To live by faith

[Craig_Kennedy]

Isn’t that the truth Roza, and isnt it funny when you do resort to tooth and nail you are not only hated you hate yourself. Because in the end it only breeds anger for everyone. Then you go home, you are angry, you makes those around you angry and for what?

But here is the one that BLOWS MY MIND, where you are nice to someone, and you help them, you are getting nothing in return on the outside, OH but on the inside PRICELESS, To see someones face in need, and to know I MADE THEM FEEL BETTER, because lets face it you could have made them feel worse, but that feeling inside when you know I Did what God asked of me. There is no money in this world to replace that joy. Isnt that just like God to ask us to do it his way, and then instead of getting the benefits turns around and gives them to us in tens. Because when you dont expect it, it is soooooooooo wonderful!

A wonderful reminder to us of how good God is to us.

We can truly count our blessings and name them one by one!

God owns everything and yet He blesses us in ways - not always material - beyond our comprehension.

Praise the King of Heaven, Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

In view of all these wonderful posts, that have shifted this discussion away from living by faith in a doctrinal sense to living by faith in the “Good Samaritan” sense:

Can somebody please explain for me what the various “orders” are in the Catholic Church, their names and what they stand for eg Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Marians etc.

God bless, Craig

 

[benedictus2]

In view of all these wonderful posts, that have shifted this discussion away from living by faith in a doctrinal sense to living by faith in the “Good Samaritan” sense:

Can somebody please explain for me what the various “orders” are in the Catholic Church, their names and what they stand for eg Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Marians etc.

God bless, Craig

Been trawling through the threads and came upon this one which seems to have died a premature death which is sad because I think the discussion is great with none of the heat in the other threads.

Anyway, to give a brief overview, the orders in the Church are I suppose the different charisms by which people are called to follow Christ.

The Benedictines’ primary charism is Prayer and Work. Much is devoted to praying the Scripture and praying the Liturgy of the Hours and founded by St Benedict.

The Dominicans is the Order of Friars Preachers founded by St Dominic to fight the Cathar heresy, St Thomas Aquinas being the most famous member.

Franciscans was founded by St Francis of Assisi (most famous of all Saints I belive because of the movie Brother Son Sister Moon). Their charism is following Christ in in Poverty.

All Orders I belive profess to embrace chastity, poverty and obedience.

Orders are usually founded in response to the needs of the Church so some order die as in they no longer have vocations but others are born.

This follows from being different members of Christs body and so having different functions.

 

[Rawb]

I’d forgotten about this thread! Is Craig still around? Are you out there Craig?

As Catholics live by faith, the Marian doctrines, obviously, are very central and important.

Do Catholics believe that Mary was sinless? If so, how is this doctrine derived? Where in scripture does it teach this?

Who were Mary’s earthly parents?

God bless you, Craig

I don’t think anyone answered this question for you so:

Mary’s parents, tradition tells us, were St. Joachim and St. Anne. They were thought to be an elderly, devout Jewish couple who were blessed with only one child-our Blessed Mother.

Yes. Catholics teach that Mary was sinless. Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant, and just as God had very specific instructions as to how the original Ark was built, He carefully constructed the New Ark. Something imperfect cannot carry Our Lord, who is the True Vine, the Word, and the Bread of Life (look at what was carried in the old ark for reference) so God applied Christ’s saving power to Mary’s conception (time doesn’t apply to God; it was ‘retro-fitted’) to preserve her from Original Sin. She then chose never to sin, so she was sinless, but with a Savior still.

In Scripture the single most important verse that references this is The Gospel According to St. Luke 1:28 where St. Gabriel says “Hail, Favored One.”

It looses something in translation.

For example, the greeting “Hail” is sort of strange for an angel to give to a Human (Our Blessed Mother even says “What kind of greeting is this?”) but secondly, the translation “Full of Grace” is a single word in Greek, and it is a name. God changes Mary’s name to Full-of-Grace (Kecharitomene) which translates to having been filled and now overflowing with graces.

