Religion and Tradition
Rosary Tradition
Background
Rosary means a crown of roses, a spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. It is sometimes called the Dominican Rosary, to distinguish it from other rosary-like prayers (e.g. the Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys or Franciscan Crown, the Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows). It is also, in a general sense, a form of chaplet or corona (crown), of which there are many varieties in the Church. Finally, in English it has been called "Our Lady's Psalter" or "the beads." This last derives from an Old English word for prayers (bede) and to request (biddan or bid).
The rosary has been called the preparation for contemplation and the prayer of saints. While the hands and lips are occupied with the prayers (it can and should be prayed silently when necessary so as not to disturb others), the mind meditates on the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption represented by the decades. Meditation is the form of prayer by which the one who prays uses the mind and imagination to consider a truth and uses the will to love it and form resolutions to live it. In this way the heart, mind, and soul of the Christian is formed according to the Gospel examples of the Savior and His First Disciple, His Mother. In God's own time, when this purification of the heart, mind, and soul has advanced sufficiently the Lord may give the grace of contemplative prayer, that special divine insight into the truth which human effort cannot achieve on its own.
The Holy Rosary
https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary/
Rosary Anatomy
The Rosary is above all a prolonged prayer and meditation on the mysteries of the life of Christ and His Mother Mary. Strongly associated with the Blessed Mother, the Rosary relies on her intercession with her Divine Son and on her ability to raise our minds and hearts to God through both vocal prayer and reflection on all that God has done for us.
To facilitate this prayer, a string of beads—also called a rosary—is used as a means of involving the body and keeping track of the prayers. This rosary consists of a small crucifix attached to a short string of four beads which leads to a circle of five groups of ten beads each, with each group separated by a single larger or different-colored bead. (Note that the fifth bead on the short string is actually the first bead of the circle.)
Each group of ten beads in the circle, with its initial larger or different-colored bead, is used to pray and meditate on one of the “mysteries of the Rosary”, which commemorate Christ’s life and mission. The crucifix and initial short string of beads are used to mark off the introductory prayers.
Traditionally, the Rosary included 150 Hail Marys, one for each of the Psalms, which were gradually divided into 15 groups of ten each, to correspond with 15 mysteries of the Rosary for meditation. Hence a complete Rosary was for many years technically 15 decades long. But the most commonly used Rosary has five decades, and the mysteries were commonly divided into three groups, the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious, with five mysteries in each group. Thus, ordinarily, “saying the Rosary” means saying the introductory prayers and praying and meditating on one set of five mysteries for the five decades of the standard rosary.
How to Pray the Rosary
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=8331
Rosary Tradition - Rosary Structure
