Two outstanding questions for which I finally have answers:
- Why is it called "The Mass"?
- The term "mass" is derived from the Latin word missa, which means to send forth. In the early church, after the Eucharist was celebrated, the consecrated elements were delivered given to deacons, who were "sent forth" to deliver these means of grace to those members of the congregation who were absent. Justin Martyr described this in his First Apology.
- Whence the rosary?
- Briefly, from the earliest days of the Church, ordained or set apart leaders incorporated the Psalms, all 150 of them, into a daily routine of prayer and worship: morning prayer, or Lauds; midday prayer; evening prayer, or Vespers, and nighttime prayer, or Compline. Because the laity were largely illiterate and did not have access to printed Scripture, so instead of reciting the Psalms, they would pray the Our Father or the Ave Maria, using pebbles or a cord with counters on it to keep an accurate count. Over time, this practice evolved into the form of praying the rosary that we know today.