The Catholic rosary has 59 beads with sections of 10 beads called decades. One explanation why there are 50 main beads in each rosary may come from a practice monks had of memorizing the 150 psalms in The Bible. The monks would recite them 50 psalms at a time until they knew them by heart.
AnswerThe answer above describes the most common one, also called a Dominican rosary. Other less popular, but occasionally seen if you're around Franciscan or Servite parishes are the Angelic Crown and the Rosary of the Seven Colors with different numbers of beads. AnswerSmall rosaries exist that have only one set of 10 beads, along with the usual 5 others and the crucifix. These are for carrying in wallets, for instance. Ring rosaries are metal rings with bumps in the place of beads, and usually have 10 bumps, and are worn like a ring.59
There are 59 beads on a rosary: 6 beads for the Our Fathers, 5 decades of 10 beads, plus 3 additional Hail Mary beads.
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How to pray the rosary: First of all, one of the most important things that we must do as Christians is to pray, and beginning prayer is meditation. Realize that Christian meditation has absolutely nothing in common with Eastern meditation. That are completely different things and that fact that they are called by the same word is an unfortunate happenstance. Christian meditation is recalling and thinking about the truths of the faith. Meditation using Sacred Scripture (the Bible) is called Lectio Divinia.
The rosary is a series of prayers based on the Bible - the Our Father, and the Hail Mary (the Angelic Salutation from the Gospel of Luke). But the vocal prayer is like the background music, if you will, to the meditation of the mysteries of the faith, which is the heart of the rosary.
The rosary meditations are:
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Joyful
(Monday and Saturday)
Annunciation of angel Gabriel to Mary
Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth
Nativity of our Blessed Savior
Presentation in the Temple
Finding in the Temple
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Luminous
(Thursday)
Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
Self manifestation of Jesus at the Miracle of Cana
Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
The Transfiguration on the Mount
The Institution of the Blessed Eucharist
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Sorrowful
(Tuesday and Friday)
The Agony in the Garden
The Scouring at the Pillar
The Crowning with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion
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Glorious
(Wednesday and Sunday)
The Resurrection
The Ascension
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption of the B.V.M.
The Crowning of the B.V.M. as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
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So we are praying by meditating on the mysteries of our Redemption. And this form of prayer was very ancient, but the form that we currently use was given by Our Blessed Mother to St. Dominic (who was founder of the Dominicans). As Catholics, we walk in our Savior's footsteps, and one of the ways in which we imitate Him is in His love and devotion to His mother.
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So the rosary is important to us, as Catholic Christians, as fulfilling our Blessed Lord's command to pray always, as meditation on the events of His life, as a form of prayer that was given to us at the express wish of Our Blessed Mother, and as one of the forms of prayer, above most others that leads many saints to intimate union with God.
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Below is the form that I made up for my students in Sunday school (in the instructions below there is L for leader and R for response, that is if you have two or more people praying the rosary together; obviously, if you are saying it alone, you will be saying all the prayers):
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
CRUCIFIX
L. I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of Heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell. On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
R. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of the Saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
Our Father (for the Pope). Three Hail Mary's ( for increase of Faith, Hope, Charity) Glory be.
All. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the first of Hell.
Lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who have most need of Thy mercy. Amen
For each decade:
L. Our Father, who art in heaven,
BIG BEAD
Hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven
R. Give us this day, our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
L. Hail Mary, full of grace,
SMALL BEADS - 10 TIMES
The Lord is with thee,
Blessed are thou amongst women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
R. Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
L. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
CHAIN
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
L. O my Jesus...
R. forgive us our sins,
save us from the first of Hell.
Lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who have most need of Thy mercy. Amen
Final prayers:
Hail, Holy Queen
, Mother of Mercy! Our life,
our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we
cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do
we send up our sights, mourning and weeping
in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most
gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward
us; and after this our exile show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement,
O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
L. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R. that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
All:
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 on 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.
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All Rosaries are the same. There are ten beads for each mystery. There are 5 Mysteries in a Rosary. This adds to 50 beads. Between each mystery of ten beads, there is one bead for the Our Father. There are 4 Our Father beads. On the small strip where the crucifix is, there are 5 beads.
The Franciscan Rosary has two more decades than a regular rosary (22 more beads) for a total of 81 beads.
59.
53 for Hail Marys, 6 Our Fathers. There is also a central piece, usually a holy medal (on which is said the Hail Holy Queen), and a crucifix (on which the Creed is recited).
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No, there is no capitalize when referring to rosary beads. You may choose to capitalize when referring to set of prayers called the Rosary, but not for rosary beads.
A chaplet is a set of beads used in prayer. The Dominican Rosary (the type usually seen) is the most common type of chaplet.
Hematite is a mineral composed largely of iron. Hematite rosary beads would be beads made of hematite used for a rosary.
I don't have rosary beads, but do have prayer beads and I carry them in a small velvet bag.
usually 99 beads but it could come in a smaller size: 33 beads.
Any Catholic religious store sells rosary beads. Also, simply type "Rosary beads' as a website in the internet and any number of sites will appear.
Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary was created in 1880.
No, it is not true. A rosary has 59 beads.
Yes.
no.
A rosary may have stones, beads, or knots. Basically anything that you can use to keep track of your prayers and meditations. A decade is one Our Father, and ten Hail Mary's. The rosary that most people have in their pockets are actually just 1/4 of the entire rosary, so they have five decades for 55 beads. The little string on the end has a Crucifix, one Our Father bead, and 3 Hail Mary beads so the normal rosary would have 59 beads.
Roman Catholic AnswerThe color of the rosary beads does not signify anything besides the owner's personal preferences.