The three white roses are the three traditional rosaries of the blessed Virgin Mary. These are the meditations of the Joyful mysteries, the Sorrowful mysteries, and the Glorious mysteries.
In his book _The Secret of the Rosary_ Saint Louis de Monfort describes the experience of a devout monk Alphonsus Rodriguez who saw a white rose come out of his mouth each time he prayed the Hail Mary during his praying of the rosary. A red rose would emerge at the prayer of each Our Father. Red in this context represents the blood of the Passion and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. White represents the purity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In the praying of the rosary, one follows a pattern of beads or ornaments on a chain. A circlet of 54 beads features a central ornament or medallion, often the miracle medal of St. Mary. A set of five beads and a crucifix descend from the central ornament as well. Smaller beads are for the Hail Mary prayer, larger ones for the Our Father prayer. Our order represents the three white roses of the holy rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary which are represented by the three small beads between the two larger beads above the crucifix and below the central medallion.
Thank you for your kind words, for your question, and for reading this essay. God bless you. Amen.
Thank you for that Jim. I grew up a devoted little Catholic - which means do what you're told but don't learn anything about it. We prayed the rosary all the time. I did not know any of this and I appreciate the breadth of your knowledge and your willingness to share it too.
My mom was born into a Catholic family and went through confirmation. Then she had a vision about something that would happen to one of her descendants and she gave away her rosary. I had no clear understanding of these matters except that she had said something about being punished if she or her younger brother failed to cross themselves at meals, and also by a lady who babysat for her mom if she or her brother did cross themselves.
Late in their lives I chose to return to my home town and live about two miles from mom and dad so I could be available to care for them. This proved to be important on several occasions because mom was tiny in comparison to dad and couldn't lift him when he fell or needed help. After five years, dad passed. Mom stayed with us for a further five years. During the last year of her life she and I would often have supper together. Then I would do the dishes, take out the garbage, and go back to my place. One night at supper she wanted to talk about the rosary, especially about those first three "Hail Mary" beads. I had no idea why and said so, and she told me that I should just listen. So I did. That was seven years before I bought my first rosary. I still remember the conversation, and remember wondering what it was all about. It did not occur to me that I would be praying 110 decades of the rosary in one day in 2020 or 105 decades of the penitential rosary in one day in 2021, sort of the "high water marks" of my experience so far.
You're welcome. God bless you. All the glory to God. Amen.
Wow - I don't even know what to say. Ever wonderful that you were able to spend time with your parents in their last years. That is some serious dedication to the rosary. I had my grandfather's rosary after my father and mother died. I thought maybe it would help me heal from that family line's abuses. Turns out it felt really evil and I had to get rid of it. I don't really have a good feeling about the rosary so it's interesting to hear of your powerful connection.
I believe that the rosary is important. The artefact in each case is a thing, it is important to separate things from God, because we are to worship the Creator and not the things He created. I also believe that people have a spirituality that can be attached to things, so that evil feeling is a real aspect of reality, and getting rid of that particular rosary was wise. I'm glad you did.
You might want to read about the third secret of Fatima. It was one of the messages given in 1917 at Fatima in Portugal. In it, there were certain instructions given to the person who would be pope in 1960. That pope refused to do those things, he disobeyed God. The rosary is one of the weapons against evil that we have available to us. I think it is important to pray the rosary, and I do so every day. Which is what I am about to do now.
Jim - thank you so much for taking the time to address my issue. I made sure I was reading that rosary correctly. I tried and tried and tried to make it ok but one day I just got the confidence that it was not me. I know, deep down in my heart, that I did the right thing. I never told anyone though so it's really helpful to get assurances and validation. Thank you so very much. I will look up the third secret of Fatima. God bless you and your family as well. 🕊
Thank you Jim. 🙏
This needs to be read by multitudes!
You're welcome. All the glory to God. Amen.
Please feel free to share with any and all. God bless you. Amen.
What is the meaning of 3 white roses? Your posts are so uplifting and grand in scope.
The three white roses are the three traditional rosaries of the blessed Virgin Mary. These are the meditations of the Joyful mysteries, the Sorrowful mysteries, and the Glorious mysteries.
In his book _The Secret of the Rosary_ Saint Louis de Monfort describes the experience of a devout monk Alphonsus Rodriguez who saw a white rose come out of his mouth each time he prayed the Hail Mary during his praying of the rosary. A red rose would emerge at the prayer of each Our Father. Red in this context represents the blood of the Passion and the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. White represents the purity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In the praying of the rosary, one follows a pattern of beads or ornaments on a chain. A circlet of 54 beads features a central ornament or medallion, often the miracle medal of St. Mary. A set of five beads and a crucifix descend from the central ornament as well. Smaller beads are for the Hail Mary prayer, larger ones for the Our Father prayer. Our order represents the three white roses of the holy rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary which are represented by the three small beads between the two larger beads above the crucifix and below the central medallion.
Thank you for your kind words, for your question, and for reading this essay. God bless you. Amen.
Thank you for that Jim. I grew up a devoted little Catholic - which means do what you're told but don't learn anything about it. We prayed the rosary all the time. I did not know any of this and I appreciate the breadth of your knowledge and your willingness to share it too.
My mom was born into a Catholic family and went through confirmation. Then she had a vision about something that would happen to one of her descendants and she gave away her rosary. I had no clear understanding of these matters except that she had said something about being punished if she or her younger brother failed to cross themselves at meals, and also by a lady who babysat for her mom if she or her brother did cross themselves.
Late in their lives I chose to return to my home town and live about two miles from mom and dad so I could be available to care for them. This proved to be important on several occasions because mom was tiny in comparison to dad and couldn't lift him when he fell or needed help. After five years, dad passed. Mom stayed with us for a further five years. During the last year of her life she and I would often have supper together. Then I would do the dishes, take out the garbage, and go back to my place. One night at supper she wanted to talk about the rosary, especially about those first three "Hail Mary" beads. I had no idea why and said so, and she told me that I should just listen. So I did. That was seven years before I bought my first rosary. I still remember the conversation, and remember wondering what it was all about. It did not occur to me that I would be praying 110 decades of the rosary in one day in 2020 or 105 decades of the penitential rosary in one day in 2021, sort of the "high water marks" of my experience so far.
You're welcome. God bless you. All the glory to God. Amen.
Wow - I don't even know what to say. Ever wonderful that you were able to spend time with your parents in their last years. That is some serious dedication to the rosary. I had my grandfather's rosary after my father and mother died. I thought maybe it would help me heal from that family line's abuses. Turns out it felt really evil and I had to get rid of it. I don't really have a good feeling about the rosary so it's interesting to hear of your powerful connection.
I believe that the rosary is important. The artefact in each case is a thing, it is important to separate things from God, because we are to worship the Creator and not the things He created. I also believe that people have a spirituality that can be attached to things, so that evil feeling is a real aspect of reality, and getting rid of that particular rosary was wise. I'm glad you did.
You might want to read about the third secret of Fatima. It was one of the messages given in 1917 at Fatima in Portugal. In it, there were certain instructions given to the person who would be pope in 1960. That pope refused to do those things, he disobeyed God. The rosary is one of the weapons against evil that we have available to us. I think it is important to pray the rosary, and I do so every day. Which is what I am about to do now.
God bless you and your family. Amen.
Jim - thank you so much for taking the time to address my issue. I made sure I was reading that rosary correctly. I tried and tried and tried to make it ok but one day I just got the confidence that it was not me. I know, deep down in my heart, that I did the right thing. I never told anyone though so it's really helpful to get assurances and validation. Thank you so very much. I will look up the third secret of Fatima. God bless you and your family as well. 🕊