Scriptural rosary spiritualIn
the search for spiritual renewal, we Catholics turn to prayer, and
often
the prayer we turn to is the rosary. The scriptural rosary is
the oldest
traditional way to pray the rosary. As you say each
prayer of the rosary,
you meditate upon a scriptural passage
pertaining to the lives of Jesus and
Mary. For example, when you are
saying the first Joyful Mystery, you say
“In the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent by God….to a virgin…”,
before saying the first
Hail Mary of the rosary decade. Then, you say a different
scriptural
passage before the second Hail Mary and so on. You may make up
your
own scriptural rosary, but there are also many books that you can buy
to help you in your meditations on the rosary. One is called “A
Scriptural Rosary”, compiled by Marianne Lorraine Trouve. Another
one,
expressly for children, is called “My Scriptural Rosary” by
Lauren
S. Roddy. Those who speak of a spiritual rosary are also
referring to praying
the rosary with scripture. People believe it is
more spiritual to say a rosary
while adding Bible passages as an aid
to meditation. It is without question
more in keeping with the
rosary’s roots to say a spiritual rosary. The
rosary has its origins
in repetitive prayer and in the psalter, the Book
of Psalms as said
by monks during the Holy Office. Illiterate lay monks also
needed
the spiritual renewal of Holy Office during the early Middle Ages,
but couldn’t read the psalms, so they repeated Our Father’s instead.
The Hail Mary also began to be repeated, and certain monks added
lines
of scripture to be said in between the prayers. This became
known as Our
Lady’s Psalter and was the foundation of the scriptural
or spiritual
rosary. Over the centuries the many meditations were
reduced to the fifteen
we know today so that more unschooled lay
people might partake in saying
the rosary. The rosary is a wonderful
prayer said in any manner, but the
scriptural rosary keeps us
centered in Scripture as we pray. It is no wonder
that it has become
known as the spiritual rosary. |
