THE HOLY ROSARY: A BIBLICAL DEFENSE Bro. Marwil N.

Llasos

I. Attacks on the Rosary a. Vain Repetition The King James Version (Protestant Bible) renders Matthew 6:7 as: But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. The Protestant attack on the Rosary as vain repetition is based on an erroneous of the Bible. The original Greek text of Matthew 6:7 states: proseuchomenoi de mE battalogEsEte hOsper hoi ethnikoi dokousin gar hoti en tE polulogia autOn eisakousthEsontai The root word of battalogEsEte is battalogeo which is better translated as babbling. Protestant scholars realized their mistake. They corrected the error and rendered Matthew 6:7 in the New International Bible as: And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. For deliberately changing the Word of God, Protestants have perverted the words of the living God (Jeremiah 23:36). See: 1 Kgs. 18:25-29 for example of vain repetition by pagans. See also: Mark 13:40 and Luke 20:47 on the lengthy prayers of the scribes and Pharisees. Repetitious Prayer in the Bible: 1. The Bible does not condemn repetitious prayer. In fact, Our Lord Himself engaged in repetitious prayer during His agony in the garden. Matthew 26:44 Jesus prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.

2. The prayer of the tax collector: In Luke 18:9-14, the original Greek text uses the imperfect tense meaning that the tax collector "kept beating his breast and saying, Have mercy on me O Lord, a sinner. 3. Angels in heaven repeat day of night, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord (Revelation 4:8). 4. The Book of Psalms is repetitiously used in Jewish Liturgy in which the Lord Himself participated. Psalm 136 is an antiphonal Psalm with the refrain for His mercy endures forever. The same refrain is mentioned in Psalm 106:1, 107:1, 118: 1-4, 29 which parallels II Chron. 5:13, 7:3,6. Praise the Lord! is mentioned many times in the Bible: Psalm 116:17, 111:1, 112:1, 135:1, 146:1, 147:1, etc. Jews also pray our help is in the name of the Lord repetitiously (Psalm 121:2, 124:8). Jews also repeat Amen (Psalm 89:52). The Jews, who practiced repetitious prayer, had their prayer books called psaltery as mentioned in Psalms 81:2 and 108:2. Modern Protestants repeat The Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10. In fact, they made a big industry out of that simple prayer. Perhaps, they should be reminded of Romans 2:1 which says: Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 5. Parables of Jesus on Persistent Prayer Jesus gave us two parables to illustrate that persistence and repetitious prayer can be just the right approach. Luke 11:5-13 "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs."

Luke 18:2-5 "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God or regarded man; and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Vindicate me against my adversary. For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor regard men, yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming." 6. Apostle Paul exhorts us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He engaged in repetitious prayer himself. He said: For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me (2 Corinthians 12:8). b. Where is that in the Bible? attack Failing in their firsts attack, Protestants resort to their standard mode of attack: where is that in the Bible?. This is clearly a case of Biblicism which is the literal approach to the Bible which is condemned by the Apostle Paul: Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Corinthians 3:6) The true servant of God does not look for the letter (or word) for proof-texting but rather asks the Lord to give him understanding: I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies. (Psalm 119:125) Indeed, one must look for the sense rather than the word or letter as clearly demonstrated in Nehemiah 8:8: So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. Since, Protestants who rely heavily on sola scriptura cannot accept any other approach to studying the Bible than the literal one, we defer to them by pointing out where in the Bible can we find the rosary. The Bible mentions the word rose* which is the root word of rosary. I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (Song 2:1) Where are roses found? Roses are grown in a garden! The Bible mentions garden.**

**

See also: Isaiah 35:1 See also: Song 4:12, 15.

I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. (Song 5:1) Roses are grown in a rose garden. Rose garden in Latin is Rosarium (Rosary in English, Rosario in Spanish and Rosaryo in Pilipino). There is rose garden (rosarium) in the Bible. c. Why use material things (such as prayer beads) in praying? Contrary to the Gnostic heretics, we Catholics believe that matter is not evil, it is good. And God saw everything which he had made and it was very good (Genesis 1:31).* Physical things can remind us of God and can be used as helps in praying. Jacob worshipped leaning at the top of his staff: By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. The Lord commanded the People of God to make tassels to remind them of Him: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying; Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God. (Numbers 15:38-41). Rosary = rows of jewels and chains of gold (Song 1:10-11) II. Meditation: The Essence of the Rosary The Holy Rosary is the epitome of the whole Gospel. CCC 971; MC 42; SC 103 Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours

Ecclesiaticus 39:21: All the works of the Lord are exceeding good. Ecclesiaticus 39:39: All the works of the Lord are good, and he will furnish every work in due time.

