What is the meaning behind rosary beads. How are rosary beads used in prayer. What do the different parts of a rosary represent. Why is the rosary important in Catholic faith. How can one properly pray the rosary.

The Symbolic Significance of Rosary Beads

Rosary beads hold profound spiritual meaning in the Roman Catholic tradition. These prayer beads serve as a tangible guide for meditation and prayer, focusing on the life of Jesus Christ while invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each bead represents a specific prayer, creating a structured approach to devotion that has been cherished for centuries.

The rosary is more than just a religious artifact; it’s a sacred object believed to offer continuous prayer to God through Mary’s intercession when present in a home. This belief underscores the importance of treating the rosary with reverence and care.

The Structure of a Rosary

A typical rosary consists of several key components:

• The cross: Symbolizes the foundation of Christian faith
• Individual beads: Represent specific prayers
• Sets of consecutive beads: Form the decades for meditation
• Spacers: Separate the decades and guide the user through the prayer cycle

Understanding this structure is crucial for properly using the rosary in prayer and meditation.

The Four Mysteries of the Rosary

The rosary is divided into four sets of mysteries, each focusing on different aspects of Jesus Christ’s life:

1. Glorious Mysteries: Prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays
2. Luminous Mysteries: Reserved for Thursdays
3. Joyful Mysteries: Recited on Mondays and Saturdays
4. Sorrowful Mysteries: Observed on Tuesdays and Fridays

These mysteries provide a framework for contemplation, allowing the faithful to reflect deeply on key events in Christian theology throughout the week.

The Proper Method of Praying the Rosary

Praying the rosary involves a specific sequence of prayers and reflections. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Begin by kissing the cross and making the sign of the cross
2. Recite the Apostle’s Creed while holding the cross
3. On the first individual bead, pray one Our Father
4. On the next three beads, recite three Hail Marys
5. State the mystery being meditated upon and any special intentions
6. For each decade (set of ten beads), pray one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be, and one O My Jesus
7. Repeat the process for all five decades
8. Conclude with a Marian prayer, such as Hail, Holy Queen or the Memorare of St. Bernard
9. Finish by kissing the cross and making the sign of the cross

This structured approach to prayer helps maintain focus and promotes a deeper spiritual connection.

The Spiritual Benefits of Praying the Rosary

Regular recitation of the rosary offers numerous spiritual benefits to the faithful:

• Deepens one’s relationship with Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Provides a structured method for meditation and contemplation
• Offers comfort and solace during times of distress
• Strengthens faith and devotion
• Promotes inner peace and spiritual growth

Many Catholics find that incorporating the rosary into their daily spiritual practice enhances their overall religious experience and brings them closer to God.

The Historical Significance of the Rosary

The rosary has a rich history within the Catholic Church, dating back centuries. According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary herself gifted the rosary to humanity as a powerful tool for prayer and meditation. Over time, it has become deeply ingrained in Catholic culture and practice.

Throughout history, the rosary has played a significant role in various Catholic devotions and has been associated with numerous reported miracles and apparitions. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its perceived spiritual efficacy and the comfort it brings to millions of believers worldwide.

Evolution of the Rosary

While the core structure of the rosary has remained relatively consistent, there have been some notable developments:

• The addition of the Luminous Mysteries by Pope John Paul II in 2002
• The creation of smaller, wearable rosaries for convenience
• The incorporation of different materials and designs to suit various preferences

These adaptations have helped keep the rosary relevant and accessible to modern practitioners while maintaining its essential spiritual purpose.

Understanding the Prayers of the Rosary

The rosary incorporates several key prayers that are repeated throughout the devotion. Understanding these prayers is crucial for fully engaging with the rosary:

The Our Father

Also known as the Lord’s Prayer, this prayer was taught by Jesus to his disciples and is considered the model of all Christian prayer.

The Hail Mary

This prayer combines biblical verses with a petition for Mary’s intercession. It forms the bulk of the rosary, repeated 53 times in a full rosary.

The Glory Be

A short doxology that praises the Holy Trinity, recited at the end of each decade.

The O My Jesus

Also known as the Fatima Prayer, this short prayer asks for forgiveness and salvation.

By understanding and internalizing these prayers, practitioners can deepen their engagement with the rosary and enhance their spiritual experience.

The Role of Meditation in Praying the Rosary

While the verbal recitation of prayers is a significant aspect of the rosary, equally important is the mental reflection on the mysteries. This meditative component sets the rosary apart from simple rote prayer and elevates it to a profound spiritual exercise.

During each decade, the faithful are encouraged to contemplate specific events in the life of Jesus Christ. This contemplation serves multiple purposes:

• Deepens understanding of Christian theology
• Fosters a personal connection with Jesus and Mary
• Provides insights into how to apply Christian teachings to daily life
• Promotes mindfulness and present-moment awareness

The combination of verbal prayer and mental reflection creates a holistic spiritual practice that engages both the mind and the heart.

Techniques for Effective Meditation

To enhance the meditative aspect of praying the rosary, consider these techniques:

1. Visualize the mystery being contemplated
2. Reflect on how the mystery relates to your personal life
3. Focus on a particular virtue exemplified in the mystery
4. Use sacred art or icons as visual aids for contemplation

By incorporating these techniques, practitioners can deepen their engagement with the rosary and derive greater spiritual benefit from the practice.

The Rosary as a Tool for Personal and Communal Prayer

The versatility of the rosary makes it suitable for both individual and group prayer. When prayed alone, it offers a chance for personal reflection and intimate communion with God. In a group setting, it fosters a sense of community and shared devotion.

Group recitation of the rosary often follows a call-and-response format, with a leader reciting the first part of each prayer and the group responding with the second part. This communal approach can be particularly powerful, creating a sense of unity and shared purpose among the faithful.

Adapting the Rosary for Different Contexts

The rosary can be adapted to suit various contexts and needs:

• Short rosaries for quick devotions
• Digital rosaries for the tech-savvy
• Rosary apps for smartphones
• Rosary groups that meet virtually

These adaptations demonstrate the rosary’s enduring relevance in an ever-changing world, allowing it to remain a central part of Catholic devotional life.

The Rosary’s Connection to Marian Devotion

While the rosary is fundamentally Christocentric, focusing on the life of Jesus, it is inextricably linked to Marian devotion. The Blessed Virgin Mary is seen as a powerful intercessor, and the rosary is considered her favorite prayer.

This connection to Mary serves several purposes:

• Emphasizes Mary’s role in salvation history
• Encourages emulation of Mary’s virtues
• Provides comfort through maternal intercession
• Strengthens the believer’s relationship with both Jesus and Mary

The rosary thus becomes a means of approaching Jesus through Mary, reflecting the Catholic belief in Mary’s unique role in bringing humanity closer to her son.

Marian Apparitions and the Rosary

Throughout history, there have been numerous reported Marian apparitions where the importance of the rosary was emphasized. Some notable examples include:

• Our Lady of Fatima (1917)
• Our Lady of Lourdes (1858)
• Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531)

These apparitions have often led to increased devotion to the rosary and have reinforced its significance in Catholic spiritual life.

The Rosary in Contemporary Catholic Practice

While deeply rooted in tradition, the rosary continues to play a vital role in contemporary Catholic practice. Many Catholics incorporate the rosary into their daily spiritual routines, finding it a source of comfort, guidance, and spiritual growth.

In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the rosary among younger Catholics, with many discovering its relevance to modern life. This resurgence has been supported by:

• Social media campaigns promoting the rosary
• Celebrity endorsements of rosary prayer
• Integration of the rosary into Catholic youth events
• Development of modern rosary resources and guides

These efforts have helped ensure that the rosary remains a vibrant and meaningful part of Catholic spirituality in the 21st century.

The Rosary in Ecumenical Dialogue

While primarily associated with Catholicism, the rosary has also found a place in ecumenical dialogue. Some Protestant denominations have adapted the rosary for their own use, recognizing its value as a tool for structured prayer and meditation.

This ecumenical interest in the rosary has led to:

• Interfaith prayer events centered around the rosary
• Discussions about shared Christian heritage
• Exploration of common ground in Marian devotion

These developments highlight the rosary’s potential to serve as a bridge between different Christian traditions, fostering unity and mutual understanding.

What Do The Beads on a Rosary Mean?

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What does it mean when someone gives you rosary beads? If you are curious about the rosary and what those clusters of beads represent, stick around and we will tell you all about them.

The first thing you have to know about the rosary (in the general context of the Christian faith) is that there is a special way to say the prayers, or the mysteries, depending on the day of the week.

The Glorious Mysteries of the rosary, for example, are meant to be prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Luminous mystery, on the other hand, is reserved only for Thursdays.

The Joyful mystery, on Mondays and Saturdays only, and then finally, the Sorrowful mystery is reserved for Tuesdays and Fridays. This has always been the tradition in using the rosary, which is essentially a type of prayer bead set similar to what other faiths use to help people keep track of their meditations and prayers.

Understanding the Parts of the Rosary

In Roman Catholic belief, the Blessed Virgin Mary has asked for the faithful to recite the rosary, which is a form of prayer that she gifted humanity centuries ago. The Blessed Virgin reiterates that the rosary remains her favorite expression of faith.

The rosary, despite its strong association with Mary, is focused on the life of Jesus Christ. Admittedly, the rosary requires a different approach to prayer because it has two components: the mental reflection on specific events in the life of Jesus Christ, and the verbal component, which is the repetition of the short enunciations that complete each decade in the rosary.

The rosary itself is a tool (or trinket) that helps people keep track of each part of the cycle of prayer.

Take note, however, that in Roman Catholicism, the rosary is considered a sacred object, and must be cared for as such. From the logic of faith, having a rosary at home means that your home is constantly offering a prayer to God with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.

A rosary is comprised of the central cross, followed by sets of beads that guide the faithful through each part of the cycle. There are individual beads, and then a series of consecutive beads with spacers.

A rosary can be split into three main parts based on the prayers: the introduction, the five decades, and then the conclusion. You can use the rosary from right to left or left to right, there is no wrong way to use it (directionally speaking).

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Praying the Rosary

Here are the basic steps in praying the rosary:

During the introduction, kiss the cross of the rosary and then make the sign of the cross. While holding the cross, recite the Apostle’s Creed. There will be four beads after the cross, a cluster of three beads and alone bead. Recite one Our Father prayer at the individual bead, followed by a series of three Hail Mary’s.

Take note that whenever you pray the rosary, you may state a special intention for the prayer. The intention can be spoken after stating the mystery being meditated upon.

Each group of mysteries represents five special events revolving around the life of the Divine Son. These five special events are then represented by the five decades of the rosary. Some smaller rosaries that can be worn around the wrist only have a cross and ten beads. If you lack a standard rosary, this type of rosary can be used as well.

When you’re ready, state the name of the mystery, followed by the intention for the rosary prayer at the time. At the individual bead (the one that comes before the ten beads), recite one Our Father.

Next, recite ten Hail Mary’s in full. During group prayer, the leader of the prayer says the first half of the Hail Mary and the rest of the faithful answer with the second half. After the tenth completed Hail Mary, recite one Glory Be, followed immediately by O My Jesus. Repeat the process four more times, until all five mysteries have been reflected upon, and you can go around the five decades of the rosary.

