I can't think of anything simpler, or more confusing, than the rosary. A lot of variety, a number of different prayers, five sets of five mysteries, which day of the week each mystery is invoked and during which liturgical season.
And then, throw in some saints in the middle of mediating on the Life of Christ as seen through the eyes of His Mother.
Here's one easy answer: the charm of a saint on the middle connecting piece? is called "the medal".
Whew! That was easy.
What's for dinner?
oh...
Okay, so having a specific saint has to do with the specific saint. For example, one might pray a rosary with St. Michael the Archangel on it for the protection of St. Michael the Archangel. Military families might want to to this, as St. Michael is the protector of soldiers. And to do that you would simply pray the rosary with that intent, and maybe add a prayer for the intercession of St. Michael somewhere in there.
Well, not somewhere, really...at the end. And you can look up prayers to say.
Or just make one up. That's okay, too. I don't think Heaven is so picky as we religious often lead everyone to believe.
It follows from there that your "saint rosary" would be said for the intercession of what is considered the patronage of that saint. St. Jude for hopeless causes, St. Gertrude (also the patron saint of cats and cat lovers) for souls in Purgatory, for example. The list is endless.
And at the risk of confusing you more, more common than rosaries with saints on them (the Miraculous Medal Immaculate Conception Mary Self Portrait is the most common rosary medal), are chaplets for the intercession of saints.
The chaplet, like the rosary, is really a way to count prayers. There are dozens and dozens of different types, for different intentions, with varying numbers of beads and lot and lots of different prayers. The Hail Mary might not even be in there.
Here is the St. Benedict chaplet for your perusal.
And then, just to add one more weinie to the roast, there are Novenas, which also might involve saying a rosary every day for nine days, or nine first Fridays, or more timelines that involve doing something nine times AND are said for the intercession of a particular saint for the intention of a particular cause.
Is dinner ready yet?
Are the saints praying along with you? I'm sure they are. If you imagine that asking me to pray for you is the same as asking a saint to pray for you (although I believe saints, since they are alive in Heaven, are better at being in harmony with God than I am), then you would imagine that you and I would in some sense be praying together, if not simultaneously.
A lot of people feel very connected to their patron saints, or the patronage of a saint for a specific intention. Praying the rosary is a meditative prayer. This involves (one of my new favorite phrases) mental lingering. So it leaves a lot of room to connect with Heaven.
And finally, it may just be that you happen to have a rosary that has a saint on it instead of Mary because you found it in your Grandma's junk drawer. That's okay, too. We're just glad you found it and got it out of the junk drawer.
Our neighbor brought us some french apple cake. Maybe I'll say a rosary and then have some.
