smith_c@gatech.edu (Spawn of a Jewish Carpenter) (12/25/89)
A friend of mine recently gave me a Franciscan Rosary. Since I was
unfamiliar with how the Franciscan Rosary is prayed, and the local
Franciscan Conventual Order had never heard of it, I conducted some
research into the Rosary. Eventually, a Franciscan Monastary in New
York was able to tell me the Mysteries, which are, of course,
different from the standard Dominican Mysteries. David Cruz-Uribe
thoughtfully confirmed that the Franciscan Mysteries are:
Anunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus,
The Coming (Adoration) of the Magi,
Presentation in the Temple, Assumption,
Crowning of Mary
I learned from an Encyclopedia that the Seven Dolours or Seven Sorrows
of Mary, according to Saint Francis of blessed memory, are:
Simeon's Prophecy, Flight into Egypt, Three Days Loss,
Meeting Jesus Bearing His Cross, Crucifixion,
Taking Down from the Cross, Burial of Jesus
On the other hand, since the Seven Joys of Mary, according to Saint
Francis, are listed as
Anunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Epiphany,
Finding in the Temple, Resurrection, Assumption,
I cannot assume that the Sevens Dolours (Sorrows) are part of the
Franciscan Rosary, at least the way it was originally prayed.
While I've always been familiar with the Dominican Rosary, I was
surprised to learn that there were so many different Rosaries
recognized by the Church.
During my research, I discovered the existence of the following
Rosaries which are recognized by the Holy Roman Catholic Church:
Holy Trinity
Seven Dolours
Precious Blood
Saint Bridgitte
Saint Joseph
Rosary of the Lord
I can take an educated guess for some of these. From my reading, I
gather the Rosary of Saint Bridgitte consists of six decades. I know
only this because an old Dominican booklet (1800's) discussed the
matter of having a Saint Bridgitte Rosary blessed by a Dominican
priest, which seemed to be frowned upon; however, it did mention that
Saint Bridgitte's consisted of six decades.
From Sunday School, or some memory way back, I seem to remember the
Precious Blood recalls the seven times Christ shed His Blood:
Circumcision, Agony in the Garden (sweating bloody sweat), Whipping at
the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns, Stumbling three times, Nailed to the
Cross, Stabbed in the Side with the soldier's spear. Whether that's
equivalent to the Rosary, I don't know.
As for the Rosary of Saint Joseph, I would guess that the Anunciation
would be the Anunciation to Joseph, the Birth of Jesus, etc., told
from Matthew's Gospel, which has Joseph's point of view in mind. The
Franciscan Rosary seems to combine Luke and Matthew in this respect.
The following Rosaries, a document from the 1800's tells me, are not
recognized by the Catholic Church:
Seven Dolours
Immaculate Conception
Five Wounds
I'm assuming that the Roman Catholic Church changed its mind on the
Rosary of the Seven Dolours. The Rosary of the Five Wounds would seem
to be obvious: One decade for each of the five wounds of Christ. The
only other Rosary I've discovered (not recognized, to my knowledge) to
which I can attach Mysteries is the Rosary of the Blessed Name of
Jesus, which is prayed according to the Dominican format, i.e., five
decades:
Joyful Mysteries: Incarnation, Birth of Jesus, Circumcision,
Finding in the Temple, Baptism of Jesus
Sorrowful Mysteries: Washing the Feet of the Disciples,
Prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthsemene,
Our Saviour is Apprehended or Arrested,
Our Saviour Carries His Cross,
Descent of Our Saviour into Hell
Glorious Mysteries: Resurrection, Ascension, Our Lord Jesus Sends
Down His Holy Ghost, Our Lord Jesus Crowning
the Blessed Virgin Mary and All the Saints,
Our Lord Jesus Christ Coming to Judge Mankind
I believe this Rosary is sometimes called the Old Dominican Rosary.
The mantra is also different, being the following:
Joyful : O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us (10 times).*
Sorrowful: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, have mercy on us.*
Glorious : Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on us.*
The Rosary prayed by the Eastern Orthodox is a string of 100 beads,
not divided into decades, of which on each bead is prayed the
following mantra: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have
mercy on me, a sinner." Both this mantra and the Glorious mantra
above are derived from the Gospel story of the Pharisee and the tax
collector. (The Hail Mary, of course, comes from the Angelic
Salutation coupled with a later additional prayer.) That's about all
I know about the Eastern Orthodox Rosary, although it's my
understanding that lay Orthodox do not pray the Rosary; it's pretty
much exclusively the domain of monastics.
I would like to learn how to pray the Rosaries I listed above.
However, I cannot find anyone who has any information on what their
Mysteries are. Someone recommended that I contact various Rosary
leagues and organizations, which I have done. (Rosary Apostolate,
Rosary League of the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement, Legion of
Mary, among others; I've mailed them letters.) I'm still waiting to
hear from some. If you don't have any information on these Rosaries,
can you please tell me the names of any persons or organizations who
might know. I have tried Catholic bookstores and theological
libraries without success.
Thank you very much for any help you can give me.