After reciting the five decades, proceed to a Marian prayer. Optionally, you can append another prayer, such as the prayer to the Holy Spirit, after the recitation of the Marian prayer.

In some countries, Hail, Holy Queen is considered an apt conclusion for the five decades, but in others, the faithful instead recite the Mamorare of St. Bernard. After the final prayer, kiss the cross once again and make the sign of the cross. You have just prayed an entire rosary.

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Reflecting on the Use of the Rosary

The faithful needs to know exactly why they’re praying the rosary in the first place. While there have been many, many variations to the original use of the rosary, the basic Roman Catholic tenet on its use is approaching Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin.

We can do this because the Son of God is mothered by the Blessed Virgin, and she has a special connection with the Holy Trinity, which is the foundation of the Roman Catholic faith.

The faithful are also able to return to Christ and pray this way because, through the redemption of the faithful, those who believe in the faith are automatically considered a part of Christ himself. It is only a matter of fully believing in Christ and making sure that we can practice the faith through our acts and deeds.

What makes the Blessed Virgin a natural conduit to Christ?

The Blessed Virgin has always been pure and free of sin. That’s why when we approach her through the rosary for example, she will be able to guide us to Christ and God immediately.

The rosary and meditation beads have a spiritual and historical meaning

In China, a Red Guard noticed a missionary praying with his Rosary. The soldier stopped him and asked: “What kind of device do you have there?” “As you can see, I am reciting my rosary.” “No,” the Communist replied, “that’s a radio transmitter.

            In China, a Red Guard noticed a missionary praying with his Rosary. The soldier stopped him and asked: “What kind of device do you have there?”

            “As you can see, I am reciting my rosary.”

             “No,” the Communist replied, “that’s a radio transmitter.”

            Beads may indeed facilitate transmissions more powerful than the most sophisticated electronic devices ever invented. We can be in touch with metaphysical powers and supernatural forces powerful enough to make any dictator nervous.

            A German soldier, Carl relates, “When I was called up in 1943, my mother gave me a rosary. After I was taken prisoner in Holland, I met a Scot while they were searching us.   “‘You’re Catholic,’ he said, noticing my rosary. And he showed me his own rosary.

            “‘So,’ he said, ‘we pray to the same Mother. That makes us brothers!’

            At the camp, he actually looked after me as if I were his brother. The day before we were to be transferred to another camp, he took me aside and asked me to exchange rosaries. ‘It will be a souvenir,’ he said, vigorously shaking my hand. Since then, I have always carried that rosary on me.”

            There is a difference between rosary beads and a trunk full of Mardi Gras beads. Between them they run the gamut of sacred and profane activities. Both reflect the popularity of beads in many cultures.

            Religious beads echo sacred practises, traditions and beliefs. Beads help focus prayer or mantras, facilitate deeper thoughts and bring peace of mind. Meditation beads have an appeal that goes beyond any one religious denomination. Worry beads, on the other hand, are used to concentrate nervous energy on the beads rather than on what is troubling the mind.

            The rosary has been used by Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox believers. Traditionally, the beads, which once were made of seeds, knots, or even crushed roses (which gave them the name ‘rosaries’), are used to mark the number of repetitions of chosen prayers.

            In chaplet prayers, typically the one praying makes the Sign of the Cross at the start and some invitatory prayers, before beginning praying over a series of beads grouped in symbolic numbers like 10, seven, five or three. The prayer selected can be a short petition for forgiveness such as “Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.”In the rosary, the Hail Mary is the prayer repeated 53 times.

            Chaplets use numbered beads, again, to enumerate repetitions of the prayer selected. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, for example, uses the rosary beads to number repetitions of “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

            The effect of repeated prayer or incantation is several fold. In the Sanskrit “muttering chaplet,” the sound may have a soothing or mantra effect, as does the rosary and various chaplet repetitions.

            Madeline L’Engle says in theSummer of Great Grand-Mother, “To use beads with a prayer, Indian or Moslem or Christian, is to enflesh the words, make thought tangible.”

            The power of the rosary is well documented. I will share just two examples in closing:

            In Fatima, Portugal, on October of 1917, over 70,000 people witnessed a miracle of the sun which the Virgin Mary had predicted. This was printed in Fatima newspapers the following day.

            In The Battle of Lepanto in 1948,70,000 Austrians pledged to say the rosary daily for the Soviets to leave their country, which was rich in mineral deposits and oil reserves. On May 13, 1955, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, the Russians agreed to leave Austria, without one shot being fired.

How to Pray the Rosary: Moved

How to Pray the Rosary: Moved

This site is no longer updated, and will be going away soon.
See my top-level page for more information.

This is a local copy of a guide by Zoltan Abraham, last revised February 1998.
The original is
here.

A Detailed Guide to Our Lady’s Rosary

by Zoltan Abraham
Copyright, 1994
Last Revised, February, 1998

Introduction:

I wrote this article in 1994 in response to a request posted to a discussion
group. Since then, I’ve seen it in various places around the Net. This version
is essentially the same as the earlier, but with more reflections on the
role of the Rosary, and with the major exception that I’ve eliminated the
graphics, to make the text more easily manageable. Please feel free to copy
and reproduce this article if you wish, but I ask that the text be presented
without change, in its entirety, including the title, the authorship, and
the copyright notice. I also ask to be notified when the text is reproduced.

What is the Rosary?

Praying the Rosary is very simple. At first it will probably seem complicated,
but after you pray it a couple of times, it becomes like second nature.
In fact, it’s much more complicated to talk about it than to pray it.

The word Rosary has two main meanings: the physical object, comprised
of a string of beads, a medal, and a cross; and the prayer for which this
physical object is used as a guide. You don’t need the object to pray the
Rosary, but the beads will help you keep track of where you are as you pray.
Moreover, the Rosary, as a physical object, is a sacred object, the presence
of which in your home or pocket is, in a certain sense, a constant prayer
offered to God, through Mary.

When we pray the Rosary, we start with the cross, say a prayer, then
move on to the first bead and say a prayer, then move to the second bead
and say a prayer, and continue in this manner until all of the beads are
covered. (Whether we go from left to right, or from right to left probably
makes no difference.) (Note: You will find all of the prayers at the end
of this article.)

The basic configuration of the prayer is simple: the Rosary consists
of a Cross, a medal, individual beads, and consecutive beads. For the cross,
we pray the Apostles’ Creed; for the individual beads, the Our Father, and
for the consecutive beads, the Hail Mary. After all of the beads have been
covered, it is customary to say some concluding prayers (see below), including
petitions (if the petitions have not already been stated), which can be
understood to correspond to the medal. (Otherwise, the medal has no corresponding
prayers.)

The Rosary can be divided into three parts: the introduction, the five
decades, and the conclusion. The introduction consists of the cross and
the four beads following it, which together mean the Apostles’ Creed, one
Our Father, and three Hail Marys. The five decades each consist of one individual
bead and ten consecutive beads — that is of one Our Father, and ten Hail
Marys. The concluding prayers can be any Marian prayer, related prayers,
and the petitions for which the Rosary is prayed (if the petitions have
not already been stated). (See the end of the article for some sample concluding
prayers.)

Each decade is devoted to a particular event in the life of Jesus or
of the Virgin Mary. For the purposes of the Rosary, these are called mysteries.
The focus is always on Jesus. But since the Virgin Mary, as the Mother of
Jesus, had (and continues to have) a special relationship with Christ, the
Rosary is designed to help us contemplate Christ and His love for humanity
through His Mother — and Our Mother — on whom He has lavished so much
love.

Since the Rosary has five decades, each of which corresponds to one mystery,
there are five mysteries for each Rosary. Finally, there are three sets
of five mysteries: 1) the Joyful Mysteries, 2) the Sorrowful Mysteries,
and 3) the Glorious Mysteries.

The mysteries are the following:

(The custom is to pray each set of mysteries on the days of the week
indicated — but that is just a custom.)

The Joyful Mysteries:
(Monday and Thursday; and the Sundays from 1st Sunday of Advent until Lent.)
1. The Annunciation to Mary
2. The Visitation of Mary
3. The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
4. The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
5. The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple

The Sorrowful Mysteries:
(Tuesday and Friday; and the Sundays of Lent.)
1. The Agony of Christ in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord on the Cross

Glorious Mysteries:
(Wednesday and Saturday; and the Sundays from Easter until Advent.)
1. The Resurrection of Our Lord
2. The Ascension of Our Lord
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
5. The Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven and Earth

When we pray the Joyful Mysteries, the first decade corresponds to the
Annunciation, the second decade to the Visitation, the third, to the Birth
of Our Lord, the fourth, to the Presentation at the Temple, and the fifth,
to the Finding in the Temple.

When we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, the first decade corresponds to
the Agony of Christ in the Garden, the second, to Scourging of Christ, the
third, to the Crowning with Thorns, the fourth, to the Carrying of the Cross,
and the fifth, to the Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord.

When we pray the Glorious Mysteries, the first decade corresponds to
the Resurrection of Our Lord, the second, to the Ascension of Our Lord,
the third, to the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the fourth,
to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the fifth, to the Coronation of
the Virgin Mary.

Putting It All Together

Now we can look at how all of this is put together. Two different basic
approaches have developed, both of which will be covered. Both approaches
are equally acceptable, but specific indulgences for the Rosary may require
that we follow the local custom.

The First Method

The Introduction:
— kiss the cross, and make the sign of the cross
— at the cross — say the Apostles’ Creed
— at the first individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the three consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary

The First Mystery:
— state the First Mystery
— optional: state the prayer intention for this mystery
— at the individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the ten consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary
— after the 10th, say Glory Be and O My Jesus

The Second Mystery:
— state the Second Mystery,
— optional: state the prayer intention for this mystery
— at the individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the ten consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary
— after the 10th, say Glory Be and O My Jesus

The Third Mystery:
— state the Third Mystery
— optional: state the prayer intention for this mystery
— at the individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the ten consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary
— after the 10th, say Glory Be and O My Jesus

The Fourth Mystery:
— state the Fourth Mystery
— optional: state the prayer intention for this mystery
— at the individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the ten consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary
— after the 10th, say Glory Be and O My Jesus

The Fifth Mystery:
— state the Fifth Mystery
— optional: state the prayer intention for this mystery
— at the individual bead — say one Our Father
— at each of the ten consecutive beads — say one Hail Mary
— after the 10th, say Glory Be and O My Jesus

Conclusion:
— a Marian prayer
— if desired, a general prayer, such as a prayer to the Holy Spirit
— statement of intentions, if not made earlier (the intentions could also
be stated at the very beginning)
Note: The usual concluding prayer in the United States appears to be the
Hail, Holy Queen, but other prayers, like the Mamorare of St. Bernard, are
just as suitable. (See the end of the article for sample prayers.)
— finally, make the sign of the cross, and the kiss the cross on the Rosary

The Second Method

This method is the same as the first one, with one major exception. Here
the mysteries are not announced before each decade but are inserted into
every Hail Mary. This is done in the following manner:

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
Fruit of your womb, Jesus.

[The mystery is stated.]

Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

The advantage of this method is that the mystery is stated ten times
during the decade, and not just once before it. In this way, it is easier
to focus on the mystery to which the decade is dedicated, and it is easier
to reflect on it while praying the decade.

In the second method, every Hail Mary has a mystery inserted in the middle,
even the three Hail Mary’s in the introduction.

The mysteries are phrased with a view to incorporating them into the
Hail Mary. They are the following:

The First Three Mysteries of the Introduction:
1. Who increases our faith.
2. Who strengthens our hope.
3. Who perfects our love.

The Joyful Mysteries:

1. Whom you conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Whom you carried in your womb, visiting St. Elizabeth.
3. Who was born of you in Bethlehem.
4. Whom you presented in the Temple.
5. Whom you found in the Temple.

The Sorrowful Mysteries:
1. Who sweated blood for us sinners.
2. Who was scourged for us sinners.
3. Who was crowned with thorns for us sinners.
4. Who carried the cross for us sinners.
5. Who was crucified for us sinners.

The Glorious Mystery:
1. Who resurrected from the dead.
2. Who ascended into Heaven.
3. Who sent us the Holy Spirit.
4. Who raised you, Blessed Virgin, up into Heaven.
5. Who crowned you, Blessed Virgin, in Heaven.

If, for example, we are praying the first decade of Joyful Mysteries
according to this method, we insert the first mystery in the middle of every
one of the ten Hail Marys.

Once again, this is done following way:

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the
Fruit of your womb, Jesus,
*Whom you conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.*
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen”

When praying the second decade of the Joyful Mysteries according to this
method, we insert the second mystery in the middle of every one of the ten
Hail Marys — and every decade is prayed likewise.

Also, the First Three Mysteries of the introduction correspond to each
of the three Hail Marys of the introduction respectively, and not to the
Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. Thus, all three of these of introductory
mysteries are said at the beginning of each of the three sets of five mysteries.

Some Reflections on the Spirit of Praying the Rosary

The above is an explanation of the Rosary from a technical standpoint,
but it is equally important to consider the spirit with which the Rosary
should be prayed.

We should always keep in mind that the goal of the Rosary is Christ.
When we pray the Rosary, we approach Christ through Mary — His Mother and
our Mother — because of her special connection with Him and with us. It
is beyond the scope of this article to explore all the reasons for devotion
to Mary, but volumes could be written on this subject, as well as on the
biblical foundations of Marian devotion.

Suffice it to say here that Mary is the Mother of Christ, and therefore
is also our Mother, because we are a part of Christ. A family has to be
very dysfunctional when the children do not want to honor their mother.
In a very real sense, when we honor Mary, we do what the Fourth Commandment
expects of us. Also, it was God Himself who kept Mary free from all stain
of sin, made her His own Mother, raised her into Heaven after the completion
of her earthly life, crowned her Queen of Heaven, and made her the mediator
of grace between Christ and humanity. If God Himself has seen fit to honor
Mary so abundantly, we do only what God Himself does when we too honor Mary.
But we do not honor Mary for her own sake — we honor her to glorify God,
whose work she is.

Since Mary was always free from sin, her whole life was always centered
on God. When we turn to her in prayer, she will immediately guide us to
Christ, because she has never had a thought that was not an act of worship
for God. Her whole being has always been defined by complete worship of
God; she has never experienced another mode of existence. When we open our
souls to her, she molds them to dispose them for the perfect love and worship
of God.

After the human nature of Christ, Mary is the creature closest to God. Moreover, while Christ is the mediator
of all grace between God and creation, Mary is the mediator of all grace
between Christ and humanity. Consequently, Mary is a powerful intercessor
for all who turn to her. God usually works through His creatures — the
Gospel is preached by people, Bibles are printed and distributed by people,
churches are built by people. In the same way, many things will not happen
unless people pray for them. That is why people need to pray for each other.
If we believe that our prayers help each other in this life, why should
we doubt that the prayers of those who have reached Heaven can also help
us. If a person’s prayer is efficacious while they are still in this world,
why should their prayer not be even more efficacious when they are face
to face with God, in eternal glory?

The history of the Church attests that the intercessions of Our Lady
do not fail. When we pray to her, we can be sure that our prayers will be
answered. Perhaps the answer will not come exactly in the form that we would
like — but in the end we will find ourselves more blest than ever, and
we will find ourselves drawing closer and closer to God in worship and in
love.

As we pray the individual prayers in the Rosary, we should say them slowly,
either concentrating on the meaning of the words themselves, or meditating
on the mystery of the decade. We should take great care not to allow praying
the Rosary to degenerate into a mere habit, done fast, without much attention.
Prayer is not magic. The words will do nothing for us if we do not pray
them from the heart. A Rosary said hurriedly, with little attention, will
have almost no benefit for us. But a Rosary said sincerely, with genuine
devotion, will leave a lasting mark on our spiritual development.

If possible, we should meditate on each mystery either before, or after
praying the decade, pausing for a minute or so, in order to reflect on meaning
of the mystery.

Finally, whenever we pray the Rosary, we should make sure to state our
petitions at some point, so that we know what we are praying for, and so
that we can respond to Our Lady’s desire to grant us more and more graces
through the Rosary.

Further Reading

Many books have been written on the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the best
explorations of devotion to Our Lady through the Rosary is The Secret of
the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort (available through Tan Publishers).
St. Louis de Montfort is know as the great Marian saint of the modern era.
Though the style of his writings has not aged well, his message of Marian
devotion has endured the test of time, and he continues to be one of the
foremost authorities on devotion to the Virgin Mary. His book Devotion to
the Blessed Virgin Mary is also one of the great spiritual classics of the
Church.

The Prayers

The Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth. I
believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the
power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the
dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into Heaven, and is seated
at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living
and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the
Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.

Our Father:
Our Father, Who are in Heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come;
Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was
in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O My Jesus:
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead
all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your Mercy. Amen.

(Note: According to the testimony of the Fatima visionaries, Our Lady
herself had requested in one of her apparitions that we pray the O My Jesus
prayer at the end of each decade. The apparent universal willingness of
the Catholic faithful around the world to comply with this wish is a living
testimony to the authenticity of the visionaries’ claim.)

Hail, Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up
our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most
gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us. And after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
– Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
– That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray: O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech You,
that meditating upon these Mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through
the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Memorare of St. Bernard:
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any
one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession,
was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin
of virgins, my Mother; to thee I come; before thee I stand sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but, in thy mercy,
hear and answer me. Amen.

Creator Christ
(by Zoltan Abraham)
Creator Christ, through whom and in whom we are and have our being, we worship
You, we give You thanks, and we praise You for Your infinite glory. Together
with the angels and saints, and through the Immaculate Heart of our Holy
Mother, we consecrate ourselves wholly to Your Sacred Heart, and to the
Holy Trinity. [We are not able to partake of Your most Sacred Body and most
Precious Blood today, but] we beseech you to fill us with the boundless
grace that You give us in Holy Communion. Lead us, through the Virgin Mary
and Your Real Presence in the Eucharist, to Divine Life in the Holy Trinity,
now and for all eternity. Amen.

Other Prayers:
Consecration to the Virgin Mary:
Hail Mary, etc.
My Queen! my Mother! I give you all of myself, and, to show my devotion
to you, I consecrate to you my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my entire
self. Therefore, O loving Mother, as I am your own, keep me, defend me,
as your property and possession.

From the Act of Consecration of the United States to Our Blessed Mother:
Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, Patroness of our land, we praise you
and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray
for us that, acting always according to your will and the Will of your Divine
Son, we may live and die pleasing to God.

Prayers taken from the Byzantine Catholic Liturgy:

Remembering our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady,
the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the Saints, let us commend
ourselves and one another, and our whole life to Christ our God.

O gentle Protectress of Christians, unfailing Mediatrix before the Creator,
do not despise the prayerful voices of sinners; but, in your goodness, hasten
to assist us, who trustfully cry out to you: “Inspire us to prayer,
and hasten to hear our supplication. Intercede always, Mother of God, in
behalf of those who honor you.”

Mothers cannot be virgins, nor virgins be mothers; but in you, O Mother
of God, both virginity and motherhood were present. Therefore, all the people
of the earth unceasingly extol you.

Today the Virgin is present in the Church and with the armies of Saints
invisibly prays to God for us. The Angels worship with the Archangels and
the Apostles rejoice with the Prophets, because in our behalf, the Mother
of God prays to the Eternal God.

It is truly right to call you blessed, O Theotokos: you are ever-blessed
and all-blameless and the Mother of our God. Higher in honor than the Cherubim
and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, you gave birth to God
the Word in virginity. You are truly Mother of God: you do we exalt.

The Fifteen Promises of the Virgin Mary to those who recite the Rosary

(Revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan):

1) Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary,
shall receive signal graces.

2) I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those
who shall recite the Rosary.

3) The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy
vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4) It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for
souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from
the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire
of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5) The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary,
shall not perish.

6) Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the
consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune.
God will not chastise them in His justice, they shall not perish by an unprovided
death; if they be just, they shall remain in the grace of God, and become
worthy of eternal life.

7) Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without
the Sacraments of the Church.

8) Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their
life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces;
at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the Saints
in Paradise.

9) I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the
Rosary.

10) The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of
glory in Heaven.

11) You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12) All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their
necessities.

13) I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the
Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their
life and at the hour of death.

14) All who recite the Rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters
of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15) Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

“Say the Rosary every day, to obtain peace for the world.”
— Our Lady of Fatima, 1917

Copyright 1994 by Zoltan Abraham. Please feel free to copy and reproduce
this article if you wish, but I ask that the text be presented without change,
in its entirety, including the title, the authorship, and this copyright
notice. I also ask to be notified when the text is reproduced.

The Practice and Symbolism of the Rosary

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Can You Wear a Rosary as a Necklace? (Even If You’re Not Catholic)

We may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. 

Many rosaries are quite beautiful, and they do often resemble necklaces. But is it appropriate to wear one as such, whether you’re Catholic or not? It’s something of a controversial topic among Catholics, and everyone has their own opinion. We’ve done our research and found the answers you’re looking for!

While some consider wearing these holy beads to be taboo, the practice of wearing the rosary dates far back in the history of Christianity. Generally speaking, if you are Catholic, you may wear the rosary as a necklace if it is worn in an expression of faith. Like many debates defining sin, it all boils down to intent. If you are not Catholic and do not maintain faith attached to the Rosary prayers, it is considered wrong and perhaps even a mockery of these sacred beads.

Wearing the rosary has taken different forms over the years, and is regarded differently in various cultures. Read on to learn about the purpose of the rosary, its evolution over the years, and check out some fashion alternatives to rosaries we’ve found for you!

What is the Purpose of a Rosary?

When most people speak of rosaries, they’re referring to the strings of rosary beads. The purpose of these beads is to count prayers, and the prayers that are counted are collectively referred to as the Rosary. For the purpose of this post, we’ll use “rosary” to refer to the beads and “Rosary” to refer to the prayers.

A Roman Catholic rosary is made up of a series of beads, medals, and a singular crucifix. We start with the crucifix, followed by a large bead, three smaller beads, and another large bead, totaling five beads. These are typically followed by a medal. Then following around the rosary chain are five sets of ten small beads, each separated by one larger bead.

