Rosary

Rosary
The Rosary is an important and traditional devotion of the Catholic Church consisting of a set of prayer beads and a system of set prayers. The Rosary combines vocal prayer and meditation centered around sequences of reciting the Lord's Prayer followed by ten recitations of the "Hail Mary" prayer; and one recitation of "Glory Be to the Father" one such sequence is known as a decade. A complete Rosary involves the completion of fifteen or twenty decades, as well as other prefatory and final prayers.
A set of Rosary beads contains 50 beads in groups of ten (a decade), with an additional large bead before each decade. Some have been known to have one hundred or one hundred and fifty. These numbers were chosen to match the number of psalms, or a third or two-thirds of them. Although counting the prayers on a string of beads is customary, the prayers of the Rosary do not actually require a set of beads, but can be said using any type of counting device, by counting on one's fingers, or by counting by oneself without any device at all.
The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials, including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious materials including coral, rock crystal, gilded silver and gold.Modern beads are most often glass, resin (plastic) or wood. Early rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often made as a series of chain-linked beads.
A rosary (Dominican) consist of :
- A Cross or Crucifix
- 53 smaller beads for Hail Mary
- 6 larger beads for Our Father
- 1 Rosary Center (piece with 3 holes)
Sacred Heart has image of Jesus; Miraculous Heart has image of Mary

A rosary bracelet is a one-decade rosary worn around the wrist. Rosary bracelets are most often made with chain, but some are also made with cord, elastic, twine, flexwire or even memory wire. A rosary bracelet has a small crucifix and a small medal -- usually a Miraculous Medal (just as with most rosaries). There are ten Hail Mary beads and one Our Father bead. Most are about 7 1/2 inches in length, but they can be adjusted by adding or removing chain.

Different clasps are used depending on the findings used to make the bracelet. Chain rosary bracelets usually have common c-spring, lobster or fish hook clasps. The same clasps can be used for cord, twine and flexwire rosary bracelets. No clasp is necessary for elastic or memory wire bracelets; these are noteworthy for being easy to wear and remove. Another, interesting clasp is a magnetic clasp. It is quite strong. If the bracelet get pulled hard, the magnetic clasp usually pulls apart harmlessly when any other clasp would have broken (or caused a breakage at some other point on the rosary bracelet).
1 Decade rosary bracelet consist of :
- 10 Hail Mary beads
- 1 Our Father beads
- 1 small Crucifix or Cross

A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary. This is often worn as jewelry, and used through the day. Some ring Rosaries use a small bearing on the inside of the ring to permit easy turning.

A rosary necklace is a 5-Decade Dominican rosary -- usually a chain one -- with a clasp added making it more convenient to wear around the neck. The clasp is added near the center or in the third decade (the back of the neck). Larger rosaries do not require a clasp as long as they can fit over one's head, but most common rosaries are too small to fit over the head and so a clasp is needed.
5 Decade Dominican rosary consist of:
- 153 Hail Mary beads
- 16 Our Father beads
- 1 Rosary Center
- 1 Crucifix or Cross