Yours in His Name,
SPAWN OF A JEWISH CARPENTER
P.S. The Dominican Rosary has a total of fifteen Mysteries. A
standard chaplet Rosary has five decades. This is the modern
Dominican Rosary, which is the most popular Rosary in the Roman
Catholic Church today:
Joyful Mysteries -- Anunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Circumcision,
Finding in the Temple
Sorrowful Mysteries -- Prayers and Agony in the Garden of Gethsemene,
Whipping at the Pillar, Crowning with Thorns,
The Way of His Cross, Crucifixion and Death
Glorious Mysteries -- Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of His Holy Ghost,
Assumption of Mary, Coronation of Mary as Queen of
Heaven and the Coronation of All the Saints dcyprich@questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Dusan J. Cyprich) (09/17/90)
>> I am what I like to think of as a relapsed Catholic, since I left >> the Church when I was 18 (becoming a lapsed Catholic, to use a >> common phrase) and returned when I was 32. I have just begun >> trying to pray the rosary again, but I find I can't remember the >> various mysteries. Hi Roseanne. I also abandoned the Catholic faith for about two (?) years and just recently (within the last five months or so) returned to it. Before this, you could say that I was somewhat of a Fundamentalist. >> Is anyone out there able to help me with a list? Sure, I can give you a short, detailed list of one of the mysteries. This is from a book called "Let's Pray (not just say) the Rosary." It can be ordered from Liguori Publications. It only costs 50 cents. The address is: One Liguori Drive Liguori, Missouri 63057 If you have a hard time finding a copy of it, leave me your address and I'll mail it to you ... for FREE!!! I'll even mail copies to other people who ask for it ... on the condition I don't get a large number of orders (I'm just a student)! Ok, here are The Joyful Mysteries (suggested for Mondays and Thursdays). It includes the meditations for each of the small beads (Decades) on the Rosary. I. The Annunciation 1. Our Lady, rapt in prayer, is kneeling in her little home in Nazareth. 2. Suddenly, a bright light glows in the little room. 3. Unafraid, our Lady looks up to see the Archangel Gabriel standing before her. 4. For a moment, he gazes at her lovingly, and then speaks: "Hail, full of grace!" 5. He asks her to be God's Mother and awaits her reply. 6. Mary asks but one question: What of her vow of virginity? 7. The angel explains that she is to be at once virgin and mother. 8. Without further hesitation, our Lady bows her head in loving submission: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." 9. "Be it done to me according to thy word." 10. Then the angel departs and leaves the Word made flesh dwelling in Mary's womb. II. The Visitation 1. Our Lady had heard from Gabriel that her cousin, Elizabeth, is to have a baby. 2. Wishing to help her, Mary journeys from Galilee into the Judean hill country to Elizabeth's home. 3. Coming to her cousin's front door, our Lady greets her. 4. The presence of Mary's Son within his Mother causes Elizabeth's son, John, to leap with joy in his mother's womb. 5. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth cries, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!" 6. Filled with God's joy and love, our Lady chants her glorious Magnificat: "My soul doth magnify the Lord." 7. For three months she stays there helping Elizabeth. 8. She washes dishes, mends clothes, sweeps floors, prepares the meals. 9. She talks and prays and works with her elderly cousin. 10. Then, her services being needed no more, she takes the long journey home. III. The Birth of our Lord 1. An edict from Caesar Augustus in imperial Rome starts Joseph and Mary on the tedious road to Bethlehem. 2. Arriving there, they can find no room in the inn. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." 3. At last they find shelter in a hillside cattle shed. 4. There, in the stillness of the star-sprinkled night, Mary brings her Son, whose only Father is God. 5. She wraps him in the swaddling clothes which she has woven in preparation for his coming. 6. She lays him tenderly in the manger's straw. 7. There, she and Joseph adore their infant God. 8. On a nearby hillside, shepherds watching over their sheep are startled by angel voices bringing tidings of great joy. 9. They leave their sheep and come running to the feet of the Lamb of God. They kneel in simple faith to adore the tiny Good Shepherd. 10. All the while, Bethlehem and the wide world are sunk in unheeding slumber. They do not know that the Savior, Mary's Son and the Father's, is in their midst. IV. The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple 1. The time of Mary's legal purification draws near. She wraps the Child in warm clothing and takes him to Jerusalem with Joseph to present him to the Lord, his Father. 2. At the temple, Joseph purchases two doves, the offering of the poor. 3. Mary gives these offerings to the priest, and he prays over her. 4. And she, the immaculately spotless one, is cleansed! 5. As they come away from the altar, the aged Simeon meets them. 6. Eagerly, reverently, he takes the Child in his arms. 7. He sings his song of joy and dismissal now that his eyes have seen God's salvation sent to all people. 8. Looking at our Lady, he prophecies that a sword of sorrow will pierce her heart. 9. As they turn from Simeon, Anna, the prophetess, rejoices also to see the tiny King Messiah. 10. And after they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they return to Nazareth. V. The Find of the Child Jesus in the Temple 1. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (now a boy of 12) travel with a caravan up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. 2. The days of the feast being over, Mary and Joseph set out for home. But the Child Jesus remains in Jerusalem. 3. Terror seizes Mary's heart when she finds at the end of the first day's journey that her Boy is not with them. 4. Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem anxiously, sorrowfully, seeking Him. 5. For three heartbreaking days, they search in vain. 6. At last, they find him in the temple, listening to and asking the wise men questions. 7. With mingled sorrow and joy, Mary wonders: 8. "Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." 9. They do not understand his answer about his Father's business. 10. Jesus then goes down with them to Nazareth, remaining there in obscurity and obedience for 18 long years. >> I'm eager to make contact with other educated, technically-hip, >> Catholics. Me too! :) God bless djc