The Rosary prayers are meant to keep memories of specific events and mysteries in history. They are prayers to Jesus through his mother, Mary, reflecting on events in Jesus’s life. A rosary is a useful tool because the Rosary prayers are extensive and repetitive. Having the beads to hold while reciting the prayers helps the user keep track of how many times prayer has been recited, thereby clearing the mind and allowing more focus on the prayer itself.

The Rosary prayers begin with Apostle’s Creed, recited while holding the crucifix. What follows is Our Father prayed on each larger bead, and Hail Mary prayed on each smaller bead. A more elaborate Hail Mary may be prayed on the medal if one is present.

On the rosary, each set of ten beads represents a decade, with one mystery per decade. There are fifteen mysteries total, so to pray the entire Rosary requires praying three times around the rosary chain. Prayers and rosary designs may vary slightly, but the basis stays constant.

History of Wearing the Rosary

Some consider wearing the rosary as an act of vanity, others wear it as a respectful act of religious homage. But brandishing these beads is actually incredibly popular and historically ingrained in certain cultures, particularly Hispanic cultures. One of the earliest records of the rosary as a fashion statement occurred around the 1930s in Los Angeles, among the American-born children of Mexican migrants. Rosary beads were often worn as a cultural symbol, connecting this population to their heritage. The style evolved over the decades, eventually presenting itself in one of three primary ways – as the original connection to one’s heritage, as a symbol of devotion and protection, or as a symbol of gang affiliation.

As time progressed into the 70s, rosaries continued to flourish within the gang and goth cultures. Members of these groups were often drawn to symbols of sacredness throughout history, using these symbols to craft their outward appearance. These groups began the normalization of wearing the rosary outside of religious devotion.

The final straw taking this trend into the mainstream is usually credited to Madonna. Madonna wore rosaries in the “Like a Virgin” video released in 1984. This video, this moment was a disruption of sorts, as a celebrity of her status had never placed rosaries into mainstream media before. She actively presented the rosary as a fashion statement and the ball kept rolling from there.

Today, the rosary continues to be worn in various circles, sometimes as fashion, sometimes representing faith, sometimes both. 

What Does a Black Rosary Mean?

As a liturgical color, black represents death and mourning. However, our research shows that the color of rosary beads is insignificant. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and materials, and whatever you choose falls to personal preference. It has no impact on the rosary’s purpose.

What Are Some Fashion Alternatives to Wearing a Rosary?

If you are not Catholic and/or enjoy wearing the rosary solely as a fashion statement, but wish to respect the Catholic faith, we suggest looking at some alternatives! We’ve discussed the rosaries are made up of beads, possibly medals, and a crucifix. We’ve broken down these parts and found some alternatives embracing one or two of these elements, to give you the rosary look without the exact design.

If you favor the look of the crucifix:

Consider a crucifix alone, whether the chain is beaded or otherwise. This lovely necklace features a simple engraved wooden crucifix and a chain of polished wood beads. This option is closest in design to a real rosary, only lacking a medal and the division of sets of ten beads by larger beads. Check it out on Amazon here!

If you’d like to don a medal of sorts:

There are so many options for medals of the Virgin Mary. Designs vary widely, you can find the simplest engravings and the most elaborate decorations. This example falls in the middle – a colorful rendering of Mary is surrounded by real dried and pressed flowers, held by a simple silver chain. Check it out on Amazon here!

If you want both the crucifix and the medal, but a different design:

Consider a bracelet! There are several rosary-like bracelet designs, featuring both a crucifix and a medal with beads connecting them. Our example here features just that. This all silver option has a small crucifix and metal charms, held by a chain with distanced beads. Check it out on Amazon here!

As you can see, the act of wearing the rosary has gone through quite an evolution over the years. A Catholic tool became a prevalent faith symbol within Hispanic culture, then evolved into mainstream fashion culture. None of these uses for the rosary have phased out over the years – they are all still prevalent today. Though opinions on wearing the rosary vary, the majority of Catholics, priests included, seem to agree – so long as it is with the intention of faith and devotion by those who actively pray the Rosary, wearing your rosary as a necklace is welcome.

Parts of the Rosary at https://www.chanttherosary.com

BELOW is an overview of the form, shape and parts of the Dominican Rosary.

Posted by Admin | September 21, 2008 |

The Rebellion of Rosary Beads

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Since the beginning, rosary beads have been a symbol of rebellion.

An early legend asserts that Saint Dominic (circa 1170 to 1221 AD), the founder of the Dominican Order, saw the Virgin Mary in a vision. According to the book Consumption and Spirituality, “In this vision, Mary exhorted Dominic to use the rosary as a spiritual weapon against the Albigensian heresy. Historically speaking, the rosary developed between the 12th and 15th centuries.” Its use consisted of meditations and prayers to Christ and the Virgin.

“Virgin and Child” by Dieric Bouts.Photo: PHAS/Getty Images

During the 16th century, the Protestant Church considered worship of the Virgin Mary idolatry and an act of heresy. As a result, the Catholic Church “strongly supported the rosary” in order to counteract Reformation doctrine and practices. And, as Catholic missionaries spread “the word of God” throughout Mexico, the Philippines, and Central and South America, they also spread the worship of the Virgin Mary and the significance of rosary beads for prayer. To this day, Latino and Filipino people gift rosary beads as a rite of passage and as symbols of protection. It’s also common to see them wear rosaries outside of the home as representations of their spirituality.

But reinterpreting what rosaries symbolize and wearing them as an object of devotion outside of a place of worship has been a point of great controversy within the Catholic Church.

The Catholic religious document the Code of Canon Law reads: “Sacred objects, which are designated for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated reverently and are not to be employed for profane or inappropriate use even if they are owned by private persons.” So, to more conservative members of the Catholic Church, wearing rosary beads as a fashion object removes the rosary’s sacredness and transforms the object from sacrament to fashion accessory.

To more conservative members of the Catholic Church, wearing rosary beads as a fashion object removes the rosary’s sacredness.

However, how to define what wearing a rosary for “profane or inappropriate use” means is up for interpretation, especially if the person is Catholic and wearing it as an expression of faith.

Mark Miller is a Catholic theologian and an associate professor of systematic theology at the University of San Francisco. “I’m totally not against people wearing rosaries for fashion,” he says. “I don’t know that I would quite go so far as to say it’s heretical. But the [type of] heresy [it’s related to] is called pelagianism. It’s named after Pelagius, who was born around 360 AD… Pelagianism is connected to wearing the rosary or doing various other things for protection. And the thought is that you have a certain type of control over grace; a kind of control over God. It makes grace no longer a free gift, which it is supposed to be.”

So, the intention behind wearing a rosary is directly related to whether or not it is viewed as heresy by practicing Catholics.

But wearing a rosary as a fashion statement is often a hybrid of religious homage and a symbol of personal selfhood.

One of the earliest moments when rosaries appeared in the popular fashion consciousness happened in ’30s and ’40s Los Angeles. Chicano youth, known as pachucas and pachucos, wore rosary beads in part to proudly highlight their Hispanic heritage. The American-born sons and daughters of Mexican migrants began to form their own identity, one that was emphatically separate from white Protestant America. Men wore a flamboyant style of draped pants, colorful shirts, and loud suspenders, often paired with black or wood rosaries. Women would often wear fishnet stockings, flowers in their hair, and fitted skirts that responded to the hyperfemininity of the time. The style was popularized by the play and film Zoot Suit, which was about the East LA Zoot Suit Riots.

Pachuco teens in zoot suits before the Zoot Suit Riots.Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images

Pachucos were victims of systemic racism and segregation by white America, and were often considered “not really Mexican” by their first-generation Mexican-American peers, so wearing rosary beads connected them to their past while also helping them adopt a new language and style. This style evolved into cholo and chola culture in the ’60s, which borrowed many aspects of pachuco fashion, reinterpreting it as a more tomboy, lowrider, and pin-up aesthetic. In some cases, rosaries also signified gang affiliation, with beads of different colors representing the different gangs that members belonged to. In others, the rosary was worn as a symbol of protection and reflection of Latinidad.

In the late ’70s, rosaries made an appearance in both goth and punk subcultures. Goths and punks often wore rosary beads as a rejection of conservatism, and sometimes as a way to critique the stranglehold that puritanical values held on American and British culture. Early goth and punk figures who wore rosaries as fashion and used them in their video imagery include Christian Death’s frontman Rozz Williams, members of Bauhaus, and Depeche Mode.

“Although there is no overarching religion for goth culture, many are drawn to imagery of the sacred — be that early-medieval artworks, Mexican Day of the Dead altars, Celtic crosses, etc.,” says Liisa Ladouceur, author of Encyclopedia Gothica and creator of the video “40 Years of Goth Style.” “These things are ‘memento mori’ as much as anything. Catholic imagery in particular is appealing because of its overly dramatic beauty — the rosary is not an austere item of worship; it’s also intricate, and a pleasure to see and to touch. So apart from the convenience of finding them plentiful and cheap in thrift stores, especially in the early ’80s, before goth-branded merchandise was widely available, I can see why so many goths are drawn to wearing them.”

Goth teens in 1986 England.Photo: Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Pachuco, goth, and punk all embraced wearing rosary beads as fashion. But the notion did not enter the mainstream until the early ’80s.

In 1984, Madonna wore rosaries in her “Like a Virgin” video. She has described her relationship to them as a “security blanket”: They symbolize the Catholicism that she grew up with and became part of her religious branding. All aspects of Catholicism were incorporated into her act, from her name to her album title (Like a Virgin) to her pursuit of icon status.

“She was the first to use mainstream culture and be visible through videos with rosaries,” says Diego Rinallo, a professor of marketing at Kedge Business School and co-author of Consumption and Spirituality. “Madonna was transgressive… She normalized wearing the rosary outside of a religious statement. It was a disruption, moving something from the religious world and putting it into a profane moment of fashion.”

Madonna performing in the 1980s.Photo: Ann Clifford/Getty Images

Many fashion historians credit Madonna with not only popularizing rosaries, but also sparking fashion’s interest in playing with religious imagery and iconography.

Fashion photographer Shawn Griffin wrote his thesis, The Church of Fashion, on the intersection of religion and fashion. He studied the ways that fashion designers, marketers, and photographers have employed imagery in fashion that mirrors Enlightenment-era religious iconography. In Griffin’s opinion, religious imagery in the fashion world today ranges from models posing like saints to clothing draped in a way reminiscent of religious art to the use of rosaries and crosses as adornment. “In the late ’80s and early ’90s,” he says, “[the rosary fashion trend] really started with the Immaculate album with Madonna and Jean Paul Gaultier [who designed her looks]. That’s when you saw [rosary beads] reaching into high fashion.”

Then, in the 2000s, Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen both featured rosaries on their runways. Rinallo believes that Dolce & Gabbana’s use of rosary beads was a landmark moment in fashion, especially because of the significance of two gay Italian designers designing rosaries against a predominantly Catholic backdrop.

