the devotee to meditate on the mystery in question, mysteries which all
relate to the lives of Jesus and Mary.
Fifth objection: “The Rosary is a legacy of Paganism, therefore the
Catholic Church is pagan for promoting it.”
This type of objection is often raised by those who habitually oppose
Catholic practices not because there is anything intrinsically wrong with
them, but simply because they are distinctly Catholic. Cardinal John Henry
Newman (1801-1890) showed that many pagan practices have entered both
Catholic and Protestant cultures––such as the use of wedding rings in
marriage––without bringing with them elements of the pagan religion that
begot them. The use of beads in prayer is also found in Islam and in
Buddhism, for example, but there is no connection between such usage and
the use of Rosary beads in Catholicism. Even if there were any connection,
it could not be shown that any peculiar Islamic or Buddhist beliefs have
thereby been incorporated into Catholicism. The claim that the Holy
Rosary has pagan origins and is simply a mask to bring about the
paganization of Christendom is utterly unfounded. In any case, the Holy
Rosary is not based on the beads, but upon the prayers said and the
mysteries meditated upon.
St. Louis de Montfort relates the real origin of the Holy Rosary in his book
The Secret of the Rosary:
“It was only in the year 1214, however, that the Church received the
Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today.
It was given to the Church by St. Dominic, who had received it from
the Blessed Virgin as a means of converting the Albigensians and
other sinners.”
6
The Albigensians were Gnostic heretics who believed in the existence of
two Gods––one good God who created the spiritual world and one equally
powerful evil God who created the physical world. The Albigensians were
extremely violent and possessed a distinct hatred for Catholicism.
Saint Louis de Montfort continues:
6
Th
e Secret of the Rosary, Second Rose.
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