Origins of the Rosary - from www.catholic-truth.org

Origins of the Rosary - from www.catholic-truth.org

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the catholic church is the
rosary.

Even many Catholics are fuzzy and vague when they give answers about
this beautiful form of prayer and meditation. Many Catholics think
that St. Dominic had an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Marry and
*poof* the rosary was invented. This simply is not the case. Although
many children are told this story, it is not entirely correct, and is
lacking tons of detail as to where the rosary truly originated.

Ever since the finalization of the cannon of scripture, popes,
cardinals, bishops, monks, priests and deacons all had a form of
praying that included scripture. The church took (and still takes)
Jesus' command within scripture to "Pray constantly" very seriously.
The practice of using scripture, song, and prayer together as one is
as old as the Old Testament in scripture. The Israelites used what is
documented within the book of Psalms as not only songs of worship but
as forms of prayer. If you read Psalms, you will find that many
different conditions exist with each chapter. We find songs of
thanksgiving, songs of sorrow, songs of request, and even songs of
repentance. In order to incorporate this into the daily life of the
religious, a system was developed for praying all 150 psalms
very early within the church. A typical monk or religious' schedule
included the following:

1) Morning prayer (Recital of the first 50 Psalms) / Mass (Called
Lauds in modern speech)
2) Morning work
3) Noon prayer (Recital of the second 50 Psalms) / Lunch
4) Afternoon work
5) Evening prayer (Recital of the third 50 Psalms) / Dinner (Called
Vespers in modern speech)
6) Night prayer (Private prayer and meditation) / Sleep (Called
Compline in modern speech)

For the full article read:
http://www.catholic-truth.org/Essays/rosary.htm

- Forwarded by Cecil Pinto - courtesy: The Goan Forum
www.thegoanforum.com - Wed Oct 16, 2002