I thought of posting each day a little on the mysteries of the Rosary. Chime in as the Spirit moves you. The Five Joyful Mysteries.
I recently heard Archbishop Fulton Sheen wonderfully describe the visit of the Arc Angel Gabriel to Mary at Nazareth as , 'An Embassy' from heaven. What a wonderful way of putting it. Here we have St Gabriel one of the seven spirits who stand right before the Throne of God of God being sent down from heaven to a young girl in a very poor village . View attachment 1963
At this point Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three angels, and she said: "Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?" "Oh, my Lady," answered Saint Dominic, "you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation." Then Our Lady replied: "I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter."
They say that at the birth of Christ Judaism was probably the most literate and well educated people in history. Mary , being educated in the Temple would then have been one of the most literate and best educated women in the world at that time. This is a little different perhaps from the pious picture we sometimes get of a humble peasant girl in a mud shack. But we have only to look at Mary's words, the few that we have to understand they are simply a showering of beautiful scripture references. Mary has, as it were consumed Scripture since childhood and in a real sense become imbued with the Spirit of Scripture in an astonishing way,,so fitting for the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. As such she has written in her heart the Salvation Story of her people laid always before her in a way no one else can rival. The religious leaders, Sadducees and Pharisees may stumble and fall, the Apostles themselves may bumble and grope but Mary herself goes to the very heart of the matter. The Messiah who is to come will not triumph for glory, or power , or magic the One who is to come will be in line with humble remnant , the Anawem, a Suffering Servant, a shepherd who will lay down His life for His sheep. http://marysanawim.wordpress.com/what-does-anawim-mean/ 5. There is a second term which we use to define those who pray in the Psalm: they are the anawim, "the poor and lowly ones" (v. 4). The expression turns up often in the Psalter. It indicates not just the oppressed, the miserable, the persecuted for justice, but also those who, with fidelity to the moral teaching of the Alliance with God, are marginalized by those who prefer to use violence, riches and power. In this light one understands that the category of the "poor" is not just a social category but a spiritual choice. It is what the famous first Beatitude means: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5,3). The prophet Zephaniah spoke to the anawim as special persons: "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of wrath of the Lord" (Zep 2,3). http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/j.../2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20010523_en.html View attachment 1968 'The great Marian canticle (Luke 1:46-50) “reveals in filigree,” as Pope Benedict XVI so beautifully teaches, “the spirituality of the biblical ‘anawim,’ that is, of those faithful who not only recognize themselves as ‘poor’ in the detachment from all idolatry of riches and power, but also in the profound humility of a heart emptied of the temptation to pride and open to the bursting in of the divine saving grace.”' View attachment 1969
May we all accept the Will of God in our life as Mary and Joseph did -with love, obedience, faith and trust; not knowing how it would come about but knowing everything is possible with God....
The Rosary is an immensely powerful prayer - any number of witnesses would testify to that (me included), but the connection to St. Dominic is "sketchy" at best. Every generation experiences its power but the dialogue given above, between Our Lady and St. Dominic, is most probably fiction. If I was a proper "anawim" this kind of thing wouldn't bother me but somehow I prefer the idea that Mary silently, gently, almost unconsciously, leads people of every generation to the rosary, without the fanfare of a mystical experience, but silently leading souls... to her Son. Hiding us in the folds of her mantle as she sneaks us past the enemy while we are still half asleep, and we wake to find most of the journey home completed while we slept. What a mother!
