Prayers

I recently attended a funeral where one of the rosaries recited was called the Franciscan Crown. What is this?

The Franciscan Crown is a type of rosary introduced by the Franciscan Order in the year 1422. It consists of 72 Hail Marys and seven Our Fathers. It is divided into seven sections to commemorate the seven joys of Our Lady (annunciation, visitation, birth of Jesus, adoration of the Magi, finding Jesus in the temple, assumption and coronation of Mary). Legend has it that Mary lived for 72 years on earth… thus the number of Hail Marys. This is a legitimate variant on the usual (Dominican ) rosary with which most Catholics are familiar. Often members of the Secular Franciscans will request the Franciscan Crown to be recited at their funeral wake.

Reprinted from September 4, 1998

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Explain the first Saturday Devotion.

Deriving from private revelations at Fatima, this is a devout practice by which the faithful try to receive Holy Communion for five consecutive first Saturdays. Accompanied by suitable prayers, the purpose of this practice is to beseech God for personal salvation and also for the salvation of the world, including the conversion of Russia and world peace.

Reprinted from May 1, 1998

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Since we do not know when a soul is released from purgatory, when should we stop having Masses and prayers said for a deceased person?

Unless God were to give us a special revelation, which He generally never does, or a person is canonized by the Church, we do not know if the soul fo a particular person is in heaven, hell or purgatory. We know that it is very useful and even important to pray for the souls in purgatory. It is considered the general consensus of saints and theologians that if we are praying for a soul already in heaven or one that has been damned to hell, our prayers will be of value to ourselves and our own salvation, even though prayers for souls in heaven and hell have no value to them. God will give us personally the benefit of our prayers for them. No prayer is ever "wasted." Therefore, there is really no time limit for our prayers and Masses for the deceased.

Reprinted from June 19, 1998

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Is there a proper (orthodox) way to clean a rosary and a crucifix?

I am not sure I have ever heard of a particular way to do such cleaning. I would guess that any way short of treating such religious objects with disrespect or indecency would be all right.

Reprinted from March 27, 1998

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