Why pray the rosary?

Is it not corrupt, satantic, vain repetition?

Sometimes, I forget how wounded the Body of Christ is and how separated we are as Christians. It is easy, living in our own bubbles, to forget how disparate and disconnected we are from each other.

Yesterday was the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, so I posted a reminder on social media to “pray the rosary.” Part of my vocation is reminding people to pray and praying with them. I received a number of questions that caught me off guard, including:

Fr. Calvin why are always posting rosaries in your story? Are you catholic - where in Scripture does it say pray the rosary - it was a corrupt practice of the medieval catholic church and as false as many of their satanic doctrines.

Calvin Robinson there is something in the scriptures against vain and repetitious prayer which the rosary is the bedrock of isn’t it? I like most of your work, but have to be careful of some of the Catholic traditions.

So where in the New Testament do we find the apostles praying the rosary?

Mariology is far removed from the simplicity of Christ. Plain as day...we are all Mary and have her experience spiritually. Isn't this the the true born again experience. Christ in you your hope of glory.

Dont! Jesus alone saves!

No need to pray the rosary. You can pray directly to God.

A genuine question: where in the Bible does it state anything about these beads? Are there any specific scriptures I can read about them and if there is any connection or relevance to Yeshua, Yaweh, Christ Jesus?

Please give me scripture ref where the believer is instructed to pray to Mary? (Or any other saint come to that?)

These are direct quotes. They seem well-intentioned but show a clear misunderstanding. I want to take a moment to address some of the most common misconceptions.

And it is not just poorly catechised Protestants; the Romans were jumping in, too:

The "luminous mysteries" are not part of the rosary

Drop the luminous 🤔

I get it. There are 150 Psalms and 150 Hail Marys in the rosary cycle, and Our Lady did not give the Luminous Mysteries to St Dominic (we’ll get to that), but I do not see a problem with additional prayers. Call me a modernist if you like, but it just seems like the Rad Trads are overly precious about this. I have seen rosary beads used for other prayer patterns - some people use them in a similar way to an Eastern Orthodox komboskini saying, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner” for every prayer; some people use them for divine chaplet prayers; some Low Church people say the Lord’s Prayer for every bead instead of Hail Marys. Prayer is prayer is prayer. More prayer is a good thing. I cannot get behind the idea that the Luminous Mysteries should be removed or are not part of the rosary. They have been since St John Paul II introduced them in 2002. Pray them if they help you; ignore them if they do not.

Some people even unfollowed me for posting about the rosary, which is probably a good thing because I will be posting more Christian prayers and rosary updates in the future. If someone is triggered by prayer, they are probably better off not following me on social media. Although, announcing an unfollowing is unnecessarily passive-aggressive.

We will address the above comments and misconceptions, but before we talk about what the rosary is not, let us discuss what it is.

What is the purpose of the rosary?

Prayer.

The rosary is a set of beads used to aid Christians in their prayer. The word bead in English comes from the Old English gebed, which is Germanic in origin, linked with the Dutch bede and German gebet. It means to pray, or to ‘bid’. Beads were purposefully designed as prayer aids.

Mary, as the Mother of God, directs people to her Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Just as she did at the wedding at Cana, when He performed his first miracle. Mary intercedes for the people at the wedding when they are out of wine, and Christ at first seems to rebuke her “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” But Mary does not waver in her faith in her Son, telling the servants to “Do whatever he tells you”, and, of course, Jesus then performs his first public miracle.

In our lives, Mary, as the Theotokos — the God-bearer — points us in the direction of her son. She reminds us to keep our focus on him. The immaculate heart of Mary leads us to the sacred heart of Jesus. Just as she did with her fiat in the story of the Annunciation, when Mary consented to the Angel Gabriel to bear the Son of God. She showed us how to commit to God’s plan, to accept His will, just as Jesus did in his kenosis, His emptying of Himself to become man, God incarnate, fully God yet fully man, and then again in His submission to the will of the Father.

