Rosary #55

Our trust, therefore, is in the love of God, a merciful love that follows after us

and sees our poverty in order to give us what we need. G. Giaquinta

First Mystery: … the Apostles once did, today too humanity must welcome into the upper room of history the risen Christ, who shows the wounds of his Crucifixion and repeats: Peace be with you! Humanity must let itself be touched and pervaded by the Spirit given to it by the risen Christ.

Second Mystery: Christ has taught us that "man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called "to practice mercy' towards others: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Mt 5: 7)" and pervaded by the Spirit given to it by the risen Christ.

Third Mystery: His message of mercy continues to reach us through his hands held out to suffering man. This is how Sr Faustina saw him and proclaimed him to people on all the continents when, hidden in her convent at £agiewniki in Kraków, she made her life a hymn to mercy: Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.

Fourth Mystery: In fact, love of God and love of one's brothers and sisters are inseparable, as the First Letter of John has reminded us: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments" (5: 2). Here the Apostle reminds us of the truth of love, showing us its measure and criterion in the observance of the commandments.

Fifth Mystery: It is not easy to love with a deep love, which lies in the authentic gift of self. This love can only be learned by penetrating the mystery of God's love. Looking at him, being one with his fatherly heart, we are able to look with new eyes at our brothers and sisters, with an attitude of unselfishness and solidarity, of generosity and forgiveness. All this is mercy!

Jesus told Sr Faustina: "Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy" ^[1](Diary, p. 132).

Read as a closing or opening meditation for the rosary

MERCY^[2]

I do not know if you have read the first chapter of St Paul's Letter to the Romans; there is a fearful description of the situation of the time; the world then is touched to its depths by evil, the abyss of every sort of iniquity. Well then, in that situation the omnipotence of God inserts itself in misery, in human poverty. Proud man must know, must recognize, that who saves is not man but God. Right then, when man has used up all his possibilities, when his power is ended, it is there, at that point of tragedy that the omnipotence of God steps in, it is there that the omnipotent mercy of the Lord begins.

We can be sure, therefore, that the deeper we are in a hole, at our most helpless, and we cry out imploring, when our human possibilities have failed, then the infinite, omnipotent love of God steps in. And if there is a situation that in some way reechoes what Paul presented there in the Letter to the Romans, it is ours. As Paul said that that was the hour of the mercy of God, so I say that today is the hour of the mercy of God, because we have too great a need for Him, because now we understand that we cannot save ourselves. Our trust, therefore, is in the love of God, a merciful love that follows after us and sees our poverty in order to give us what we need. When we invoke this Father of ours—"Our Father who art in heaven...."—then He comes to us to resolve our problems. G. Giaquinta

^[1] Canonization Homily of Pope John Paul II, April 30 2000

^[2] Meditation by Bishop Giaquinta on “Hope in the Future”, Dec. 31, 1976

Rosary #54 Mary and the Resurrection!

ROSARY #54

"Regina Caeli, laetare. Alleluia!" "Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia!". Thus it recalls Mary's joy at Jesus' Resurrection, prolonging in time the "rejoice" that the Angel addressed to her at the Annunciation, so that she might become a cause of "great joy" for all people.^[1]

Pray for the intentions of the General Assembly 2009 for the Apostolic Oblates to be held in Rome on July 15!

FIRST MYSTERY: After Jesus had been laid in the tomb, Mary "alone remains to keep alive the flame of faith, preparing to receive the joyful and astonishing announcement of the Resurrection" (Address at the General Audience, 3 April 1996; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 10 April 1996, p. 7).

SECOND READING: The expectation felt on Holy Saturday is one of the loftiest moments of faith for the Mother of the Lord: in the darkness that envelops the world, she entrusts herself fully to the God of life, and thinking back to the words of her Son, she hopes in the fulfilment of the divine promises.

THIRD MYSTERY: …the unique and special character of the Blessed Virgin's presence at Calvary and her perfect union with the Son in his suffering on the Cross seem to postulate a very particular sharing on her part in the mystery of the Resurrection.

FOURTH MYSTERY: It seems reasonable to think that Mary, as the image and model of the Church which waits for the Risen One and meets him in the group of disciples during his Easter appearances, had had a personal contact with her risen Son, so that she too could delight in the fullness of paschal joy.

FIFTH MYSTERY: Present at Calvary on Good Friday (cf. Jn 19:25) and in the Upper Room on Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:14), the Blessed Virgin too was probably a privileged witness of Christ's Resurrection, completing in this way her participation in all the essential moments of the paschal mystery.

Closing Reflection by Bishop G. Giaquinta:

For Mary the future was an adventure in the Spirit. She generally knew what was going on, but not in details, yet she accepted everything. We too must be open to the work of the Spirit, ready to accept the risk, the pain, as well as the JOY of our adventure in the Spirit.

Closing Prayer: We come to you, holy Mary, Mother of us who yet are not holy, so that you can give us love for your Son, the joy of the Spirit, a longing for the perfection of the Father, and the hope of reaching you---some day---in the land of the saints

(G. Giaquinta).

^[1] All reflections are by Pope John Paul II, April 1996

Rosary #53 The Risen Christ by Pope Benedict XVI

Rosary #53 Holiness of Life Following Risen Christ

Text by Pope Benedict XVI, April 19, 2009

FIRST MYSTERY: "I am risen and I am with you always." Echoing this good news, the Church proclaims exultantly: "Yes, we are certain! The Lord is truly risen, alleluia! The power and the glory are his, now and forever." The whole Church rejoices, expressing her sentiments by singing: "This is the day of Our Lord Jesus Christ". In fact, in rising from the dead, Jesus inaugurated his eternal day and has opened the door to our joy, too. "I will not die," he says, "but will have everlasting life."

