The Rosary From one Protestant's Perspective

[mangy_dog]

Hi guys,

I felt compelled to share some thoughts about the Rosary from my perspective, as I will come from one denomination to the Church. Before I begin, I just want to mention (for those of you who don’t know me) that I am a non-denominational Protestant, who was raised Southern Baptist, who also wants to become Catholic.

I still do not know much of the basic information on the Rosary, but as I learn it and pray it, I have realized something: The prayers we recite when we pray the Rosary are more about God and Christ than they are about anyone else, AKA the Blessed Mother. (The prayers most certainly include her, but I’ll get to that. . )

I feel compelled to discuss this realization because so many Protestants are confused and misinformed about the Rosary; heck, some even seem to fear it. This is evident through many Protestant comments and questions like, “When I pray it, am I worshiping Mary?” or “Is it even Christian to pray the Rosary?” even still, “Where in the Bible does it discuss this Rosary you speak of. . ?” or “That must be some kind of superstition–those beads can’t save you!”

I can also admit honestly, first hand, that when I first was given objective information about the Rosary, fear and suspicion immediately set in because of things I was told as a child. (For example, "Catholics worship Mary because every time they pray, they say “*Hail *Mary,”) When I was first learning about the Rosary, I definitely got caught up on the language. It made me a little uncomfortable. I know there are other Protestants who share these same feelings–I’ve seen question after question about this sort of thing, right here on our forums.

If you are Protestant, I have a few things to share with you:

-Catholics definitely do not *worship * Mary–they reserve that for God and Him alone. Do they place a lot of respect in the Blessed Mother? To this I say, yes, they do, but shouldn’t we all? (Without her, Jesus Christ would not have been born to walk the earth as a human being.)

-The Rosary is not “all about Mary;” from what I have learned, it is about the Father and the Son. Yes, there are definitely parts of the prayer that speak of Mary; but, if you pay close attention to those prayers, you will see that Mary is not always center-stage. Christ is placed center-stage. I encourage you to analyze the Ave Maria for yourself, as well as all the others prayers prayed during the Rosary. If you do not agree with me, that’s perfectly fine; but, just go find out yourself. No matter what your view, you will become more enlightened because of it.

Ave Maria
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Our Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of** God**,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

To my understanding, the prayer basically says this:

“Hello Mary, who is so very blessed! The Lord is with you.
You are greatly blessed because you bore Jesus.
Mother of God (and our mother, too), please pray for us.” (We are all sinners and require lots and lots of prayer. . -.-

That might be a very childish or maybe even ignorant interpretation of such a beautiful prayer, but that is the gist of it in my mind. I have to mention “Hail Mary.” A lot of Protestants I know–myself included, at least, in the past–interpret “Hail Mary,” as a verbal confirmation of devotion to the point of worship.

While I could be wrong, I was told that the phrase “Hail, Mary” was:

1. Spoken by the Angel Gabriel, so when we say it, we’re echoing his words, the good news he brought.
2. A way to say, “Hey, there!”

Because that is how I understand the language of the “Hail Mary,” I now pray the Rosary free of guilt and/or fear, and with conviction.

The Rosary is a powerful and valuable gift. If you feel compelled to pray the Rosary, don’t waste it–it’s worth your time, and it is certainly about the Lord. In that same vein, I have discovered that it only takes about 18-20 minutes to pray the Rosary. One thing that has made it easier for me to do is this video:

youtube.com/watch?v=6AW5wueFe-w&feature=player_profilepage

This person’s channel is excellent, in my opinion. I enjoy it very much and I visit it often. I especially love how they include prayers in Spanish! I’ve been looking for those! They also include Irish-Gaelic and (I think) Latin, by the way.

In any case, if you’re a Protestant and you want to convert, don’t be afraid. You are not being mislead. When you come home to the Church, you are coming under the care of the Holy Spirit. The Church is always protected by the Holy Spirit, even if the leaders sometimes show their human weaknesses. If you are with the Church, you will not be mislead because the Holy Spirit will guide you. What better reason for “taking the plunge?”

I thank God for having given you the grace of this revelation. The Blessed Mother has truly taken you under her loving guidance.