The Catholic Answers Tract: catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp is great on this subject.

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Been trawling through the threads and came upon this one which seems to have died a premature death which is sad because I think the discussion is great with none of the heat in the other threads.

Anyway, to give a brief overview, the orders in the Church are I suppose the different charisms by which people are called to follow Christ.

The Benedictines’ primary charism is Prayer and Work. Much is devoted to praying the Scripture and praying the Liturgy of the Hours and founded by St Benedict.

The Dominicans is the Order of Friars Preachers founded by St Dominic to fight the Cathar heresy, St Thomas Aquinas being the most famous member.

Franciscans was founded by St Francis of Assisi (most famous of all Saints I belive because of the movie Brother Son Sister Moon). Their charism is following Christ in in Poverty.

All Orders I belive profess to embrace chastity, poverty and obedience.

Orders are usually founded in response to the needs of the Church so some order die as in they no longer have vocations but others are born.

This follows from being different members of Christs body and so having different functions.

Thank you for your post which was most clear, helpful and informative.

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

I’d forgotten about this thread! Is Craig still around? Are you out there Craig?

I don’t think anyone answered this question for you so:

Mary’s parents, tradition tells us, were St. Joachim and St. Anne. They were thought to be an elderly, devout Jewish couple who were blessed with only one child-our Blessed Mother.

Yes. Catholics teach that Mary was sinless. Mary is the New Ark of the Covenant, and just as God had very specific instructions as to how the original Ark was built, He carefully constructed the New Ark. Something imperfect cannot carry Our Lord, who is the True Vine, the Word, and the Bread of Life (look at what was carried in the old ark for reference) so God applied Christ’s saving power to Mary’s conception (time doesn’t apply to God; it was ‘retro-fitted’) to preserve her from Original Sin. She then chose never to sin, so she was sinless, but with a Savior still.

In Scripture the single most important verse that references this is The Gospel According to St. Luke 1:28 where St. Gabriel says “Hail, Favored One.”

It looses something in translation.

For example, the greeting “Hail” is sort of strange for an angel to give to a Human (Our Blessed Mother even says “What kind of greeting is this?”) but secondly, the translation “Full of Grace” is a single word in Greek, and it is a name. God changes Mary’s name to Full-of-Grace (Kecharitomene) which translates to having been filled and now overflowing with graces.

The Catholic Answers Tract: catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp is great on this subject.

Hi Rawb,

Yes, I’m still around. I am continuing to learn more and more about the Catholic Faith.

In the area of the Marian doctrines, I am open to learn more. Your post has proved most helpful.

I do have another question, though:

Where did the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception come from? What is its genesis and context? What are the scriptures used to advance this dogma?

I look forward to your responses.

God bless, Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Hi Rawb,

I see that a lot of my questions in the previous post about the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary, are actually answered in the tract you referred me to.

You are still most welcome, though, to comment further if you see fit.

God bless, Craig

 

[Lief_Erikson]

There are many other passages of scripture not referred to in that tract, which refer to it implicitly, and there are lots of Early Church Fathers who wrote about it.

The “Full of Grace” is probably the strongest New Testament reference to the Immaculate Conception. There are many Old Testament typological references to her Immaculate Conception in addition to that of the ark. I don’t have my list of them on hand, so I can’t get into them at the moment.

There are many passages that show Mary to be the one who receives incredible honors beyond the lot of other Christians, though.

Elizabeth says of Mary, “Blessed art thou among women,” suggesting that she is more blessed than any woman. Elizabeth then addresses her as “Mother of my Lord.” In the language of the East at that time, this choice of words was only made to address a queen. There are no records from that time period of it being used in any other way. Only to refer to queens.

Elizabeth’s form of address here has implications more profound than this, though, because the “Lord” in this specific case, as it is used in the Psalms, means God as well as King. Thus Elizabeth is addressing Mary as “Mother of God,” and “Queen Mother,” simultaneously in this verse.

