Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: nanovx!ncsatl!smith_c@gatech.edu (Spawn of a Jewish Carpenter) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Praying the Rosary Message-ID: Date: 25 Dec 89 06:32:38 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 143 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu 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