Hi,

Could someone help me understand the roots of the Rosary? I know that early monks had ropes with 150 beads to count the Psalms, and this may have been a root. Could someone also explain to me the (if any) Scriptural roots of this, as well as defense against the argument that the rosary is the "mindless repetetion" as mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures? Thanks so much

-- Andrew Staupe (stau0085@umn.edu), July 10, 2004

Answers

bump!

-- (stau0085@umn.edu), July 10, 2004.

Andy,

Google on Saint Louis de Montfort.

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 11, 2004.

A few thoughts:

“Scriptural roots”: The Acts of the Apostles says the disciples were “continually in the temple praising God" . You can’t pray “continually” without repetition and you can’t pray as a group without using standard prayers.

“Repetition” does not mean “mindless repetition”. I defy anyone to recite a prayer 150 times without thinking about what the words of that prayer mean. The rosary is NOT like the Buddhist prayer wheels where they just write a prayer on a paper attached to a little wheel and spin the wheel around without actually saying the prayer. And repeating words over and over actually helps you to focus on the mysteries you are contemplating.

I understand the “roots” of the rosary go back to early eastern Christian monks. See http://www.prayrosary.com/rosaryscapular/history.php3

-- Steve (55555@aol.com), July 13, 2004.

Any prayer said mindlessly and repetitively is mindless repetition. However, the rosary, said properly, is a meditation on the life of Christ, which clearly involves active participation of the mind, and which is something we should do not only repetitively, but continuously.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 13, 2004.

After doing the Google, go to the New Advent entry and click on the New Advent link to "Rosary". That will answer most of your questions.

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 14, 2004.

I think this is the link to which Pat referred: The Rosary.

-- (probably@pats.link), July 14, 2004.