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INASMUCH as the Regina Caeli has been made to take the place of the Angelus during Easter time, it will be proper to inquire into the origin of that devotion.  At the end of Lauds and Compline in the Divine Office, and at the end of Vespers, as they are commonly sung in churches, an antiphon of the Blessed Virgin is added.  These antiphons are four in number, are named from the Latin words with which they begin, and vary according to the season.  One of these is the Regina Caeli.

            The origin of the Regina Caeli is thus accounted for by a writer of note:  “In 596, during Paschal time, a horrible pestilence was ravaging Rome, and the Pope, St. Gregory, called the people to penance and appointed a procession.  The day having come, he himself repaired at dawn to the church of Ara Caeli, and, taking in his hands a picture of the Blessed Virgin, said to have been painted by St. Luke, he proceeded to St. Peter’s, followed by the clergy and a numerous crowd.  But all of a sudden, while passing the Castle of Adrian, voices were heard in the air singing the Regina Caeli.  The Pontiff, astonished and enraptured, replied with the people:  ‘Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.’  At the same moment an angel, brilliant with light, was seen replacing his sword in the scabbard, and the plague ceased from that day.  After the disappearance of the plague the anthem Regina Caeli was introduced in the Church service, to thank the Blessed Virgin, whose intercession was believed to have stayed the disease.”  But it must be said of the Regina Caeli, as of the Angelus, that it did not at once assume its present form.  The Regina Caeli is recited standing during Easter time.

The Litanies

A litany is an oral form of petition alternately repeated by priest and people.  The word litany is derived from the Greek, and means fervent invocation.  The litanies approved by the Church and used in public worship are the Litany of the Saints, the Litany of Loretto, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus is usually given in the prayer-books as part of the morning devotions, and the Litany of Loretto for the evening.  All other litanies are for private devotion only, and, numerous as they are, none of the others rise to the dignity and tenderness of these four.

THE LITANY OF LORETTO AND THE SALVE REGINA

THE Litany of Loretto is a form of prayer in which the most glorious titles are given to the Mother of God, and her intercession if unceasingly implored.

            The Litany of Loretto takes its origin and its name from the place of pilgrimage in Italy, Loretto, where the holy house of Nazareth now stands.  In this Litany first of all God is called upon for mercy, as in the Kyrie Eleison of the Mass.  This is followed by the invocation of the most Holy Trinity.  Then the Blessed Mother of God is invokes, and her intercession is besought.  At the conclusion of the litany, confiding in the mediation of our Advocate, we appeal to her divine Son, beseeching Him to spare, to hear, to have mercy upon us.  Several of the invocations have been added by the Holy See in the course of centuries; for instance, “Help of Christians,” after the victory over the Turks; “Queen conceived without original sin,” after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; and recently, “Queen of the most holy Rosary,” on the introduction of the custom of reciting the Rosary in public during the mouth of October.  An indulgence of three hundred days may be gained for each recital of this litany.  The Salve Regina, or “Hail, holy Queen,” was composed in 1009 by Blessed Herman, and in 1146 the illustrious St. Bernard added to it the words: “O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.”

The Way of the Cross

THE Way of the Cross is the name given to the fourteen stations which depict the way along which Our Redeemer passed, bearing His cross, from Pilate’s palace to Mount Calvary.  The fourteen stations consist of fourteen wooden crosses, to which pictures and inscriptions are generally added.  They are erected in churches, sometimes in the open air, on the slope of a hill, occasionally in cemeteries.  It is to the crosses, which must be of wood, that the indulgences are attached.  The pictures are not necessary.

            Tradition says that the Blessed Mother of God was wont often to walk in the steps of her Son to Calvary, pausing at the spots marked by some special incident.  The early Christians flocked in crowds to the holy places to follow the Via Crucis.  When, however, in the Middle Ages, the Holy Land fell into the hands of the infidels, and the devout pilgrim could only visit the scenes of Our Lord’s sufferings at the risk of his life, the stations were erected I nthe churches, and enriched by the Popes with large indulgences.  St. Francis of Assisi contributed greatly to the spread of this devotion. 

            The manner of performing the Way of the Cross is to go from one station to another, making meanwhile, a meditation on Our Lord’s Passion.  It is not necessary to go from station to station in the church if one stands up and kneels down as every station is being made by the priest.  It is enough to meditate on the Passion in general without making a special meditation at each station.  Our Father, Hail Mary, and an act of contrition are generally recited at every one. 

