How is this worldwide popularity to be explained? To hold the public interest for three months is considered an achievement in advertising. If a slogan or a song can remain popular for the duration of a war or a political campaign, its author is regarded as a master psychologist. But to have won and held the undiminished and sincere love of the entire Catholic world for over seven centuries requires something more than a slogan or a catchword. Catholics are faithful to the Rosary chiefly because it is a most fruitful and satisfying means of expressing themselves in prayer, whether of adoration, praise, thanksgiving or petition; for the prayers and mysteries of the Rosary embrace all the Christian truths and completely and beautifully illustrate them.

The late Cardinal Faulhaber, Archbishop of Munich, said of his intense love of the holy Rosary: "With so much reading of newspapers, with so much listening to the radio, with the con-

tinual unrest that surrounds us, with the hectic pace of modern life, we are in great danger of becoming shallow and superficial. A silent Our Father may serve to bring us a moment's deep reflection. I confess that when my head is tired with the manifold duties of my daily work, and when at last in the evening I say the Rosary with my household, repeating fifty times the same Hail Mary and meditating on those mysteries of our Redemption that are ever old and ever new, I find a true rest for my mind. It is as if the Mother of God lays her hand on the tired head and strokes the weariness away. Prayer is an art of living which the unbeliever cannot know."

BRIEF HISTORY

There is a popular tradition that the Rosary in its present form was given to St. Dominic in a vision. However this tradition began, it does not seem to have any historical foundation.

More likely, the Rosary is the end result of a gradual development in Christian devotion. Familiar with the fact that the monks in their monasteries prayed often during the day, reciting in the course of the week's liturgy the 150 psalms of David, the then unlettered laity wished to have a similar form of ongoing prayer. Since the Our Father (Pater Noster) was the best-known prayer, the people began to say this 150 times a day. To make it easy to keep count, a string of 150 knots or beads was fashioned and, for ease in carrying around the neck, made into a closed circle. The act of putting the string of beads around the neck suggested to the popular imagination the image of a garland or wreath of flowers. This gave rise to words like "chaplet" which means garland, and "rosary", a garland of roses.

In the beginning, the beads were called "Paternoster beads" and in old literature we find many references to saying one's Paters. Side by side with development of the Paternoster beads was a similar devotion to the sacred humanity of Christ and, consequently, great attention to his human Mother. The names of Jesus and Mary began to be recited every day along with the Paters. In time, certain religious teachers encouraged the people to greater awareness of the saving love of God in the mystery of Redemption that was at the heart of their prayers to the Father and Jesus and to Mary. In time, some form of meditation on Redemption, as revealed in the life and death of Jesus with Mary in obedience to the Father, came to be a regular feature of reciting one's daily prayers.

These various currents of Catholic devotion came together in the course of time until the Rosary as we have it today took shape in the 16th century. It is a marvelous example of Christian popular piety flowering in the simple language and symbolism of everyday life.

TRIUMPHS OF THE ROSARY

It is well known that the Rosary has played an important part in many outstanding events of history; for example, in the great naval battle at Lepanto in the 16th century, which saved all Europe from being conquered by the Mohammedan Turks, then at the peak of their naval power in the Mediterranean. In his extremity, Pope St. Pius V formed a league against them. The Christian fleet, furnished by Venice, Genoa and Spain, was commanded by Don Juan of Austria.

As early as September 17, 1569, Pope Pius V enjoined the worldwide recitation of the Rosary. On this fateful October 7th he himself spent the entire night in prayer.

Before moving to the attack of Lepanto the Christian sailors devoutly recited the Rosary while the Papal Legate gave them the Apostolic Benediction. For three hours, the sixty-five thousand men, all of whom had received Holy Communion that morning, continued to recite the Rosary. Then on each ship general absolution was given for the last time by one of the chaplains. The attack began. The wind, which had been against the Christians, suddenly dropped. The battle raged until late in the afternoon, when the Turks gave way. The victory gave the naval power of the enemy a blow from which it never recovered and ended their threat in the Mediterranean Sea.

From the very first, Don Juan ascribed the triumph of his fleet to the powerful intercession of the Rosary Queen. The Venetian Senate wrote to the other States which had taken part in the Crusade: "It was not generals nor battalions nor arms that brought us victory: but it was Our Lady of the Rosary."

There have also been countless spiritual Lepantos in the lives of individual Catholics in which the Rosary has brought the final victory. Countless Hail Marys have united to form a moral barricade against temptations to sin and despair; countless con-versions have been won; countless vocations to the priesthood and religious life have been merited by the Rosaries of parents and friends, or of those concerned.

