Posted on 12/22/2002 1:05:12 PM PST by Scupoli
The Rosary consists of the Apostle's Creed, which is a statement of Christian belief, the Lord's prayer, which was uttered by Jesus in Luke 11:2-4, the Glory Be, which is a prayer that glorifies the Trinity, the Hail Mary, and the Mysteries.
The Hail Mary and the Mysteries are probably the two parts that are the most misunderstood by non-Catholics. However, they are both very scriptural. In Psalm 143:5 we read, "I remember the days of old, I meditate on all that thou hast done, I muse on what thy hands have wrought." Thirteen of the fifteen Mysteries are meditations on the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ.
As for the Hail Mary, we begin by recognizing the uniqueness of Mary: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." In doing this we are not exaggerating, as we use the words of God as spoken by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:28. Next we utter the first recorded words of praise for Jesus in the New Testament. They come from Luke 1:42. Mary has gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Upon her arrival, Elizabeth proclaims, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" (Jesus). Finally we ask Mary's intercession. In short, we address Mary as God does, we praise Jesus, and we ask Mary to pray for and with us.
That those in heaven are connected to us is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 12:26: "If one member suffers, all suffer together; If one member is honored, all rejoice together." And in Romans 12:5: "So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Does Jesus have one body in heaven and one body on earth? Of course not, and that is why 1 Timothy 2:1 applies to all members of the body, "That supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men."
Consider Revelation 5:8 where heavenly intercession is spoken of: "The four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." The word "saints" refers to believers. In Revelation 8:3-4 we see the same thing, "Another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." So the prayers of the saints are identified as incense, and an angel is adding incense (his prayers) to that which the saints have offered and then he offers it all up to God.
In 2 Maccabees 4:34 Onias the High Priest is murdered. Later, in 15:11-16, we are told that he appeared in a vision to Judas Maccabeus along with the prophet Jeremiah, who had died centuries earlier. In verse 14 we learn that the saints in heaven can and do pray for those of us still on earth. "And Onias spoke, saying, 'This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah the prophet of God.'"
Because the Rosary is repetitious, Matthew 6:7 is often used in an attempt to refute it. The KJV words it this way: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Jesus did not condemn repetition-He condemned vain repetition. "Praise God" or "Amen" can be vain repetition if not said from the heart. Was Paul wrong in telling the Ephesians to "Address one another [in] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (5:19)? Are we to believe that psalms can only be recited once and that songs can only be sung once? Did God violate his own principals in Psalm 150, when in a short span of six verses we read "praise the Lord," "praise God" or "praise him" thirteen times (150:1-6)? Of course not! Look at verses 5-6 of Matthew 6. Here Jesus seems to be condemning praying aloud in public. However, a close examination reveals that He is not condemning public prayer but hypocritical public prayer. Likewise, in verse 7, He does not condemn repetitious prayer but hypocritical repetitious prayer.
THE ANGELICAL SALUTATION
Hail, Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Next in beauty to the Lord's Prayer comes this prayer. It is made up of three parts:
"Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women:"
was composed by the angel Gabriel, for these are the words he used when he came to tell the Blessed Virgin that she was selected to be the Mother of God (Luke 1:28). All her people knew that the Redeemer promised from the time of Eve down to the time of the Blessed Virgin was now to be born, and many good women were anxious to be His mother, and they believed the one who would be selected the most blessed and happy of all women.
"The Lord is with thee:"
by His grace and favor, since you are the one He loves best. He is with all His creatures, but He is with you in a very special manner.
After the visit of the angel, the Blessed Virgin went a good distance to visit her cousin, St. Elizabeth, who was the mother of St. John the Baptist (Luke 1:39). When St. Elizabeth saw her, she, without being told by the Blessed Virgin what the angel had done, knew by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost what had taken place, and said to the Blessed Virgin:
"Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb:"
That is "blessed" because, of all the women that have ever lived or ever shall live, you are the one selected by God to be the mother of His Son and Our Redeemer, and blessed is that Son Himself This is the second part of the prayer. The third part, from "Holy Mary" to the end, was composed by the Church.
"Hail:"
This was the word used by the people of that country in saluting one another when they met. We say when meeting anyone we know, "Good day," or "How do you do?" or some such familiar expression used by all in salutation. So these people, instead of saying, "Good day," etc., said "Hail" i.e., I wish you health, I greet you, etc. The angel did not say "Mary," because she was the only one present to address.
"Full of grace:"
When anything is full it has no room for more. God's grace and sin cannot exist in the same place. Therefore when the Blessed Virgin was full of grace, there was no room for sin. So she was without any sin and gifted with every virtue.
"Holy Mary:"
because one full of grace must be holy.
"Mother of God:"
because her Son was true God and true man in the one person of Christ, Our Lord.
"Pray for us:"
because she has more power with her Son than all the other saints.
"Sinners:"
and therefore we need forgiveness.
