Book Review: Linking your Beads*

BOOK REVIEW

Kasten, Patricia Ann, Linking your Beads: The Rosary’s History, Mysteries and Prayers. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2011, 123 pp.

The Holy Rosary is composed, principally and substantially, of the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Pater Noster (pp. 41-47) and the Angelic Salutation, the Ave Maria (pp. 48-53). It has been a principal devotion of the catholic faithful since time immemorial (pp. 7-10). Though many use it as a tangible aid for prayer and contemplation (pp. 14-18), or at least, are familiar with it; still, many are not knowledgeable about its historico-theological background. The aim of the book Linking your Beads: The Rosary’s History, Mysteries and Prayers is to provide its readers a whole new perspective on the power of prayer with the Rosary. As the title implies, the book endeavors to “link” not only the beads, but the Rosary itself to its readers in order to satisfy their curiosity, quench their thirst for knowledge, or even deepen their faith.

The author, Patricia Ann Kasten, is a Catholic journalist and author who currently serves as the associate editor of The Compass, the diocesan newspaper for Green Bay. Wisconsin, USA. Armed with a master’s degree in Theological Studies, she is the author of Scripture Search and crossword puzzles, found in diocesan newspapers and parish bulletins across the United States. She has been recognized numerous times by the Catholic Press Association. 

The book was given nihil obstat, an attestation by a church censor (Msgr. Michael Heintz) that this book contains nothing damaging to faith or morals; and imprimatur by Most Rev. Kevin Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the official approval to print or publish granted by ecclesiastical authority. It is written in contemporary parlance but is filled with authoritative notes. The twenty-three concise yet wide-ranging chapters cover the following topics: The history of the Rosary and its prayerful predecessors; the power of meditative prayer in various forms; the significant role of sacramentals in our walk of faith; the origins of each of the Rosary prayers including the Credo; the meaning and purpose of the Rosary’s many colors, styles and lengths among other interesting topics.

The author sets out on a venture to provide the historical background of the devotion at the beginning of the book. She links the rosary to the Desert Fathers who would recite each of the 150 psalms every day, tracking them through the use of beads on a string: “A string of beads kept count of the prayers, and the Rosary sprouted into existence” (p. 8). Also in the first chapter, entitled From the Desert to Dominicans, the author carefully stated that although “pious tradition says that [St.] Dominic received the Rosary from the Virgin Mary herself sometime between 1206 and 1214, the actual evidence of the full Rosary devotion being practiced only traces back to about the fifteenth century” (ibid.). Likewise, the author noted that various sources find “this lack of a direct connection between [St.] Dominic and the Rosary…” The 1985 Letter of the Master of the Order of Preachers by Fr. Damian Byrne, OP underscores such statement: “Whatever critical historians may have to say about the Legend of the Rosary, it bears witness to the charismatic gift entrusted by the Church to the Order of Preachers, a gift which we must exercise by reason of profession, by our legislation and by the constant exhortation of the See of Rome.”  Furthermore, the 1574 General Chapter of the Order of Preachers urged the Dominicans to preach the Rosary. Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, in his 1998 Letter as Master of the Order of Preachers, said that the rosary “is ‘nostra sacra haereditas’, ‘our sacred inheritance’. There is a long tradition of pictures of Our Lady giving the Rosary to St. Dominic. But at one time, other religious orders… started commissioning paintings of Our Lady giving the Rosary to other saints, to St. Francis and even to St. Ignatius. But we... persuaded the Pope to ban the competition. Our Lady was only allowed to be shown giving the Rosary to Dominic!” But what the world owes St. Dominic and the Dominicans is not the Rosary as a prayer form, but as a devotion with lingering popularity and as an instrument of preaching the Catholic faith. The Legend, as such, is worth recalling in these days of renewed insistence on our preaching ministry: After much fruitless labor, tradition has it that the Mother of God appeared to Dominic in the forest of Bouconne near Toulouse --- "Wonder not that until now you have had such little fruit from your labors. You have spent them on a barren soil, not yet watered with the dew of divine grace. When God willed to renew the face of the earth He began by sending down the fertilizing dew of the Angelic Salutation. Preach my Rosary composed of one hundred and fifty Aves, and you will obtain an abundant harvest."

The rosary, as a form of prayer, was a product of centuries of evolution. The second chapter, The Pitter-Patter of Lady Godiva, presents the idea that the use of strings of beads to facilitate prayer and meditation is not exclusive to Christianity. Christianity shares the tradition of keeping track of the number of prayers uttered through prayer counters such as rocks, sticks, notches in wood, and even knots and beads with Hinduism, Buddhism, and even Islam. The title of this chapter is actually an endnote of the chapter when Lady Godiva was discussed as a representative of the laypeople in their Rosary devotion. 