As the united Rosaries of Christendom obtained a singular triumph for Christianity in the battle of Lepanto, so Our Blessed Mother in the now-famous apparitions which took place at Fatima, Portugal, between May 13 and October 13, 1917, gave a specific remedy against the spread of Communism and the many evils that afflict our times. "Do penance and say the Rosary," she commanded.

Acting as God's messenger, Our Blessed Mother gave the assurance that if her requests for penance and fervent Rosaries were complied with throughout the world, Russia would be converted, many souls would be saved from hell, and peace would be granted to the world. So if the threat of war and the increase of crimes, and many other evils are still with us, we must not blame the politicians or the educators, or anyone else. We must do penance and pray the Rosary fervently and faithfully, asking God to help mankind by His power and wisdom. Surely, no one dare neglect this tremendous remedy! Five decades take only a few minutes. Think of the time that is wasted in useless talk and amusements, or in just waiting for someone. The Rosary can be prayed daily-even if one must separate the decades to do so.

A HELP TOWARDS HOLINESS

The Rosary is a book that teaches a knowledge and love of Jesus and Mary. It is an effective way to obtain graces from God. It is a stimulus to all the virtues. It is a perfect catechism. One who prays the Rosary cannot forget the mysteries of Redemption. The Rosary is a summary of Catholic doctrine. It is an invincible power to overcome the spirit of the world, the flesh and the devil. For many, the Rosary has been the key to heaven.

A young artist, composer or painter strives for the perfection of his art by studying the works of the masters. So, too, if we are to strive for the perfection of a good and holy life, we must turn to our perfect model: Jesus Christ. The Rosary keeps Christ and His Mother ever before us. Every lesson necessary for the imitation of Jesus and Mary is exemplified in one or other mystery of the holy Rosary. Patience, love of neighbor, the value of suffering, all conceivable virtues, are wonderfully set forth to inspire us and to assist us to copy them in our own life.

Our modern age tends to look down upon the ordinary simple life and to glorify the exceptional. Some would do away with home life altogether. They see pleasure, wealth, or power as the goals for which men should live. God is ignored. Against this false idea the Joyful Mysteries furnish a pattern of humility, neighborly charity, and the beauty of home life wherein God is reverenced and His law fulfilled.

Every life is checkered with sufferings and conflicts. The Sorrowful Mysteries offer consolation, strength and peace in the midst of defeat and humiliation. Christ's Passion is a school for young and old.

THE FAMILY ROSARY

The Rosary can be said alone, as a strictly private devotion. It can be said also in common with others, especially in the family circle-a longstanding Catholic practice, the restoration of which is urged upon every Catholic family where it has been neglected.

One of the most reassuring signs of our times is the renewal of devotion to the Rosary both in individual lives and in the family circle, in places of business and in institutions. The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and the ever-present threat of atomic warfare have opened the eyes of many to the need of recourse to God and the restoration of a real Catholic family life.

The past three decades have witnessed a great increase in the recitation of the Rosary in the family. Sparked by Father Patrick Peyton, who inaugurated it in 1942, the Family Rosary Crusade has almost encircled the globe.

The Family Rosary provides an easy yet effective means of combating the many evils which beset the home. It gives young people a strong defense against the temptations they face everywhere. The motto of Father Peyton's campaign, "The family that prays together stays together" echoes the words of the saintly Pope Pius IX, who advised: "If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, in your country, assemble every evening to recite the Rosary."

With divorce on the increase, and youthful contempt for authority and disregard for property leading to an unprecedented increase in crimes and excesses, there is the greatest need to turn to the Mother of God who is always ready to crush the head of Satan. The devil now seems to have come forth openly into the arena and is leading his forces in one great army against the Church and against the family, the nucleus of all society. Close-knit to Christ in His Church, close-knit in charity to his neighbor, and shoulder-to-shoulder, every Catholic must go into battle against the princes of the world of evil. But he will go with Rosary in hand. United under Mary's standard, this great Christian "army" will call upon Mary as their leader, for it is she "who has conquered all heresies." It is she who is the "Victress in all God's battles," as Pius XII called her.

For centuries it was the custom for Catholic fathers and mothers to kneel each evening with their children and any other members of the household, or visitors, and recite the Rosary together. This was often followed by the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. This devout practice brought untold blessings on the home. It was a powerful help in molding the children into true Christian men and women, and when they left the parental roof they did not quickly become the prey of false doctrines and bad companions. By good example and careful instruction they had been imbued with the principles of right living and did not lightly leave off the practice of their faith.

In homes of this kind many vocations to the priesthood and religious life blossomed. The decline of vocations today has put the Church in sore straits and points to a lack of devout Catholic homes.

