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The Pope has
enhanced the power of the Rosary, our great spiritual weapon. He named
this the Year of the Rosary to pray for peace and the stability of the
family. He added to the Rosary the Mysteries of Light (the Luminous
Mysteries) that focus on the public ministry of Jesus and he gave us an
improved method to pray it. This will bring Our Savior more directly
into our midst at a time when Satan seems to prevail.
Our Lady
asked St. Dominic to preach her Rosary at a time when the Church was in
a critical battle against the Albigensian heresy. It was at Prouille in
France in 1208 that Dominic suddenly experienced an apparition of the
Blessed Mother, who said,
"Wonder not that you
have obtained so little fruit by your labors.
You have spent them on barren soil, not
yet watered with the dew of Divine grace. When God willed to renew the
face of the earth, He began by sending down on it fertilizing rain of
the Angelic Salutation (the Hail Mary). Therefore
preach my Psalter composed of
150 Angelic Salutations and fifteen Our Fathers
and you will obtain an abundant harvest."
The Blessed
Mother was referring to the ancient origin of the Rosary, which got its
start with monks who recited the 150 Psalms and gave the laymen who
wanted to participate (but couldn't memorize the Psalms) pouches of 150
pebbles so they could recite an Our
Father on each of them. The laity next developed a rope with
150 knots, then strings with fifty wood pieces, and soon the technique
spread to other parts of Europe, where the faithful began to recite the
Angelic Salutation --
"Hail Mary full of grace" -- with each piece of wood, until it took its
present form with the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of the
life of Christ.
Now the Pope
has added the Mysteries of Light, that focus on Jesus’ public ministry,
to be prayed on Thursdays and he proclaimed this year the Year of the
Rosary to pray for peace and the stability of the family and he gave us
an improved method to pray it. He wrote an Apostolic Letter entitled
Rosarium Virginis Mariae (On the
most Holy Rosary). Below are excerpts from it. The full
document may be found at
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2ROSAR.HTM
The Year of
the Rosary
. . . In
continuity with my reflection in the Apostolic Letter
Novo Millennio Ineunte,
in which, after the experience of the Jubilee, I invited the people of
God to "start afresh from Christ",6 I have felt drawn to
offer a reflection on the Rosary, as a kind of Marian complement to
that Letter and an exhortation to contemplate the face of Christ in
union with, and at the school of, his Most Holy Mother.
To recite the Rosary is nothing other
than to contemplate with Mary the
face of Christ. As a way of highlighting this
invitation . . . I desire that during the course of this year the Rosary
should be especially emphasized and promoted in the various Christian
communities. I therefore proclaim the year from October 2002 to October
2003 the Year of the Rosary.
5. But the
most important reason for strongly encouraging the practice of the
Rosary is that it represents a most effective means of fostering among
the faithful that commitment to
the contemplation of the Christian mystery which I
have proposed in the Apostolic Letter
Novo Millennio Ineunte as a
genuine "training in holiness": "What
is needed is a Christian life distinguished above all in the
art of prayer".9
Prayer for Peace and for the Family
6. A number
of historical circumstances also make a revival of the Rosary quite
timely. First of all, the need to
implore from God the gift of peace.
The Rosary has many times been proposed by my predecessors and myself as
a prayer for peace. At the start of a millennium which began with the
terrifying attacks of 11 September 2001, a millennium which witnesses
every day innumerous parts of the world fresh scenes of bloodshed and
violence, to rediscover the Rosary means to immerse oneself in
contemplation of the mystery of Christ who "is our peace", since he made
"the two of us one, and broke down the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph
2:14).
A similar
need for commitment and prayer arises in relation to another critical
contemporary issue: the family,
the primary cell of society, increasingly menaced by forces of
disintegration on both the ideological and practical planes, so as to
make us fear for the future of this fundamental and indispensable
institution and, with it, for the future of society as a whole.
The revival of the Rosary in Christian
families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry
to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating
effects of this crisis typical of our age.
