Principal Reflections

A Short Message from Dr Jake

Dear Parents & Friends,              

The month of October is known as the month of the Rosary. During this month, children have been studying and praying the Rosary as part of their Religious Education lessons. 

It is interesting to look at the history of the Rosary and how it developed as such a well known prayer.

The Rosary has evolved as part of the long history of the Church to the form that we know today. Its origins are associated with the prayer of monks and nuns in their monasteries and convents, which involved the recitation of the psalms at various times of each day. The ordinary people wanted to pray like the nuns and monks but they were unable to read. Our Fathers or Hail Mary’s served as substitutes for the one hundred and fifty psalms.

Prayer has always been an important part of religious faith and the counting of prayers is common to most religions. Beads have often been used as prayer counters. The word ‘bead‘ comes from the old English word ‘bede’ that means ‘prayer’.

The beauty of the Rosary prayer allows us to tailor it to our needs so that it can be prayed unhurriedly in its entirety or with just one or two decades. The Rosary is a marvellous teacher. It brings us back to Jesus and Mary time and time again, familiarising us with their lives, their feelings and the meaning of their experiences.

Each day during October classes will be praying the prayers from the Rosary and dedicating them to world peace. Maybe in the course of our busy days we too could take time out to pray a Rosary prayer for the cause of world peace.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us as we are only too happy to help.

Peace & Best Wishes

Dr Jake Madden

(Principal, St Edward's Primary School)