'The daily recitation of the Rosary in the home circle is important in teaching the members of the family to turn to God in prayer in the many occasions and circumstances which threaten the peace and security of life. It leads them to see God's hand in all that happens, to think of Him reverently, to look up to Him trustingly, to acquiesce lovingly in all that He sends or permits. May America and all the world hasten to restore to the home the beautiful and fruitful practice of the Family Rosary! May the faithful everywhere seize and hold fast to this anchor of salvation!

Beginning with the Sign of the Cross, the symbol of their Christian Faith and the sign of Redemption in the Blood of Christ, the Rosary recalls the incarnation, life, sufferings and death of our Savior. Then a profession of belief in the great mysteries and eternal truths of religion is made by reciting the Apostles' Creed. There is a real connection between the Rosary and the Creed. The few concise sentences of the Creed are the subjects of meditation developed in the mysteries of the Rosary. The words "conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary," develop into the joyful mysteries. The words "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried" are the kernel of the sorrowful mysteries. The words "arose again from the dead, ascended into heaven . . . I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church," lead to the glorious mysteries. Hence, the Rosary is simply a complete development of the Apostles' Creed.

The Our Father, which precedes each decade of the Rosary, is like a precious pearl in a chain of ruby Aves. Human lips cannot frame a prayer that will appeal more strongly to our Heavenly Father than the prayer taught by our Divine Lord. The Our Father is full of easily-comprehended instruction regarding our duties to God and to others. It has been called a summary of the whole Gospel. Saint Augustine teaches that every Our Father prayed well effaces venial sins. Its seven petitions are directed against the seven vices or capital sins. It is a prayer that comforts and strengthens the soul, and fills it with hope and confidence in God as a loving, provident and forgiving Father.

The Hail Mary, which is repeated more than one hundred and fifty times in the Rosary, is a message of joy brought by the Archangel Gabriel to the fallen world, continued by our Blessed Mother's cousin, St. Elizabeth, and concluded by the Church.

The Hail Mary is a prayer giving highest praise to the Mother of God, a prayer that abounds in blessings. "For each salutation of Mary," St. Bernard wrote, "you will receive a grace from her." And the Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Mechtilde that no more sublime salutation can be found by which to honor her. Like the Our Father, the Hail Mary is a prayer most frequently found on the lips of Catholics. It is an appealing prayer; it is a powerful prayer for our needs now and at the hour of our death.

The Hail Mary is a prayer for sinful souls, "Pray for us sinners!" It is also a prayer for those striving to be holy. There is no one who does not need the intercession of the Mother of God, who is also our Mother, our Mediatrix and intercessor, obtaining the forgiveness of our sins and abundant graces for salvation and sanctity.

Adding the Glory be to the Father at the end of each decade of the Rosary is in imitation of the recitation of the Psalms in the Office, where it is repeated after each Psalm as a reminder of the eternal "Gloria" and "Sanctus" of the angels and elect before the throne of God.

In her apparitions to the children at Fatima, Our Blessed Lady taught them to add at the end of each decade of the Rosary the following prayer: "0 my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy." Many now have the pious custom of including this prayer at the end of each decade. It is warmly approved by the Church and it emphasizes three truths of great importance today: Heaven, Hell and our need for mercy.

With many people the saying of the beads seems to be just a mechanical prayer, during which the mind, instead of being occupied with divine things, is the prey of more or less voluntary distractions. Too often also it is rushed and soulless, and is regarded merely as a means of asking for temporal favours, with little thought as to the bearing of these on our sanctification and salvation. As a result, we get the complaint that the recitation of the Rosary easily degenerates into routine, a routine which is only the corpse, as it were, of the living spirit of prayer.

Indeed one cannot help asking at times: what trace have we here of the teaching of the great encyclicals of Leo XIII, and his successors on the Rosary? For, according to the encyclicals, the Rosary is a prayer wonderfully adapted to satisfy the deepest needs of the heart and mind and soul. The Lord has given us a religion of life and too often we have turned it into a religion of formulas. The mysteries of salvation which the Creed puts before us are not meant to be merely abstract truths expressed in precise formulas, but truths of life which will illuminate and vivify our actual concrete lives day by day.

SAY IT PROPERLY

To pray the Rosary well, we must pray it with attention. God listens to the voice of the heart more than to the voice of the lips. Deliberately to pray to God without attention would be a great irreverence and would render prayer useless and sinful. If we do not listen to ourselves, how can we expect God to listen to us? It is true, no one can pray the Rosary without some involuntary distractions. But we must try as much as possible to keep our mind on our prayers and on the mysteries.

It is when we want to pray for some urgent intention that we will probably pray the Rosary best, but even when drowsy and troubled by our flighty and unstable imagination we must make as much effort as we can to pray the Rosary well.