Consecration to Jesus through Mary
This role of
Mary, totally grounded in that of Christ and radically subordinated to
it, "in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ,
but rather shows its power".20 This is the luminous principle
expressed by the Second Vatican Council which I have so powerfully
experienced in my own life and have made the basis of my episcopal
motto: Totus Tuus.21
The motto is of course inspired by the teaching of Saint Louis
Marie Grignion de Montfort, who explained in the following words Mary's
role in the process of our configuration to Christ:
"Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and
consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all
devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us
most perfectly to Jesus Christ. Now, since Mary is of all creatures the
one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions
that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is
devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and
that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be
consecrated to Jesus Christ".22 Never as in the
Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear so deeply joined.
Mary lives only in Christ and for Christ! . . .
The
Mysteries of Light
In proposing
to the Christian community five significant moments – "luminous"
mysteries – during this phase of Christ's life, I think that the
following can be fittingly singled out:
(1) his Baptism in the Jordan, (2) his
self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana, (3) his proclamation of the
Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion, (4) his Transfiguration,
and finally, (5) his institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental
expression of the Paschal Mystery.
Each of
these mysteries is a revelation of
the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus. The
Baptism in the Jordan is first of all a mystery of light. Here, as
Christ descends into the waters, the innocent one who became "sin" for
our sake (cf. 2Cor 5:21),
the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the
beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:17
and parallels), while the Spirit descends on him to invest him with the
mission which he is to carry out. Another mystery of light is the first
of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn
2:1- 12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the
hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary,
the first among believers. Another mystery of light is the preaching by
which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to
conversion (cf. Mk 1:15)
and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him in humble trust (cf.
Mk 2:3-13;
Lk 7:47- 48): the
inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise
until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of
Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church (cf.
Jn 20:22-23). The mystery of
light par excellence is
the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount
Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as
the Father commands the astonished Apostles to "listen to him" (cf.
Lk 9:35 and parallels) and
to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to
come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by
the Holy Spirit. A final mystery of light is the institution of the
Eucharist, in which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the
signs of bread and wine, and testifies "to the end" his love for
humanity (Jn 13:1), for
whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice.
The Mystery of Man
Anyone who
contemplates Christ through the various stages of his life cannot fail
to perceive in him the truth about
man. This is the great affirmation of the Second Vatican
Council which I have so often discussed in my own teaching since the
Encyclical Letter Hominis:
"it is only in the mystery of the
Word made flesh that the mystery of man is seen in its true light".32
The Rosary helps to open up the way to this light. Following in
the path of Christ, in whom man's path is "recapitulated",33
revealed and redeemed, believers come face to face with the image of the
true man. Contemplating Christ's birth, they learn of the sanctity of
life; seeing the household of Nazareth, they learn the original truth of
the family according to God's plan; listening to the Master in the
mysteries of his public ministry, they find the light which leads them
to enter the Kingdom of God; and following him on the way to Calvary,
they learn the meaning of salvific suffering. Finally, contemplating
Christ and his Blessed Mother in glory, they see the goal towards which
each of us is called, if we allow ourselves to be healed and transformed
by the Holy Spirit. 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
At the same
time, it becomes natural to bring to this encounter with the sacred
humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labours and
endeavours which go to make up our lives. "Cast your burden on the Lord
and he will sustain you" (Ps
55:23). To pray the Rosary is to
hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother.
Twenty-five years later, thinking back over the difficulties which have
also been part of my exercise of the Petrine ministry, I feel the need
to say once more, as a warm invitation to everyone to experience it
personally: 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. . . .
One thing is
clear: although the repeated Hail
Mary is addressed directly to Mary, it is to Jesus that the
act of love is ultimately directed, with her and through her. The
repetition is nourished by the desire to be conformed ever more
completely to Christ, the true programme of the Christian life. Saint
Paul expressed this project with words of fire: "For me to live is
Christ and to die is gain" (Phil
1:21). And again: "It is no longer I that live, but Christ
lives in me" (Gal 2:20).
The Rosary helps us to be conformed
ever more closely to Christ until we attain true holiness. . . .
