Some questions about the Rosary

[Dtmccameron]

Hello, and thank you for gracing my petty inquiries with you attentions!

First off,

What is the Rosary?
What are the Rosary beads?
Are they a simply a device for counting?
What about Blessed Rosaries?
And how on earth would one go about obtaining a blessed Rosary without commiting simony (My understanding of simony might be wrong, pray have pity on your most unworthy servant!)?
And how would one KNOW if a Rosary is blessed or not?
And if a Rosary isn’t blessed, how would one go about getting it so? Is it imperative to even do so?

(This questiong begs for a bit of history) Now, when I was child, I was raised to understand that one should NEVER wear a Rosary as a necklace. It was disrespectful. (Looking on this now, I think the key point might have be “as a necklace”.)

But I was reading about certain Saints who placed Rosaries about the necks of sinners, which warded off the demons who were dragging the sinners about, allowing them to go to confession.

SO! What’s the verdict? I think, as I said before in parenthasess, that the matter might lie in ‘how’ one would wear it. Not as jewelry, not as a fashion accessory, but perhaps humbly and respectfully?

Many thanks, my friends, and my humble apologies for bothering you with these questiong which I ought know the answers to already, most especially the ones which have likely been asked a million times already!

 

[PhilotheaZ]

What is the Rosary?

A prayer whereby we pray certain vocal prayers (the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be) while meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary (certain events in the lives of Jesus and Mary — His birth, childhood, public life, death, resurrection, etc.). It is both a Christ-centered prayer and a Marian prayer, because when we pray the Rosary we accompany Mary in meditating on the life of Jesus.

What are the Rosary beads?
Are they a simply a device for counting?

In a most basic sense, yes. They help us count the “Hail Marys” that we pray while meditating on each mystery. But in a more spiritual sense, we can think of them as a chain linking us to Jesus and Mary. Pope John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae:

1. The traditional aid used for the recitation of the Rosary is the set of beads. At the most superficial level, the beads often become a simple counting mechanism to mark the succession of Hail Marys. Yet they can also take on a symbolism which can give added depth to contemplation.

Here the first thing to note is the way the beads converge upon the Crucifix, which both opens and closes the unfolding sequence of prayer. The life and prayer of believers is centred upon Christ. Everything begins from him, everything leads towards him, everything, through him, in the Holy Spirit, attains to the Father.

As a counting mechanism, marking the progress of the prayer, the beads evoke the unending path of contemplation and of Christian perfection. Blessed Bartolo Longo saw them also as a “chain” which links us to God. A chain, yes, but a sweet chain; for sweet indeed is the bond to God who is also our Father. A “filial” chain which puts us in tune with Mary, the “handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38) and, most of all, with Christ himself, who, though he was in the form of God, made himself a “servant” out of love for us (Phil 2:7).

A fine way to expand the symbolism of the beads is to let them remind us of our many relationships, of the bond of communion and fraternity which unites us all in Christ.

What about Blessed Rosaries?

A priest or deacon blesses rosaries (and other religious articles) by praying for God’s blessing upon the person who uses it. This prayer accompanies the blessed article.

And how on earth would one go about obtaining a blessed Rosary without commiting simony (My understanding of simony might be wrong, pray have pity on your most unworthy servant!)?

You simply ask a priest or deacon to bless it. It takes only a few seconds. Simony is the act of charging money for blessings or sacraments. Generally, blessed objects should not be sold, but really I think this means you should not charge extra for the blessing. (I had our house in Kentucky blessed when we lived there, and later we sold the house when we moved to Pennsylvania. That was not simony.)

And how would one KNOW if a Rosary is blessed or not?

You would know if you yourself asked the priest or deacon to bless it for you, or the person who gave it to you tells you that they had a priest or deacon bless it for you.

And if a Rosary isn’t blessed, how would one go about getting it so? Is it imperative to even do so?

It’s not imperative, but it’s a good idea. I know that I can use all the extra blessings I can get!