The Month of the Rosary
By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 10/12/06)
It is October once again and our minds and hearts turn
instinctively to Our Blessed Mother, especially under her title of Our
Lady of the Rosary. In fact, we celebrated the Memorial of Our Lady of
the Rosary on Oct. 7 and on Oct. 13 we shall observe the 89th anniversary
of the last apparition of Our Lady to the three children at Fatima in
1917.
As we turn our minds and hearts to Our Blessed Mother, we recall how central
a place she holds in our daily prayer. In His last day on earth, Jesus
gave His mother to us: “When Jesus then saw his Mother, and the
disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his Mother, ‘Woman,
behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold,
your mother!’” (Jn 19:26-27). Jesus gave His mother to us
so that we could come to love her as He loved her. He can deny Mary nothing,
so when we make our petitions to her, Jesus grants her requests.
Mary is our link to Jesus, and through prayer to Mary, we connect with
Jesus in a whole new way. She has promised to carry our intentions to
Him: “From the instant the Blessed Virgin gave her consent to the
Incarnation of the Son of God within her, she contributed to the salvation
of the elect. From that happy moment on, she has always carried them like
a very good mother, that is within the depths of her heart” (St.
John Eudes). Our Lady has given herself to us, as she gave herself to
God, in loving service, and I urge you to take advantage of this beautiful
approach to prayer: to God through Mary, the Mother of Jesus the Lord.
The rosary is a very privileged form of prayer and is, in fact, a very
powerful prayer. “The rosary is a scripture-based prayer. It begins
with the Apostles’ Creed, which is itself a summary of the great
mysteries of the Catholic faith, based on Scripture, from creation through
redemption and up to the Resurrection of the body and everlasting life.
The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is taken from the Gospels.
The first part of the Hail Mary is composed from verses from the Gospel
of Luke (1:29 and 1:42), the angel’s words announcing Christ’s
birth and Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary. St. Pius V officially added
the second part to the Hail Mary” (United States Catholic Catechism
for Adults pg. 298).
As we reflect on the various mysteries, we relive significant events in
the lives of Jesus and Mary and apply these events to our own lives now.
We are encouraged to reflect on the Joyful Mysteries on Mondays and Saturdays,
the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Mysteries of Light
on Thursdays, and the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesdays and Sundays. As
we reflect on these mysteries, we are with Mary gazing upon the Face of
Christ and are being transformed more and more into His image. Pope Benedict
XVI reminds us: “The rosary contributes in a privileged way to prolong
communion with Christ, and it educates us to live keeping our hearts’
gaze fixed upon him to radiate on everyone and everything his merciful
love.”
I urge you to make the rosary part of your daily prayer. In doing so,
you will be drawn more closely to Christ and to His Holy Mother, who is
our Mother as well. Untold graces will be given to you as more and more
you are remade into the image of Jesus the Lord. Our Lady of the rosary,
pray for us!
Copyright (c) 2006 Arlington Catholic
Herald