CCC 2676

Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion and desisre. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with Him. CCC 2708 The Rosary is a contemplative prayer. Meditation (or contemplation) is clearly taught in the Bible. 1. Genesis 24:63 2. Joshua 1:8 3. Psalm 63:6 4. Psalm 19:148 5. Psalm 19;14 Isaac meditates at the field at eventide The Jews are commanded to meditate on the law day and night. See also: Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:97 I remember thee upon my bed, meditate on thee in the night Meditate thy word Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. a. words of my mouth b. meditation of my heart The rosary is composed of: a. vocal prayer b. meditation which follows the pattern of prayer in Psalm 19:14. 6. Psalm 104:34 7. Psalm 143:5 My meditation of Him shall be sweet I will meditate on thy works The works of God include: a. Creation (Father) b. Salvation/Redemption (Son)

c. Sanctification (Holy Spirit) We meditate on these in the Rosary. The Lord shall rejoice at His works. Psalm 34:31 I will show forth all thy marvelous works. Psalm 9:1 III. Litany of the Holy Rosary The Litany of the Rosary is based on the antiphonal pattern of prayer in the Bible. Psalm 136 is an example of an antiphonal prayer. The recurring refrain (response) in Psalm 136 is His mercy endureth forever. The titles used are rather poetic characteristic of Bible language. [See for example Genesis 49 calling Judah a lions whelp (v. 49), Zebulun as haven of ships (v. 13), Dan as a serpent by the way, an adder in the path (v. 17) and Joseph as a fruitful bough v. 22). Clearly, these titles are not to be understood in the literal sense. They are to be meditated upon to get the deeper meaning conveyed by the titles]. Some of the titles given to Mary in the Litany are mentioned in the Bible and are applied to Mary in a typological sense. 1. House of Gold 1 Kings 6:21-22 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. 2 Chronicles 3:5-6 And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parva'im. 2. Tower of Ivory Song 7:4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

3. Tower of David Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 4. Gate of Heaven Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 5. Mystical Rose Ecclesiasticus 39:17-21 By a voice he saith: Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters. Ye divine offspring... He speaks to the children of Israel, the people of God: whom he exhorts to bud forth and flourish with virtue. Give ye a sweet odour as frankincense. Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works. Magnify his name, and give glory to him with the voice of your lips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and with harps, and in praising him, you shall say in this manner: All the works of the Lord are exceeding good. Song 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Isaiah 35:1-2 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. 6. Ark of the Covenant Old Testament: the Ark of the Covenant was the holding place of: the 10 Commandments signifying the Word of God manna, the Bread from Heaven the rod of Aaron (cf. Heb. 9:4)

New Testament: Mary carried in her womb the Word Made Flesh; the Bread of Life; the Tree of Life (Jesus) Parallelism** ARK OF THE COVENANT OLD TESTAMENT Exo. 40:34-35 2 Sam. 6:9 2 Sam. 6:14, 16 2 Sam. 6:10-11 7. Queen Psalm 45:9 Kings daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Revelation 12:1, NKJV And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. CONCLUSION: The Rosary is a thoroughly Biblical prayer. The Rosary is in the Bible and the Bible is in the Rosary. In praying the Rosary, we: 1. Look at Jesus with the eyes of Mary 2. Love Jesus with the heart of Mary. We meditate on the mysteries of our salvation with Mary: Luke 1:19 Luke 2:51 Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart His mother kept all these things in her heart MARY NEW TESTAMENT Lk. 1:35 Lk. 1:43 Lk. 1:41; 44 Lk. 1:56 (Rev. 11:19-12:1)

In praying the Rosary, we join Mary in her meditation. We ask her to share with us what she has pondered and treasured in her heart so that we too can ponder and treasure them in ours.

**

In the Lukan Gospel, introduction of Old Testament themes and prophecies is through allusions rather than direct assertions of prophetic fulfillment.

In the Magnificat we read: My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior Luke 1:46 Mary invites us to magnify the Lord with her and to exalt His name together with her: O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together! Psalm 34:3

___________________________________________________________________________ BRO. MARS LLASOS

Bro. Marwil N. Llasos (Bro. Mars), as a Servant Leader of the Church, is involved in various Church ministries and apostolate as a Catholic lay evangelist, catechist and apologist. He is a Commissioned Lay Preacher in the Diocese of Novaliches (Commissioned by Most Rev. Antonio R. Tobias, D.D.). As a defender of the Catholic Faith, Bro. Mars is the President of Anno Domini Foundation, an Associate of Defensores Fidei Foundation and Lecturer in St. Peters Men Society. A Marian devotee, Bro. Mars is a member of various Marian groups and organizations both here and abroad. Bro. Mars is a member of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary and the Universal Living Rosary Association of St. Philiomena. Bro. Mars lectures on Mariology and Marian Spirituality in different parishes as well as with various Marian groups and organizations in the country.