SECOND MYSTERY: The crucified Son of man, the stone rejected by the builders, has now become the solid foundation of the new spiritual edifice which is the Church, his mystical Body. The People of God, which has Christ as its invisible Head, is destined to grow in the course of the centuries until the complete fulfillment of the plan of salvation.

THIRD MYSTERY: ...the whole of humanity will be incorporated into him and every existing reality will be penetrated with his total victory. Then, as St. Paul writes, he will be "the fullness of him who fills all in all" (cf. Eph 1: 23), and "God may be everything to everyone" (1 Cor 15: 28).

FOURTH MYSTERY: And we, risen with Christ through Baptism, must now follow him faithfully in holiness of life, advancing towards the eternal Passover, sustained by the knowledge that the difficulties, struggles and trials of human life, including death, henceforth can no longer separate us from him and his love.

FIFTH MYSTERY: "I am risen and I am with you always." This assurance of Jesus is realized above all in the Eucharist; it is in every Eucharistic Celebration that the Church and every one of her members experience his living presence and benefit from the full richness of his love. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the risen Lord is present and mercifully purifies us from our sins; he nourishes us spiritually and infuses us with strength to withstand the harsh trials of life and the fight against sin and evil.

Closing Prayer: Jesus is the sturdy support in our pilgrimage towards the eternal dwelling place in Heaven. May the Virgin Mary, who experienced beside her divine Son every phase of his mission on earth, help us to welcome with faith the gift of Easter and make us faithful and joyful witnesses of the risen Lord.

Rosary #52 Have you seen the Lord?

The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his "Passover", his "passage", that has opened a "new way" between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20). It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event:

First Mystery: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb.

Second Mystery: The fact is, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty.

Third Mystery: Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus.

Fourth Mystery: On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread.

Fifth Mystery: The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee.

Have you seen the Lord? Pope Benedict April 12, 2009

Rosary # 51 Boast of the Cross

Rosary

“Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

FIRST MYSTERY:

The Passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience.

SECOND MYSTERY:

…God’s only Son, co-eternal with the Father, was not content only to be born as a man from human stock but even died at the hands of men he had created…!

THIRD MYSTERY:

When Christ has already given us the gift of his death, who is to doubt that he will give the saints the gift of his own life? Why does our human fragility hesitate to believe that mankind will one day live with God?

FOURTH MYSTERY:

He had no power of himself to die for us: he had to take from us our mortal flesh. This was the way in which, though immortal, he was able to die; the way in which he chose to give life to mortal men: he would first share with us, and then enable us to share with him. Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did he of himself have the power to die.

FIFTH MYSTERY:

Accordingly, he effected a wonderful exchange with us, through mutual sharing: we give him the power to die, he will give us the power to live.

Closing:

The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves. He loves us so much that, sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. …Brethren, let us fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us (FOR ME); let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.

Meditations from Saint Augustine, Holy Week Monday Office of Readings

Rosary #50 Prepare for Palm Sunday

Prepare for Palm Sunday
Pray for the General Assembly of the Apostolic Oblates

In Mark's jarring Passion story, we witness the anguish of Jesus who has
been totally abandoned by friends and disciples.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious is he, humble and
riding on a donkey . . ."

FIRST MYSTERY: When we remember the events of that first Holy Week -
from the upper room to Gethsemane, from Pilate's judgment seat to
Golgotha, from the cross to the empty tomb, Jesus turns our world and
its value system upside down. He teaches us that true authority is found
in dedicated service and generosity to others; greatness is centered in
humility; the just and loving will be exalted by God in God's good time.

SEOND MYSTERY: While Jesus visits Simon the Leper in Bethany on the
eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, an anonymous woman breaks, open
her alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and anoints Jesus' head in
good, royal, biblical fashion (14:3-9). As the fragrance of the oil
fills the room, those with Jesus are shocked at the woman's extravagant
gesture. But Jesus defends her.

THIRD MYSTERY: The woman had performed an act of true fidelity and love,
he tells them, "for she has anticipated anointing my body for burial"
(14:8). For this, Jesus promises, she would be remembered wherever the
Gospel would be preached (14:9). This woman is the only one in all of
the New Testament to be so greatly honored.

FOURTH MYSTERY: What a Savior we have! He truly understands our human
condition. He walks with us and shares our sorrows, loneliness and
suffering. How do we respond to such outlandish love and genuine
solidarity? Passion Sunday invites us to put on what Paul calls the
"attitude of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:6-11) in his passion and
death: to "empty" ourselves of our own interests, fears and needs for
the sake of others. May we reach out to heal those who are hurting and
comfort the despairing around us despite our own denials and betrayals.

FIFTH MYSTERY: Palm Sunday: We are given the special grace to carry on,
with joy and in hope, despite rejection, humiliation and suffering. In
this way, the Passion of Jesus becomes a reason for hope and a moment of
grace for all us as we seek the reign of God in our own lives -- however
lonely and painful that search may be. Holy Week gives us the
consolation and the conviction that we are not alone.

Closing Prayer: O God, once again you invite us to love with the example
of your Son, who renounced violence and brought us peace with His death.
Ours then is the responsibility: we must be the bearers of peace. We
want it, Lord, we promise it to you. May the Virgin of peace help us.
Amen (G. Giaquinta)

The readings for this Sunday are Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark
14:1-15:47 or 15:1-39. For use with RCIA, Mark 11:1-10 or John 12:12-16

The Meditations are adapted from Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief
executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and
Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council
for Social Communications. He can be reached at:
rosica@saltandlighttv.org.