Gilpin observer., 1912-10-10
FATHER NAUeHToN's
SUNDAY SERMON

AS last Sunday was the Feast oi
the Most Holy Rosary, Father Naugh
ton prefaced his evening instruction
in Christian Doctrine with a briei
synopsis of the origin of the devo
tion known as the Rosary, and an
explanation Of the meditations and
prayers which constitute it.
Like many other devotions in hon
or of the Blessed Mother of God, the
devotion of the Rosary is often mis-
understood and criticised by Non
Catholics, and We hope that the fol
lowing reproduction of Father Naugh-
toms instruction on that subject may
serve to correct erroneous ideas re-
garding it.
Like many other devotions in hon
or of the Blessed Mother of God, the
devotion Of the. Rosary is often mis-
understood and criticised by Nom
lowing reproduction of Father Naugh-
tons instruction on that subject may
serve to correct erroneous ideas re-
garding it.
Like all Catholic doctrines and de-
votions, it is reasonable, and can
not be questioned when judged by
the standards of logic, common sense
and justice. We are often accused
of praying to the statue of the. Bless
ed Virgin and other statues that
adorn our churches. That accusation
is ridiculous in the extreme. We know
just as well as any sane human be-
ing does that the statues are just as
inanimate as the pews in the church.
and have no more power to hear and
answer our prayers than they. We
have the statues in our churches
merely to help us keep in mind,
while we are praying, the originals
which they represent, and thus to
and cherish the statues only for the
originals which they represent, just
as in every day life We respect and
cherish photographs of those we love.
1.-The entire Rosary consists of the
fifteen mysteries, as they are called,
the Apostles Creed, the Lords pray
er, the Hail Mary and the Doxol
ogy. For convenience, it is divided
into threee sections of five myster-
les each. These mysteries are the
leading events in the lives of Christ
and His Blessed Mother from the
time of the Annunciation of the An
gel Gabriel that she was to become
the Mother of God, to the time of
her glorious coronation in heaven.
"The Rosary begins with the re-
cital of the Apostles Creed, (once)
the Lords prayer. (once,) the Hail
Mary (three times,) and the Doxol-
ogy, (once.) Then follows brief
meditation in turn. and after each,
the recital of the Lords prayer, (once
the Hail Mary (ten times,) and the
Doxology, (once.)
'In the recitation of the Rosary we
honor God at the same time we show
honor to His Virgin Mother. In these
meditations, every thought given to
Mary is one given to Jesus, because
their lives as Mother and Son are so
closely interviewer on earth and in
heaven, that it is impossible to COM
memorate the joys and sorrows of
one without the other. 1t stands to
reason that any devotion in honor
of the Blessed Mother who shared
His life, work and sufferings on
earth, and now shares His glory in
heaven, must be acceptable to the son
ref God, and that because of the
love He bears her, we can obtain
many blessings through her inter
cession which We could not gain
by our own prayers alone.
THE origin of the devotion of the
Rosary is as follows:
During the 18th century a sect
antagonistic to the Catholic Faith
arose in the south of France. The
chief attack was the doctrine of the
Incarnation. They declared that the
Son Of God did not become man. and
used every means in their power to
spread this heresy. st. Dominic, In
his zeal for the defense of this doc
trine, prayed earnestly that God
might direct him as to the best
means Of stemming the tide of this
heresy. After long time spent thus
in prayer, the Blessed Mother o.
God appeared to him in vision, and
said to him, Son. If you would con
quer hardened hearts, preach m,
Rosary
st. Dominic and his priests wen
forth and preached and taught the