The rosary actually takes it name from a popular title for Mary:  Mystical Rose.  It follows an ancient practice of praying the 150 Psalms (a practice that dates back to the original disciples), but for those who could not read an Our Father was substituted for each psalm.  Because of the number of prayers, beads were used to keep count.  In medieval times it was a popular penance to give.  Imagine having to say 150 Our Fathers as your penance!

By the 12th century Hail Mary’s were substituted for the Our Fathers.  These were divided into three groups of 50 (rosaries) and each of these was divided into groups of 10 (decades).  Quickly three sets of themes, or mysteries, were associated with the rosary.  They reflect events in the lives of Mary and Jesus.  The repetitive praying of the Hail Mary not only acts as a focal point for our prayer, but as a stepping stone into meditation upon the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious events of Jesus’ saving action.

The Hail Mary itself is actually a combination of scriptural passages.  The first part is Gabriel s greeting of Mary at the Annunciation:  “Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!  The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” (Luke 1:26-28)   The second part reflects Elizabeth s recognition of Mary s unique motherhood when the two pregnant women met:  Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.   (Luke 1:42) Think about it: when we are praying the Hail Mary we are praying words of Scripture that contain the joy of the announcement of the conception of Jesus and the recognition of Mary’s role as mother in God’s saving act.   Later, devotional words seeking Mary’s intercession were added:  Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and the hour of our death. Amen.   This addition happened when popular prayers began to change in their nature from praise to petition.

Mary is our patroness here.  As a parish dedicated to the honor of Mary it is good that we each exercise some concrete expression of our love for this beautiful woman.  Whether it be devotional prayers like the rosary or the angelus, litanies to Mary, or just a quiet conversation each Catholic should take to heart her position as our Mother and our Model.  With such a show of devotion flowering in our parish I look forward to the graces she is going to bestow.