            By performing the Way of the Cross large indulgences may be gained.  The same indulgences are granted for making the Way of the Cross as for visiting the corresponding places in the Holy Land.  They can, however, only be gained once in the day.  The wooden crosses must be blessed by a Franciscan, or by some priest who has the requisite powers, and the stations must be visited without any break.  The Way of the Cross is a means of obtaining the grace of contrition.  As the Israelites who were bitten by the fiery serpents were healed by looking upon the brazen serpents, so sinners are healed of the deadly wound of sin by frequent meditation on the passion of Christ.  The Way of the Cross is also an incentive to the practice of virtue.  The saints often tell us that meditation on Our Lord’s passion imparts strength to suffer not merely with patience, but with joy.  Our arrogance, our avarice, our anger will be cured by the humility, the poverty, the patience of the Son of God.

            If we are prevented from making the Way of the Cross, we can gain the indulgence by reciting the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Gloria twenty times, holding meanwhile a crucifix blessed for the stations in our hand.

            However, the hindrances must be of a sufficient nature, such as long distance from a church, sickness, etc.  The cross for performing the stations at home must be of strong material, with the figure of the Savior attached to it, and must have been duly blessed for the purpose.  The indulgences are not gained if the crucifix is not the property of the individual using it, but if several persons perform the devotion together, it is enough for one to hold the cross in his hand.  For the sick it suffices to take the cross in the hand and make an act of contrition.  The Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father are recited fourteen times for the fourteen stations, five times in honor of the five wounds of Our Lord and one for the Holy Father.  If the cross has been blessed by a Redemptorist the prayers need only be repeated fourteen times.

The Breviary

THE Breviary is a book containing the offices which all priests and others in Holy Orders are obliged, under pain of mortal sin, to recite daily, unless exempted by a grave reason.  It is divided into four volumes, similar to one another in general outline, and adapted to the four seasons of the year, as the whole in one volume would be too unwieldy for general use.  The Office is known by several names.  It is called the Divine Office, because it is recited in the divine honor; the Ecclesiastical or Church Office, because it is recited in the name and by the command of the Church; the Canonical Office, because it is said according to the sacred canons or laws of the Church; and the Breviary, for reasons that will appear later.  By far the most common name by which it is known both among the clergy and laity is simply the Office.  It is composed of psalms, canticles, hymns; lessons from the Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the homilies or sermons of the Fathers; prayers, versicles and responses, with the frequent repetition of the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed; and it is divided into seven parts called the canonical hours.  These are Matins, with Lauds, so named from the Latin word matutinum (morning), because in the primitive Church, and still with some religious Orders, this part of the Office was said early in the morning; and it is recited by all priests before Mass, unless hindered by a sufficient cause.  Then comes Prime ─ that is, first, because it was said at the first hour, or sunrise; Tierce, or third, from its being recited at the third hour, or nine o’clock; Sext, or sixth, which was said at the sixth hour, or noon; None, or nine, recited at the ninth hour, or three o’clock; Vespers, from the Latin word vespera (evening), because it was said in the evening; and Compline, or the completion, which was recited at bedtime, and served both as a fitting night-prayer and a completion of the Office.

            It is to be remarked that the secular clergy and some of the Religious Orders and Congregations are not bound to recite the Office precisely at these hours, being exempted by the nature of their pastoral duties or by their rules.  They are permitted to say it at any time within the twenty-four hours of the day, and as much at a time as they may have the opportunity or the desire to recite; with the additional privilege of anticipating Matins and Lauds on the previous day, at any time after the middle of the afternoon, and in some countries after two o’clock.  It may be further remarked that in the early days of the Church many of the faithful were accustomed to assist at the whole or a part of the Office, which was recited publicly in the church ─ in choir, as it is called ─ a custom which is still continued in many of the cathedrals and larger churches of the Old World.

            According to the best authorities, the Office is substantially of apostolic origin, although it has undergone a gradual change till it has a t length reached its present form. In the beginning it was composed almost entirely of the Psalms of David, which may be called the prayer book of the early Christians; and they are the groundwork of the Office even at the present day.  As time went on the Breviary gradually assumed its present form, the finishing touches being put to it at the recommendation of the Council of Trent.  The first Breviary corrected by the Pope at the request of that august assembly was published in the year 1602.  All persons obliged to the recitation of the office were commanded to use this Breviary and no other, except such Religious Orders or churches as could claim for their own particular Office an antiquity of at least two hundred years.  Previous to that time great latitude had been claimed by many bishops and religious communities in the arrangement of their respective Offices and reluctantly accorded by the Holy See.

