What is the purpose of the Rosary?
The Rosary (Latin, “garland of roses” or “crown of roses”) is a devotion in honor of the Virgin Mary (represented by a rose) consisting of a set number of specific prayers. Originally, in ninth ninth century Ireland, the Rosary consisted of 150 “Our Fathers” for the leity in place of the 150 Psalms traditionally chanted by monks, along with a bag of pebbles or a rope with knots tied in it to keep track of them. The Rosary in its present form was given to St. Dominic in 1214, who had supposedly received it from the Blessed Virgin while in a comatose state after flagellating himself for three days and nights in penance to appease the anger of God for the sins of the French Albigensians, who he was trying to convert. The Blessed Virgin revealed to him that the Angelic Psalter was the greatest weapon for worldwide reform and gave him a book of instructions on how to perform each stage of the psalter, at that time called the Psalter of Jesus and Mary. It was reported that Jesus later appear