I had no idea there were people who held views like yours. Lets see, 1. I could listen to you or 2. I could listen to St Louis...http://www.rosary-center.org/secret.htm
I and I suppose anyone else have no real way of telling if the apparition to St Dominic is true or false really. Or , if it comes down to it any apparition really. Not in hard empirical way at any rate. It cannot be put in a test tube. One thing I do notice in Marian Apparitions over and over and over again is how often Mary holds the rosary in her hands, it seems almost a part of her. I can only say when she appeared to me and said, 'Prayer is the bread of Faith...pray , pray the rosary'..and 'I myself will teach you' She did exactly what it said on the tin. For my the rosary is the ladder to heaven , the very breath of Mary. In my own experience it is the very highest prayer from of them all, the Royal Road to Heaven, something that lies , a burning flame at the very heart of Our Catholic Faith. But it is not just me, the Church herself appears to exhaust herself praising it. "Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favored by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary" (Pope Pius IX). "Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world" (Our Lady of Fátima). "There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family . . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary" (Pope Pius XII). "We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that we put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils of our times" (Pope Pius XII). "No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary" (Bishop Hugh Doyle). "The Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer for the needs of the Church, the nations and the entire world" (Pope John XXIII). "The Rosary is the compendium of the entire Gospel" (Pope Paul VI quoting Pope Pius XII). "Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary . . . can be an excellent preparation for the celebration of those same mysteries in the liturgical actions [i.e. the Mass] and can also become a continuing echo thereof" (Pope Paul VI). "My impression is that the Rosary is of the greatest value not only according to the words of Our Lady at Fátima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. My impression is that Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God" (Sister Lucia, one of the seers of Fátima). "How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening" (Pope John Paul II). Pope John Paul II has called the Rosary his "favorite prayer," after the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. St. Louis de Montfort warns us against both the ignorant and scholars who regard the Rosary as something of little importance..."the Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God." https://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary/
Several Papal Encyclicals have been issued on the Rosary. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/j...apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html APOSTOLIC LETTER ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAEOF THE SUPREME PONTIFF JOHN PAUL II TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY AND FAITHFUL ON THE MOST HOLY ROSARY INTRODUCTION 1. The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness. It blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life, which, after two thousand years, has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to “set out into the deep” (duc in altum!) in order once more to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the desires of history and civilization turn”.1) The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.2) It is an echo of the prayerof Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer. The Popes and the Rosary 2. Numerous predecessors of mine attributed great importance to this prayer. Worthy of special note in this regard is Pope Leo XIII who on 1 September 1883 promulgated the Encyclical Supremi Apostolatus Officio,3) a document of great worth, the first of his many statements about this prayer, in which he proposed the Rosary as an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society. Among the more recent Popes who, from the time of the Second Vatican Council, have distinguished themselves in promoting the Rosary I would mention Blessed John XXIII4) and above all Pope Paul VI, who in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus emphasized, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the Rosary's evangelical character and its Christocentric inspiration. I myself have often encouraged the frequent recitation of the Rosary. From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. I was powerfully reminded of this during my recent visit to Poland, and in particular at the Shrine of Kalwaria. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: “The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and its depth. [...]. It can be said that the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church. Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbour, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.5) With these words, dear brothers and sisters, I set the first year of my Pontificate within the daily rhythm of the Rosary. Today, as I begin the twenty-fifth year of my service as the Successor of Peter, I wish to do the same. How many graces have I received in these years from the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary: Magnificat anima mea Dominum! I wish to lift up my thanks to the Lord in the words of his Most Holy Mother, under whose protection I have placed my Petrine ministry: Totus Tuus!
Third Rose St. Dominic This miraculous way in which the devotion to the Holy Rosary was established is something of a parallel to the way in which Almighty God gave His law to the world on Mount Sinai and obviously proves its value and importance. Inspired by the Holy Ghost, instructed by the Blessed Virgin as well by his own experience, Saint Dominic preached the Holy Rosary for the rest of his life. He preached it by his example as well as by his sermons, in cities in country places, to people of high station and low, before scholars and the uneducated, to Catholics and to heretics. The Holy Rosary which he said every day was his preparation for every sermon and his little tryst with Our Lady immediately after preaching. One Day he had to preach at Notre Dame in Paris, and it happened to be the feast of St. John the Evangelist. He was in a little chapel behind the high altar prayerfully preparing his sermon by saying the Rosary, as he always did, when Our Lady appeared to him and said: "Dominic, even though what you have planned to say may be very good, I am brining you a much better sermon." Saint Dominic took in his hands the book Our Lady