            The reason for adopting the name Breviary for the book containing the Office, and figuratively for the Office itself, has long been a subject of dispute.  Some authorities maintain that it was so called from the fact that it is an abridgment, or epitome, of the Sacred Scriptures and the lives of the saints, the Latin word breviarium meaning an abstract or abridgment.  Others claim that the name had its origin from the shortening of the Office itself.  The name was first used at the end of the eleventh century, when the Office was considerably abbreviated.  The book containing the new Office was called the Breviary, or shortened Office, in contradistinction to the longer one.  This seems to be the stronger reason for calling it the Breviary, and the true origin of the term; because when the two Offices were in use ─ as they were for a considerable time ─ the new one would naturally be distinguished from the other by the name of Breviary, or abridgment.

            With regard to the division of the Office into seven parts, or hours, there can be no doubt that, as it was at first composed almost exclusively of the psalms of the Royal Prophet, so it was divided in accordance with his pious custom, as expressed in his own words:  “Seven times a day I have given praise to Thee, O God!” (Psalms, cxviii. 164).  And though it was some time before all the several parts were formed, yet traces of some, at least, of the hours are found even in the days of the Apostles.  Nor is the opinion of some writers improbable, that the Apostles, being converts from Judaism, adopted a division of prayer then in vogue among the Jews, the more devout of whom had learned from their great prophet-king to divide the day’s devotions into seven parts, or at least to have a certain number of fixed times for prayer.  Be that as it may, it is well known that in the times of the Apostles the day was divided into certain hours of prayer.  (Acts iii. 1; x. 9).  Nor did the Apostles permit the most important duties, even those of charity, to interfere with their devotions, so highly did they value communion with God (Acts vi. 4).  Tertullian, who flourished in the latter half of the second century, calls the third, sixth, and ninth hours the Apostolic Hours; the Apostolic Constitutions, which date no later at most than the third century, speak of Prime; and St. Cyprian, who lived in the third century, mentions Vespers.  According to one authority, Compline was added by St. Benedict, in the sixth century; but another authority speaks of it as existing as early as the time of St. Ambrose, or in the latter half of the fourth century.

            We may say with perfect confidence that the Office is the most efficacious form of prayer ever composed.  Nothing approaches it in efficacy but the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, which, though accompanied with prayers, is not itself a prayer, but a sacrifice.  The Office is, indeed, so excellent a form of prayer that no indulgence is granted for its recitation, as there is none granted for hearing Mass; and this is, perhaps, the best evidence we could have of its surpassing excellence.

            But another source of excellence of the Office is that it is recited by ministers of God, who have been raised to the most exalted dignity on earth, that they may praise God in the name of all mankind, and petition for graces for all His children.  Nor is this all.  The Office is recited in the name of the Church, and by her authority; and hence it has all the influence with God that the spouse of His divine Son can give it, with the merit, too, of obedience on the part of those who recite it.  It is the one great public prayer of the Church, as the Mass is the one great sacrifice of the Church.

            It may be well to explain here what is meant by a public prayer in the language of the Church.  It is not necessarily one that is said in public, even by the highest dignitary of the Church, but one that is recited in the name and by the authority of the Church.  Hence, for example, if an archbishop were to recite the Rosary in his cathedral, and be resonded to by a crowded audience, it would not be public prayer in the meaning of the Church; while it would be a public prayer for a priest, or even a subdeacon to recite his Office alone in his room: because the one acts in his own name, the other in the name of the Church.  In many places where there are sufficient clergy, such as cathedrals, collegiate churches, and religious communities, the Breviary, or Divine Office, is recited in common in choir, sometimes solemnly chanted.  Sometimes on Christmas morning, and on three days in Holy Week, the Matins and Lauds are sung or read in parish churches, and Matins and Lauds are sung or read for the dead at funerals, month’s minds, and anniversaries.  The evening portion of the Breviary, Vespers, or Evensong, as it was called in England in Catholic times, is regularly rendered as part of the public service on Sundays and holidays of obligation.  It consists of five psalms with antiphons, a short extract from the Scriptures, called the Capitulum or Little Chapter, a hymn, a versicle, the Magnificat, with its appropriate antiphon, the collect of the day, with two closing verses, and an antiphon or anthem to the Mother of God.

