Rosary Beads

Rosary Beads

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Gold Rosary of Lourdes

It is fascinating to read the accounts of the apparitions of our lady to see how her rosary is described.

In Lourdes our lady was described by Bernadette – here are her words, originally spoken in a local dialect.

“The Lady was dressed in white, with a white veil on her head, and a blue sash at her waist. A Rosary of white beads on a golden chain was on her right arm. ”

Note in some transaltations “gold” and “yellow” are interchanged.

“On that cold winter’s day, her feet were bare, but on each foot was a golden rose radiant with the warmth of summer as having yellow roses on each foot, and that the chain of her rosary matched the yellow of the roses”

So it was a gold rosary with white beads. The beads of the gold rosary have also been described as pearl instead of white.

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Rosemary Beads? What does the name rosary beads mean?

People who are uncertain of what rosary beads are , tend to use a variety of spellings. We have seen -rosemary beads – rosary beeds – rosery beads – roseary beads – rossery beads – roseery beads and others.

The correct name is “rosary beads” – because the name derives from the latin rosarium describing a rose.

The bible is full of plant imagery.

The rose is often associated with mary in her role as intercessor and intermediary.

Those who have reported apparitions of our lady, often describe the scent of roses. And the rose features in some of the history of these apparitions.

Juan Diego at Guadalupe was instructed to take castillian roses from mary to the local bishop which are not native in Mexico as a proof that he was not making the story up – and our lady really did appear to him.

Saint Bernadette describes the roses on the feet of our lady as she appeared at the grotto at Masabielle in Lourdes.

So for those who aren’t sure what the correct spelling is – or indeed what rosary beads are – the word is rosary and its plural is rosaries. The rosary beads are not just a piece of religious jewellery, they are prayer beads, each bead representing a prayer, and each decade a mystery in the life of our lord

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Rosary Bracelet

A rosary bracelet is intended as a convenient way to carry a rosary.

A wrist is not large, so a rosary bracelet generally has only one decade of beads, and a spur of three outlying beads attached to the crucifix.

So saying a rosary requires rotating the beads five times, for the five mysteries normally said on a single day – a rosary bracelet also allows the prayer beads to be used very unobtrusively.

Whilst it is possible to have precious metal rosary chain, the chain of a bracelet needs to be rugged to avoid breaks when it catches on clothing.

As we said of rosary necklaces, we hope that a rosary bracelet will be worn with respect, not just as a fashion item.

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Rosary Necklace

What is a rosary necklace?

Religious orders demand that a rosary is worn at all times, and it can be convenient to make it a necklace by wearing it around the neck.

The rosaries – normally wooden – worn in many orders are easily large enough to wear around the neck – but that is not so of the rosaries in normal use by the public at large.

So a rosary necklace is a standard five decade dominican rosary but with a clasp somewhere, generally the center of the third decade to allow a rosary, large enough to wear around the neck, but too small to fit around the head, to be unclasped as a necklace.

Rosary necklaces are generally chain based – can be silver or gold rosaries too. And they serve a very useful purpose, since it allows the rosary to be used at any time in any place.

It is generally possible to convert a chain rosary to be a rosary necklace, but many precious metal chain rosaries may be too fragile to be used this way.

It is sad to see rosaries generally and rosary necklaces becoming a fashion accessory, and not treated with the respect they deserve

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Rosary Beads – Power or Coincidence in Afghanistan?

Was it power or coincidence when Rosary beads saved a British soldier from a landmine in Afghanistan?

The British soldier named as Glenn Hockton, 19, was on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he bent down to pick up his prayer beads after they fell off.

When he stooped to pick them up he saw that he was next to a landmine – which saved him from an almost certain serious wounding if not worse.

That might be just coincidence until it was revealed – It was strikingly similar to his great grandfather’s experience who escaped from a blast when he too picked up his fallen rosary beads.

Glenn’s mother Sheri Jones said . ‘He had to stand there for 45 terrifying minutes before his colleagues managed to get him,’

It was strikingly similar to his granfather Joseph Truman who was a Royal Fusilier walking across a field with half a dozen of his platoon. When He bent down to some rosary beads he was thethe only one to survive a bomb blast.