proffered, read the sermon carefully and when he had understood it and meditated on it, he gave thanks to the Blessed Mother. When the time came, he went up into the pulpit and, in spite of the feast day, made no mention of Saint John other than to say that he had been found worthy to be the guardian of the Queen of Heaven. The congregation was made up of theologians and other eminent people who were used to hearing unusual and polished discourses; but Saint Dominic told them that it was not his wish to give them a learned discourse, wise in the eyes of the world, but that he would speak in the simplicity of the Holy Spirit and with His forcefulness. So he began preaching the Holy Rosary and explained the Hail Mary word by word as he would to a group of children and used the very simple illustrations which were in the book Our Lady had given to him. Carthagena, the great scholar, quoting Blessed Alan de la Roche in "De Dignitate Psalterii," describes how this took place: "Blessed Alan writes that one day Father Dominic said to him in a vision: 'My son, it is good to preach; but there is always a danger of looking for praise rather than the salvation of souls. Listen carefully to what happened to me in Paris so that you may be on guard against this kind of mistake: I was to preach in the great church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and I was particularly anxious to give a brilliant sermon, not out of pride, but because of the high intellectual stature of the congregation. 'An hour before the time I had to preach, I was recollectedly saying my Rosary - as I always did before giving a sermon - when I fell into ecstasy. I saw my beloved friend the Mother of God coming towards me with a book in her hand. '"Dominic," she said, "'your sermon for today may be very good indeed, but no matter how good it is I have brought you one that is very much better." 'Of course I was overjoyed, took the book and read every word of it. Just as Our Lady had said, I found exactly the right things to say in my sermon, so I thanked her with all my heart. 'When it was time to begin, I saw that the University of Paris had turned out in full force as well as a large number of noblemen. They had all seen and heard of the great things that the good Lord had been doing through me. So I went up into the pulpit. 'It was the feast of Saint John the Apostle but all I said about him was that he had been found worthy to be the guardian of the Queen of Heaven. Then I addressed the congregation: "'My Lords and illustrious Doctors of the University, you are accustomed to hearing learned sermons suited to your aesthetic tastes. Now I do not want to speak to you in the scholarly language of human wisdom but, on the contrary, to show you the Spirit of God and His Greatness.'" Here ends the quotation from Blessed Alan, after which Carthagena goes on to say in his own words: "Then Saint Dominic explained the Angelic Salutation to them, using simple comparisons and examples from everyday life." Blessed Alan, according to Carthagena, mentioned several other times when Our Lord and Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic to urge and inspire him to preach the Rosary more and more in order to wipe out sin and to convert sinners and heretics. In another passage Cathagena says: "Blessed Alan said Our Lady revealed to him that after she had appeared to Saint Dominic, her Blessed Son appeared to him and said: 'Dominic, I rejoice to see that you are not relying upon your own wisdom and that, rather than seek the empty praise of men, you are working with great humility for the salvation of souls. 'But many priests want to preach thunderously against the worst kinds of sin at the very outset, failing to realize that before a sick person is given bitter medicine he needs to be prepared by being put in the right frame of mind to really benefit by it. 'This is why, before doing anything else, priests should try to kindle a love of prayer in people's hearts and especially a love of my Angelic Psalter. If only they would all start saying it and would really persevere, God, in His mercy, could hardly refuse to give them His grace. So I want you to preach my Rosary.'
Thanks Mac - I feel suitably disposed to take this as a compliment - sometimes I struggle to believe the wonder of my creation too! And you also are an amazing part of creation. I'm guessing that I may spend a lot of time in purgatory having my opinions and beliefs being brought into line. I highly recommend the book "The Rosary" by Immaculee Ilibagiza - a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. I read it to my children, a chapter a day, just to try to give them a wider context for the power of this prayer.
The ANNUNCIATION Fruit of the mystery ... HUMILITY http://www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com/annunciation.html
[Texts of St. Louis Grignion de Montfort “Those who undertake this holy slavery should have a special devotion to the great mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. Indeed, the Incarnation is the mystery proper to this practice, insomuch as it is a devotion inspired by the Holy Ghost: * First, to honor and imitate the ineffable dependence that God the Son was pleased to have on Mary, for His Father’s glory and our salvation. This dependence appears in a particular way in this mystery, where Our Lord Jesus Christ is a captive and a slave in the bosom of the Most Holy Virgin, and depends on her for all things. * Second, to thank God for the incomparable graces He has given Mary, and particularly for having chosen her to be His most worthy Mother, the choice which was made in this mystery.” (True Devotion to Mary, Montfort Publications, 1975, p. 165).
Promise 1.Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces. Signal Graces are those special and unique Graces to help sanctify us in our state in life. See the remaining promises for an explanation for which these will consist. St. Louis de Montfort states emphatically that the best and fastest way to union with Our Lord is via Our Lady [True Devotion to Mary, chapter four].
I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. Our Lady is our Advocate and the channel of all God's Grace to us. Our Lady is simply highlighting that She will watch especially over us who pray the Rosary. (seeLumen Gentium chapter VIII - Our Lady #62) [a great more detail is available on this topic in True Devotion to Mary, chapter four, by St. Louis de Montfort] I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary. Our Lady is our Advocate and the channel of all God's Grace to us. Our Lady is simply highlighting that She will watch especially over us who pray the Rosary. (seeLumen Gentium chapter VIII - Our Lady #62) [a great more detail is available on this topic in True Devotion to Mary, chapter four, by St. Louis de Montfort]