Of all the people, in all places, throughout all time, God chose Mary to be His Tabernacle. We honour her because of that and because at the end of His Passion on the Cross, Jesus gave His mother His Church, “Behold, your mother!” For that reason, we venerate Mary, and we hold her in high regard and with great respect. We do not worship her.

Praying the Rosary

When we pray the rosary, we start off with the doxology; we open our prayer to the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit with a sign of the cross to highlight our prayers to the Triune God. We worship only the one true God.

We then recite the Apostle’s Creed, a declaration of the Christian faith.

Then we start off with an Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer, which our Saviour Christ commanded and taught us, and we are bold to say.

Followed by three Hail Marys (Luke 1:28 & Luke 1:41-42), where we acknowledge that Jesus is the heart of our faith - blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus - and ask for the intercessions of the Mother of God, the person closest to our Lord and Saviour.

We then pray another doxology, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen”, as if there was any doubt who we are worshipping and where our prayers are directed. All glory belongs to God.

That is the introduction, and now we pray through five decades - sets of ten beads - with the same pattern. We start with an Our Father, we pray Hail Marys on the small beads, and we end with a Glory Be. After each decade, we pray a Fatima Prayer, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.”

Before each decade, we remind ourselves of a mystery. The idea is to hold these sacred mysteries in our minds as we pray through the decade. We may also include intercessions. If we have things/people to pray for, a good time is to announce them at the start of each decade. Some people like to pray for a different intention with every bead.

Intercessions

Prayer intentions are an important part of praying the rosary.

Jesus Christ is our mediator between man and God the Father. He is the mediator of the New Covenant. But the Scriptures teach us that there are other forms of intercession, too: “the Spirit himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26) and that we should intercede for each other. St Paul often asked for prayers, “I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30). Again in 2 Corinthians 1:11, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.” And another prayer request in his second epistle to the Thessalonians, “Finally, brethren, pray for us…” (2 Thessalonians 3)

Jesus Himself commands us to pray for others, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and in the Our Father (Matthew 6:5–13).

We have all seen the old trope a million times:
Protestant: “There is only one mediator, Jesus Christ; why ask for prayers from Mary or the Saints?”
Catholic: “Do you not ask your friends and family to pray for you, too?”

It is cliche at this point, but it is accurate. And to those who say the Saints are dead, remember the Scriptures teach us otherwise, “the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:52) and that neither death nor life can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-38). It is a fine thing to ask for the prayers of those close to Christ.

Sacred Mysteries

There are three or four sets of mysteries, depending on how traditionalist you are. There are the Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries, Glorious Mysteries, and the optional extra of Luminous Mysteries.

There are five mysteries per set, and typically, we pray them on these days:

Mondays and Saturdays: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesdays and Fridays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesdays and Sundays: Glorious Mysteries
Thursdays: Luminous Mysteries

The more traditional approach is

Mondays: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesdays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesdays: Glorious Mysteries
Thursdays: Joyful Mysteries
Fridays: Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturdays: Glorious Mysteries
Sundays: Glorious Mysteries

For Rad Trads who find this problematic, the common advice is to meditate on the Luminous mysteries as a discrete/additional chaplet. This way, you can follow St. John Paul II's recommendation whilst still maintaining the traditional symbolism of the rosary as the Marian Psalter.

What do we meditate on as we pray through the mysteries?

Joyful Mysteries

The Annunciation; The Visitation; The Nativity of Our Lord; The Presentation in the Temple; The Finding in the Temple.

Luke 1:26-27 & 1:31, Luke 1:39-42, Luke 2:6-7 & 10, Luke 2:22 & 26, Luke 2:42-49

Sorrowful Mysteries

The Agony in the Garden; The Scourging at the Pillar; The Crowning with Thorns; The Carrying of the Cross; The Crucifixion.