Naomi Campbell wearing rosary beads with Iman, pictured with Italian designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce.Photo: George de Sota/Getty Images

“Dolce & Gabbana created a moment for religious consumers to show off their religion without offending people,” Rinallo says. With the release of D&G’s rosaries, he explains, both religious and nonreligious people felt free to wear a sacred item for aesthetic pleasure. And at the same time, D&G’s rosaries became a symbol of identity for Catholics who once hid their religion. With the popularity of fashion rosaries, believers were comfortable wearing them in public.

The history of wearing rosary beads for fashion has often gone against convention. An item once thought of as transgressive by the Protestant Church is now a symbol that signifies transgressions in fashion. It has never been “sanctioned” by the church, but many who wear the sacraments of the cross never needed their faith, way of practicing, or existence to be sanctioned anyway.

90,000 Why and what is a rosary

You have probably seen a rosary – beads strung on a strong thread that resemble a necklace. In this case, both the material and the shape of the elements (grains) of the product can be any, it can be decorated with brushes, chains and other details. These works also differ in purpose. There are many variations adopted in different religions – for example, Muslim, Buddhist and Orthodox rosary, as well as gizmos specially designed to improve health and comfort.Thanks to this article, you will be able to familiarize yourself in more detail with all the varieties and functions of accessories.

What are the beads?

Craftsmen use a variety of materials to make such works – from ropes and wool to precious stones and metals. The raw materials are selected taking into account the tastes of a particular person, the tasks that the accessory will perform, the influence exerted by him. Here are the benefits of the most common gizmos.

Wooden rosary (especially from valuable species – cedar, eucalyptus, paduk or boxwood) helps relieve migraine attacks, common headaches, reduce blood pressure and improve sleep. Some types of wood smell very good, which is why they can well replace aromatic sachets.

The rosary made of natural stones has the property of emitting energy and magnetic vibrations . Going through them, you will soon feel a positive effect – for example, health improvement, improved skin condition, mental stabilization.In addition, tiny particles from the surface of the grains penetrate the skin of the fingers, sharing with you the phytoncides, essential oils and trace elements contained in the mineral. For example, amber products contain the same name oil and acid – the strongest immunomodulators that cleanse cells of toxins and bacteria. And when they touch the palms, they become electrified – combining with the electromagnetic potential characteristic of each organism, such a charge may well replace a physiotherapy session!

It is very useful to have accessories with beads made of different materials.This will allow you to fully experience all the healing power of the rosary, using them in any situation.

Ritual meaning of the rosary

Rosary beads are used in all world religions for counting prayers, concentration and concentration. Moreover, each belief establishes a certain shape and design of the product, as well as the number of beads – therefore, only by looking at the accessory, you can easily determine which faith a person professes.

For example, in Islam, classical rosary beads contain 11, 33 or 99 (that is, according to legend, the names of Allah) beads.After every 11 grains, there is a bridge (a larger ball, pendant or bead of another shape), which allows you to better navigate in performing dhikr (praising God) and namaz. They are called subha, misbaha or tasbih – “a whip for Satan”, and such outstanding scholars as Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, Imam Abu al-Hasanat al-Laknawi, Sheikh Muhammad ibn ‘Illyan al-Siddiqi discussed their purpose and method of application …

Prayer functions – medical aspect

At first, such works were used exclusively for religious purposes.But gradually people appreciated their usefulness, and now beads are an attribute of any person who cares about their physical, mental and emotional health.

Even ancient Greek doctors noted that sorting out small objects has a positive effect on a person’s condition, helps to get rid of anxiety and insomnia . Later, a scientific explanation was found for this – biologically active points and many nerve endings associated with the brain centers responsible for switching attention, thinking, memory and hormonal activity are located on the fingers and palms.Therefore, their massage is a necessary part of therapeutic therapy. Let’s consider this mechanism in more detail:

• by massaging the index finger with the beads, you even out your own breathing, relieve the spasm of the vessels supplying blood to the lungs and the brain;
• By touching the accessory with your middle finger, you can get rid of excessively violent emotions – anger, despondency, fear;
• The ring finger, which participates in the bead-picking, helps to stabilize the pressure, reduce the meteosensitivity of the body;
• rolling low between the palms, you have a complex effect on the entire nervous system, relieve stress, depression, you can even weaken the course of neurosis;
• When the product is squeezed in a fist, the work of internal organs is normalized, a bioenergetic balance is established, and the general tone of the body rises.

Also, buying a rosary is an excellent way to develop fine motor skills. They can be used by both children, at the same time improving coordination and learning to count, and adults – for example, restoring a hand after injuries or illnesses. This product will be useful both for office workers, who often suffer from contractures (spasm of the joints and muscles of the arm, caused by long monotonous activity), and for people whose occupational diseases are arthritis and arthrosis – tailors, masseurs, hairdressers.Regular use of the accessory will help ease the symptoms of the disease, balance the load on the muscles, and prevent their degradation.

Beads affect not only the physical condition of the body. So, in psychotherapy, they are often used as a means of calming down, switching from traumatic events to being “here-and-now.”Touching the smooth, easily sliding beads through your fingers helps to concentrate, relieve nervousness and self-doubt, relieve tension and muscle clamps. Sometimes they are even used to memorize information – sorting through the grains is combined with the repetition of verses, prayers or text.

Prayer aesthetics

In the modern world, such a product is not only a religious affiliation, but also a decoration. If precious stones and metals were used to make it, such an accessory can turn into an indicator of status, and even into a work of art! With their help, you can emphasize one or another detail of your appearance, divert attention from shortcomings, show individuality and creativity.

Therefore, the rosary is a wonderful gift for everyone who cares about their health and mental stability. And our online store will help you choose the best model – our assortment includes Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim rosaries made of natural Polesie amber of different shades.

90,000 Rosary beads are … What is a Rosary?

Rosary beads (from Old Russian chtѫ – count, read, read) – a cord or ribbon, most often closed in a ring, on which knots are imposed, beads (grains), plates or other homogeneous elements are strung. In many religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism, they are used to count prayers or other ritual actions, to maintain attention and concentration, set a rhythm, and so on.

History

The oldest known rosary was created in the 2nd millennium BC in India.

Materials

Seeds Daemonorops spp. Used as Prayer Beads in Buddhism

Rope beads were a piece of rope. In the manufacture of other knotted rosary, various cords or threads can be used, for example, brojanits are traditionally made from sheep’s wool. The stitching is most often made of leather with the inside of rolls-“bobbins” (“steps”) made of paper. Prayer beads can be made from various materials: wood of various species: cypress, juniper, beech, sandalwood and so on; minerals, including gems and precious stones: rock crystal, amber, jade, jasper and so on; pearls, coral, bones, glass, ceramics, metals, plastics, fruits and seeds of various plants: lotus, bodhi tree, rudraksha and so on.

Construction of rosary

Thread

Followers of Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) use a rosary with a thread formed from five different-colored fibers: blue, green, white, red and yellow, which symbolize the five elements underlying the visible world (space, air, water, fire and earth) …

Grains

In Tantric Buddhism, grains made from the parietal part of human skulls can replace carved bone grains depicting skulls ^{[ source not specified 1317 days ]} .

Nodular rosary-string with dividers in the form of strung grains

Spacers

Buddhist rosary with 108 grains most often have separators-pendants after the 36th and 72nd beads (or different from the other 36 and 72 beads).

In the Old Believer Ladder, the first three and the last three “steps” are separated from the other barrels by a flat section of a leather strip, and groups of 12, 38, 33 and 17 barrels are separated by larger (“great”) “steps”.

Hangers

Prayer beads connected in a ring are often supplemented with some element.In some Buddhist rosary, one larger and often, unlike the others, a golden pearl is a sign of Buddha. In many traditions, a few beads are left at the free ends of the rosary, which are used as counters for a fully counted rosary. Hindu rosary most often has two identical free ends. Christian rosary often includes a cross, a medallion and / or a tassel. The Old Believer Ladder has a pendant at the junction of the ends of the tape in the form of four trimmed triangles, in which, in the old tradition, there were seven counting movements.

Prayer functions

• Counting device :

On the grains, knots, rollers or other components of the rosary, the count of prayers, mantras, bows and similar ritual actions is made. When dividing grains or other counting elements of the rosary into groups (especially unequal ones, as, for example, on a ladder), it becomes easier to count a large set of numbers. The use of add-on counters makes it possible to count large numbers, the number of completely counted rosary is deposited on the counter.That is, the counter is the next register when transferring numbers in the numeral system with a base equal to the number of grains in the rosary ring.

The rosary itself is a reminder of prayer, united in a ring – of continuous prayer. The device of the rosary is sometimes coordinated with a prayer or other ritual rule, that is, the number of grains dictates the sequence of words and (or) actions.

Prayer beads used for unceasing prayer without counting

• Rhythm setting :

Prayer rules, meditative practices and other ritual actions performed with the use of the rosary require a certain rhythm, which is set and maintained by fingering the rosary.

• Concentration maintenance :

Fingering the rosary allows the practitioner to maintain attention, fight loss of concentration and sleep. So, for example, the incessant repetition of the Jesus Prayer without counting, practiced in hesychasm, presupposes the need to maintain attention, in particular the clarity of the text of the prayer, which is facilitated by the rhythmic fingering of the rosary. Each seed “returns” the believer’s attention to prayer.

The design and shape of the rosary, the number of elements, material, color, way of wearing and using are endowed in various teachings with different symbolic meanings.Most often, rosary beads are associated with cyclicality and infinity, with connection and continuity, with a wreath (crown), a staircase to heaven.

• decal :

By the look of the rosary, one can draw conclusions about the belonging of their owner to one or another branch of the teaching, the degree of its preparation.

In some practices, beads made of various materials are endowed with the ability to heal certain ailments. In addition, the fine motor skills of fingers fingering the rosary can help in the treatment of joint diseases.

Symbolic meaning of rosary

In Catholicism, rosary beads symbolize a wreath of roses, which during prayer is symbolically presented as a gift to the Mother of God and Jesus Christ.

Vaishnavas associate 108 rosary beads with the 108 main gopis of Vrindavana, the 109th Head Bead symbolizes Krishna.

Ways of wearing a rosary

Wearing Catholic rosary beads as neck jewelry

Different ways of wearing are possible depending on the size of the rosary and the tradition.Special short rosary with a small number of grains or knots (the so-called “finger rosary”) are worn on the finger. Longer ones, such as the traditional crochet, are worn on the wrist. Catholic rosary beads are often worn in the hands, wrapped around one of the hands, if necessary, inserted into a belt (belt) or put into a pocket. You can wear a rosary in a specially sewn bag – “scapula”, which can be decorated with embroidery, prayer texts can be written on it, or saints can be depicted.

The traditional way to wear a long rosary is to wear it around the neck as a necklace:

… He put a rosary on his neck
Instead of a scarf,
And from his face a steel grate
He did not raise it to anyone …
A.S. Pushkin. “There lived a poor knight”

A row of small rosary beads on the neck,
I hide my hands in a wide sleeve,
Eyes absentmindedly look
And they never cry again.
A.A. Akhmatova. “There is a row of small rosary on the neck …”

At the same time, long monastic beads can go down to the ground and below.

Prayer beads in Buddhism

Japanese buddhist rosary

Buddhist rosary traditionally has 108, 54, 27, 21 or 18 beads (knots).Known since the 3rd century. Crystal beads are one of the attributes of Avalokiteshvara.

