Page 7 - Faith Connections Issue 3.2

ISSUE 3 OCTOBER 2021

In Christian practice, prayer beads known as
Paternoster beads, were used since the 3rd
century as a practical method to keep track of
how many prayers one has said either as part of
penance or prayer commitment. The prayer that
was most commonly said on the beads was the
Our Father. Another ancient Christian monastic
tradition during these times was to chant 150
psalms together. As more lay people who could
not read wanted to adopt this, the psalms were
substituted with praying 150 Our Fathers using
the Paternoster beads. Since it was a portable
means of prayer and many people wanted to
wear it from their belt, it was easier to wear a set
of 50 beads rather than 150 beads. This led to
the practice of praying the 50 beaded Paternoster
three times.

During the 12th century the Hail Mary prayer also
grew in popularity primarily due to several
monastic reform movements. The monks began
to develop a practice of praying 150 Hail Marys
using the Paternoster beads. Within a short
period of time 15 Our Fathers were added to Up until the 14th century, the rosary was
break up the 150 Hail Marys into sets of 10 – prayed using an existing form of the Hail Mary
known as the Marian Psalter. which contained an implicit prayer of petition
since it was an invocation to the mediating

In the 13th century, St. Dominic, who had the gift Mother of Christ. When the Black Death
of oratory, was unsuccessfully fighting the plague hit Europe, people were inspired to
Albigensian heresy facing the church. In 1208 he formulate an explicit and urgent prayer of
retreated in prayer, begging God to help him. On petition to be added to the Hail Mary. Millions
the third day, Virgin Mary spoke, instructing him of people were dying and everyone lived with
to preach the Marian Psalter on the saving the imminent fear of death. It wasn’t until the
mysteries of Christ focused on Incarnation, 16th century that inclusion of the second half
Passion and the Glorious triumph of her divine of Hail Mary was codified by the Church.
Son. This was the founding moment of the holy
rosary of Mary. Preaching the mysteries directly In 2002, St. John Paul II promulgated a new
answered the errors promoted by Albigensians set of Luminous mysteries through his
and St. Dominic was victorious. apostolic letter. This was an answer to the
issues of our present times, especially
Historically the word “rosary” was in use even meditation on the importance of Baptism, the
before the time of St. Dominic. The latin word sanctity of marriage, the necessity of
rosarium was used to describe a rose garden or conversion, the divinity of Christ and the Real
a grouping of roses. However, it was only during Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. As a
the time of St. Dominic that the word became prophet for the third Christian millennium, St.
associated with preaching the Marian Psalter, as John Paul II brought the rosary into modern
praying each Hail Mary was akin to giving Mary a times and transformed the spiritual sword into
rose. a lightsaber capable of conquering the forces
of darkness.

PAGE 7 ROSARY & ALL SAINTS EDITION | ISSUE 3