The Rosary: Mary's Psalter
  The 150 Davidic Psalms (the Psalter of David) have always been prayed by Old Testament Israel, post-Temple Jews, and by Christians for personal prayer, communal prayer, lamentations, praise, thanksgiving, and, in the case of Christians, to demonstrate the fulfillment of prophecy.
Rosary Tips
They came to form a large part of the Divine Office sung at the various canonical hours by religious. Lay people who didn't have copies of Scripture or the Breviary and lay people and religious who were illiterate would substitute 150 Pater Nosters (Our Fathers) or Aves (Hail Marys) in place of the 150 Psalms they could not read. The prayers were originally counted by transferring pebbles from one bag to another, but soon enough Christians began to tie a rope with knots on which to count. This evolved further into using beads or pieces of wood in place of the knots, and this soon came to be called the "Psalter of the Laity." Around the end of the first millennium, Rosaries contained the present five decades (sets of ten beads), with the Ave beads shaped like white lilies for the purity of the Virgin, and the Pater beads shaped like red roses for the wounds and Passion of Christ. St. Dominic de Guzman popularized the Marian Psalter in the form we have it today (150 Aves with a Pater after each 10) when Our Lady encouraged him to pray it that way in response to the Albigensian heresy. So associated with the Rosary is St. Dominic that the Rosary is often called the "Dominican Rosary." Our Lady also appeared to the children at Fatima and asked that the Rosary be prayed daily, including the "Fatima Prayer," as part of what must be done in order to prevent Russia from spreading its errors throughout the world (the other things being the faithful wearing of the Brown Scapular, the First Five Saturdays Devotion, acts of reparation and sacrifice, and the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and
Have a definite rhythm when praying so you don't lose count. Develop a habit of moving to the next bead only after saying the "Amen" to each prayer. When you get a new Rosary, you should have it blessed by a priest, thus making it a sacramental. Note that Rosaries are not to be worn or used asjewelry. They can be worn around the neck or what not if you are working and it isincidental, but they are not to be worn for the purpose of personal ornamentation. Some people find it very easy to pray the Rosary while others find it difficult. Some find it difficult to pray alone but easy to pray with others. If you are one of these last types, you can get afree CD or cassette of the Rosary from the Mary Foundation (no readings, no music), using their printable mail-in form or their online form(credit card needed for the latter to handle processing fees). Some find that visual aids help them contemplate. Having pictures depicting the Mysteries help some people. . Download Rosary instructions, with prayers in English, in .doc format (1 page, 34 KB) Download Rosary instructions, with prayers in Latin, in .doc format (1 page, 34 KB)
W hat is a "Block Rosary"? A Block Rosary is the gathering of a group of people -- usually a group of families who live in the same area, hence the name -- at regular times to pray the Rosary. They usually meet at a different family's house each time, gather around an image of Our Lady, and pray. "Block Rosaries" can be as simple or as ritualized as the organizers like, and can be prayed daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever your group likes.
W hat is the "54-Day Rosary Novena"? First read about Novenas here, and then scroll down on that page to read specifically about the 54-Day Rosary Novena.
"Rosary Rings" or
A "Rosary Ring" or "Finger Rosary" is worn on the index finger of either hand. The beads are counted by the thumb, which rotates the ring on the finger during the count. Others consist of two bands, one which rotates while the other remains stationary. Some are enlarged versions meant to be held in one hand (these are often attached to keychains). These are nice to keep in your purse or car so you can pray while busy about other tasks, such as driving, without having to handle many beads. How old Rosary Rings are, I don't know, but there is an early 16th c. one in the Victoria and Albert Museum.