Denver Catholic

OCTOBER 2023 | DENVER CATHOLIC T he Church dedicates the month of October to the rosary, that simple but beau- tiful prayer filled with holy power. The rosary offers us a great weapon in spiritual battle. After the Mass, no other prayer has been encouraged so regularly by the Church. Our Lady, across many of her apparitions, asks us to pray it every day. Why? In part because the 20 minutes of prayer it requires forms a basis for the daily practice of meditation, which is necessary for growth in the Christian life. Though many people complain that it can become formulaic, the rosary should become a profound form of personal prayer, as the prayers of each bead address God and Our Lady directly: "Our Father," "Hail (or even "hello") Mary," Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," and "O My Jesus." Meditating on the mysteries of our salvation draws us daily into the realit y of our faith. The rosary serves as a means of fighting against the many forces of evil that oppress us by drawing us close to Jesus and Mary. As an act of love, it also makes reparation for sin — both our own sins and for a world that has turned against God. Where did the rosary come from? We find its seed within Scripture, echoing the Angelic Salutation of Gabriel at the Annunciation and Elizabeth's greeting at the Visitation. Just as there is a devel- opment of doctrine, so do we find development in the Church's life of prayer. Throughout history, the Church has turned to Mary as a great intercessor for protection and help. When it comes to the rosary, we find its structure based in the early dedication to praying 150 psalms and a nascent devotion to Our Lady, expressed most clearly in the third-century prayer, Sub tuum praesidium ("Beneath your protec- tion"), which honors Mary as the only pure and blessed one. The Hail Mary prayer continued to develop throughout the Middle Ages, becoming a common prayer through the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, pointing to the practice of abbreviating the full office of the monks for the laity. The prayer gradually expanded to add the name of Mary at the beginning in the 13th century, the name of Jesus shortly following, while the Franciscans spear- headed adding its conclu- sion (Holy Mary, Mother of God…) in the 14th century. ⊲ Origins of the Powerful, Simple and Sanctifying Prayer P R AY E R DR. R. JARED STAUDT Director of Content for Exodus 90 Rosary The 12

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