As the month of October is nearing its end, let me share some thoughts on a popular devotion associated with this month. For Catholics, October is traditionally dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.
Praying the rosary has now become part of popular devotion. It is one prayer that immediately comes to mind if one stays in the church for more than a brief period. It is a prayer that we almost automatically recite while joining a religious procession. When we are at a loss for words in front of an altar, we just recite the rosary. It is part of tradition of many families to come together and pray the rosary. Some even use contemporary technology to pray the rosary together, while separated by oceans.
Historically, the rosary did not enjoy immediate popularity. Why not? The Spanish missionaries attributed their safe arrival to their recitation of the rosary. Furthermore, the defeat of the mighty British who invaded our shores in the 17th century was again attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary. So, the natives naturally found it ironic to pray the prayer that is responsible for the presence of the colonizers.
Long before the defeat of the British, the rosary has been believed to be on the side of those who pray it. In October 1571, a fleet coming from combined forces of Catholic states fought the navy of the Ottoman empire. Pope Pius V, a strong devotee of the Blessed Virgin, called on Catholics to pray the rosary. Against all odds, the Catholic fleet defeated the forces of the Ottoman empire.
Today when we stress inter-religious dialogue and frown upon wars fought in the name of religious beliefs, this part of the history of the devotion can be rather embarrassing. This is even more so since we now know that the battle was not primarily about differences in religious doctrines but about political conquest. Obviously, the battle had strong religious ramifications but it was primarily political.
What is the origin of the rosary? It is sometimes said that the devotion was introduced by Our Lady to Saint Dominic. There is no doubt that the Dominicans played a great role in the spread of the devotion, but the earliest accounts of the life of Saint Dominic do not mention that he originated the devotion upon receiving a message from the Blessed Virgin. Besides, this explanation seems to suggest that the prayer fell directly from heaven.
I find another explanation less magical and thus more plausible. Sometime in the middle ages, the monks would recite the 150 psalms. The laity could not follow what the words in the Psalter even while they want to pray together with the monks. Thus, they recite several Hail Marys in place of the psalms. Over a long period of time, the form of the prayer evolved and the use of beads became standardized to count the number of repetitions.
It is important to point out that the use of beads and repetitious prayers are not distinctly Catholic. Buddhism and Islam constantly use beads. And an essential part of Buddhist and Hindu prayer is called mantra. It is the constant repetition of words to aid in achieving proper focus in meditation. But more than an aid in concentration, the repetition can also help the person in prayer to make the words part of one’s own very consciousness. In other words, the person in prayer would now make the words part of his very being.
In this way, the repetition is not mindless. We become what we repeat.