Tantric Buddhism

In Tantric Buddhism, beads are often used from the bones of a yak or a person, but this is not a review. As a rule, rosary beads are made from various types of wood or stones. The traditional number of beads in a rosary is 108. In Buddhism, rosary is used to count the number of mantras uttered. In this case, each bead of a rosary is used twice: the first time, when a practitioner recites a full circle of mantras – 108, the second, when the number of recited mantras exceeds 1000, i.e.e. 10 times 108. In this case, a special counter moves 1 bead forward relative to the central link of the rosary – “stupa”. Often this counter consists of 10 elements that move like a rosary, making it easy to count hundreds. For each practice in Buddhism there is a certain recommended number of repetitions of mantras, which is the minimum to achieve the experience of spiritual realization of this practice.

Prayer beads in Hinduism

Hindu rosary-necklace (rudraksha) usually contains 108, 54 or 50 (according to the number of letters of the Indian alphabet) grains.Rosary beads are an indispensable attribute of the goddess Saraswati, Brahma, Shiva, Ganesha and so on.

Prayer beads in Islam

Muslim rosary usually has 99 (according to the number of names of Allah), 33 or 11 beads and a pendant. Traditional Muslim rosary consists of eleven balls, then – a bridge (oval grain, flat circle, etc.) and then again the same sequence until the specified number of balls. This is based on the fact that the Muslim prayer consists of eleven parts:

1. Prayer intent.
2. Standing on your feet.
3. Pronouncing the words “Allah is great” (Allah hu akbar).
4. Kneeling.
5. Falling prostrate.
6. Saying a prayer.
7. Repetition of the name of God.
8. Pronunciation of the formula “There is no deity but God and Muhammad is His prophet.”
9. Greetings.
10. Uttering different names of Allah (up to 99 names).
11. Continuous repetition of the commonly pronounced parts of the prayer in chorus after the imam.

Rosary beads in Christianity

In Christianity, rosary beads appear no later than the 4th century.It is believed that the initial form of the rosary was a rope with tied knots – the so-called “ rope “. Various sources indicate different personalities who introduced the rosary into Christian practice. Most often called Saint Pachomius.

Rosary beads in monasticism are called “spiritual sword” and are given to a monk at the tonsure.

Rosary beads are an attribute in the iconography of the Archangel Selafiel.

Catholicism

Catholic rosary usually consists of 50 grains, divided into five decades and used for prayer.Prayer beads with 33 and 150 grains can also be used. The rosary symbolically means the “crown of faith” of roses.

Franciscans

Franciscan monks used a seven-decade rosary in memory of the seven joys of the Virgin Mary, called the “Franciscan corolla”, “seraphic rosary” or “rose garden of the seven joys of the Virgin Mary.”

Ireland

In Ireland, during the persecution of Catholics, a special Irish rosary was used for concealed wearing, consisting of a single decade of grains and not connected in a ring.

Basque

Catholic one-decade rose garden ring, also known as Basque

The Basques traditionally use a rosary in the form of a ring worn during prayer on the finger and consisting of a cross and ten grains.

Orthodoxy

In Orthodox rosary beads there can be a different number of beads, but most often a rosary with 33 beads is used, according to the number of earthly years of Christ’s life, or a multiple of 10 or 12. Rule 67 of the 11th century Nomokanon speaks of a vervica with 103 nodules.The rosary is used when performing the Jesus Prayer.

In the Balkan Orthodox countries, a special kind of knitted rosary is used – broyanitsa.

Earlier any Orthodox – a monk or a layman – necessarily used a rosary. So, for example, in the thirteenth teaching of “Domostroy” in the Sylvester edition it says:

… A Christian should always hold in his hands – a rosary, and the Jesus Prayer – tirelessly on his lips; and in the church and at home, and at the auction – you walk, whether you stand, whether you sit, and in every place …

In the modern church practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, the attitude towards the use of beads by the laity is cautious, it is believed that beads are obligatory exclusively for monks.

The obligatory use of the rosary is preserved by the Old Believers.

Old Believers

In the Old Believers of almost all consents, lestovka is actively used – a rosary in the form of a ribbon with 109 “barrels” (“steps”), divided into unequal groups. Ladder symbolically means a staircase from earth to heaven.

Anglicanism

In the mid-1980s, the Anglican Church developed the so-called “Anglican” or “ecumenist” rosary.Like traditional Orthodox Christians, they contained 33 beads according to the number of years of Christ’s earthly life, but divided into groups, as in the Catholic rosary.

Lutheranism

In modern practice, the original rosary proposed by the Swedish bishop Martin Lönnebo, the so-called “pearls of life” (Swedish Frälsarkransen , English Pearls of Life ), consisting of 18 grains of various shapes, sizes and materials, can be used.

Prayer beads in Bahaism

The Bahá’ís use a 95-grain rosary for the obligatory daily 95-fold repetition of the Great Name.A rosary with 19 grains in a circle and 5 at the free end is also possible for a count of 95 as five times nineteen.

Rosary beads in Sikhism

In the ritual practice of the Sikhs, a rosary with 99 grains or a cord with 99 knots are used.

Flat “flip” rosary – “chatter”. Made in prisons. Russia. Plexiglass

Non-religious use of rosary

The rosary can be used as a fashionable attribute, accessory. The rosary can be worn around the neck like beads, on the wrist like a bracelet, hung on the rearview mirror in a car, and so on.

An example of a non-religious rosary is the Greek komboloi.

In Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as Kazakhstan and Russia, along with the traditional ones, they also use flat, so-called “flip” rosary – a flat ribbon, not connected in a ring, drawn from a small number of rectangular plates. The usual number of elements in such beads is 13, but beads with 8, 10 and 12 elements are also possible. Prayer beads of a similar design (the so-called “talkers”) are often made in places of confinement on the territory of the former USSR from different materials: from plexiglass to bread.Prayer beads are used as an attribute of a “tough” person and are not associated with any religious cult. Such a rosary is twisted, intercepting with the fingers, around the fingers or the entire palm.

Rudraksha rosary

Varieties and variants of the name of the rosary

• Broyanitsa – Balkan variety of rosary
• chatterbox – slang name for flat rosary beads
• vervitsa – rosary made of rope with tied knots
• japa-mala (Skt.जप माला) – Hindu and Buddhist rosary
• dumka – the name of a rosary in prison jargon
• snake (diminutive for snake) – slang name for flat rosary beads
• komboloi (Greek κομπολόι) – Greek rosary
• komboskini (Greek κομποσκοίνι) – Greek knitted rosary, analogue of the string and brojanitsa
• crown, coruna (diminutive for crown)
• Ladder, Ladovitsa (diminutive from Old Russian “ Ladder ” – ladder) – Old Believer rosary
• mala (Skt.माला) – see japa mala
• misbaha (Arabic: مسبحة) – translated as family, group
• low, low (from low ) – lowered rosary
• paternoster (from lat. Pater noster – Our Father)
• rosary (lat. rosarium ) – Catholic rosary (in the western regions of Belarus and Ukraine razhanets , ruzhanets from Polish różaniec )
• Rudraksha (Skt. रूद्राक्ष – Rudra’s eyes) – beads from the fruits of the tree of the same name (lat. Elaeocarpus Ganitrus )
• subha (Arabic سبحة)
• tasbih, tesbih (Arabic: تسبيح)
• Rosary
• chapelet chapelet

Rosary beads in culture and art

• “The Precious Beads of the Higher Path” – a composition by Gampopa
• “Feast of the Prayer Beads” – the name of Giotto’s fresco dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles
• “Rosary of the Righteous” – Jami’s poem from the cycle “Seven Crowns”, written in the years 1482-1483
• “The Feast of the Prayer Beads” is the later title of the 1506 painting by Albrecht Durer, painted for the altar of the Church of San Bartolomeo in Venice (now in the collection of the National Gallery in Prague)
• “The Mother of God giving the rosary to St.Dominic and Other Saints “- painting by Peter Paul Rubens (circa 1630-1632, collection of the Hermitage)
• Prayer chapel – chapel in Vance (Alpes-Maritimes), in the design of which Henri Matisse took part
• “Rosary” – a book by Anna Akhmatova (1914)
• “Rosary of years” – collection of poetry by Rasul Gamzatov (1969)
• “Jade Rosary” – a book by Boris Akunin

Proverbs and Sayings

• Beads in hand, but aunts on mind
• Timid husband is afraid of flattery
• Prayer beads will not save, and the wife of paradise will not deprive
• Count, aunt, on the rosary

Museums and collections of rosary

• Komboloi Museum (Greek.Μουσείο Κομπολογιού), Nafplio, Greece, www.komboloi.gr
• Bead Museum , Washington, USA, www.beadmuseumaz.org contains a large collection of beads
• The collection of Natalia Lvovna Zhukovskaya has a large number of rosary beads belonging to various confessions

Personalities associated with rosary

• Kurban Bekievich Berdyev, football coach, playing beads during matches
• Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov, a merchant who practically monopolistically owned the ladder business in Russia
• Basil the Great, saint, who is credited with the introduction of the cord into church practice
• Pachomius the Great, reverend, who is credited with the introduction of the cord into church practice
• Saint Dominic, the preacher who, according to legend, received the rosary from the Virgin Mary
• Martin Lönnebo, Swedish Lutheran bishop who proposed a special kind of rosary
• Seraphim of Sarov, reverend, who used the ladder
• Erast Fandorin, a literary hero who used a rosary
• Konstantin Tszyu, professional boxer, using a rosary
• Vadim Boyko, “pearl ensign”, so named due to the fact that at the time of the zenith of glory he had a plastic rosary on his hand, mistaken for a pearl bracelet

Interesting facts

• In honor of the rosary, a special type of passenger lift is named – paternoster (from lat. Pater noster – Our Father), in which open booths continuously move past open areas. Paternoster originally – a rosary on which the Lord’s Prayer is read.
• Spanish male and female name Rosario literally means rosary, Catholic rosary
• There is a Rosary station in the Mexico City metro (Spanish El Rosario ) with a rosary on its emblem
• Pope John Paul II declared the period from October 2002 to October 2003 the “Year of the Rosary”.

References

90,000 What is a rosary, what are they for?

1. How to choose a rosary – features and symbols
2. What the rosary is made of – a variety of materials and their purpose
3. Beads and physiology – how an accessory affects the body
4. Why the rosary is dreaming: let’s figure it out

Rosary beads are a necessary attribute of every person who wants to live in harmony with himself and the world, who cares about his spiritual development and self-improvement. Calm, measured fingering of beads promotes concentration, reduces anxiety, relieves apathy and aggression, and also stimulates biologically active points on the fingers and palms. Such massage allows you to put in order not only the psyche, but also to streamline the physiological processes in the body. But the amazing properties of this work are not limited to this – they resort to it for mystical, developmental, and even aesthetic purposes! And from our article you will learn about all the nuances of the appearance, manufacture and use of this product.

How to choose a rosary – features and symbols

Accessories consisting of beads or dies strung on a strong thread are used for meditation and counting of spoken mantras or prayers in most religions. But they also have very significant differences. Therefore, when planning to acquire a rosary, it is first necessary to study their characteristic features.

