 1571, under Pope Saint Pius V, and at Belgrade, under
Pope Clement XI, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, who had
been invoked by saying the Holy Rosary. It is at the same time the
principal feast of the Arch-confraternity of the Holy Rosary.
In 1885 Pope Leo
XIII, ordered the Rosary to be recited every day duriug the month of
October in every parish church and cathedral throughout the world,
and those of the faithful who cannot be present at this recital he
exhorted to say it with their families or in private.
The Holy Rosary is a
form of prayer in which there is first said the Apostles’ Creed,
and then fifteen decades, each one of which consists of ten Hail
Marys. Each decade has one Our Father to be said before it, and is
followed by a meditation upon some one mystery of our redemption. It
is called the Rosary, or Wreath of Roses, because the joyful, the
sorrowful, and the glorious mysteries, aptly symbolized by the
leaves, the thorns, the flower, of which the rose consists – with
the prayers and praises that are blended together – compose, as it
were, a wreath or crown. It is also called the Psalter, because it
contains a hundred and fifty Hail Marys, as the Psalter of David
contains a hundred and fifty psalms, and because it is used in place
of the singing of psalms, as practised in former times.
There are three parts
in the Rosary – the joyful, the sorrowful, the glorious.
The joyful part
consists of the five first decades, to which are attached five
mysteries of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, through which, full of
joy, we speak to Mary of Him:
- Whom she conceived while a virgin.
- Whom she bore to Elizabeth.
- Whom she brought forth while a virgin.
- Whom she offered to God in the temple.
- Whom she found in the temple.
The sorrowful part,
in like manner, contains five decades, in connection with which there
are presented for our meditation five mysteries of the passion and
death of Jesus:
- Who for us sweat blood.
- Who for us was scourged.
- Who for us was crowned with thorns.
- Who for us bore the heavy cross.
- Who for us was crucified.
The glorious part,
consisting of the last five decades, reminds us of the glory of
Christ and of the Blessed Virgin by five mysteries in which we
commemorate Him:
- Who rose from the dead.
- Who ascended into heaven.
- Who sent to us the Holy Ghost.
- Who received thee, O Virgin, into heaven.
- Who crowned thee, O Virgin, in heaven.
How was this prayer introduced into the Church?
Saint Dominic had for
many years preached against the errors of the Albigenses and other
heretics, with such zeal and profound ability that they were often
convinced. But nevertheless the results were unimportant; but few
returned to the bosom of the Catholic Church. In this discouraging
state of things Saint Dominic redoubled his prayers and works of
penance, and in particular besought Mary for support and assistance.
One day Mary appeared to him and taught him the Rosary. He zealously
labored to introduce everywhere this manner of prayer, and from that
time preached with such success that in a short period more than one
hundred thousand heretics and sinners were converted. The divine
origin of the Rosary is testified to by the bull of Gregory XIII of
the year 1577.
Yes; for by bringing
before the eyes of the spirit the fundamental mysteries of
Christianity it supplies us with the strongest motives to love God,
to hate sin, to subdue the passions, to contemn the world and its
vanity, and to strive after Christian perfection, in order that we
may gain those happy mansions which Jesus prepares for us. The
Rosary, besides, brings before us living examples – Jesus and Mary
– whom we must follow; and encourages us to good works by pointing
to the all-powerful grace procured for us by Jesus, and the
all-prevailing intercession of the gracious Mother of God. Let us not
be ashamed to carry the beads with us, for otherwise we might be
ashamed of being Catholics; let us say the Rosary often – every
evening – as was the custom with Catholics in former times, and we
shall find that, as in Saint Dominic’s day it was a wholesome check
to error, so too In our times it will be, if said aright, a powerful
weapon against heresy and unbelief, and will increase faith, piety,
and virtue.
1. Properly; that is, as has been above described, and slowly, with a distinct pronunciation of the prayers and mysteries.
2. Devoutly, not only with the lips, but also with the heart.
More particularly we
ought to meditate upon the mysteries that come before us; thus, at
the joyful mysteries we should think of the infinite love of God to
men and on His humiliation for us, thanking Him, and promising our
love to Him in return; at the sorrowful mysteries we should have
compassion on the Saviour suffering for us, should from the heart
detest the sins which were the cause of His sufferings, and make the
most earnest resolutions for the future; at the glorious mysteries we
should remember the glory which awaits us also if we follow Jesus and
Mary.
O God, Whose
only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, procured for
us the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that,
commemorating these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and possess what they
promise. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
The Lord possessed Me
in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the
beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth
was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived,
neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out: the mountains
with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: before the
hills I was brought forth: He had not yet made the earth, nor the
rivers, nor the poles of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I
was present: when with a certain law and compass He enclosed the
depths: when He established the sky above, and poised the fountains
of waters: when He compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law
to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when He
balanced the foundations of the earth, I was with Him forming all
things; and was delighted every day, playing before Him at all times;
playing in the world, and My delights were to be with the children of
men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear Me: Blessed are they that keep
My ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is
the man that heareth Me, and that watcheth daily at My gates, and
waiteth at the posts of My doors. He that shall find Me shall find
life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.
At that time the
angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called
Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being
come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace: the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his
saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this
should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast
found grace with God. Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS. He shall
be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord
God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father; and He shall
reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall
be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done,
because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall
overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth,
she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth
month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be
impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
be it done to me according to thy word.
--
Goffine’s Devout Instruction
*
Pope Pius X changed
the date to 7 October in 1913, as part of his effort to restore
celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays.