God bless and keep you always, continue to pray the Rosary.

Love mangy dog.

 

[helped]

I also am a protestant, and I wish to say something. I am not religious, and I do not attend church, though I have as a younger man, I am 46 years old now.

Throughout my life I have wished to be holy and good but I could not be, and was constantly frustrated by this, and so I gave up all hope of living up to God’s standards.

I have started praying the rosary, and then felt guilty because there was sin in my life, and stopped praying the rosary. I picked it up again and now say it daily, at least once, rarely without fail for some weeks.

The effect of the rosary on me is nothing less than stunning. I have been given grace to overcome some sinful desires. I have never in my life experienced anything like this. This must be grace. There is no other way for me to explain it.

And furthermore, it is so comforting that the rosary is always there. One must be free of sin to be a good Catholic, but for those of us who are not there yet, there is the rosary.

This is the most rugged, most dependable, most durable, most perfect devotion. It is said that it is a weapon against evil, that it is the scourge of the devil. It must be so. And even sinful men such as me can pray it.

I have told many friends about this, and, yes, you do not have to be a member of the Catholic Church to pray the rosary. This is very clear.

What a precious gift this has been to me! I have been given such a wonderful gift!

 

[helped]

It all started when me and two friends were having pizza. One friend was wearing a tshirt with a hindu diety on it. My other friend is Catholic, though he does not practice or go to Mass. He engages in sinful acts according to the Church, and he is hot headed.

He angrily said to my other friend, “What do you have against the Blessed Mother?” I then thought, “What do I have against the Blessed Mother?” I as a protestant knew nothing much of Mary.

My angry Catholic friend was having trouble from a divorce, and I encouraged him to pray 10 Hail Mary prayers, since I was vaguely aware that this is a practice of his faith.

I became curious myself, then, and started. This is how it started.

 

[helped]

Just one more thing, and I will stop. I wish you all to know that I am still sinful, but there has been grace given to me, and now there is less sin. This is not something that I could have done on my own power. It has to have been a result of the rosary.

Even if I never am in a state of grace, I can still pray this rosary. There surely can come no harm from it.

I would encourage all of my friends to do it, to pray it alone, to pray it with friends, to pray it for their friends.

 

[Della]

Your story is truly inspiring, helped. As you progress in your devotion for Mary and the rosary, you will find that more and more she will give you the graces that will help you overcome your sins and faults. We all have sins and faults, and no sin is too great for God to forgive. If you are interested in learning what the Church teaches and are thinking of entering it, most inquiry classes, called RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) start around September in most parishes. If you call your local parish they will put you in touch with whoever is leading it. You have my prayers for you and your lapsed Catholic friend.

 

[Tenebrae]

With regard to the prayer “Hail, Holy Queen,” the prayer is actually a poem–in the original Latin it rhymes:

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae,
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac lacrymarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes
oculos ad nos converte.
Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

 

[jesuspsr]

I also am a protestant, and I wish to say something. I am not religious, and I do not attend church, though I have as a younger man, I am 46 years old now.

Throughout my life I have wished to be holy and good but I could not be, and was constantly frustrated by this, and so I gave up all hope of living up to God’s standards.

I have started praying the rosary, and then felt guilty because there was sin in my life, and stopped praying the rosary. I picked it up again and now say it daily, at least once, rarely without fail for some weeks.

The effect of the rosary on me is nothing less than stunning. I have been given grace to overcome some sinful desires. I have never in my life experienced anything like this. This must be grace. There is no other way for me to explain it.

And furthermore, it is so comforting that the rosary is always there. One must be free of sin to be a good Catholic, but for those of us who are not there yet, there is the rosary.

This is the most rugged, most dependable, most durable, most perfect devotion. It is said that it is a weapon against evil, that it is the scourge of the devil. It must be so. And even sinful men such as me can pray it.

I have told many friends about this, and, yes, you do not have to be a member of the Catholic Church to pray the rosary. This is very clear.

What a precious gift this has been to me! I have been given such a wonderful gift!

Welcome to CAF and thank you, reading your post made the spirit within me move and inspired me to say the rosary today.

God bless

jesus g