The third chapter, The Power Tools of Contemplation, provides the meditative forms of prayer of two important figures of contemplation: the meditation of St. Anthony of Egypt and the silence of St. Joseph. The fourth chapter, The Rosary’s Older Cousin, discusses the Jesus Prayer --- ”Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” --- a simple profession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (p. 20). 

The fifth chapter, Sacramentals: the Lamplight and the Power Plant, discusses the Theology behind the sacramentals. Interestingly, the comparison between sacraments and sacramentals is discussed. However, the author vaguely states that: “Sacraments and sacramentals both involve grace, which makes things holy, but in different ways” (p. 24). In its fundamental definition, “a Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace” (Baltimore Catechism, no. 3, lesson 13, q. 574) while “Sacramentals are sacred signs which in a sense imitate the sacraments. They signify certain effects, especially spiritual ones, and they achieve these effects through the intercession of the Church (CIC 1166). With due respect to the author’s simplistic style, she states that “sacramentals … impart the grace that flows from the sacrament they represent” (p. 25) but the Catechism of the Catholic Church directly states that: “Sacramentals do not confer grace (as sacraments do), but they prepare for grace and dispose us to cooperate. Sacraments and sacramentals draw their power from Christ's Resurrection” (CCC, 1670).

Chapter 6, The How, When and Wear of the Rosary, provides a step-by-step method on how and when to pray the Rosary including ways to wear it. The author then leads the reader through every piece of the rosary, from the sign of the cross (Chapter 7) at the beginning of the devotion, through the Apostle's Creed (Chapter 8), the Our Fathers (Chapter 9), the Hail Marys (Chapter 10), the Glory Bes (Chapter 11; also known as the ‘doxology’), the Salve Regina (Chapter 12), and finally, Amen (Chapter 13). She explains the background behind each of these prayers and why they are included in the rosary. 

However, a discussion on the Litany of Loreto is lacking. It is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V and was first prayed at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto (Italy), where its usage was recorded as early as 1558. It may be used for private devotion but it is closely associated with the recitation of the Rosary. Nevertheless, the Marian title “Mystical Rose” (p. 114) is well-discussed in the final chapter. Furthermore, the Fatima prayers, the Prayer to St. Joseph, the Memorare and the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel are also discussed in chapter 20, “The Cherry on Top”.

Chapters 15 to 18 discuss the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. The author also quickly points out that the Rosary, as with all prayer, leads us to a devotion to Jesus and God's love; the Rosary does this through meditation on the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each one of these mysteries is well-explained, giving the reader something to meditate upon when "linking the beads". 

Chapter 19, entitled Pick a Number, Any Number… Any Color, too, discusses the different forms of the rosary: the Lasso Rosary, El Lazo, Auto Rosary, the Crown of our Lord, the Rosary for the Dead, the Chaplet of St. Bridget, the Servite Rosary, the Missionary Rosary and many other popular chaplets dealing with saints and angels. 

Chapter 21, Devotion  Stealing Worship from God?,  serves both as an apology against other religions who criticize the catholics’ Communion of; and catechism for practicing Catholics who are confused. The Theological terms latria, hyperdulia and dulia are well-discussed.

Chapter 22, Armed for Battle, presents the role of the Rosary in the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, the World Wars, and the Iraq Wars. A discussion on the so-called “ranger rosary” can be worth the inclusion in this chapter. Its mission is to put a rosary into the hands of every member of the Armed Services who wants one. Its all-volunteer ministry makes rosaries by hand and ships them to military chaplains around the world, along with prayer cards and scapulars. The organization ensures that every serviceman and woman has a rosary to pray on. This could be a great addendum. 

Chapter 23, Making Scents of Heaven, discusses the literal and figurative meaning of the rosarium, or garland of prayer flowers, an appropriate conclusion to reflect on the Rosary with flowers.

This book is recommended for all states of life: priests, religious and the laity. It serves as a good primer for further studies on the Rosary. It provides the fundamental knowledge on the Rosary that even a devotee might not know. The simplicity of presentation reflects what the Rosary is. Fr. Radcliffe, OP asked: “It may seem a little strange that a prayer as simple as the Rosary should be particularly associated with Dominicans. Dominicans are not often thought of as very simple people. We have a reputation for writing long and complex books on theology. But why is this simple prayer so dear to Dominicans? Perhaps, it is because at the center of our theological tradition is a longing for simplicity. St. Thomas Aquinas said that we cannot understand God because God is utterly simple --- simple beyond all our conceptions. We study, we wrestle with theological problems, we strain our minds, but the aim is to draw near to the mystery of the One who is totally simple. We have to pass through the complexity so as to arrive at simplicity.”