Equally important is this reference to Mary, who had not even been raised up into Heaven at this time. The Angel Gabriel addresses her with the word “Hail!” a word that in the language of the East (like the term “Mother of my Lord”), was only used to address royalty.

On what follows, I could be mistaken. But I don’t believe rulers visiting one another had to address one another with the word “Hail!” Only their subjects did. Thus the archangel Gabriel acknowledged Mary’s superiority to him as he addressed her, and Scripture acknowledges her role as Queen of Angels. This also is reflected in the fact that golden cherubim cover with their wings the ark of the Lord in the Old Testament.

It is no wonder that Mary’s response was, according to Luke: But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then, in the New Testament, Mary becomes Mother of the Church when, at the cross, Jesus said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” and then said to “the beloved disciple,” “son, behold your mother.” In this event, according to Early Church teaching, Mary became the Mother of the Church and all Christians (the “beloved disciple,” John, represents all of us) were instructed to devote themselves to her and take her as their Mother.

The Old Testament contains countless prophecies of Mary’s role as Mother of the Church. The types of Mary in the Old Testament- people such as Sarah, Rachel and many others (I have a list at home, but am not writing from home right now), are told that they will be richly blessed and will be called mother of many nations. These typological predictions were fulfilled in Mary when she became Mother of the Church.

Thus we see in Scripture Mary’s role as Queen of Angels, Queen of believers on Earth (see Elizabeth) and Mother of God and Mother of the Church- in addition to what you were already shown in the tract about her Assumption and Immaculate Conception.

We also can see many references in the Old Testament to Mary’s role as Queen of Heaven in her role as Mother of the King, or Queen Mother. Because Jesus inherited the Throne of David, and the queen mother, in the royal court of David, was second in power only to the king. Since Jesus’ throne is referred to as that of David, it is logical to think of the court of David as a type of that which is in Heaven, in which Jesus reigns. Thus, from the Old Testament (and there are a lot of passages about this- just google “Gebirah” and “Virgin Mary” “queen mother” and you’ll get a ton about it.

Marian devotion is also not only recommended to the Church in the Gospel of John, where the “beloved disciple” takes Mary into his home. It also is in Mary’s Magnificat, when she says, “all generations shall call me blessed.”

Prayer to Mary is prophetically implied in the Old Testament role of the Queen Mother as intercessor for the people to the king. Adonijah went to Queen Mother Bathsheba with his request for a wife from Solomon, saying, “for he will not refuse you.” Bathsheba came to King Solomon, made her request, and was told, “Make your request, mother, for I will not refuse you,” a statement typological of Mary’s role in Heaven on behalf of believers as Queen Mother.

Prayer to Mary is also more explicitly recommended in Revelation 5:8, where the Christian elders in Heaven pass the prayers of the saints on Earth up to God as incense. The saints direct the incense of their prayers to these saints in Heaven, praying to the saints, and then the elders pass these requests on for them to God. How much more are we to pass on our prayers to she who is scripturally the Queen of Heaven herself, called by God through Old Testament prophecy and New Testament word “Behold your son,” to pray for us?

So we can scripturally see how great is the role of Mary given by God for her good and the indescribable blessing of all the Church.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, but Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is also referred to in the New Testament, by strong implication, at least twice.

In Luke 1, we can see that Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when the angel came to her. However, she said, in answer to Gabriel’s declaration that she would give birth to a child, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?”

The question, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?” is a bizarre one to make, if Mary expected to have sex with Joseph. If she expected to have sex with Joseph upon marriage, then, as she was already betrothed to him, she would have instantly assumed the angel was saying she would have a child by Joseph. She wouldn’t have become puzzled and said she was a virgin, since she would (presumably) have expected to soon not be.

Thus we can see from Luke 1 that she was not expecting to have sex with Joseph within wedlock.

The second passage that refers to Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is the one from the Gospel of John I already talked about, where Mary, at the cross, is given into the care of John.

If Mary had surviving children, then according to Jewish custom, she would have gone to stay with them. The only reason for her to need someone to provide for her is if Jesus was her only son.

