Currently Reading The Rosary By Garry Wills see related

Beads

The word for bead comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'bede,' their term for prayer.  Prayer beads or rosaries have a long tradition.  The basic purpose is not a mechanical completion of a repetitive task, but a slowing down to a pace that allows contemplation to occur more naturally within a framework that includes the consideration of the various 'mysteries' based on the life of Christ:

1. The Glad Mysteries (The Jewish Context of Jesus Life and Work)
1. Annunciation (Luke 1.26-38)
2. Visitation (Luke 1.39-45)
3. Nativity (Luke 2.6-7)
4. Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2.22-33, 39)
5. Finding in the Temple (Luke 2.41-52)
2. The Luminous Mysteries (Christ Reveals the Meaning of His Ministry)
1. Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3.13-17)
2. Marriage at Cana (John 2.1-11)
3. Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5.1-10)
4. Transfiguration (Luke 9.28-36)
5. Last Supper (Mark 14.22-25)
3. The Sorrowful Mysteries (The Defining Climax of His Life)
1. Agony in the Garden (Mark 14.32-42)
2. Scourging (Mark 15.15)
3. Crowning with Thorns (Mark 15.16-20)
4. Carrying the Cross (Luke 23.26-32)
5. Crucifixion (Mark 15-22-27, Luke 23.39-43, John 19.25-27, Mark 15.33-39, John 19.31-37)
4. The Glorious Mysteries (Resurrection as the Essence of Christianity)
1. Resurrection (Luke 23.56-24.12)
2. Ascension (Acts 1.6-11)
3. Pentecost (Acts 2.1-17)
4. Assumption of Mary (I Cor 15.35-49)*
5. Coronation of Mary (Luke 1.46-55)*

* The assumption and coronation of Mary are of course not mentioned in the gospels.  Nevertheless, the passages given serve as great meditations on our own hope to follow Jesus into his glory.  As Paul says, "And as we have born the likeness of the man of clay, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."     

How did we go to Venice and not see Tintoretto?  Most of his works are in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Confraternity of St. Roch).  We have to go back.