From the Religion Department
The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.
Rosary beads are used to help Catholics count their prayers. Catholics often pray the rosary to make a request to God, some to thank God for blessings received or for requesting a special favour, for example, if someone is sick to help them recover.
The feast was introduced by Pope St. Pius V in the year 1571 and legend tells us that the Rosary as a form of prayer was given to St. Dominic (1170-1221) by Mary, the Mother of Our Lord. The Dominican Pope, St. Pius V, did much to further the spread of the Rosary and it thereafter became one of the most popular devotions in Christendom.
The 150 "Hail Marys" were subdivided into fifteen decades by the young Dominican friar, Henry Kalkar (1328-1408), with each decade referring to an event in the life of Jesus and Mary. The Dominican, Alanus de Rupe (1428-1478) further divided the episodes in the history of salvation into the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries.
The practice of dedicating the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary developed toward the end of the last century. Pope Leo XIII strongly promoted the increase of devotion to the Blessed Mother by encouraging the constant use of the Rosary.
Pope Paul VI wrote that "the Rosary retains an unaltered value and intact freshness."
The Rosary is primarily a scriptural prayer, the Rosary is " a compendium of the entire Gospel" (AAS 38 [1946] p. 419). The Rosary draws its mysteries from the New Testament and is centred on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption.
John Paul II called the Rosary his favorite prayer, in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a mother meditated on in her heart (Lk. 2:19).In this month of October, let us consider this beautiful prayer of the Rosary as a means that we too can use in order to draw closer to Jesus and Mary by meditating on the great mysteries of our salvation.
Pope Francis has encouraged the faithful to pray the Rosary during the month of October.
Rosary beads are used to help Catholics count their prayers. Catholics often pray the rosary to make a request to God, some to thank God for blessings received or for requesting a special favour, for example, if someone is sick to help them recover.