Improved Rosary Method
This is not
to say, however, that the method cannot be improved. Such is the intent
of the addition of the new series of
mysteria lucis to the
overall cycle of mysteries and of the few suggestions which I am
proposing in this Letter regarding its manner of recitation. These
suggestions, while respecting the well-established structure of this
prayer, are intended to help the faithful to understand it in the
richness of its symbolism and in harmony with the demands of daily life.
Otherwise there is a risk that the Rosary would not only fail to produce
the intended spiritual effects, but even that the beads, with which it
is usually said, could come to be regarded as some kind of amulet or
magic object, thereby radically distorting their meaning and function.
Announcing each mystery 29. Announcing each
mystery, and perhaps even using a suitable icon to portray it, is as it
were to open up a scenario
on which to focus our attention. The words direct the imagination
and the mind towards a particular episode or moment in the life of
Christ . . .
Listening to the word of God
30. In order to supply a Biblical foundation and greater depth to our
meditation, it is helpful to follow the announcement of the mystery with
the proclamation of a related Biblical passage, long or
short, depending on the circumstances. No other words can ever match the
efficacy of the inspired word. As we listen, we are certain that this is
the word of God, spoken for today and spoken "for me".
Silence
31.
Listening and meditation are nourished
by silence. After the announcement of the mystery and the
proclamation of the word, it is fitting to pause and focus one's
attention for a suitable period of time on the mystery concerned, before
moving into vocal prayer. A discovery of the importance of silence is
one of the secrets of practicing contemplation and meditation. One
drawback of a society dominated by technology and the mass media is the
fact that silence becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. Just as
moments of silence are recommended in the Liturgy, so too in the
recitation of the Rosary it is fitting to pause briefly after listening
to the word of God, while the mind focuses on the content of a
particular mystery.
Conclusions
. . . the contemplation of
the mysteries could better express their full spiritual fruitfulness if
an effort were made to conclude each
mystery with a prayer for the fruits
specific to that particular mystery. In this way
the Rosary would better express its connection with the Christian life.
One fine liturgical prayer suggests as much, inviting us to pray that,
by meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, we may come to "imitate
what they contain and obtain what they promise".38 . . .
The Rosary is then ended with a prayer for the intentions of the Pope,
as if to expand the vision of the one praying to embrace all the needs
of the Church . . . .
According to
current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the "joyful
mysteries", Tuesday and Thursday to the "sorrowful mysteries", and
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the "glorious mysteries". Where might
the "mysteries of light" be inserted? If we consider that the "glorious
mysteries" are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has
always had a special Marian flavour, the second weekly meditation on the
"joyful mysteries", mysteries in which Mary's presence is especially
pronounced, could be moved to Saturday.
Thursday would then be free for
meditating on the "mysteries of light". . .
Peace
40. The
grave challenges confronting the world at the start of this new
Millennium lead us to think that only an intervention from on high,
capable of guiding the hearts of those living in situations of conflict
and those governing the destinies of nations, can give reason to hope
for a brighter future.
The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace,
since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace,
the one who is "our peace". . . .
In my
Apostolic Letter
Novo Millennio Ineunte
I encouraged the celebration of the
Liturgy of the Hours by the lay faithful in the ordinary life
of parish communities and Christian groups;39 I now wish to
do the same for the Rosary. These two paths of Christian contemplation
are not mutually exclusive; they complement one another. . .
Family
The family that prays together stays together.
The Holy
Rosary,
by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as
a prayer which brings the family
together. Individual family members, in turning their eyes
towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in the eye,
to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see
their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God. . .
42. It is
also beautiful and fruitful to
entrust to this prayer the growth
and development of children. Does the Rosary not
follow the life of Christ, from his conception to his death, and then to
his Resurrection and his glory? . . .
Today I
willingly entrust to the power of this prayer – as I mentioned at the
beginning – the cause of peace in the world and the cause of the family.
. . . :
confidently take up the Rosary once
again. Rediscover the
Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in
the context of your daily lives.
May this appeal of mine not go unheard!
. . .
Dan Lynch is a retired Judge in the
State of Vermont. He is an author, producer of audios and videos and has
appeared on radio and television. He is also the Director of the
apostolate of The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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