The scripture references that are supposed to show that Mary had children do not, in fact, prove that at all. First of all, they leave these two passages as mysteries, thus not explaining all the evidence.

Secondly, they fail to take into account the possibility affirmed as truth by the Early Church (who, as we agreed, would have understood best how Scripture should be interpreted, because of their extra-Biblical and apostolic knowledge) that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were actually children of Joseph by a previous marriage. They also fail to take into account the fact that when Scripture says Mary did not have union with Joseph “until” she gave birth to Jesus, it does not imply that they had sex afterward. For there are repeated scriptural references with the word “until” that all Protestants would agree do not actually mean that what had been occurring ceased afterward. The Psalmist, for instance, says, “My eyes will look to the Lord until I see His mercy.” Does he stop looking to the Lord when he sees his mercy? And the Epistles say Christ will reign “until all His enemies are under His feet.” Is His Kingdom an eternal Kingdom, or will He cease to reign after He has defeated all His enemies?

The use of the word “until” is used in Scripture to emphasize an important duration of time, but doesn’t speak of what does or does not happen after that time is over.

Does this make sense to you?

 

[rinnie]

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, but Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is also referred to in the New Testament, by strong implication, at least twice.

In Luke 1, we can see that Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when the angel came to her. However, she said, in answer to Gabriel’s declaration that she would give birth to a child, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?”

The question, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?” is a bizarre one to make, if Mary expected to have sex with Joseph. If she expected to have sex with Joseph upon marriage, then, as she was already betrothed to him, she would have instantly assumed the angel was saying she would have a child by Joseph. She wouldn’t have become puzzled and said she was a virgin, since she would (presumably) have expected to soon not be.

Thus we can see from Luke 1 that she was not expecting to have sex with Joseph within wedlock.

The second passage that refers to Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is the one from the Gospel of John I already talked about, where Mary, at the cross, is given into the care of John.

If Mary had surviving children, then according to Jewish custom, she would have gone to stay with them. The only reason for her to need someone to provide for her is if Jesus was her only son.

The scripture references that are supposed to show that Mary had children do not, in fact, prove that at all. First of all, they leave these two passages as mysteries, thus not explaining all the evidence.

Secondly, they fail to take into account the possibility affirmed as truth by the Early Church (who, as we agreed, would have understood best how Scripture should be interpreted, because of their extra-Biblical and apostolic knowledge) that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were actually children of Joseph by a previous marriage. They also fail to take into account the fact that when Scripture says Mary did not have union with Joseph “until” she gave birth to Jesus, it does not imply that they had sex afterward. For there are repeated scriptural references with the word “until” that all Protestants would agree do not actually mean that what had been occurring ceased afterward. The Psalmist, for instance, says, “My eyes will look to the Lord until I see His mercy.” Does he stop looking to the Lord when he sees his mercy? And the Epistles say Christ will reign “until all His enemies are under His feet.” Is His Kingdom an eternal Kingdom, or will He cease to reign after He has defeated all His enemies?

The use of the word “until” is used in Scripture to emphasize an important duration of time, but doesn’t speak of what does or does not happen after that time is over.

Does this make sense to you?

Very good point!

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Very good point!

It’s St. Jerome’s point . Most of what I said in that post comes from St. Jerome. He was arguing with one guy who he said was out of accord with every Father of the Church up to that time. There sure are benefits to reading the Fathers! They have brilliant insight.

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

There are many other passages of scripture not referred to in that tract, which refer to it implicitly, and there are lots of Early Church Fathers who wrote about it.

The “Full of Grace” is probably the strongest New Testament reference to the Immaculate Conception. There are many Old Testament typological references to her Immaculate Conception in addition to that of the ark. I don’t have my list of them on hand, so I can’t get into them at the moment.

There are many passages that show Mary to be the one who receives incredible honors beyond the lot of other Christians, though.

Elizabeth says of Mary, “Blessed art thou among women,” suggesting that she is more blessed than any woman. Elizabeth then addresses her as “Mother of my Lord.” In the language of the East at that time, this choice of words was only made to address a queen. There are no records from that time period of it being used in any other way. Only to refer to queens.