Matthew 26:36-39 & 45, Luke 23:16, John 19:1, Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 27:28-29, John 19:5-6 & 17, Luke 9:23, Luke 23:33, John 19:25-27.

Glories Mysteries

The Resurrection; The Ascensions; The Descent of the Holy Spirit;' The Assumption of Our Lady; The Coronation of Our Lady

Matthew 25:5-6, John 11:25-26, Mark 16:19, Acts 1:11,2:1-2,38, Revelation 12:1, Judith 13:18 & 15:9, Psalm 45:13-14.

The Luminous Mysteries

The Baptism of Our Lord; The Wedding of Cana; The Proclamation of the Kingdom; The Transfiguration of Our Lord; The Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Matthew 3:13-17, John 2:1-3,5,7,9,11, Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 10:5-8, Matthew 17:2 & 5, Matthew 26:26-28, John 6:51,5456.

What are the origins of the rosary?

Prayer ropes have always been used by Christians as a tangible tool to aid prayer. The Jesus Prayer and the Our Father were the most popular prayers said with prayer ropes in the early centuries.

The legend behind the rosary, though, is that St Dominic had a vision of Mary, in which she presented him with a rosary - the beads and the prayers. St Dominic travelled and promoted the rosary to Catholics as he preached the Gospel. This took place in the early 1200s, long before the Protestant Reformation.

Marian Apparitions have occurred a few times throughout history. No one is forced to believe in private revelations. These are known as pious devotions. Many of these apparitions have led to the conversion of millions of souls to Christ, most significantly perhaps, Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, which led to around 10 million conversions to the Catholic faith. Cardinal Burke is leading a nine-month novena on this for those who are interested in more prayers.

Answering Protestant Misconceptions

“Where in the Bible does it tell us to pray the Rosary? Give me Scripture references.”

The framing of this question suggests a misunderstanding of the purpose of the Bible. God reveals Himself to us in a few ways. Early on in the Old Testament, it was through the Patriarchs; later in the New Testament, it was through the Apostles. But ultimately, God became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to reveal Himself to us and to form a New Covenant with us. He taught his Apostles, and they, in turn, taught the next generation of elders, who have passed on that knowledge and orders all the way through to today’s bishops. We call that ministry Apostolic Succession. After a few hundred years, these teachings were written down and compiled into what we now call the Bible. The Bible is Sacred - it is divine revelation - but it is not an instruction book or encyclopedia of absolutely everything. It is God’s revelation to us, along with the Church’s teachings - Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture together.

What the Bible does not do, is explicitly list everything we should or should not do. It sets the tone. The Bible introduces us to Jesus, it does not tell us everything he did or said during his ministry on earth. Nor does it lay out a rulebook for life.

For instance, the Bible does not say that we need to hold our hands up or sway when we pray, but some people find that comforting. Nor does the bible say to thumb beads when we pray, but that works for many. If it enhances one’s prayer life and is not performative, it should be encouraged.

Some people hold hands when they say grace before a meal; others use icons to focus their attention; some light candles; others sing praise and worship music. None of these things are found in the Bible.

In fact, it could be argued that the rosary is more scriptural than extemporary prayer. When people pray what is on their hearts, they tend to make it up as they go along - there is a risk of falling into error or heresy. However, when people pray through the rosary, they tend to use prayers developed over the centuries by theologians to focus us back on the scriptures (as highlighted above in Sacred Mysteries).

Mariology

There are a lot of objections to Mariology as being unscriptural. We explained some of that in ‘What is the purpose of the rosary?’

This seems to be a modern Protestant idea that is very separate from the thinking of the Reformers. John Calvin, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli all agreed that Mary was blessed amongst women, that she was to be honoured and venerated, and that she remained a perpetual virgin. None of them said the Roman Catholic Church overemphasized her role. None of them claimed protestant teachings on Mariology should differ from Catholic teachings.

Martin Luther is known to have defended Mary as the Mother of God, her perpetual virginity, her immaculate conception and her assumption:

“She is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God ... It is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God.”

