An Apologetical Explanation of the

Rosary

How did the Rosary develop, and is it a scriptural prayer?

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”  (Lk 1:28)

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”  (Lk 1:42)

“Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.”  (Lk 1:48)

Rooted firmly in Christian tradition, the private devotion known as the Holy Rosary comprises prayers and meditations on an entire series of events in the lives of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary that are explicit or implicit in Scripture.

The Rosary is one of the most recognized Catholic symbols.  The Dominican Order helped to popularize devotion to the Rosary.  It had long been the practice of people in the consecrated life to recite the 150 Psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, but many of the faithful who were illiterate began the practice of reciting 150 Our Fathers (cf. Mt 6:9-13) to substitute for the Psalms.  As devotion to Our Lady increased, some of the Our Fathers were changed to Hail Marys.  Later, a meditation on the life of Christ accompanied the recitation of the prayers.  The Rosary became a wonderful tool of faith and prayer, a simple means for people to pray throughout the day and to meditate on the events of our salvation in the life of Christ.  (Cf. CCC 2678)

Although the Holy Rosary is associated with most closely the Blessed Virgin Mary and is indeed a Marian devotion, it points us directly to Christ.  The Rosary is sometimes called the “epitome of the whole Gospel” because its meditations call to mind the key events and truths of the Gospel message.  (Cf. CCC 971)

The Holy Rosary is a form of meditative prayer.  It is among the forms of piety and popular devotion that extend the liturgical life of the Church.  (Cf. CCC 1674-1675)

The meditations of the Holy Rosary and correlating passages of Scripture are as follows:

  • The Joyful Mysteries   (Mondays & Saturdays)
  • The Sorrowful Mysteries  (Tuesdays & Fridays)
  • The Luminous Mysteries  (Thursdays)
    • The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan  (Mk 1:9-11)
    • The Manifestation of Christ at the Wedding of Cana  (Jn 2:1-12)
    • The Proclamation of the Kingdom of god, with His Call to Conversion  (Mk 1:14-15)
    • The Transfiguration  (Mt 17:1-8)
    • The Institution of the Eucharist  (Mk 14:22-26)
  • The Glorious Mysteries  (Wednesdays & Sundays)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 2708.

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