It is believed that the first beads were Indian works called “Mala”. They consist of 108 grains and end with a large bead – Sumeru (from Sanskrit “Mount Meru”). This is a symbol of the spiritual peak, towards which every believer strives. And the low itself was a visual reminder of the wheel of karma, consisting of many rebirths.

In Brahmanism, such things serve as a sign of worship of the Sun. Only almighty gods can wear them on the chest, and people are only allowed to wind a thread with beads around the wrist. The beads of the high priests were called “Rudrakshas” – the eyes of Rudra, were painted black and passed from teacher to student as a sign of spiritual enlightenment.

It is from “mala” and “rudrakshasa” that all other types of these products originated. So, Buddhist rosary – sumirni – also consist of 108 elements . This number symbolizes the number of mantras that deliver a person from sin. There are also works of 54 or 27 beads made from natural materials – wood, horn, seeds, coral and bone. And among the followers of the Vajrayana teachings (this word is translated as “Diamond” or “Secret Chariot”), accessories carved from the frontal bone of a human skull are especially appreciated.Fortunately, these things are now rare. They were replaced by imitations of animal bones, turned into tiny shards.

For Buddhists, even the color of the grains from which the work is made is important. For example, white ones are dedicated to Avalokiteshvara (a deity who listens to all prayers and helps to achieve bliss), red ones are dedicated to guru Padmasambhava (“Precious teacher” who forwards to nirvana), yellow ones – to the Gelugpa school.

Muslims use a rosary composed of 99 (according to the number of names of Allah), 33 or 11 grains. These are called subha, misbaha and tabih, respectively. Most often, beads are made from wood, bone, precious and semiprecious minerals. Products made of serpentine, a snake stone, are especially popular. It is interesting that in Christianity this material is forbidden – after all, it symbolizes the snake-tempter, because of which the fall was committed.

Christian rosary varies greatly depending on which tradition the believer belongs to. Thus, Old Believer prayer accessories (ladders, or ladders) are made of four leather triangles.The three corners of the figurine are an allegory of the Holy Trinity, the material is a symbol of the Gospel teachings, and the general appearance of the work means a person’s readiness for spiritual ascent, reunification with heaven. In Orthodoxy, a looped thread with knots (rope) symbolizes the circle of faith, the continuity of the church, as well as the mystical garden of the Virgin Mary.

Catholic rosary – Rosary – consists of beads, grouped by 10 pieces (decades) , and a few more elements precede the crucifixion. Decades separate grains of a different configuration, dies or medallions with theological themes.The total number of beads is different – for example, large rosaries for 15 decades are intended for reading all the sacraments, and to perform daily prayer to the Mother of God, a little thing is enough for only 10 beads.

But the main feature of the rosary, which makes it easy to distinguish accessories, is the object at the end of the thread (in the place where it is fastened with a knot). The most common decorative elements used in different traditions are listed here:

• Muslim rosary ends with an elongated stone or bone made of the same material as the main low;
• in Brahmanism, two equal-sized tassels are attached to the knot connecting the accessory (as a rule, they are colored orange).The same decoration is characteristic of the Hindu rosary, only the color of the pendants can be any;
• Buddhist monks decorate the product with a gold ball – the sign of Buddha, a red thread with a tassel (this is primarily characteristic of those believers who practice the teachings of tantra), several beads or two tassels;
• in Catholicism at the end of the rosary one can see a medallion with a religious theme, a larger bead or a cross;
• Orthodox rosary ends with a cross, to which a tassel or several beads are attached.

What the rosary is made of – a variety of materials and their purpose

Special attention has always been paid to the creation of personal rosary. It is believed that many beads in a product are combined into a single, but at the same time constantly in motion talisman, thanks to which they are able to cleanse the aura, get rid of stagnation in a particular chakra, give you new strength and encourage vigorous activity. And the material from which they are carved collects and accumulates the power of prayers or mantras, as a result of which the accessory begins to interact with the psyche and energy field of its owner.

At the same time, in the rosary, which is used for mystical and esoteric practices, the number of grains can be very different – in contrast to religious accessories. In particular, there are universal magical lows that carry a powerful charge of positive force. These include items made from 11, 22, 33, 40 and 77 beads. But you can select the required number of elements individually, guided by your own needs and feelings. For example, your name, the name of the company and its annual income, wishes of health, happiness, success can be encrypted in a work.

It is very important that the raw materials from which the accessory is made meet your needs and desires.Natural materials are especially effective – minerals, wood or bone, which have absorbed the forces of the Earth and the Sun. But plastic or rubber is not the best choice.

Prayer beads made of natural stones can be monolithic (that is, consist of one type of gems) or mixed. The impact they exert depends on this. Here are some good combinations that can attract energy to the right area of ​​your life:

• Products made of green granite, malachite, onyx, chalcedony, jasper will help to increase the material condition;
• To achieve professional success, wear a rosary made of turquoise, lapis lazuli, sapphires.It’s also a good idea to add a few purple amethysts and dark purple fluorites to the bottom;
• all pink-colored gems have a positive effect on love relationships. These include, for example, strawberry quartz, garnet, ruby, rhodonite and rhodochrosite, and tourmaline. And to support marriage and achieve stability in the family, mix these minerals with green stones – malachite, jade, emeralds;
• There is nothing better for strengthening health than amber rosary.Agate, carnelian and onyx works are also suitable. Carnelian will help cleanse the blood, green fluorite has a rejuvenating effect, and cacholong is recommended for nursing mothers;

• people who dream of self-improvement and achievement of wisdom should wear accessories made of noble metals – gold, platinum or silver, as well as lotus seeds;
• to get rid of excessive nervousness and improve immunity, beads made of amber, pearls, rock crystal will help;
• so that your decisions are always impartial and fair, use gizmos made of red coral or lapis lazuli;
• shungite product will help to normalize the thyroid gland, relieve attacks of vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• If you often suffer from migraines, surges in blood pressure, nightmares and other sleep disorders – add fragrant beads cut from cedar or juniper to your rosary.It is recommended to touch them in your hands, apply them to your temples, and put them under your pillow at night;
• in mystical practices, talismans made of black or mahogany wood, agates, smoky crystal, corals are most often used.

Rosary and physiology – how an accessory affects the body

There are many nerve cells associated with important brain centers at the fingertips. Thanks to this, palm stimulation helps not only develop fine motor skills, but also improve concentration, attention, memory, relieve stress and asthenic attacks, even heal neuroses and depression! That is why so many people are interested in how to make a rosary with their own hands – they intuitively feel their usefulness.

This method of treatment is not new – it was used by ancient Chinese and Japanese doctors. That, in Tokuhiro Namikoshi’s treatise on the art of shiatsu (therapy carried out by pressing on biologically active points), it is said that even simply rubbing your palms, you can calm down and feel a surge of energy.

But beads affect the body much more efficiently and more varied. So, fingering the grains between the thumb and forefinger can relieve headaches and regularize shortness of breath.By including your middle finger in the process, you will forget about bouts of anger and anger. By massaging the ring finger with beads, you can get rid of meteosensitivity. And kneading low in the palm of your hand is a great way to affect all internal organs at once.

Professional actors and speakers use these products to study texts. To do this is quite simple – touching the beads, you should repeat to yourself what you want to learn. Such movements use motor (motor) memory, and thanks to them, picking up an accessory, you will immediately remember everything you need.

In addition, regular fingering of the rosary serves as a good prevention of arthritis, arthrosis and other joint diseases. This is especially important for those who often and for a long time are engaged in monotonous manual work – sewing, drawing, typing on a computer. By sliding between the toes, the beads engage all muscles and tendons that normally remain motionless.

Why the rosary is dreaming: let’s figure it out

This powerful accessory was even awarded a separate section in dream books! So, what is the dream of rosary beads for?

• Holding a cross-over rosary in your hands is a sign that you do not dare to take risks, not being sure of the success of the plan.Perhaps it is worthwhile to weigh again all the pros and cons of the conceived project;

90,075 to see a person touching a low is a very good dream. Soon a joyful surprise or the fulfillment of cherished desires awaits you. But if you dreamed of a priest who was sorting out a rosary, you need to be more careful, this is an omen of failure or misfortune;

• a dream in which you string grains on a thread – to help from financially wealthy people;
• races s pat beads – loss of their social status, fall in the eyes of relatives and friends;
• buying a rosary in the online store is a signal that in order to bring your plans to life, you will need the help and support of a loved one.

Rosary beads are a wonderful companion in spiritual and esoteric practices, a reliable means for strengthening physical and mental health, a stylish accessory and an excellent gift. High-quality products made from natural materials will serve you for a very long time, improving your mood, helping you to concentrate and find peace!

90,000 Orthodox prayer beads – history, purpose, rules of use

Posted in Prayer, Church Etiquette

Find out all the most interesting and useful about the Orthodox rosary by reading the article or watching the video at the end of the text

What is the rosary for

A rosary in Orthodoxy is a thread connected in a circle with knots or strung beads made of wood, stone, glass and other materials.Orthodox prayer beads, their meaning and the number of beads are different from the rosary used in other religions. An obligatory component of the Orthodox rosary is the cross. The number of knots or beads varies from 10 to 100, monks may have even more. Often 33 balls are used, according to the years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

“Hold the rosary in your hands, so as not to forget about the prayer that needs to be done internally in the heart. And when you leave your cell, remember that the enemy is ready to attack. Therefore, remember that a good soldier, leaving the trench, always holds a machine gun in his hands.The rosary has great power, it is a monk’s weapon, and the knots are bullets that mow down demons ”(Monk Paisios Svyatorets).

Orthodox rosary

Orthodox ch

ets: value for monks

Prayer beads appeared around the 4th century in monastic monasteries. Most of the monks in those days were simple illiterate people and did not know the count. And in order to fulfill the prayer rule, a large number of prayers had to be repeated. Therefore, the Monk Pachomius the Great, the founder of the monastic community in Egypt (according to other sources, Basil the Great), invented the rosary.Initially, they had an exclusively practical application: they allowed the monks not to be distracted by counting the prayers read.

Later, the rosary began to serve as a reminder to monks of unceasing prayer. Nowadays, every Christian receiving monastic tonsure is given a rosary for fulfilling the prayer rule. Such a rule may be to read the Jesus Prayer 100 times and the Virgin Mary 50 times. But there are no clear requirements for how many times and what prayers to read.

How to pray with a rosary to laymen

Many lay people ask themselves the question: why do Orthodox Christians in the world need beads? Indeed, this auxiliary prayer attribute is popular among believers.On the rosary, they usually pray with the Jesus Prayer (“Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) or read the prayer to the Mother of God. And so a certain number of times.

An important point: a layman should pray with a rosary only after the blessing of his confessor. If the rosary is used to help in prayer, a person will receive such a blessing. But if the use of rosary leads a person to vain thoughts, he begins to imagine himself as a devotee of prayer and on this basis consider himself better than others, then it is better to refuse rosary.Such a proud prayer will definitely not work.