The Rosary:  its Form and Indulgences

MANY efforts having been made both by the civil and the religious power to suppress the outbreak of the Albigenses in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, St. Dominic ─ or Dominic Guzman, as he is called in profane history ─ entered the field against them with that burning zeal with which only a saint can be animated for the conversion of sinners.  Dominic was born at Calarnega, a village of Old Castile, Spain, in the year 1170.  He studied for the Church, and was ordained a priest at the age of twenty-three.  He entered on the mission of preaching for the conversion of heretics about the year 1205; founded the Order of St. Dominic, or Friar Preachers, as they are commonly called, on August 15, 1217, and finally died at Rome, August 4, 1221.  He enjoyed his sanctity and eloquence in endeavoring to stem the tide of evil that had been set in motion by the Albigenses.  His efforts, though heroic, were of comparatively little avail, until he ventured to complain to the holy Mother of God, for whom he entertained the tenderest devotion, and to ask her to instruct him in the way he could labor most successfully for the conversion of those misguided souls for whom her divine Son had laid down His life.  Then Mary revealed to him the devotion of the holy Rosary.  He was told to give his time more to the propagation of this devotion than to preaching, and greater success would attend his efforts.  This revelation took place about the year 1206, but the precise date cannot be ascertained.

            Though we owe the Rosary in its present form to St. Dominic, the idea was not original with him.  The custom of repeating the same form of prayer, whether of praise or petition, is of great antiquity, and is natural to man, especially when he is under the influence of strong emotion.  The Jews were familiar with it, as may be learned from various passages of the Psalms, but more particularly from the 135^th Psalm, in which the same words “for His mercy endureth forever” are repeated twenty-seven times.  Influenced no less by the custom of their fathers, the Jews, than by the example of our divine Redeemer, who on a most solemn occasion in the Garden of Gethsemane thrice repeated “the self-same words” (Matt. xxvi. 44), the Christians early adopted the form of repetition in their private as well as in their public devotions.  This would especially be the case with the “Our Father,” which Jesus Christ Himself was pleased to teach His children as the most perfect form of praise and petition.  The custom of this frequent repetition would naturally lead to the resolution, on the part of the more devote at least, of reciting daily a certain number of these prayers; and this in its turn would suggest the propriety of adopting some means of counting them.  The early Christians, being lovers of poverty, would naturally adopt some simple means, and this is proved from ecclesiastical history.  Thus St. Palladius relates that St. Paul, the first hermit, who lived in the fourth century, was accustomed to recite three hundred “Our Fathers” daily, and used little pebbles or grains to count them.  These counters were in time strung upon a string for greater convenience, and were called Pater Nosters.  Beads of different material, varying in value according to the ability, or perhaps in some cases, as at the present day, according to the vanity of those who possessed them, eventually came into use.  It may be remarked that the word bead is of Christian origin, and proves by its derivation the use to which it was first applied.  It is simply the Anglo-Saxon word bede, which means prayer, and which is allied to the German word beten, to pray, especially to petition.

            St. Albert of Crispin and Peter the Hermit are mentioned long before the time of St. Dominic as having taught the laity who could not read the Psalter to say a certain number of Our Fathers and Hail Marys in lieu of each canonical hour of the Divine Office; but, says Maurel, “in its present form, conformably to repeated testimonies of the Roman Pontiffs, the Rosary has for is author St. Dominic.”  The  name Rosary is derived from the title Mystical Rose, by which the Church salutes the holy Mother of God. 

           The words of the ever blessed Mother of God to St. Dominic were: “Preach the Rosary, which is a shield against the shafts of the enemy, the rampart of the Church of God, and the Book of Life. . . .  Exhort every one to be devout to the Rosary, and thou shalt produce wonderful fruit in souls.”  Pope Leo X said:  “The Rosary has been established against the dangers which threaten the world.”  St. Pius V:  “By the Rosary the darkness of heresy has been dispelled, and the light of the Catholic faith shines out in all its brilliancy.”  Clement VII:  “The devotion of the Rosary is the salvation of Christians.”  Adrian VI:  “The Rosary scourges the devil.”  Sixtus V:  “The Rosary has been established by St. Dominic, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, for the utility of the Catholic religion.”  Gregory XVI:  “The Rosary is a wonderful instrument for the destruction of sin, the recovery of God’s grace, and the advancement of His glory.”  The well-known devotion of Pius IX to the Blessed Virgin, and the extraordinary importance which Leo XIII attached to the Rosary, are too recent to require comment.  Our Holy Father, Pope Pius X, has also an ardent love for the Rosary.

