Msg Base:  AREA 5  - ASK FATHER            CIN ECHO   AMDG
  Msg No: 197.  Thu 11-21-91 19:06  (NO KILL)  (MAILED)
    From: Father Mateo
      To: Kathryn Burke
 Subject: Rosary

+-
| Thank you for your answer. Iend to be a big picture person. I do have
| another question I think you can answer. What is the orgin of the Rosary?
| thank you in advance.
| peace.
| kathryn burke
|  
 
Dear Kathryn,
 
The use of beads as a help to concentration and relaxation is an
ancient practice, and not always a religious one.  Traveling in Greece,
you will see men sipping coffee and reading their newspaper in a
sidewalk cafe while fingering their "worry beads".  Many religions have
attached their own prayer formulas to the beads, prayer flowing in mind
and heart as the beads move through the fingers.
 
Christians in Western Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries
combined biblical and ecclesial prayers with meditation on the Gospel
stories of Christ and His Mother.  The various combinations of these
are too numerous to describe here, but the end result is our present
form of the rosary: 150 Hail Marys (a prayer half biblical and half
ecclesial), divided into 15 groups of 10 by the interspersal of 15 Our
Fathers, all said while meditating on 15 episodes in the life of Jesus
and Mary.  It is usual to offer five of these groups every day: the
joys of Jesus and Mary on Mondays and Thursdays, the sorrows of Jesus
and Mary on Tuesdays and Fridays, and their glories on Wednesdays and
Saturdays.  The mysteries chosen for meditation on Sundays depend upon
the season of the liturgical year.
 
There are many fine booklets available for learning and praying the
rosary with devotion and spiritual profit.  One of the best for all
readers is "The Rosary Made Easy for Non-Catholics".  Catholic
bookstores always have a variety of such booklets.
 
Thanks for your question.  Please come again.
 
                                Sincerely in Christ,
 
                                Father Mateo