Dominican Friars

A significant part of Christian piety in the late-Middle Ages were the various guilds and confraternities associated with different saints. These confraternities were made up of groups of parishioners who supported each other in their devotion to a particular saint. Members would gather for prayers, furnish an altar or decorations for an image of the saint, and pray for the intentions of all the members of the guild. The benefits of joining a confraternity extended even after death. Members would promise to pray for the deceased members of their confraternity and would endow a series of Masses to be said for the souls of any member who died. These groups were not limited only to the rich or the learned. Pious confraternities were made up of both wealthy and poor, educated craftsmen and peasant farmers. Guilds formed the glue of parochial life and helped to connect the members of local society through their devotions. 

One such group that came about in the middle of the fifteenth century was the Confraternity of the Rosary. Inspired by the preaching of the Dominican Alan de la Roche, the first confraternity dedicated to the Rosary was erected in Cologne in 1447. Soon, many similar confraternities were established and they were placed under the care of the Dominican Order. These confraternities are still active today with countless members around the world. Many Dominican saints and blesseds, especially the martyrs of South East Asia, were active in promoting and participating in their local confraternities. 

The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary is one of the most highly indulgenced pious associations of the faithful. Members of the Confraternity (called Rosarians) through the generosity of the Church, are offered great spiritual advantages including sharing in all the Masses, Divine Offices, and good works of the fathers, brothers, contemplative nuns, sisters, and laity of the whole Dominican Order. Additionally, plenary indulgences are made available to Confraternity members on the day of their enrolment, Christmas Day, Easter Sunday, the Assumption, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the Immaculate Conception. A plenary indulgence is also available daily for those members who recite five decades of the Rosary at once. 

Confraternity chapters at parishes will often pray the Rosary in common, but even when a Rosarian prays the Rosary alone he is united to all the members of the Confraternity praying the Rosary on behalf of the Church, in virtue of their membership in the public association. Rosarians, when they pray the Rosary, pray for the intentions of the whole Confraternity, tapping into all the graces offered by the Church to the Confraternity and its members.

Surely all the lavish benefits of enrollment in the Confraternity must require some great labor  or special standing on the part of the members of the Rosary Confraternity. But no. Members can enroll online or through their local parish chapter, and, once enrolled, the only requirement is that members pray fifteen decades of the Rosary each week and include the other members and their intentions in their prayers—such great spiritual benefits for something many members would do even without the Confraternity.  
You can learn more about the Confraternity of the Rosary here.

Is it possible to love too much? Not when it comes to our heavenly mother. Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., principal preacher at the inaugural Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage, characterizes Marian devotion “as overflow, not overkill.” He explains that Mary sets herself up “as an icon, not an idol, allowing our gaze to pass through her, to her Son. And she doesn’t upend the place of Christ, rather she extends it to us, with the care of a mother.”

Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., invites you to join us on Saturday, September 30 for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage in Washington, DC. Thousands of Catholics are coming together to kick off October, Month of the Holy Rosary.

Br. Finbar Kantor, O.P. has a conversation with Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P., Promoter General of the Rosary for the Dominican Order on all things Rosary—the benefits of the praying the Rosary; joining the Rosary Confraternity; and on our upcoming Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage in Washington, DC on Sept. 30th.

For many, the most difficult part of praying the Rosary is simply getting started. Praying five decades can feel like a significant commitment and the number of prayers to say often overwhelms those who struggle to pray the Rosary. Devout men and women who did not grow up praying the Rosary may find the prospect of praying the Rosary to be too daunting and are held back from the numerous riches that devotion to the Rosary affords. Here are a few methods you can use to overcome these challenges and develop your devotion to the Rosary. 

Joining in the Parish Rosary 

Praying the Rosary with others offers an easy means of eliminating the initial struggles of praying the Rosary. There is no need to fear forgetting the mysteries or losing track of which bead you were on if there are others praying who you can listen to for help. Fatigue from praying is also reduced as many Rosary groups will pray in alternatum (one person or part of the group saying the first half of the prayer and the other part saying the second half). Many parishes have dedicated times for a Rosary before or after Mass, and arriving thirty minutes early to Mass or staying after Mass to pray with your fellow parishioners can be a great means of beginning a devotion to the Rosary. Additionally, the Church offers an indulgence to be gained by those who pray five decades of the Rosary in common.  

Praying the Rosary as a Family

If you have children, praying the Rosary as a family can be a great way to introduce the Rosary to your children. This will also open your family to the graces that the Blessed Mother promises to those who accept her patronage. The family Rosary places those who pray it under Mary’s protective mantle and draws the members of the family closer together in love. A helpful way to begin praying the Rosary as a family is to  begin with a dedicated day or time to pray as a family. After reading a helpful explanation of how to pray the Rosary, parents can lead their children in prayer by announcing the mysteries and beginning the prayers and having their children respond. Fr. Patrick Peyton, promotor of the family Rosary, preached that the family that prays together, stays together. Beginning to pray the Rosary as a family will form habits of prayer that will have lasting effects on you and your children. 

Working Your Way Up

If you find yourself without the time or means to pray the Rosary in common, do not give up! You can begin your devotion to the Rosary in small and simple ways. Carry your Rosary with you wherever you go, hold it in your pocket while you walk. Say one decade as you wait for someone. These small acts can go a long way in developing a familiarity with the Rosary. Soon, you will find yourself meditating on the Rosary as you walk to catch the bus to work, praying a decade while you wait in line at the grocery store, or setting aside twenty minutes to pray a daily Rosary each morning. 
Nurturing a devotion to the Rosary in these ways invites the Blessed Mother into your life, along with the many gifts and graces she has promised to those who pray the Rosary. It is a practice that will benefit your whole life and there is no better time to start than today.