“It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a Virgin.”

“But the other conception, namely the infusion of the soul, it is piously and suitably believed, was without any sin, so that while the soul was being infused, she would at the same time be cleansed from original sin and adorned with the gifts of God to receive the holy soul thus infused. And thus, in the very moment in which she began to live, she was without all sin...”

“There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know.”

Luther venerated Mary, “The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart.” and in his final sermon at Wittenberg in 1546 wrote, “Is Christ only to be adored? Or is the holy Mother of God rather not to be honoured? This is the woman who crushed the Serpent's head. Hear us. For your Son denies you nothing.”

John Calvin likewise said, “Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God.”

“Helvidius has shown himself too ignorant, in saying that Mary had several sons, because mention is made in some passages of the brothers of Christ.” The word for ‘brother’, we know to mean ‘close relative’ such as ‘cousin’.

Calvin showed veneration and honour, “It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honour.”

“To this day we cannot enjoy the blessing brought to us in Christ without thinking at the same time of that which God gave as adornment and honour to Mary, in willing her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son.”

Ulrich Zwingli said many similar things, too.

Jesus alone saves

This is at best a truism and at worse a strawman. Yes, Jesus alone saves. Jesus Christ is our only Lord and Saviour. No one is arguing against that or undermining it.

Catholics worship God and venerate Mary and the Saints. Veneration is not the same as worship. A common argument here is to differentiate between latria, dulia and hyperdulia. Latria is the honour and worship due to God alone. Dulia is honouring the Saints and hyperdulia is the highest honour given to Mary, below that of latria. But I do not find this argument helpful. Whilst it makes sense to Catholics, it sounds like semantics to Protestants.

The problem in translation here is really in the way Catholics and Protestants worship. Protestants sing songs of ‘praise and worship’, and they pray. Protestant worship is very much stuck in the temporal. Whereas Catholics can sing hymns about God but also sing songs venerating Saints and Mary without causing any confusion because true worship to Catholics comes in the form of the Sacraments, which all centre around the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Holy Communion, in Catholic teaching, is the real presence of Jesus. When a Catholic consumes the consecrated host during Mass, they are united in Communion with God Himself, a glimpse of heaven is brought to earth, as our hearts are lifted toward heaven. Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, is really present in what used to be that bread and wine. This is a form of worship that is spiritual, otherworldly even. Without it, all veneration, adoration, and worship would seem pretty much the same.

Vain repetition

This is what happens when people take one line of scripture out of context. Matthew 6:7 is often quoted as follows: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” The context here is about heaping up empty phrases, babbling in tongues or mindlessly repeating nonsense.

We repeat prayers all the time. People who pray the Daily Office / Liturgy of Hours pray the Lord’s Prayer at least twice a day but never do so in vain. Psalm 136 has repetition, with the same line over and over, “for his steadfast love endures for ever.” but in the context, it makes sense, and the scriptures cannot contradict themselves. So, this is not an outright rule against repetition.

With the rosary, yes, there is repetition involved, but no, it is not in vain.

Pious Devotion

I think when it all comes down to it, praying the rosary is an ‘optional extra’, a pious devotion people can choose to do or choose not to do. If it helps you in your spiritual life, fantastic.

When in Rome, I tend to pick up a few rosaries to give away to Christians I meet out and about. Here are some rosaries I recently gave away to my Instagram followers:

Kind followers occasionally send me rosaries, too. I always keep and treasure them and use them for prayer. Here are a few nice rosaries I have been sent. One was for Dan Wootton and another for Tommy Robinson. If rosaries can be used to bring people back into the faith, I see that as a win-win.

Tomorrow, I am off on a Pilgrimage to Europe. I am really looking forward to some prayerful contemplation with Patrick Coffin and Bishop Strickland. I imagine we will be praying the rosary a lot. If you have any prayer requests, please send me a private message.

I will be praying for you all. Please pray for me, a sinner too.