            In Rome and in many other places it is customary to begin the Rosary with the versicle and response:  “Incline unto my aid, O God!  O Lord, make haste to help me.”  This is followed by the “Glory be to the Father,” after which the mysteries are simply announced or named, as the “Annunciation,” the “Prayer in the Garden,” the “Resurrection,” etc., followed by the recitation of the Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and Glory be to the Father.  The devotion concludes either  with the Hail, holy Queen, or the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.  In other places, and generally among us, the custom is to begin with the Apostle’s Creed, the Our Father, three Hail Marys, and the Glory be to the Father, after which follow the mysteries in order, with the Hail, holy Queen, in the end.  Instead of the more names of the mysteries, some books of devotion have prayers before and after each mystery; these being intended to assist persons who may find it difficult to meditate or place the scene of the mystery before their minds.  Still another custom, more general, perhaps, among Germans than among others, is that of adding a few words, explanatory of the mystery then being meditated upon, after the holy name of Jesus in the Hail Mary; as, “Whom thou, O Virgin, didst conceive of the Holy Ghost,” “Who for us didst sweat blood in the Garden,” “Who didst rise from the dead,” etc.

            All that is essential, however, is the recitation of the fifteen decades ─ or, where the Papal Briefs granting the indulgences permit, the recitation of only five decades ─ of one Our Father, and ten Hail Marys each, and meditating during the recitation of some mystery in the life of Christ, where the same Papal Briefs require meditation as a necessary condition.  It is to be observed, however, that the indulgences granted for the recitation of the whole Rosary are also granted for the recitation of only one-third part of it, or five decades, except where the opposite is expressly declared, as is shown by the decrees of September 23, 1775, and February 25, 1877.  The Creed, Our Father, three Hail Marys, and Glory be to the Father, at the beginning of the Rosary; the announcement of the different mysteries, or the prayers before and after them; the Glory be to the Father at the end of each decade; the Hail, holy Queen, or the Litany at the conclusion, are not essential parts, and may all be omitted without forfeiting the indulgences.  The essential parts of the holy Rosary are, then, one Our Father and ten Hail Marys repeated five times, and nothing more.

            Inasmuch as the Rosary in a measure takes the place among the laity which the Divine Office occupies among the clergy, the question arises, Is it permitted to interrupt the Rosary between the decades as it is to interrupt the Office between the different parts or “hours”?  The Office must be recited within the twenty-four hours of the day; does the same privilege extend to the Rosary?  This question having been proposed for solution to the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, it was decided by a decree dated January 22, 1858, that the whole Rosary cannot be divided into more than three parts, and that each part must be said without interruption.  An interruption, however, which would be made to hear Mass, to go to confession, or to receive holy communion is not morally an interruption, because it does not divert the mind to extraneous things.

            Indulgences may be attached in general to beads ─ and the same is true of statues and crucifixes ─ made of any solid material, or such as is not easily broken; and although it was formerly forbidden to indulgence beads, etc., made of wood or iron, that prohibition has been withdrawn.  Even glass beads may be indulgenced, if the beads are solid, and not hollow.  (Decree of Feb. 28, 1820).

            It must be noted that beads are indulgenced for one person only.  If a person lend his indulgenced beads to a friend merely to accommodate him to count his prayers, and not for the purpose of enabling him to gain the indulgences attached to them, the beads do not in this case cease to be indulgenced for him who lent them.  If the beads are lent or given with the intention of enabling another to gain the indulgences, the beads simply cease to be indulgenced at all, as well for the lender as for the receiver.  They must be blessed again to become indulgenced.  Beads used without the knowledge of their owner do not lose their indulgence.  If the beads that have been indulgenced are lost, they have no indulgence for the one who finds them, but he may have them indulgenced for himself.  The same is true of beads which a person inherit from a parent or friend.  It is also to be remembered that a person is not permitted to sell beads that have been indulgenced, even though he charge no more for them than they would sell for before they were blessed.  Such sale would cause the beads to lose their indulgence altogether. 

