Editorial: The Rosary as a Scriptural Prayer

The Rosary as . . .

There was a time some years ago, when popular devotions . . .

. . . of the Catholic people were being denigrated as somehow opposed to genuine renewal in the Church.

There were self-proclaimed reformers who looked askance at novenas, deplored May processions,
downgraded Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, insisted upon statues being removed from churches, and referred to a devotion like the rosary, not only as “boring and monotonous repetition,” but also as “unscriptural.” (It wasn’t really the rosary as such that annoyed them; it was devotion to the Blessed Virgin that they were out to get. The rosary was only a symptom.)

Those days (thank God!) appear to be pretty much in the past. Not completely, but enough to give the rest of us some peace. We’d like to believe that a bit of growing up on the part of the “reformers” had something to do with it. But you still hear some occasional grumbling about the rosary as being out of date, a prayer fit only for those who still have a mentality of pre-Vatican 2.

It’s somewhat amusing to look back at these “reformers” and to note how utterly out of tune they were with both the teaching of the Church and the mentality of the Catholic people. True, popular
piety does change in the Church. A devotion may become fashionable, sometimes for generations, and then it may gradually lose its appeal. Anyone who is moderately acquainted with the history of the Church knows that manifestations of devotion undergo change.

. . . a Scriptural Prayer

But the rosary is a devotion that has been around for centuries. It took on great popularity in the early Middle Ages, mainly through the preaching of St. Dominic. It can hardly be called a flash in the pan, something that is here today and gone tomorrow. It has an intense appeal for those who use it properly, and the personal experience of millions of Catholics shows clearly that it is a source of grace and spiritual advancement. As the old saying goes, you can’t argue with success.

There are two main reasons why the rosary is a perennial devotion: it is based on the Scriptures and it is the kind of prayer that is truly contemplative.

Don’t be afraid of the word contemplative.

Too many of us think of it as referring only to nuns and monks: Trappists, Carmelites, Carthusians and others who live in monasteries and convents and spend the whole day in prayer. We rarely apply the word to “ordinary Catholics”: housewives, secretaries, nurses, dentists, plumbers, sailors or lawyers.

Yet contemplation is simply close union with God in prayer. It is a closeness that comes from a strong faith, hope and love for God. The rosary, properly used, leads to this close union. It is a leisurely and repetitive prayer, and repetition is the hallmark of a close and abiding love. A lover does not get bored when the beloved keeps repeating “I love you.” On the contrary, repetition tends to deepen and strengthen their love for each other.

Prayers From Heaven

And as for Scriptural, how can you improve on such prayers as the Our Father and the Hail Mary? The Our Father is the prayer that Christ gave to His apostles. “Lord,” they asked Him, “teach us to pray as John taught his apostles.” Christ’s answer to them: “When you pray, say: “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. . . .” We can certainly, do no better than to repeat the words of Christ as often as we can.

The first part of the Hail Mary is from the Gospel of St. Luke, in the story of Our Lady’s visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth. As she greeted Elizabeth, her cousin exclaimed: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” When we say this prayer, we are helping to fulfill the
prophecy of Our Lady that “all generations will call me blessed.”

Those who try to downgrade the rosary are missing a great deal of grace and spiritual inspiration in
their lives. We hope that the readers of The Queen will keep the rosary alive and, once in a while, include the misguided “reformers” in their prayers. |