St. Jude Thaddeus Devotional Exercises and Novena Prayers Webpage

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	Short History IN THE CATHOLIC RELIGION, the Rosary is one of the most beautiful and sacred prayers. The Rosary is a devotion to God through a devotion to Mary. It's a series of prayers. The Rosary offers hope even though there are pains and sorrows in the world. The Rosary is the recitation of five decades of the Our Father, ten Hail Mary's, and a Glory Be. The person mediates on the saving mysteries of our Lord's life and the Blessed Mother. The Rosary beads are used to keep track of prayers being recited. The Rosary reminds us of what Jesus lived through and did for us. By praying the rosary, people obtain a deeper appreciation of these events.
	It is usually suggested that the rosary began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), by which monks prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50 or 150 Ave Marias for the Psalms. Sometimes a cord with counters on it was used to keep an accurate count. The first clear historical reference to the rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (+1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of the rosary in France at the time that the Albigensian heresy was devastating the faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote for heresy and sin. One of Dominic's future disciples, Alain de Roche, began to establish Rosary Confraternities to promote the praying of the rosary. The form of the rosary we have today is believed to date from his time. Over the centuries the saints and popes have highly recommended the rosary, the greatest prayer in the Church after the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours. Not surprisingly, it's most active promoters have been Dominicans. Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other rosary-like prayers (e.g. Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys, Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (also referring to a crown) , of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called "Our Lady's Psalter" or "the beads." This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (biddan or bid).

Short History

IN THE CATHOLIC RELIGION, the Rosary is one of the most beautiful and sacred prayers. The Rosary is a devotion to God through a devotion to Mary. It's a series of prayers. The Rosary offers hope even though there are pains and sorrows in the world.

The Rosary is the recitation of five decades of the Our Father, ten Hail Mary's, and a Glory Be. The person mediates on the saving mysteries of our Lord's life and the Blessed Mother. The Rosary beads are used to keep track of prayers being recited. The Rosary reminds us of what Jesus lived through and did for us. By praying the rosary, people obtain a deeper appreciation of these events.

It is usually suggested that the rosary began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), by which monks prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50 or 150 Ave Marias for the Psalms. Sometimes a cord with counters on it was used to keep an accurate count.

The first clear historical reference to the rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (+1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of the rosary in France at the time that the Albigensian heresy was devastating the faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote for heresy and sin.

One of Dominic's future disciples, Alain de Roche, began to establish Rosary Confraternities to promote the praying of the rosary. The form of the rosary we have today is believed to date from his time. Over the centuries the saints and popes have highly recommended the rosary, the greatest prayer in the Church after the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours. Not surprisingly, it's most active promoters have been Dominicans.

Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other rosary-like prayers (e.g. Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys, Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (also referring to a crown) , of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called "Our Lady's Psalter" or "the beads." This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (biddan or bid).

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The St. Jude Thaddeus Devotional Exercises
and Novena Prayers Web Page
January 2003 - Cainta, Philippines