Mysteries of the Rosary

We live in a time of great crisis. So many in our world are tormented with desolation and despair. Yet the Gospel is exploding with joy! Joy is attractive, magnetic, contagious! Our world is desperately in need of a joyful Christian witness. The new evangelization will be marked by Christian joy!

In His infinitely creative mind, God could have done it in another way. In His providence, He chose Mary. The Angel Gabriel appeared and all of Heaven trembled in anticipation. Mary gives her fiat and our long wait is over! Generation after generation of longing and aching for a Messiah comes to fulfillment. Jesus comes into the world through Mary. There is an explosion of joy radiating forth from the Incarnation. Our Lady wants to bring us her joy, the joy of Jesus Christ himself, Incarnate within her womb. God could have done it another way, but in His providence He chooses to come into the world through YOU!

When Jesus is present, miracles happen: miracles of conversion, miracles of healing, miracles of reconciliation, miracles of love. In the Visitation, Mary brings the sanctifying grace and joy of Jesus to Elizabeth and John the Baptist and both are filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” We will discover Our Lady as the New Ark of the Covenant and wherever she is present: blessings are poured out, battles are won, enemies are defeated and idols come crashing down. As an echo of Sacred Scripture, every Hail Mary has within it a memory of both the Annunciation and Visitation.

The Nativity of Our Lord is an act of profound humility. God abased himself, an infinite step down, a dizzying descent from God to slave. The all Powerful One makes himself vulnerable and becomes an infant. He was born in Bethlehem, the “house of bread”, in a feeding trough. Mary and Joseph, shepherd, wise men, angels, animals, even the stars aligned in perfect harmony to adore the newborn King on this silent night. Love Incarnate is born and God now has a name and a face. His humble presence is the most powerful force in the world. We long for union with God but to our great surprise, He longs for us even more. The transcendent God desires to draw close to us, by becoming small! This is the Mystery of Christmas!

St. John Paul II tells us that in the midst of The Joyful Mysteries, the 4th and 5th decades point to the drama yet to come. The Presentation is already foreshadowing the Cross. The offering Mary makes at the Presentation in the Temple becomes manifested and reaches its fulfillment at Calvary. It’s the initiative of God the Father to offer His one and only Son for our salvation. Mary willingly makes the gift of the Son with the Father. She participates in this gift of salvation. In the face of Jesus, Simeon sees this salvation before his very eyes. The Messiah has come, returned to the temple and is the temple. Representing Israel and all of humanity, Simeon’s long wait is over. Jesus satisfied the greatest longing of the human heart.

Each year, the Holy Family would return to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When the feast ended, they began their journey home. Mary and Joseph went a full day’s journey before realizing that Jesus was missing. All who listened to Jesus were “amazed.” Jesus not only has the words of eternal life, he is the Eternal Word. His words grip the heart, shatter the darkness, and speak life. As we enter into the Mystery of the Finding in the Temple we discover: Jesus’ Father’s house is the temple and the holy house at Nazareth. When Jesus goes from the temple to the home, the temple goes with Him. He is the temple!

When we pray the Rosary well, the events of the life of Jesus pass before the eyes of the soul. The goal of prayer is to put us in living communion with Jesus through the heart of his Mother. It starts with us individually, then our families, and then the Church. St. John Paul II urges a revival of the Rosary in Christian families to counteract the devastating effects of a world in crisis! Our Christian communities need to become schools of prayer. With God on our side, we have more than hope, we have assurance of victory! We must make time for this daily pause for prayer: a daily Rosary and a daily consecration to Jesus through Mary.