October 7 - Feast of the Most Holy Rosary

October 7 marks every year the Feast of the Holy Rosary. Pope Pius V established the feast to commemorate the great victory of the Christian army against the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Originally, the feast was named in honor of Our Lady of Victories and celebrated every 7^th of October. Pope Gregory XIII renamed it as Feast of the Holy Rosary in 1573. In 1969, Pope Paul VI established the form that we celebrate today under the title “Our Lady of the Rosary.

Pope Pius IX once commented, “among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favored by so many miracles as the devotion to the Most Holy Rosary.” It’s no wonder why the Holy Rosary has been a pious practice which is so loved and prayed with great faith and devotion by many Catholics, individually and communally.

A Scripture-based prayer, the Holy Rosary consists of reciting repeatedly the prayers—Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and Fatima Prayer, while meditating on the salient events of Jesus’ life found in the Sacred Scripture.  Traditionally, we only know and meditate on fifteen mysteries—Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious. But in 2002, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, added the five Luminous Mysteries. With the inclusion of the new mysteries, it completes the cycle of our meditation on the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ with His birth, public life, passion and death and glory.

Quoting Pope Pius XII, Pope Paul V describes the Rosary as “the compendium of the entire Gospel.” By pious recitation and meditation of the Holy Rosary, we immerse ourselves in the mysteries of Jesus’ life and His teachings written in the Gospel accounts.

Here are the four sets of mysteries:

The Joyful Mysteries – Monday and Saturday

1.    The Annunciation
Mary learns that she has been chosen to be the mother of Jesus.

2.    The Visitation
Mary visits Elizabeth, who tells her that she will always be remembered.

3.    The Nativity
Jesus is born in a stable in Bethlehem.

4.    The Presentation
Mary and Joseph take the infant Jesus to the Temple to present him to God.

5.    The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Jesus is found in the Temple discussing his faith with the teachers.

The Mysteries of Light - Thursday

1.    The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
God proclaims that Jesus is his beloved Son.

2.    The Wedding Feast at Cana
At Mary’s request, Jesus performs his first miracle.

3.    The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
Jesus calls all to conversion and service to the Kingdom.

4.    The Transfiguration of Jesus
Jesus is revealed in glory to Peter, James, and John.

5.    The Institution of the Eucharist
Jesus offers his Body and Blood at the Last Supper.

The Sorrowful Mysteries – Tuesday and Friday

1.    The Agony in the Garden
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he dies.

2.    The Scourging at the Pillar
Jesus is lashed with whips.

3.    The Crowning with Thorns
Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns.

4.    The Carrying of the Cross
Jesus carries the cross that will be used to crucify him.

5.    The Crucifixion
Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies.

The Glorious Mysteries – Wednesday and Sunday

1.    The Resurrection
God the Father raises Jesus from the dead.

2.    The Ascension
Jesus returns to his Father in heaven.

3.    The Coming of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit comes to bring new life to the disciples.

4.    The Assumption of Mary
At the end of her life on earth, Mary is taken body and soul into heaven.

5.    The Coronation of Mary
Mary is crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

See more at: http://www.loyolapress.com/mysteries-of-the-rosary.htm#sthash.TBmi7Rvw.dpuf

Here are the steps in Praying the Holy Rosary:

 1.    Make the Sign of the Cross.

2.    Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed.

3.    On the first bead, say an Our Father.

4.    Say three Hail Marys on each of the next three beads.

 

5.    Say the Glory Be

6.    For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery, and then say the Our Father.

7.    While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be. After finishing each decade, some say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy."

8.    After saying the five decades, say the "Hail, Holy Queen, followed by this dialogue and prayer:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, whose Only Begotten Son, by his life, Death, and Resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the prayers, click here:

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/devotionals/rosaries/prayers-of-the-rosary.cfm

Here’s a brief history of the development of the devotion to the Most Holy Rosary written by Fr. William Saunders. For the full text, click this: http://www.ewtn.com/library/answers/rosaryhs.htm

The origins of the rosary are "sketchy" at best. The use of "prayer beads" and the repeated recitation of prayers to aid in meditation stem from the earliest days of the Church and has roots in pre-Christian times. Evidence exists from the Middle Ages that strings of beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Actually, these strings of beads became known as "Paternosters," the Latin for "Our Father."

The structure of the rosary gradually evolved between the 12th and 15th centuries. Eventually 50 Hail Marys were recited and linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. During this time, this prayer form became known as the rosarium ("rose garden"), actually a common term to designate a collection of similar material, such as an anthology of stories on the same subject or theme. During the 16th century, the structure of the five-decade rosary based on the three sets of mysteries prevailed.

Tradition does hold that St. Dominic (d. 1221) devised the rosary as we know it. Moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother, he preached the use of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who had denied the mystery of Christ. Some scholars take exception to St. Dominic's role in forming the rosary. The earliest accounts of his life do not mention it, the Dominican constitutions do not link him with it and contemporaneous portraits do not include it as a symbol to identify the saint.

In 1922, Dom Louis Cougaud stated, "The various elements which enter into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the rosary are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St. Dominic's time, which continued without his having any share in it, and which only attained its final shape several centuries after his death." However, other scholars would rebut that St. Dominic not so much "invented" the rosary as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith. Moreover, at least a dozen popes have mentioned St. Dominic's connection with the rosary, sanctioning his role as at least a "pious belief."

The rosary gained greater popularity in the 1500s, when Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe. Recall that in 1453, Constantinople had fallen to the Moslems, leaving the Balkans and Hungary open to conquest. With Moslems raiding even the coast of Italy, the control of the Mediterranean was now at stake.

In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria the half-brother of King Philip II of Spain. While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the rosary and implore our Blessed Mother's prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Moslem fleet outnumbered that of the Christians in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Moslems were defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7, where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.

The fact that our Church continues to include the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the liturgical calendar testifies to the importance and goodness of this form of prayer. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, "The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description."