Praying
the rosary and novena is a practice of a Catholic devotee, done with
great love and sincerity. However, if we consider this religious
practice it shows that rosary is indeed repetitious, against God's will
and thus contrary to the statement of Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do
not use in vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they
will be heard for their many words."(New King James Version).
To defy Christ's admonition against repetitious prayers is not only
unbiblical-it is choosing to be an enemy of Christ. Repetitious reciting
of prayers, says Christ in the same verse is the way pagan pray.
Apostle Paul states in Ephesians 4:17-18 that Christians must "give up
living as pagans do with their futile notions" (Revised English Version).
Thus, any praying in the same way as what pagans are doing contradicts Christ's admonition on how to pray properly.
"... the old pagans Rome ...before the Roman Catholic Church came into
existence, constantly used beads in reciting their many prayers ..."(Roman Catholics in the Light of the Scriptures, p. 137)
"The practice of using beads, etc., as a help to memory in reciting a
set number of prayers is not distinctively Christian ..." (A Catholic Dictionary, p.717)
Proponents explain that rosary beads have been very much in fashion
before and up to now that is why they are universally found. They are
not the sole or exclusive property of the pagans and conclude that the
Rosary "can not be branded as such." The fact, however, that there is no
mention of it being commanded by Christ and the Apostles or used by the
early Christians, and not even by the people of God in the Old
Testament indicates that the Rosary was adopted by the Catholic Church
not from the Holy Scriptures. As they themselves know, history proves
that the Rosary had long been widespread among pagans even before the
existence of the Roman Church.
They
expounded that aside from the recitation of the vocal prayers, the
Rosary includes meditation on the "mysteries" and putting into practice
what is meditated upon and expressed in vocal prayers. Then they
concludes that "the Holy Rosary is biblically based." Meditating on
important events in the life of Jesus and other virtuous servants of God
living it out in the daily life are indeed noble activities, but these
activities can be done without ritually reciting memorized prayers while
using beads which the pagan also use. God's people in the Bible
practiced meditation and were prayerful, but none of them used vain
repetitious or rosary beads in prayers.
Moreover, at least two of their so-called "mysteries involved in
praying the Rosary are obviously not warranted by the Holy Scriptures.
In announcing the "Fourth mystery-the Assumption of our Lady" in their
so called "Glorious Mysteries," they proclaim:
"We recall how Jesus has taken His Mother to heaven with body and soul
as a generous reward for her devoted love to Him while on earth." (How to Say the Rosary, p. 22).
But nowhere in the Bible can we find that "Jesus has taken His
Mother to heaven with body and soul." What the Bible teaches is that the
dead are in the grave (Ps. 88:5, New King James Version), including those who are holy (Ps. 86:2; Acts 2:29, 34), and that the "soul cling to the dust" when a person dies (Ps. 119:25,New King James Version). Those
who are worthy of salvation will enter the kingdom of heaven on the
Second Advent of Christ (Mt. 25:31-34) or Judgment Day (Jude 1:14-15).
"We recall how
Mary enter[ed] heaven and greeted by the jubilation of angels and
saints. Jesus sets upon her head the crown as Heaven's Queen." (How to Say the Rosary, p. 23).
Regarding the "Glorious Mysteries," Pope John Paul II himself in His Apostolic Letter "The Rosary of Virgin Mary" states:
"In the Ascension, Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the
Father, while Mary herself would be raised to the same glory in
Assumption, enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny
reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in
glory-as she appears in the last glorious mystery-Mary shines forth as
Queens of the Angels and Saint..."(p.16-Pastoral letter provided).
Again, these teachings are without biblical basis. Even the Pope can
not read from the Holy Scriptures that Mary was 'crowned in glory - as
Queen of the Angels and Saints" and that "Jesus sets upon her head the
crown as Heaven's Queen.? As a matter of fact, no less than the Catholic
priests and authorities testify to the fact that Mary's "Assumption" or
being "taken ... to heaven with body and soul" is not found in the Holy
Scriptures:
"There is no statement of the Assumption in the Holy Scriptures:
writings of the first five centuries, we found them void of any
historical data to certify the fact of the Assumption." (God the Redeemer by Charles G. Herzog, S.J.., p.98)
"There is no explicit reference to the assumption in the Bible, yet
the Pope insist in the decree of promulgation that the Scriptures are
the ultimate foundation of this truth." (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. I, 1967, p. 972).
No doubt, the Rosary can be prayed with the best human intentions,
but this doesn't change the biblical truth that it is not the will of
God and it is of pagan origin. Neither the prophets nor Christ, nor the
Apostles taught it and therefore, the Rosary is a prayer taught as a
commandment of men, who have not been commissioned by God to teach his
words.
As to prayers made to God by people who teach and obey commandments of men, Christ quoted these words from God:
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandment of men." (Mt. 15:9, King James Version).
We cannot blame those who further conclude that "such practices (i.e.the praying of rosary, novena, etc.) are forms of enslaving ourselves into something we do not really need in our lives in the first place."
However, though we agree on the rights that freedom is one of the God's
great gifts to man, the Bible nevertheless teaches that one is free to
serve Him in any manner he chooses, if he wants his service to be worthy
and acceptable before Him. In fact, God Himself declared that there are
forms of service or worship rendered to Him that are in vain;
"But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men." (Matt. 15:9, American Standard Version).
"(Referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to
human precepts and doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom
in promoting rigor of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the
body, but they are no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh."