If a prayer blessing has been received from a rosary, it is best to carry it in your pocket without showing it off. There is no mystical meaning or ritual significance in actions with beads. Therefore, in order not to fall into temptation, it is better to perform an intense prayer on the rosary, sorting through the knots in your pocket.

It is also unacceptable to use a rosary as a decoration, winding it around an arm or neck, hanging it in a car. It is a sacred item required for prayer and should only be used for its intended purpose.

On the importance of prayer beads

Saint Paisios Svyatorets:

“- Geronda, what do the 33, 50, 100, 300 knots in the rosary mean?

– Only 33 has a symbolic meaning; symbolizes the thirty-three years that Christ lived on earth. The rest of the numbers just help us count the number of bows or prayers.

There are motors that use a rope with a handle at the end to start them; so when you want to start the engine, you take the rope and pull it with force several times until the frozen oil disperses.Likewise, the rosary is a rope, by which we pull one, two, five, ten times; the oil disperses and the spiritual motor of unceasing prayer is started, so that then the heart itself works in prayer. But even when the heart starts to work in prayer, we do not leave the rosary, so as not to give temptation to others, whose heart has not yet begun to work in prayer. ”

Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin):

“Rosary is a secret feat accomplished in the heart, where the spirit dwells. It is a balance on which the mind weighs, like a jeweler, a grain of gold every word before uttering it.The rosary is compassion for the sinner and a hand outstretched to the fallen. This is a belt that tightens the womb – carnal passions. The rosary is a treasure that a person takes with him to the grave: grave-diggers and thieves will not bury themselves on this spiritual wealth. During God’s abandonment and despondency, prayer on a rosary is like a path through the desert, where the sky seems to be covered with copper, and the earth is red-hot like an oven, when the mind barely utters the words of prayer, when thoughts and feelings are like dead ashes, and only the will says: go, don’t leave your prayers. “

90,000 Cross-over rosary. Articles of the company “Master and Craftswoman”

It is believed that the rosary originates in India from the 2nd millennium BC. They were made by monks. A rosary is a certain number of grains strung on a cord, the ends of which are connected. Beads can be made from a variety of materials – glass, precious metals, wood, bone, minerals, and so on.

What is a rosary for?

It is not difficult to guess the meaning of the word rosary: ​​it is a derivative of the root “even”, which means “to count”.This name was formed for a reason. First of all, rosary beads were used to count prayers read, deeds performed and bows. By counting the beads during meditation, the monk set himself a certain rhythm and could maintain it.

Rosary beads help to focus the attention of the person praying. It is believed that they have a certain symbolism, reminding us of the cyclical nature of life. And among ordinary people, rosary is known more as a stylish accessory.

Few people know that rosary can provide first aid in smoking cessation.In fact, smoking is a matter of habit. When you feel like smoking a cigarette or two, try rolling the beans instead. It has been proven that fingering, acting on the nerve endings of the fingers, helps to put the nerves in order.

Apart from religion, rosary beads can also be used as a weapon. Loose beads made of metal can be seen among the variety of oriental weapons. Most often they are made of iron and belong to melee weapons of crushing action, similar to chains.

Zonovskie rosary beads

Zonovskie rosary beads have many names.It all depends on the region of their use. Frequently encountered: chatterboxes, dumka, snake, zonovskie, murkalki

History of zonov’s rosary beads

Rosary beads began to be used in Soviet camps even before the start of the Great Patriotic War. It is known that they took over from Georgians, Azerbaijanis and Armenians. But there their purpose was classic religious. The prison is the second most associated with a rosary. And their main difference from the church ones is that the ends are not closed in a circle.

In the zone, the rosary was used not only for worship, but also in order to calm down, to put thoughts in order.

Throwing Zon’s rosary in special circles is a kind of art. True craftsmen twist them continuously on the palms and between the fingers.

Varieties of Zon’s rosary

Since the prisons did not have a wide variety of raw materials for manufacturing, the prisoners used bread, ebonite, bone and glass.Bread was handed out in the dining room, ebonite was taken from electricity, bones were found in waste, glass was used in machine tools. And then creative thinking began.

• Glass rosary beads are the most popular. Using iodine or brilliant green, masters have learned to give them different color shades. Some seemed to be made of semi-precious stones. Special craftsmen figured out how to place an object inside the glass. And this species (with insects, card suits) has become one of the most popular.
• The second most famous – cross-over rosary made of bone. On such products, it was possible to make drawings of various themes.
• Ebonite has different shades, and the prisoners came up with the idea of ​​using it in their own way. This is how multi-colored rosary became popular.
• Bread rosary originates from monks, but in Soviet prisons they gained the greatest popularity. Since in the prison regime there was no access to glass or ebonite, the craftsmen had to use the material at hand – bread.Today this material is not the most popular and recedes into the background. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to make a high-quality product from bread. It is being replaced by more modern raw materials such as, for example, clay.

In the hands of any person, rosary beads become an exquisite accessory that attracts the attention of others and emphasizes the special status of the owner. And if you choose them to match the suit or dress, then they will also be a stylish decoration. For example, owners of black rosary beads can wear them with any clothing.

The only remark, if you are an ordinary person, not related to church service, or just a woman, then it is better not to go to church with a rosary. This is discouraged because, for religious reasons, only monks or high-ranking officials are allowed to have rosaries.

Where to buy a rosary?

After reading this article, the question arises: where to buy or order a rosary? There are a lot of online stores in the network that sell zonovy rosary beads.The choice is great, and it is important not to get lost in the abundance of the offered goods.

Our store in Moscow offers you a wide selection of different models of rosary beads at affordable prices in stock and on order. Our product will not leave you indifferent. We carefully monitor the quality, all rosary beads are made of expensive and first-class materials that retain their shape and color for many years. For all the time of work there were no complaints about the rosary beads. You can be convinced of this by reading reviews of satisfied customers.

You can choose and order a rosary on our website or by calling the phone number specified in the contacts. Our manager will contact you, discuss the details of your purchase and answer all possible questions.

We will deliver the selected product in any way convenient for you. We will try to take into account all your wishes.

meaning, history, photos of drawings, sketches, facts

Here you can read about the meaning of the rosary tattoo , you can get acquainted with the semi-polar drawings of existing tattoos, find out their features and interesting facts about them.We have collected more examples for your reference here:

• Photo of the rosary tattoo
• Sketches of the rosary tattoo

The meaning of a rosary tattoo – a collection of photo examples of finished tattoo designs on the body

Interesting about the features of the picture and the meaning of the tattoo “rosary”

Regionally, rosary beads first appeared in Ancient India, where they are still a religious accessory. Visually, this attribute reflects the theory of rebirth and consists of an unlimited number of reincarnations of everything animate, which fully reflects the concept of Buddhism.Buddhism originated from Brahmanism. The rosary, related to the religion of Brahmanism, differs significantly from the rosary of other religions and species that appeared at a later time.

Rosary beads were invented by brahmanas and originally reflected the worship and worship of the sun. According to the brahmanas, people should hold a rosary on their hands, in contrast to the gods worshiped by them and who wore the symbol of the sun on their chest. The rosary, also called the “Eyes of Rudra”, was usually made in black colors.

People who belonged to castes below the Brahmins also had no right to wear the symbols of the sun on their chests like gods, and they wore it in other places, or did not wear it at all.The rosary, being a cult attribute of worship in the religion of the Brahmins, personifies the prototype of the sun and its cycles of rotation in the vastness of space. At the same time, according to tradition, it was established to give a rosary from mentor to student, in cases where he achieved the pinnacle in the development of religious knowledge.

History of drawing in different cultures

In Buddhism, the rosary is a symbol of the wheel of Samsara, with strung beads, symbolizing all kinds of events and phenomena.

The Old Believers considered this religious attribute a sign of eternal worship and prayer, and in addition, it symbolized a staircase for raising the soul to heaven.

Photo examples of rosary tattoos:

In Christianity, rosary beads are associated with the magical rosary of the Mother of God. This religious attribute was a constant and unchanging accessory of Catholic Christians.

Today, a lot of religious trends and spiritual teachings use this religious attribute. Hence, this common but ingenious invention rightly embodies divine, religious wisdom.

The rosary tattoo symbolizes unity with religion, persistent and lasting faith, spiritual perception of the world, wisdom and understanding of life.

A sketch of a rosary with a simple Orthodox cross, on hands joined in prayer, is a symbol of strong and unshakable faith and worship of God. Therefore, the rosary reflects the degree of love and affection of the believer for God. In the Orthodox religion, this attribute personifies a staircase leading up to the firmament, to God, or down to the depths of consciousness and soul.

A rosary tattoo carries a predominantly favorable meaning and positive energy. This tattoo can not only change and beautify the body, but also lead to a change in life.

The image of this attribute is a talisman for the owner, since it has a direct connection with faith and religion. Such a tattoo is well suited not only for a deeply religious person, but will also be a protective talisman for people far from religion, give firmness, determination, faith in oneself and one’s own strength.

Tattoo with a rosary sketch symbolize piety, or closeness to God, cyclical and infinite life, the soul’s ability to rebirth, prudence, sun worship.

The rosary tattoo symbolizes prayer and reminds of it, as well as that all people should honor and recognize God.

Also, rosary tattoo helps in the fight against insomnia, since a person spends a third of his life in a dream, this process is important for everyone. With the help of sleep, he rests and gains strength for a new day, which contributes to the comprehension of problems and finding the necessary solutions.

In addition, such a tattoo can be an excellent decoration on any part of the body, both men and women.

Watch video:

You can see:

SKETCH TATTOO ROSE

PHOTO TATTOO Rosary

Prepared by: sidelyovm (Maxim Yurievich Sidelev)

Meaning of rosary tattoo | Tattoo art! Tattoo photos, tattoo in Kiev.

Rosary beads are often found as an idea for a tattoo. Often they are chosen for their aesthetic appearance, but not many people know their history of origin.But thanks to her, the meaning of the rosary tattoo is very special.

For the first time, rosary beads appeared in ancient India and were a religious attribute. Externally, the rosary resembles beads of balls made of stones or wood. This seemingly simple subject has a deep sacred meaning. The beads on the rosary represent the infinity of karmic rebirths, reincarnation. At the same time, they symbolize the cycle of movement of the sun. This sacred attribute is still an important subject in the life of monks of various branches of Eastern religions and philosophical concepts.During the recitation of mantras or prayers, a person throws balls, the number of which is determined.

The meaning of the rosary tattoo is the desire for spiritual development. Depending on the specific image, the rosary in the tattoo can speak of a particular religion. For example, you can depict a Buddhist rosary, Muslim, or Christian with a crucifix. In any case, such a tattoo will be chosen by a person who is interested in spirituality and questions of the universe. Such a wearable pattern will characterize its owner as a believer, kind and thinking person who strives to become better.

Today, the most common tattoos are in the form of a Christian rosary with a crucifix. Such a wearable drawing is chosen by people who believe in God. It is not at all necessary to regularly go to church and follow all its instructions for life, it is enough just to believe and strive for inner purity and spirituality. A rosary tattoo, catching your eye every day, will remind you of the need for spiritual development and kindness. Therefore, such a drawing is also suitable for non-religious people who strive to become better.

In any case, a rosary tattoo will carry positive energy and become a symbolic amulet that protects against evil and dark forces.