Elizabeth’s form of address here has implications more profound than this, though, because the “Lord” in this specific case, as it is used in the Psalms, means God as well as King. Thus Elizabeth is addressing Mary as “Mother of God,” and “Queen Mother,” simultaneously in this verse.

Equally important is this reference to Mary, who had not even been raised up into Heaven at this time. The Angel Gabriel addresses her with the word “Hail!” a word that in the language of the East (like the term “Mother of my Lord”), was only used to address royalty.

On what follows, I could be mistaken. But I don’t believe rulers visiting one another had to address one another with the word “Hail!” Only their subjects did. Thus the archangel Gabriel acknowledged Mary’s superiority to him as he addressed her, and Scripture acknowledges her role as Queen of Angels. This also is reflected in the fact that golden cherubim cover with their wings the ark of the Lord in the Old Testament.

It is no wonder that Mary’s response was, according to Luke: But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then, in the New Testament, Mary becomes Mother of the Church when, at the cross, Jesus said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” and then said to “the beloved disciple,” “son, behold your mother.” In this event, according to Early Church teaching, Mary became the Mother of the Church and all Christians (the “beloved disciple,” John, represents all of us) were instructed to devote themselves to her and take her as their Mother.

The Old Testament contains countless prophecies of Mary’s role as Mother of the Church. The types of Mary in the Old Testament- people such as Sarah, Rachel and many others (I have a list at home, but am not writing from home right now), are told that they will be richly blessed and will be called mother of many nations. These typological predictions were fulfilled in Mary when she became Mother of the Church.

Thus we see in Scripture Mary’s role as Queen of Angels, Queen of believers on Earth (see Elizabeth) and Mother of God and Mother of the Church- in addition to what you were already shown in the tract about her Assumption and Immaculate Conception.

We also can see many references in the Old Testament to Mary’s role as Queen of Heaven in her role as Mother of the King, or Queen Mother. Because Jesus inherited the Throne of David, and the queen mother, in the royal court of David, was second in power only to the king. Since Jesus’ throne is referred to as that of David, it is logical to think of the court of David as a type of that which is in Heaven, in which Jesus reigns. Thus, from the Old Testament (and there are a lot of passages about this- just google “Gebirah” and “Virgin Mary” “queen mother” and you’ll get a ton about it.

Marian devotion is also not only recommended to the Church in the Gospel of John, where the “beloved disciple” takes Mary into his home. It also is in Mary’s Magnificat, when she says, “all generations shall call me blessed.”

Prayer to Mary is prophetically implied in the Old Testament role of the Queen Mother as intercessor for the people to the king. Adonijah went to Queen Mother Bathsheba with his request for a wife from Solomon, saying, “for he will not refuse you.” Bathsheba came to King Solomon, made her request, and was told, “Make your request, mother, for I will not refuse you,” a statement typological of Mary’s role in Heaven on behalf of believers as Queen Mother.

Prayer to Mary is also more explicitly recommended in Revelation 5:8, where the Christian elders in Heaven pass the prayers of the saints on Earth up to God as incense. The saints direct the incense of their prayers to these saints in Heaven, praying to the saints, and then the elders pass these requests on for them to God. How much more are we to pass on our prayers to she who is scripturally the Queen of Heaven herself, called by God through Old Testament prophecy and New Testament word “Behold your son,” to pray for us?

So we can scripturally see how great is the role of Mary given by God for her good and the indescribable blessing of all the Church.

Hi Lief,

Thanks for this outstanding post. Wow! I’m blown away quite frankly, by your grasp and presentation of the issues.

I’m in no position, yet, to be able to critique these views; however, you have whetted my appetite to explore more and learn more. Thank you!

God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, but Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is also referred to in the New Testament, by strong implication, at least twice.

In Luke 1, we can see that Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when the angel came to her. However, she said, in answer to Gabriel’s declaration that she would give birth to a child, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?”