(Col. 2:22-23, Revised Standard Version).
What must guide one's freedom in serving God is no other than His
commandments or statutes (Deut. 30:15-16). After all, what really makes
us free is the truth or the words of God written in the Holy Scriptures
(Jn 8:32; 17:17, II Tim. 3:15-17)
Therefore, while there's still time, put away the commandments of men,
and let us learn to accept the truth no matter how painful it maybe. The
truth will set us free.
A reaction to “Holy Rosary”
Reaction:
I, too, grew up
in a closely-knit, Catholic indoctrinated environment following what my
brother-in-law (who used to be a deacon but did not take his priesthood vows)
says that we should adhere to the Catholic dogma. I grew up in an environment
of daily rosaries every month of October, novenas at St. Anthony de Padua and
Quiapo Churches, doing the stations of the cross by going to various churches
we can go to every Holy Week which would turn out to be a family excursion in
the end, and so many practices we Catholics devote ourselves to wherever and
whenever there is a holy occasion. My mother led us into these practices and,
frankly, I enjoyed them! But my father was not that devoted.
Dwelling on the
issue of praying the rosary, I could recite it in basically four languages, as
my mother, mother-in-law, and other members of my family do, including Latin.
Allow me to cite my personal experience and give my personal comments.
Personally, I
never learned to appreciate the rosary, along with the other devotions we
Catholics do, in order to seek forgiveness from the Lord and atonement for our
sins or even simply to seek peace within ourselves. I always wondered in
amazement how my mother, along with the other members of my family, could
repetitiously utter such words. We never prayed in detail for whatever problems
we might be having at that particular time and place. Hence, wherever we go, we
say the same prayer with all devotion but in the end, it becomes
embarrassingly, unavoidably boring.
In the
beginning, I thought that I might be committing blasphemy, since I’m a Catholic
and so are my forefathers. It makes you wonder, “Is there life beyond these
things!” Whenever I’m not with my relatives, I would pray to God in my own
way.
When I went to college, being less scared, I
decided that I would simply go to church every Sunday without any devotion to
other Catholic practices. Of course my mother didn’t approve of this at first,
but what could she do? I was using my scholarship as a reason. It went on like
this until this day. Now, with both my parents dead, I’m glad that no one bugs
me to join same activities that I’ve been doing in my childhood.
As I progressed
in life after graduation, some passages in the Bible have somehow given me the
light on the questions that have been in my mind since I was a little boy.
In 1999, I met
this Italian priest, Fr. Marco Brioschi, PIME. He has become both very good
friend and confidant, although we started out as the worst of enemies-what a
strange way to have a friend. He showed me “the real essence of being a good
Christian” without going through all the traditional Catholic activities. He
made me feel relieved that I really don’t have to feel guilty for not
practicing the same as what my forefathers did, as those practices are not only
obsolete but, from his very own words, are not the true teachings of the Church
and are not embedded in the very teachings of Christ.
As I take it,
man by nature is lazy. It maybe possible that these practices, which are
equally visible in other religions, were made so that they wouldn’t have to
invent so many words during prayer. I’ve seen rosary-like beads in Saudi Arabia, China
and Taiwan
wrapped around the neck or waist of monks, and in many other places I’ve been
to. Then again, freedom, God’s greatest gift to man, as my dear old friend Fr.
Marco would say, is what Jesus is basically trying to tell each and everyone of
us. That is why again, personally, such practices (i.e. praying the rosary,
novenas, etc.) are forms of enslaving ourselves into something we do not really
need in our lives in the first place.
I wouldn’t go so
much into being a well-rounded religious man or academician quoting passages
from the Bible or any other textbooks. I am simply a layman who wants to live a
simple life having the religious freedom to communicate with my God in my own
way. I cannot say that I am ignorant or knowledgeable of my own religion. I am
simply sharing my thoughts as a born Catholic, views that I gathered from a
priest, and what I really want to with the rest of my life. I do not write this
to say that I despise the Catholic religious practices, nor concur what other
Christian denominations says against them. I simply want to express my thoughts
as they are-practice my religion with freedom and not being enslaved with
traditional practices such as what the editor mentions, “is not even mentioned
in the Holy Scriptures.”
Thank you for
sharing with us your thoughts about Catholic practices, particularly the rosary
and the novenas, which once became part of your life being a born Catholic.
It is remarkable
that even a Catholic priest who is your friend admits that Catholic practices
neither are the true teachings of the Church nor are they embedded in the very
teachings of Christ, hence are not needed in order to be a good Christian. We
can not blame you for further concluding that “such practices (i.e. the praying
of the rosary, novenas, etc.) are forms of enslaving ourselves into something
we do not really need in our lives in the first place.”
However, though
we agree with you that freedom is one of the God’s great gifts to man, the
Bible nevertheless teaches that one is free to serve Him in any manner he
chooses, if he wants his service to be worthy and acceptable before Him. In
fact, God Himself declares that there are forms of service or worship rendered
to Him that are in vain:
“But in vain do
they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.” (Matt. 15:9,
American Standard Version)
“(Referring to
things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and
doctrines? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting rigor of
devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body, but they are no value in
checking the indulgence of the flesh.” (Col. 2:22-23, Revised Standard Version)
What must guide
one’s freedom is serving God is no other than His commandments or statutes
(Deut. 30:15-16). After all, what really
makes us truly free is the truth or the words of God written in the Holy
Scriptures (Joh 8:32; 17:17; IITim. 3:15-17).