            The Sacred Congregation has decided that, although every one is free to select whichever five mysteries he prefers to recite, yet the custom of dividing off the whole Rosary in the same manner as the Little Office is coming into use, and meets with the approbation of the Holy See.  According to this arrangement, the five Joyful Mysteries are recited on Mondays and Thursdays, the five Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the five Glorious Mysteries on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.  (Decree of July 1, 1839).  It may be further remarked that, where the Papal Briefs granting indulgences for the recitation require meditation as one of the conditions, it is not enough to meditate on any pious subject.  The meditation must always be on some mystery in the life of our divine Redeemer.  If this point is neglected the indulgences are not gained.  (Decree of August 13, 1726)

            There are three forms of blessing by which indulgences are attached to beads:  the Dominican, the Bridgetine, and the Papal or Apostolic.  And first of the Dominican.  The holy Rosary having been revealed to St. Dominic by the Mother of God, it is natural to expect that the Dominicans should have special privileges in the matter of blessing rosaries.  And so it is, according to the decrees of several Sovereign Pontiffs.

            So numerous are the indulgences attached to the recitation of the Rosary that no attempt will be made to state them all.  It is well to form an intention, when reciting the beads, to gain all the indulgences within reach.  It may be remembered that in order to gain the Dominican indulgences it is sufficient, when the Rosary is said in common by a number of persons, that one of the company have a string of beads that has been indulgenced, and that he use it in the recitation, in order that all the company may gain the indulgences attached to it.  (Decree, January 22, 1858).

            As to the Bridgetine indulgence, “this chaplet is so called because we are indebted for it to St. Bridget of Sweden.  She intended by means of the devotion to honor the sixty-three years which, in the opinion of many, the Blessed Virgin spent upon earth.  Consequently it is composed of six decades, each containing one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and a Creed instead of the Glory be to the Father.  To make up the number seven, an Our Father is added in honor of the Seven Dolors and Seven Joys of Mary, together with three Hail Marys to complete the sixty-three years.”  (Maurel)

            The indulgences of this chaplet can be applied as well to the ordinary beads of five decades, though for this application a special faculty is needed by the priest, since, agreeably to a decree of January 28, 1842, the ordinary power of indulgencing chaplets is not sufficient.  To participate in the indulgences of the chaplet of St. Bridget it is not necessary to meditate on the mysteries of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin.

            In order to gain the indulgences attached to the Papal or Apostolic Blessing it is necessary that the beads should be blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff, or by a priest having the requisite faculties from him.  The bishops of this and other missionary countries are as a rule empowered to grant this faculty to their priests; and for that reason the priests of the United States are able to attach the Apostolic indulgences to rosaries, and thus place these indulgences within the reach of such of the faithful as may wish to gain them.

            It is further to be noted that these indulgences are not attached to the beads themselves, or to their recital, as those of St. Dominic and St. Bridget are; on the contrary, the beads in this case hold the place of some other blessed object ─ as a cross, a medal, etc.  Hence, without reciting the beads, the person may gain the Apostolic indulgences, provided he fulfill the conditions prescribed.  “To gain these indulgences it is necessary for one to carry about him the blessed object, or, at any event, to have it in his possession.  Moreover, the pious considerations or prayers assigned as conditions for sharing in the indulgences must be made either while carrying the articles, or at least when kept in one’s room, or other suitable place in the house, so that the prayers be recited before them.”  (Maurel, pp. 259, 264, note)  From this it will be perceived that actual ownership and possession of the beads, or any other object to which the indulgences have been attached, are necessary conditions for partaking of the spiritual favors, and that, consequently, it is not enough, as in the case of the Dominican indulgences, that one person of the company, when a number of persons recite the Rosary together, should have an indulgenced string of beads.  The Apostolic indulgences are applicable to the souls in purgatory.

            The Bridgetine, the Apostolic, and the Dominican indulgences may all be attached to the same ring of beads, and may all be gained by the person who recites them, provided he fulfills the conditions required for each.

            The mysteries of the Rosary are as follows:  The Five Joyful Mysteries; the Annunciation; the Visitation; the Nativity; the Presentation; the Finding in the Temple.

            To be said on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the year; and daily from the first Sunday in Advent until the feast of the Purification.

            The Five Sorrowful Mysteries: the Bloody Sweat; the Scourging at the Pillar; the Crowning with Thorns; the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion.

            To be said on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the year; and daily from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

            The Five Glorious Mysteries, viz., the Resurrection; the Ascension; the Coming of the Holy Ghost; the Assumption of our Blessed Lady; the Coronation of our Blessed Lady, are to be said on the ordinary Sundays, and the Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the year; and daily from Easter Sunday until Trinity Sunday.

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