Catholic Fun Fact: The Rosary is a garland of prayers

Catholic Fun Facts and The Holy Rosary

This is probably one of my favorite fun facts.

So, did you know that word “rosary” comes from Latin, meaning: garland of roses?

Is why the rose became one of those flowers used to symbolize our Blessed Virgin Mary. And the world “bead” derives from the Saxon noun bede which means a prayer.

Very apropos: the Holy Rosary is essentially a string of prayers or better yet, a garland of prayers!

Our Lady of the Rosary

And how does the Rosary tie into Our Holy Mother and our faith?

According to historians, in 1214 St. Dominic had a vision. And in this vision, the Virgin Mary is said to have presented him with a Rosary: beads and prayers alike.

She is said to have left 15 promises of salvation to those that pray the Rosary daily. We are invited to participate in a devotion that prompts us to reflect on the life, death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ!

She then reappeared in 1917 to three small children. The focus of her message was renewed fidelity.

To be honest, the Virgin Mary has appeared on many occasions and all over the world to hundreds of people. Time over time, her message is clear: we are to pray the Rosary daily for our salvation, our clergy, our Pope, our Church and world peace.

And I’m happy to say that in recent years, the Rosary has made a comeback!

The Holy Rosary

Without a doubt, the Rosary is a rich and true expression of Biblical prayer as it draws its inspiration directly from the Bible.

It is made up of a specific set of prayers: the Apostles’ Creed (Credo), the Our Father (the Pater Noster or the Lord’s Prayer), Hail Mary’s (Ave’s), and Glory Be (Gloria Patri).  All are found in the Bible, our book of love.

And the beads help us keep count of the prayers. Our hands move along the beads freely without counting allowing us to meditate on His story.

The prayers are a wonderful method of praise, communication with God.

The Holy Rosary is an ancient treasure map to peace and love!

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Once upon a time, 99% of the world’s population was religious. Today, we have a growing part of society that is completely Godless. And our hearts are wired for God.

Is why praying the Rosary is so important.

Don’t worry – You can always start small. Try the singing Divine Mercy Chaplet – it’s like a mini-Rosary. It will change your life. It did mine.