The question, “How can this be, for I am a virgin?” is a bizarre one to make, if Mary expected to have sex with Joseph. If she expected to have sex with Joseph upon marriage, then, as she was already betrothed to him, she would have instantly assumed the angel was saying she would have a child by Joseph. She wouldn’t have become puzzled and said she was a virgin, since she would (presumably) have expected to soon not be.

Thus we can see from Luke 1 that she was not expecting to have sex with Joseph within wedlock.

The second passage that refers to Mary’s Perpetual Virginity is the one from the Gospel of John I already talked about, where Mary, at the cross, is given into the care of John.

If Mary had surviving children, then according to Jewish custom, she would have gone to stay with them. The only reason for her to need someone to provide for her is if Jesus was her only son.

The scripture references that are supposed to show that Mary had children do not, in fact, prove that at all. First of all, they leave these two passages as mysteries, thus not explaining all the evidence.

Secondly, they fail to take into account the possibility affirmed as truth by the Early Church (who, as we agreed, would have understood best how Scripture should be interpreted, because of their extra-Biblical and apostolic knowledge) that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were actually children of Joseph by a previous marriage. They also fail to take into account the fact that when Scripture says Mary did not have union with Joseph “until” she gave birth to Jesus, it does not imply that they had sex afterward. For there are repeated scriptural references with the word “until” that all Protestants would agree do not actually mean that what had been occurring ceased afterward. The Psalmist, for instance, says, “My eyes will look to the Lord until I see His mercy.” Does he stop looking to the Lord when he sees his mercy? And the Epistles say Christ will reign “until all His enemies are under His feet.” Is His Kingdom an eternal Kingdom, or will He cease to reign after He has defeated all His enemies?

The use of the word “until” is used in Scripture to emphasize an important duration of time, but doesn’t speak of what does or does not happen after that time is over.

Does this make sense to you?

Hi Lief,

At this stage, all of which you have written here does make sense and it is in accordance with the rules of sound logic.

I thank you for the clear and cogent presentation of these matters.

I humbly confess that these areas of doctrine are “new” to me as a Protestant, but you have opened my mind up to explore further and deeper.

May God bless you, In Christ Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

It’s St. Jerome’s point . Most of what I said in that post comes from St. Jerome. He was arguing with one guy who he said was out of accord with every Father of the Church up to that time. There sure are benefits to reading the Fathers! They have brilliant insight.

Yes, I can see the benefit of consulting the Church Fathers on these types of issues.

To God be the glory!

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

In connection with this “high” view of Mary, as presented in these posts I have a very serious question to ask:

'As Catholics live by faith, on a daily basis, holding to the “high” view of Mary as presented in these posts, do they:

1 Have to say the Rosary? Is the reciting of the Rosary a compulsory part or aspect of Catholic spirituality? Is to not say the Rosary seen in a very dim light by Catholics?

Please be totally honest here. Please tell it as it really is.

2 Have to use “beads” in praying the Rosary? In fact, what are these beads? Are they compulsory, in the exercise of true Catholic piety and devotion?

If all of this sounds “basic” to a seasoned Catholic please bear with me. I am learning many Catholic truths at the moment and the answer of these questions, serves my greater understanding of Catholicism.

May God bless you, Craig

 

[benedictus2]

In connection with this “high” view of Mary, as presented in these posts I have a very serious question to ask:

'As Catholics live by faith, on a daily basis, holding to the “high” view of Mary as presented in these posts, do they:

1 Have to say the Rosary? Is the reciting of the Rosary a compulsory part or aspect of Catholic spirituality? Is to not say the Rosary seen in a very dim light by Catholics?

Please be totally honest here. Please tell it as it really is.

2 Have to use “beads” in praying the Rosary? In fact, what are these beads? Are they compulsory, in the exercise of true Catholic piety and devotion?

If all of this sounds “basic” to a seasoned Catholic please bear with me. I am learning many Catholic truths at the moment and the answer of these questions, serves my greater understanding of Catholicism.

