How many of you pray the rosary regularly? What does it mean to you? To me praying the rosary is very meditative and honors our mother Mary, the queen of heaven and Christ. They say that the rosary is a very powerful prayer, and that each full rosary makes a crown of roses for Mary. What are your thoughts? P.S. I was raised Lutheran, not Catholic, but I have still liked to pray the rosary ever since I found out about it.
as a focusing tool, a rosary (christian, muslim, buddhist, hindu) can be very powerful... peace shalom namaste blessed be shanti om salaam
isnt saying the rosary just what the "church " (catholic) came up with after people were no longer convinced that places in heaven can be purchased?
well technically wouldnt praying to a roasary conflict with, errr, i think it is the second and possibly the first commandments
You aren't praying to the rosary, you pray with it. OK, so you lot think it's idolatry... does anyone else have an opinion?
see, you didnt specify to or with...with is nothign, but i mean "pray the rosary" sopunds like bad english to me...
personally, i have no problem with catholicism, cept for the idols, and the former pagan gods turned into saints [eastern orthodox]
I'm not interersted as to whether or not it is idolatry. What I would like to know is the history of the Rosary in the Catholic tradition. When was it first used, what is the origin of the prayers associated with it, what is it's modern significance to practicing Catholics?
http://www.theholyrosary.org/ This site explains quite a bit. By the way, I think the Jeremiah chapter was referring to Isis, who was the Egyptian Queen of Heaven, rather than Mary (who was crowned the queen of angels by God).
The Rosary could be a good thing - a kind of tool to help concentrate the mind in prayer and contemplation. In Hinduism there is the practice of Japa Yoga, which in many respects is very similar. A special string of 108 beads called a mala is used to count repititions of mantras or prayers, in a way similar to the repitition of the Hail Mary and the other Rosary prayers. Where the Rosary seems to me to differ, is in the notion of a series of contemplations of the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries etc. Muslims and Buddhists too use beads as an aid to prayer. As to those who rejsct Mary - She seems to supply the much needed idea of a femminine side to the Divine, which protestant churches seem to me to lack. Hail Mary.
Thanks BlackBillBlake, that's a good point. You guys may think it's idolatry, but I like to pray to Mary. I mean, aren't there ANY Catholics here or are you all Protestant?
Thanks. There are a few catholics round here - I'm not actually one of their number, but I'm interested in the church, and I'm sympathetic. In my post I was trying to show how the physical act of using beads as an aid to prayer is not only a catholic phenomena, or rather it is, in the real meaning of the word catholic as 'universal'.
I don't pray on the rosary, the Bible says 'not to babble like the Pagans do', which is exactly what it is. And Mary isn't queen of heaven.