"At the hour of our death:"
especially, because that is the most important time for us. No matter how bad we have been during our lives, if God gives us the grace to die in His friendship, we shall be His friends forever. On the other hand, no matter how good we may have been for a part of our lives, if we become bad before death, and die in that state, we shall be separated from God forever, and be condemned to eternal punishment. It would be wrong, therefore, to live in sin, with a promise that we shall die well, for God may not give us the grace or opportunity to repent, and we may die in sin if we have lived in sin. Besides this, the devil knows how much depends upon the state in which we die, and so he perhaps will tempt us more at death than at any other time; for if we yield to him and die in sin, we shall be with him forever-it is his last chance to secure our souls. Besides the Hail Mary there is another beautiful prayer on the same subject, called the Angelus. It is a little history of the Incarnation, and is said morning, noon, and evening in honor of Our Lord's Incarnation, death, and resurrection. It is made up of three parts. The first part tells what the angel did, viz.: "The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost" After saying these words, we say one Hail Mary in honor of the angel's message. The second part tells what Mary answered, viz.: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word." We say another Hail Mary in honor of Mary's consent. The third part tells how Our Lord became Man, viz.: "And the Word was made flesh. And dwelt among us." The "Word" means here the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity; and "made flesh" means, became man. Then another Hail Mary is said in honor of Our Lord's goodness in humbling Himself so much for our sake. After these three parts we say: "Pray for us, 0 Holy Mother of God! that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ"; and, finally, we say a prayer in honor of Our Lord's Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection. This beautiful prayer is said three times a day in all seminaries, convents, and religious houses. The time for saying it is made known by the ringing of a bell called the "Angelus bell." In many parishes the church bell rings out the Angelus. In Catholic countries the people stop wherever they are and whatever they are doing, and bowing their heads, say the Angelus when they hear its bell. It is a beautiful practice and one most pleasing to our Blessed Lord and His holy Mother. Good Catholics should not neglect it.
I might mention here another kind of prayer often said in honor of our blessed Mother. It is the Litany. In this form of prayer we call Our Lady many beautiful names which we know are most dear to her, asking her after each one to pray for us. We address her first by names reminding her that she is the Mother of God and has therefore great influence with her divine Son. We say: Mother of Christ, Mother of Our Creator, Mother of Our Redeemer, etc., pray for us. Next we remind her that she is a virgin and should take pity on us who are exposed to so many temptations against holy purity. We call her virgin most pure, virgin most chaste, etc., and again ask her to pray for us. Lastly we call her all those names that could induce her to hear us. We say: health of the weak, refuge of sinners, help of Christians, pray for us.
In addition to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, we have the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, the Litany of the Blessed Sacrament, the Litany of the Sacred Heart, the Litany of St. Joseph, and many others-all made up in the same form. We have also the Litany of all the Saints, in which we beg the help and prayers of the different classes of saints--the Apostles, martyrs, virgins, etc.
Someone else wrote:
What seems to you to be rote is actually a rhythmic means of focusing one's contemplation. This is what the Rosary does--it frees the mind to meditate--or contemplate.
I replied:
What you are describing sounds like a "mantra". And yes, I know what it is to recite the rosary since I did it for about 30 years. Not knowing your age or experience,let me take us back to pre-Vatican days to get a flavor of the rosary that I was taught.
Citations from "Our Faith and the Facts" Imprimatur: George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, March 2, 1925.
Questions and answers:
Q. Can a person who says his rosary in the car gain all the indulgences without touching the beads, by simply carrying them in his pocket?
A. No.
Q. Are indulgences lost if several beads of the rosary are lost, or the cross?
A. The indulgences are on the beads; (emphasis added) when several beads are lost, it is allowed to put new ones in their place without affecting the indulgences.
Q. If a friend uses my beads, must they be blessed again for me?
A. Your friend gains no indulgences from your beads. If used without your permission, the beads retain the blessing for you. If you lent them to have your friend gain the indulgences, all the indulgences ceased. If lent merely to oblige a friend, the beads retain all indulgences.
Q. If I put a new crucifix on my rosary, does that affect the indulgences?
A. No. The blessing for the indulgences is attached to the beads.
So, please forgive me if I am skeptical of the rosary, but perhaps we have different views, developed by a different Church. I come out of a time of Catholic training where superstition ruled and the Scapular, Rosary and Medals were not much more than magic charms, and when you add the concept of it being a "mantra", I only become more concerned about the nature and history of the rosary. This is part of the reason that I am suspicious of those who return the Church to Pre-Vatican times. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is completely and utterly untrue. I am a lifelong Catholic and I have never been taught any of the things you claim. These devotions have never been "magic charms" as you say. That is insulting. Your claims come straight out of a Protestant playbook. They are simply untrue.
Superstition is ritual (tradition) which has forgotten its meaning. Informed Catholics know the meaning of their practices.
"Another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." So the prayers of the saints are identified as incense, and an angel is adding incense (his prayers) to that which the saints have offered and then he offers it all up to God. reference to:
Kind of repudiates the statements from those Neo-Cath's that said the "smoke and bells" of the Tridentine Mass were pompous fluff.
The book is a 718 page work on the Faith of the Catholic Church with history, beliefs and a section designed to aid Catholics in answering questions posed by non Catholics about the faith. To that end, is an extensive Q&A section on various aspects of the religion, which I have quoted here in part.
Perhaps you haven't heard these things before, but it was the official teaching of the Church in pre-Vatican days, and accurately reflects the horrors that many of us experienced and rebelled against.
Citations from "Our Faith and the Facts" Imprimatur: George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, March 2, 1925.
Questions and answers:
Q. Can a person who says his rosary in the car gain all the indulgences without touching the beads, by simply carrying them in his pocket?
A. No.
The car was still a relatively recent invention in 1925. Most people didn't have cars to say their rosaries in. No one would have thought to ask a question like that at that time. Nice try though, a twist on the dates for the traditionalists' benefit. I almost didn't catch that. Who was the source on that, Jack Chick?
Congratulations Detective Scupoli, however, the "cars" referred to here are the trolley and subway cars. Please try again.
and found in Revelations no less:-))
LOL! You are a creative one. Quit while you're behind. You can't save this one.
It was exactly the above type of posted answers on the rosary,etc., that gave the Protestants so much effective ammunition against us.
It was exactly the above type of posted answers on the rosary,etc., that gave the Protestants so much effective ammunition against us.
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