Today we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of the
Rosary
Luke 1:28-39: And he
came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”But she
was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might
be. The
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him
Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end.”
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy
Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen
“It could be said that each mystery of the rosary,
carefully meditated, sheds light on the mystery of man. ‘Cast your burden on
the Lord and he will sustain you’ (Psalm 55:23). To pray the rosary is to hand
over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother. The rosary
does indeed ‘mark the rhythm of human life,’ bringing it into harmony with the ‘rhythm’
of God’s own life, in the joyful communion of the Holy Trinity, our life’s
destiny and deepest longing. Through the rosary the faithful receive abundant
grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.” Blessed
John Paul II (as printed in the October issue of The Magnificat, 2013).
As I mentioned before, I have just finished reading a
wonderful book by Father Michael Gaitley, titled “The One Thing is Three” in which he reminds the reader over and
over again that we as humans have come from the Trinity, and we must return to
the Trinity some day. This is the great circle of life. This is the eternal
truth. We came from God and we will one day return to Him, passing from life to
death, to (hopefully) heavenly reward.
I contemplated on this truth today as I said my rosary.
It dawned on me that all 20 decades of the rosary show this circle of life. To
begin with, the rosary is shaped in a circle, beginning and ending at the
Crucifix which is the source of our salvation.
The Joyful Mysteries
begin with the announcement of the coming of Jesus, just as our coming into the
world was announced to our parents. It circles through Jesus’ birth, his
presentation which would be similar to our baptism, and to his coming of age at
12 which is similar to our Confirmation.
We then circle through The Mysteries of Light which
highlight the public ministry of Jesus, which for us is the role we play in the
world through the career and life choices we make. Jesus is baptized in front
of many people to begin his ministry, much like our graduation day where we
announce our future plans to friends and family. Jesus performs his first
miracle, something we will probably not do, but we will have our first “big day”
right? The first day when our new skills are shown off to those around us. We
move on to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom, getting the job done so to
speak, to his transformation, which is using all means possible to let the
truth be known, as we have all had to do, and finally his gift of the
Eucharist, bringing us the bread of eternal life. This took place at the Last
Supper, where he prepared to say good-bye to his dearest friends. Having
finished the job he started, it was time to move on to the next phase of the
plan the Father had for his life. Sound familiar to any of you?
We then wind our
way through the Sorrowful mysteries, where we join Jesus in his agony in the
garden every time we are suffering and beg for relief, yet prayerfully submit
to the will of the Father. We share in his stripes at the scourging at the
pillar every time we are attacked for what we believe, for who we are, and for
the good we tried to do that was so misunderstood. We share the crown of thorns
when our minds are tormented by thoughts and miseries that seem unbearable. We
carry our crosses daily, and try to emulate Jesus in being accepting and
uncomplaining about doing so. Finally, we die. Some of us will have difficult deaths;
some of us will pass peacefully in our sleep. Yet each of us will place
ourselves on that cross at the end and say, “Father, into your hands I commend
my spirit.”
Then we are thrilled to share in the Glorious Mysteries.
Oh how wonderful for our spirits to rise out of our bodies, ascend to the
Father, and share in the wisdom of life! How glorious to be like Mary, one day
united with our earthly bodies in heaven, and to receive the crown of eternal
life!
The Rosary brings us full circle from birth to death to
eternal life. If we truly take the time to meditate on each mystery, we will
find the stories of our lives in each of them. We are one with the Trinity. We
were made by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son and filled with God the
Holy Spirit. Use the Rosary to guide you through every day of your life.
Meditate on each mystery and unite your life to Jesus’ and to Mary’s. If the
repetition of saying so many Hail Mary’s bothers you, remember what Father de
Foucauld once said, “Love is expressed with few words, always the same, and
always repeated.” (found in the October issue of the Magnificat, 2013)
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