The Rosary

Spirituality

A. How to pray the Rosary better?

1. Before beginning

Find an appropriate time and place. If prayed in a church, in family, or with others, a plenary indulgence may be obtained, with the usual conditions. In other cases, the indulgence will be partial.
Set an intention. For example, pray it in thanksgiving or to obtain help from Our Lady. One may pray for that intention several times throughout the Hail Marys.

2. While praying the Hail Marys

There are several possibilities:

Contemplate the mystery of the Lord's life that is announced at the beginning.
Imagine that one is praying it in the company of the Pope or a saint.
Imagine that one is singing a song to Our Lady and repeating the refrain.
Emphasize a particular word of the Hail Mary (sometimes one, sometimes another). For example: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among 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.

B. History of the Rosary

Formation of the Rosary. The Dominicans.

12th century Although the custom of repeating Hail Marys in varying numbers already existed, it was in the 12th century that the number was fixed at 150, corresponding to the 150 Psalms, to accompany lay brothers while monastics recited the Psalms of the Divine Office. In the 13th century, the Cistercians organized these into three groups of 50 Hail Marys.

13th century Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic de Guzmán, gave him the Rosary, and urged him to preach and propagate it throughout the world. Saint Dominic fulfilled this commission “with the most refined faith in the devotion of the holy Rosary, which he was the first to propagate, and which personally and through his sons he carried to the four corners of the world” (Leo XIII, Supremi apostolatus).

14th century The Carthusians interspersed the Our Father between decades and meditated upon different moments in the life of our Lord. They also added the Holy Name of “Jesus” to the Hail Mary.

15th century

Blessed Alanus de Rupe (1428–1475), a Dominican friar, unified the elements of the Rosary and gave it its definitive structure. He established the naming of the fifteen mysteries and founded the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary. Other Dominican friars collaborated actively.
During these decades the litanies were added and the Hail Mary was completed with its concluding petition: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners...”. This gives rise to a curious paradox: it is historically accurate to state that the Rosary existed before the complete text of the Hail Mary was finalized.
Popes officially approved the Rosary (Sixtus IV in 1479) and enriched it with generous indulgences (Innocent VIII in 1485, Papal Bull Sacer Praedicatorum Ordo).

16th century. Expansion. Lepanto.

- Rosary Confraternities spread rapidly everywhere, with members undertaking the primary duty of praying the Rosary devoutly.

- The Dominican friars preached and propagated the Rosary across newly discovered America, where it quickly acquired immense popular devotion.

- 1569. Pope Saint Pius V, in the Papal Bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices, officially established the uniform method of praying the Rosary that has endured to the present day.

- 1571 (October 7). In the Mediterranean, Ottoman Turkish fleets threatened Christian civilizations, plundering coastal cities, killing, and taking thousands into captivity. To meet this mortal danger, a Christian fleet was assembled that confronted the vastly larger Turkish armada in the Gulf of Lepanto. This historic naval victory brought immense relief to Christendom, with the victory universally attributed to the heavenly intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked everywhere through the recitation of the Rosary. Pope Saint Pius V himself was participating in a Rosary procession in Rome for this intention when he was miraculously granted vision and knowledge of the victory. Afterwards, he added the title “Help of Christians” to the Litany of Loreto and instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, later renamed the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. From that moment, devotion to the Holy Rosary spread with even greater fervor across the entire world.

Later initiatives surrounding the Rosary.

17th century. 1629. The Perpetual Rosary appeared. The Dominican Timoteo Ricci distributed 8,760 cards — as many as the hours in a year — among those who agreed to dedicate one hour per year to praying the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. In 1858, a monthly hour was proposed.

18th century. The popular Rosary procession at dawn was born.

19th century. The Living Rosary spread: groups of fifteen people formed, each committing to pray one mystery of the Rosary daily. In this way each group prays the complete Rosary day by day.

20th century. During the Second World War, the Rosary Crusade arose. In the USA (Father Peyton), the famous motto was born: "The family that prays together stays together."

19th–20th centuries. Pray the Rosary!

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Rosary was part of the daily life of the Catholic. It was rightly thought that Christianity calls for devotion to Our Lady, and love for the Virgin implies praying the Rosary. Years later, several events invited greater recourse to it.

1858 (February 11). Lourdes. Our Lady appeared with the Rosary in her hands and told Bernadette to pray it. "The Most Blessed Virgin herself especially recommended this manner of prayer when she appeared and taught it to the simple young girl at the grotto of Lourdes" (Pius XI, Ingravescentibus malis, 16).

1883. Leo XIII declared October the month of the Rosary. 1884. Leo XIII's second encyclical inviting the faithful to pray the Rosary. 1889. Leo XIII's third encyclical insisting on the Rosary.

1891–1898. An encyclical is the highest-ranking document written by Popes. And we already have three encyclicals on the Rosary. Anyone might think the matter is already clear. But the Pope needs the prayers of Christians and insists on the praying of the Rosary, dedicating eight more encyclicals to it year after year: 1891–92–93–94–95–96–97 and 1898. For eight consecutive years Pope Leo XIII recommended the Rosary to Catholics. He dedicated 11 encyclicals to it (apart from 11 other documents of lesser rank in which the Rosary is also the central topic).

As a result, at the beginning of the 20th century no one doubted that a good Christian prays the Rosary. Yet heaven thought it fitting to insist further, and Our Lady intervened again.

1917 (May 13). Fatima. Our Lady appeared to three Portuguese children (Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia) and summoned them on the 13th of each month until October, when she performed a great miracle before 70,000 people. In these apparitions she spoke to the children of various matters: peace, penance, conversion, reparation, etc. And Mary introduced herself as follows: "I am the Lady of the Rosary" (6th apparition), and in each of the apparitions she encouraged the children to pray the Rosary. Leo XIII had recommended the Rosary with annual insistence. Our Lady recalled it monthly.

1883 Leo XIII declares October as the month of the Rosary.

1884 Second encyclical of Leo XIII encouraging the recitation of the Rosary.

1889 Third encyclical of Leo XIII urging the prayer of the Rosary.

1891–1898 An encyclical is the highest category of document issued by the Popes. Having already written three encyclicals on the Rosary, one might think the message was clear. Yet the Pope needs the prayers of Christians and continued his insistence by dedicating eight more encyclicals year after year: 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, and 1898. For eight consecutive years, Pope Leo XIII urged Catholics to pray the Rosary, dedicating a total of 11 encyclicals to it (in addition to 11 other papal documents centered on the Rosary).

Beginning of the 20th century Consequently, by the dawn of the 20th century, no one doubted that a faithful Christian prays the Rosary. Nonetheless, in heaven it was deemed fitting to insist even further, and Our Lady intervened directly.

1917 (May 13). Fatima Our Lady appeared to three Portuguese children (Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia), meeting them on the 13th of each month until October, when she performed the Great Miracle before 70,000 people. In these apparitions she spoke of peace, penance, conversion, and reparation. Mary revealed her name: "I am the Lady of the Rosary" (6th apparition), and in every single apparition urged the children to pray the Rosary. Leo XIII had recommended the Rosary with yearly insistence; Our Lady reminded us of it every month.

20th and 21st centuries

This repeated insistence was not enough. As the 20th century advanced, a severe crisis spread through the Church and through Marian devotion. For example, the decade 1964–1974 has been called "the decade without Mary" (a terrible situation). And without God, since this devotion was not replaced by any other.

21st century. John Paul II wrote the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. There:

A year dedicated to the Rosary was declared (October 2002 – October 2003).
Fifty additional Hail Marys were proposed: the Luminous Mysteries, completing the evangelical journey made when praying the Rosary.