What is a Rosary? 
One of the most popular and recognizable
forms of prayer in the Catholic church is the rosary. But just what
is a rosary? And why is it that Protestants don't recite the rosary?
The rosary is considered by Catholics to be
a pious exercise that is intended to combine both vocal and contemplative
prayer. Praying the rosary consists of reciting 15 decades (or sets
of ten "Hail Marys") each, by the way, preceded by an "Our Father",
and followed by a "Glory be to the Father."
These vocal prayers are accompanied by meditations
on certain aspects of the life of Christ and His mother Mary (these,
by the way, are referred to as "Mysteries"). The worshiper recites the
vocal prayers, but dwells on the mysteries assigned to the decade he
or she is reciting. The mysteries are separated into three different
divisions (joyful, sorrowful and glorious), with five meditations to
each division. The worshiper keeps track of these prayers by using a
string of beads, which is also known as the rosary.
Why is it that virtually all Protestants do
not recite the rosary? Is it because they find aspects of the rosary
to be clearly unbiblical? Well the answer is yes - objections primarily
center in reciting the Hail Mary. The Hail Mary is the central prayer
of the rosary, repeated almost 150 times.
First, Protestants believe that addressing
anyone other than God in prayer (in this case Mary) is completely unbiblical.
The Bible is clear that only God is to be addressed in prayer - there
are no exceptions.
Secondly, the Hail Mary assumes the truth
of the doctrine of Catholic Mariology, specifically Mary's immaculate
nature and powers of intercession. This is illustrated by Mary being
called "holy" and the request that she intercede for the worshiper at
his or her hour of death.
In short, Protestants reject the Hail Mary
prayer, and thus the rosary, because they reject much of what Catholicism
teaches about Mary. Remember....you don't need an intermediary....the
wall of separation between God and man has forever been broken down
through the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
A discussion of the rosary can be
found in Elliot Miller's and Kenneth Samples's book Cult of the Virgin
(Baker) (B040/$10). This resource is available through CRI. For shipping
and handling information, please refer to our Resource Listing. To place
a credit card order, call toll-free (888) 7000-CRI. To receive a free
copy of our Resource Listing, fax us at (714) 858-6111 or write us with
your request at P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.
{ Back To Previous
Page }