May God bless you, Craig

1. No we don’t have to say the rosary. I myself don’t pray it all that often as I don’t find it an easy prayer because I can’t just rattle it off as some do (it takes me an hour to do this prayer properly).

Recently however I have come to see it as a prayer of aridity.
There are days when my soul feels “barren” (when I feel I can’t pray), it is then that I find the Rosary very valuable. It helps me to focus on the life death and ressurection of the Lord and sort of empties my prayer of self-centredness (in a way).

There is a prayer at the end which I think summarizes the rosay:
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen

The mysteries:

Life of Jesus (Joyfull Misteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth, Presentation, Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Light Mysteries: Baptism in the Jourdan, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom, Institution of the Eucharist)

Death of Jesus (Sorrowful Mysteries: Agony in the Garden, Scouring at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion)

Ressurection of Jesus (Glorious Mysteries: Resurrection, Decent of the Holy Spirit, Assension, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Coronation of the Blessed Virgin)

1. The beads are used to keep the rhythm. You can also count with your fingers (which I’ve done when I don’t have my Rosary with me) but it is quite distracting.

A brief history from this website
ttp://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/rosary_history.htm
It is usually suggested that the rosary began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), by which monks prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50 or 150 Ave Marias for the Psalms. Sometimes a cord with counters on it was used to keep an accurate count.
The first clear historical reference to the rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (+1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of the rosary in France at the time that the Albigensian heresy was devastating the faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote for heresy and sin.
One of Dominic’s future disciples, Alain de Roche, began to establish Rosary Confraternities to promote the praying of the rosary. The form of the rosary we have today is believed to date from his time. Over the centuries the saints and popes have highly recommended the rosary, the greatest prayer in the Church after the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours. Not surprisingly, it’s most active promoters have been Dominicans.
Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other rosary-like prayers (e.g. Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys, Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (also referring to a crown), of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called “Our Lady’s Psalter” or “the beads.” This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (biddan or bid). (from the ewtn

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Craig, no, none of what you just asked about is compulsory. The beads are a memory aid, so you know how many Hail Mary’s you’ve spoken. They’re just form- the prayers one speaks and means are what matter. You can certainly pray the Rosary without the beads.

The Rosary also is not compulsory. It’s an incredible blessing and it’s very strengthening in one’s spiritual walk with God and Mary. So missing it is missing out on something that can do wonders for your spiritual life. Which is unfortunate. But no Catholic should look down on another Catholic for this- it’s not our place to judge one another’s devotional lives. People can be wonderful Catholics without it.

What’s important about the Rosary is that in Catholic thought, the quickest way to come into deep intimacy with Jesus is through Mary. We devote ourselves to Mary so that through her we might become better united with Jesus. She always directs us to her Son, and the Rosary is one of the best means of devotion by which we can become united with Jesus and Mary.

All the Catholic saints we know much of anything about had strong Marian devotions, from what I’m told, and the Rosary is among the greatest ways to practice Marian devotion. But it’s not necessary. One can be a great Catholic without it.

No one should look down on someone that does not pray the Rosary. That would be conceited and absurd.

Other Catholics can tell a lot more about the Rosary than I can, for while I have researched it, I haven’t dug into the knowledge of it in very great depth.

Like benedictus2, I tend to pray it somewhat rarely because it takes me so very long to pray with full meaning. The experience is glorious, though, every time I do.

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

1. No we don’t have to say the rosary. I myself don’t pray it all that often as I don’t find it an easy prayer because I can’t just rattle it off as some do (it takes me an hour to do this prayer properly).

Recently however I have come to see it as a prayer of aridity.
There are days when my soul feels “barren” (when I feel I can’t pray), it is then that I find the Rosary very valuable. It helps me to focus on the life death and ressurection of the Lord and sort of empties my prayer of self-centredness (in a way).