Too much of a Coincidence? If you think so study the priests of Hiroshima… who survived the epicenter of the blast.

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Catholic Rosary Beads?

It is easy to believe that catholic rosary beads are just a catholic thing.

It is not so! – Since the beads represent the gospels, rosary  beads are far more universal than that, and are used by protestants too.

Members of both Anglican and Lutheran communities use them in their own modified forms.

Usage in Anglicanism

Use of the Rosary is quite common among Anglicans, particularly those of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship. There are Anglo-Catholic prayer books and manuals of devotion contain the Rosary along with other Marian devotions.
Whilst public services of the Anglican churches, , do not directly invoke the Blessed Virgin or any other saint in prayer,  Anglicans are free to do so in their private devotions if they wish.
The Lutheran Church encourages its members to pray the rosary Although the Church follows the same formatas Roman Catholics, each “Hail Mary” is replaced with the “Jesus Prayer”. The hail mary is not eliminated completely.It  is said is at the end of the mysteries on the medal, where it is then replaced with the “Pre-Trent” version of the prayer amd it can also be replaced by reciting of either the Magnificat, or Martin Luther’s ” praise of the Mother of God

So they are not just catholic rosary beads!

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Judge Orders Reinstatement of Boy Raymond Hosier Suspended Over Rosary Beads

It is sad that this matter was taken so far.
A  federal judge ordered a New York middle school to reinstate a seventh-grader,  Raymond Hosier who was suspended for wearing the Catholic prayer beads last month

He wears  the purple beads  in memory of his younger brother, who died while clutching a rosaryfollowing a car accident.

Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered the boy to be reinstated pending a hearing on June 11 into whether the suspension violated his civil rights.

District officials declined to comment because of sub judice hearings but they contend  Hosier violated a policy banning clothing such as rosary beads, which are sometimes worn as gang symbols.

The American Center for Law and Justice to file a lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court arguing that Raymond’s suspension violated his rights to free religion.

The matter begs an awful question and precedent – just because some in society choose to defile a symbol that many hold dear – should all be banned because of the few? We say NEVER. Quite apart from the religious significance democracy cannot work like that – if a few can subvert the rights of many.

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The Rosary Prayers

The rosary beads comprise decades of beads.

Each decade reflects on one rosary mystery.

The decades are separated by a single large bead, and on each bead one of the rosary prayers are said.

Before each decade is said the our father – the prayer instituted by Christ himself in Matthew 6:9

And without wanting to argue about differences in versions over history it is:

Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.

Later anglican versions include

For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever

Which is also the pater noster of latin canon and liturgy.

Pater noster, qui es in caelis:
sanctificetur Nomen Tuum;
adveniat Regnum Tuum;
fiat voluntas Tua,
sicut in caelo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie;
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
Sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
et ne nos inducas in tentationem;
sed libera nos a Malo

On each of the ten rosary beads in each decade  of the catholic rosary is said the Hail Mary. Whilst “hail full of grace” dates back to gospel times the prayer as a whole is not formed as a complete entity in the form it is known till perhaps 1000 AD

Hail Mary full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,

Then the request for intercession.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners.Now and at the hour of our death.

Finally in the catholic rosary the last of the prayers is the Gloria – in Latin and English.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

As it was in the beginning, both now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Each Decade is often also completed by the fatima prayer, and the rosary completed with completion prayers – each dealt with in a separate post.

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The Luminous Mysteries

The luminous mysteries were not part of the rosary till the last century, but now the rosary seems incomplete without them.

Whilst the first three mysteries celebrate the birth death and resurrection, the key events needed for salvation history. They omit the life as told in the series of mystical events that make up the luminous mysteries which are:

The Luminous Mysteries

The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Reminding of the need to be born again.

The Wedding at Cana. A miracle reminding of the power of faith.
The  Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Reminding of the purpose of the ministry and the nature of the kingdom.

The Transfiguration. Reminding of the unification of salvation history throughout the ages leading up to the ultimate sacrifice

The Institution of the Eucharist. Reminding of the command, the body and the blood, instituting the new covenant.

The luminous mysteries remind of the living christ.

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