What exactly does "Rosary Beads" Mean?

Rosarius: means a rose garden or a garland of roses (roses are traditionally the flower associated with Mary). It means, in a figurative sense, the title of a book, to denote an anthology or collection of extracts (as the Mysteries are extracts from the four Gospels of the Holy Bible).

Bede: in Welsh, bede meant prayer; in old English, the word bedys meant prayer.

St. Paul wrote in the Second Book of Corinthians, 4:7-8:
The treasure of the knowledge of the Glory of God, we possess in earthen vessels, to make clear that its power comes from God and not from us.

An Abbreviated Introduction &
History of the Protestant Rosary

The stories which make up the Gospels are the essence of the Protestant rosary and the Protestant rosary is the reflection on, and remembrance of, these stories of the Gospels offered back to God in prayerful meditations.

The Protestant rosary is one of the greatest forms of meditative Christian prayer. It is a combination of verbal and meditative praying. The verbal praying is referred to as the body of the rosary, the meditative praying the soul. The 11 beads which make up a chaplet today are used so you are in prayer and meditation for a specified length of time for on each particular meditation. We give so much of our lives, of our selves, caring for others. Now is the time to learn to care for yourself, to nourish your own soul.

The use of strings of beads or similar devices for aiding the memory and keeping count of prayers has been around for centuries. There is no special meaning to the use of beads other than serving as a useful tool so you don't have to keep count in your head, or with your fingers, of your prayers.

By slipping the beads through your fingers, you can subconsciously keep count of your prayers and focus your attention during this time to deep, meditative prayer. The beads lend order to your devotions and also help serve as a useful tool to keep you away from distractions within your own mind. They have no other meaning nor special significance.

The simplicity of this method enables you to be focused on the meditative subject of prayer you are in. If you are truly, deeply, in prayer as you offer the Protestant rosary, you are not going to be thinking of this or that which you think you need or ought to be doing.

There are three mysteries with five meditations within each mystery associated with the Protestant rosary. They are: The Joyful Mystery, the Sorrowful Mystery, and the Glorious Mystery. The 15 meditations follow the path of our Lord's life from the Annunciation to Virgin Mary that she was to conceive God's Son, through Jesus' Passion for each of us, to the Coming of the Gift of the Holy Spirit. I do not want to use the word 'modern' to describe the 15 meditations associated with the Protestant rosary, because the 15 meditations are 2000 years old!

People today are hungry for simplicity and beauty in our lives, and for some escape from the stresses within our lives. Perhaps it has become our approach to God that needs revision. Less than half of people attend religious services on a weekly basis - and we wonder what is wrong with society. We have religious facilities built more to entertain than for worship. There is a profound difference in 'going to church' and 'worshiping in God's presence.'

Most books and writings on the evolution of the Protestant rosary trace its origins back to Ninth Century Ireland. The 150 Psalms were recited or chanted daily by those who lived in religious community. Lay people who lived near the religious communities enjoyed listening to the beauty of this devotion.

Yet learning the 150 Psalms, because extremely few could read, was nearly impossible. Thus began the development of what could be called the first participatory worship service begin. Over centuries, we are now brought to the Protestant rosary.

Making time for the Protestant rosary every day is important. In remembering each day of the week through the cycle of praying with the Protestant rosary our Lord's life brings us more and more into the fullness of God.

Making the time for the reflection, remembrance, and meditation upon the various aspects of our Lord's life are wonderful tools in enhancing your spiritual growth.

Never, never, think the Protestant rosary takes the place of your own daily prayers. It does not, nor is it meant to. It is a tool to enhance, re-energize, and make fuller your relationship with God.

• Find the time.
• Make the time.
• Take the time.

Simplify your life so time can exist that is of your choosing, not what you think you have to do.

Once you have become fairly familiar with the structure of how to use the Protestant rosary in prayer, you will spend only about 15 minutes a day with your rosary. That is not even a 10th of the day you have been given by God.

If you stick with your daily prayer meditation with the Protestant rosary, you will come to find your day will not be complete until you take the time to offer up these meditative prayers in gentle simplicity.

God Bless You and may your journey into the beauty and peace of the Protestant rosary fill your life with a Joy so great, you will realize it could only come from On High.