I didn't know that...
Which is why dimocrats live so long:
"It's all about sex. It's all about sex. It's all about sex."
Theologians have traced the origin of the Rosary back to the Ninth century, and a form of prayer that evolved in the monasteries of the early Irish church. Prayer and labor filled the days of the Irish monks, and one of the most important forms of monastic prayer was the daily chanting of the 150 psalms of David. Lay people around the monastery would hear the psalms every day as they were sung or recited, and the beauty of this form of prayer intrigued them. They yearned to join in, but the psalms were too long to memorize, copies could not be found since printing was rare, and few knew how to read Latin anyway. The lay people were however, determined to adapt this prayer form for their own use.
Sometime around 800 AD, the people's desire to participate led to their reciting The Lord's Prayer in response to every psalm recited by the monks. As this form of devotion became popular, people began to carry leather pouches of 150 pebbles, in order that they might keep count of their daily prayers when they were not in hearing distance of the monastery. A thin rope with 150 knots became less of a burden and soon replaced the bag of stones. The Celtic infatuation with the number three, soon saw the prayer rope evolve into a rope of 50 knots to be said three times, and this became an accepted standard.
When the Irish missionary monks began to travel and evangelize Europe, this form of devotion was brought with them. In some areas, clergy and lay people began to recite the Angelic Salutation which makes up the first part of the Hail Mary in response to the psalms. St. Peter Damien, who died in 1072, was the first to mention this form of prayer, the popularity of which led to the daily recitation of 50 Angelic Salutations on a knotted or beaded prayer string.
During the 13th century, the recitation evolved into yet another form. Medieval theologians began to interpret the 150 psalms as veiled prophesies about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and they composed a series of psalters, or praises, based on each interpretation. Soon 150 psalters in honor of Mary were also composed. In order to fit the existing prayer string, the psalters were divided into three "rosariums" or bouquets of 50 each. This was the form that St. Dominic knew, and promoted.
With the Church's emphasis on unity, it was inevitable that a planned combination of all the prayer forms was prescribed as a standard. The first step toward that standard took place about 1365 when Henry of Kalkar, Visitator of the Carthusian Order, divided the 150 salutations into decades of 10, with an Our Father preceding each. Around 1409, another Carthusian named Dominic the Prussian, wrote a book which attached a psalter of 50 thoughts, about the lives of Jesus and Mary, to a Rosarium of 50 Hail Marys. The division of the 50 Hail Marys into five groups of ten, or decades, with an Our Father before each, gave the modern Rosary its form, yet the evolution was not over.
by Brian J. Kopp, DPM
12/4/98
As a physician, I must applaud any local efforts to prevent heart disease and strokes. Windber Hospital's participation in Dr. Dean Ornish's program to reverse heart disease and prevent surgery as well as the $2.5 million grant both sound promising. However, I find certain aspects of this story disturbing.
An integral part of the program is yoga and meditation. Webster's Dictionary defines yoga as a "system of Hindu philosophy; strict spiritual discipline practiced to gain control over forces of one's own being, to gain occult powers, but chiefly to attain union with the Deity or Universal Spirit." To meditate is, according to Webster's, "to consider thoughtfully; to intend; to ponder, esp. on religious matters." (Vegetarianism accompanies the religious aspects of yoga; one would not want to eat a reincarnation of a dead relative.)
Spending tax dollars on prevention of heart disease is a worthy pursuit. Spending tax dollars on a program that openly advances adherence to a religious practice/belief system seems a violation of the often sited "separation of Church and state." Where is the ACLU to bemoan such a violation of this separation?
Oh, I forgot. Today the only "Church" we're actively trying to "separate" from the state is one that maintains traditional judeo-Christian values. If I formulated a program to prevent heart disease based on daily mass and rosary, or daily bible readings and a personal relationship with Jesus, can anyone honestly say I could get a $2.5 million federal grant? But Eastern "New Age" religion, including Hinduism and yoga, is in vogue. Its politically correct and the vegetarianism it espouses is "earth friendly." Hinduism's Kama Sutra seems much more appropriate for our modern sensibilities than the strict moral code the Decalogue imposes on us.
The greatest "sin" today is to cause harm to the physical body or earth itself. Salvation would therefore seem to come not from those old "thou shalt nots" of western judeo-Christian heritage but the "thou shalt not eat hamburgers, harm the environment, or impugn the hedonistic pursuits" of Yoga, vegetarianism, and Eastern New Age religion. That will stop global warming, save $30,000 per person per year for the health insurance companies, and it feels good too! (If someone's HMO enrolls him in this program and subsequently catches him "sinning" by frequenting the 'burger joint and failing to master the yoga techniques, will they refuse him a heart bypass because of his "fall from grace?")
By all means, go to Windber and get your heart healthy. Hopefully you won't save your physical heart at the expense of losing your eternal soul.
Definitions from Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries, copyright 1970.
But, on the other hand, don't psychos and lone nuts often have phrases that they repeat over and over again? I mean, if you sit on a bus next to some thuggish looking loser, and he (or she) is muttering over and over, "I'm gonna kill that sucka. I'm gonna kill that sucka. I'm gonna kill that sucka." You don't think, "Hmmm, they're calm and relaxed and at peace with the world..."
Mark W.
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions...." Matt. 6
"...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men. You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men." Mark 7
Mantras, and the rosary are a mechanical way to quiet distractions. But so is quietly sitting with a Bible in front of you, reading and pondering a verse or a story, letting the words into our heart. FOr that matter, pumping iron, jogging, or knitting lets us quiet distractions to get into our inner selves. (I frequently play piano for this).
The state of quiet is good for the body, since it quiets stress.
Spiritually, however, these things are a world apart. If one merely says "mantras" or "the rosary (i.e. words only)" or rushes through bible verses, they are merely words. They relax, but we only find ourselves. We may as well knit, for then we'd have an afghan afterward. There is a danger that pure "relaxation" leads only to egotism/pride.
However, if we are searching for the Lord in our hearts, being quiet in the presence of God and listening to his word will be the aim. So we can pray the rosary, or knit, or cook and find his presence.(see Brother Lawrence book practicing the presence of God).
There are some other prayers in the Rosary, too. Plus it's supposed to be a meditation on the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. My heart sure isn't relaxed when meditating upon the Sorrowful Mysteries.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen
Apostles' Creed:
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.
The Our Father:
PATER NOSTER, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum 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. Amen.
The Hail Mary:
AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Glory Be:
GLORIA PATRI, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Oratio Fatimae (The Fatima Prayer)
Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent.
Hail Holy Queen
SALVE REGINA, Mater misericordiae. Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.
V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus:
(O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life ...)
Deus, cujus Unigenitus per vitam mortem et resurrectionem suam nobis salutis aeterne praemia comparavit: concede, quaesumus; ut, haec mysteria sanctissimo beatae Mariae Virginis Rosario recolentes, et imitemur quor continent, et quod promittunt, assequamur. Per eumdem Dominum. Amen.