There is a prayer at the end which I think summarizes the rosay:
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen

The mysteries:

Life of Jesus (Joyfull Misteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth, Presentation, Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Light Mysteries: Baptism in the Jourdan, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom, Institution of the Eucharist)

Death of Jesus (Sorrowful Mysteries: Agony in the Garden, Scouring at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion)

Ressurection of Jesus (Glorious Mysteries: Resurrection, Decent of the Holy Spirit, Assension, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Coronation of the Blessed Virgin)

1. The beads are used to keep the rhythm. You can also count with your fingers (which I’ve done when I don’t have my Rosary with me) but it is quite distracting.

A brief history from this website
ttp://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/rosary_history.htm
It is usually suggested that the rosary began as a practice by the laity to imitate the monastic Office (Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours), by which monks prayed the 150 Psalms. The laity, many of whom could not read, substituted 50 or 150 Ave Marias for the Psalms. Sometimes a cord with counters on it was used to keep an accurate count.
The first clear historical reference to the rosary, however, is from the life of St. Dominic (+1221), the founder of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans. He preached a form of the rosary in France at the time that the Albigensian heresy was devastating the faith there. Tradition has it that the Blessed Mother herself asked for the practice as an antidote for heresy and sin.
One of Dominic’s future disciples, Alain de Roche, began to establish Rosary Confraternities to promote the praying of the rosary. The form of the rosary we have today is believed to date from his time. Over the centuries the saints and popes have highly recommended the rosary, the greatest prayer in the Church after the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours. Not surprisingly, it’s most active promoters have been Dominicans.
Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other rosary-like prayers (e.g. Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys, Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (also referring to a crown), of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called “Our Lady’s Psalter” or “the beads.” This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (biddan or bid). (from the ewtn

Hi Benedictus2,

Thank you very much for this excellent overview on the origins and practise of the Rosary.

I have read this very carefully and found it most informative and interesting. You have filled in the blanks for me on this issue.

May God bless you, Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

Craig, no, none of what you just asked about is compulsory. The beads are a memory aid, so you know how many Hail Mary’s you’ve spoken. They’re just form- the prayers one speaks and means are what matter. You can certainly pray the Rosary without the beads.

The Rosary also is not compulsory. It’s an incredible blessing and it’s very strengthening in one’s spiritual walk with God and Mary. So missing it is missing out on something that can do wonders for your spiritual life. Which is unfortunate. But no Catholic should look down on another Catholic for this- it’s not our place to judge one another’s devotional lives. People can be wonderful Catholics without it.

What’s important about the Rosary is that in Catholic thought, the quickest way to come into deep intimacy with Jesus is through Mary. We devote ourselves to Mary so that through her we might become better united with Jesus. She always directs us to her Son, and the Rosary is one of the best means of devotion by which we can become united with Jesus and Mary.

All the Catholic saints we know much of anything about had strong Marian devotions, from what I’m told, and the Rosary is among the greatest ways to practice Marian devotion. But it’s not necessary. One can be a great Catholic without it.

No one should look down on someone that does not pray the Rosary. That would be conceited and absurd.

Other Catholics can tell a lot more about the Rosary than I can, for while I have researched it, I haven’t dug into the knowledge of it in very great depth.

Like benedictus2, I tend to pray it somewhat rarely because it takes me so very long to pray with full meaning. The experience is glorious, though, every time I do.

Hi Lief,

As always, I appreciate your answers to my questions.

This post was most helpful. You have put my mind at ease on this issue.

I can see that Catholics view the Rosary as a tremendous blessing when recited in faith as an inner spiritual reality. It is not, however, a distinguishing mark of elevated spirituality over those who choose not to say it.

Both you and Benedictus2 have done full justice to these issues. I am clear now in my own mind on them.

I am very happy with your answers.

God bless you, Craig

 

[Craig_Kennedy]

As Catholics live by faith, is the Sacrament of Confession compulsory? Why or why not?

Is Confession actually mandated by the Church? If so, where is that found in official Church documents?

Is there a MINIMUM number of times that a Catholic must go to Confession?

How long does Confession last for? What is the form and procedure that is followed?

May God bless you, Craig