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Holy Rosary
October 2006
From the Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church
[571] Contemplative prayer is a simple gaze upon God in silence and love. It is a gift of God, a moment of pure faith during which the one praying seeks Christ, surrenders himself to the loving will of the Father, and places his being under the action of the Holy Spirit. St Teresa of Avila defines contemplative prayer as the intimate sharing of friendship, “in which time is frequently taken to be alone with God who we know loves us.”
[198] Devotion directed to the Blessed Virgin…is a singular kind of devotion which differs essentially from the cult of adoration given only to the Most Holy Trinity. This special veneration directed to Mary finds particular expression in the liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and in Marian prayers such as the Holy Rosary which is a compendium of the whole Gospel.
In the Sacred Word of God, St John’s Gospel, chapter 17, verse 3, we read: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent ” Immediately before this Jesus says: “Father, the hour is come, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He may give eternal life to all whom Thou hast given Him.” These scriptures tell us plainly that eternal life begins here on earth — we entered the gates of eternal life at our Baptism.
God the Son became man so that through the life of sanctifying grace we might know God through His Son who is the revelation of the Father. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can know Christ through the contemplation of His mysteries.
That renowned master of spirituality, Blessed Columba Marmion, in his book Christ in His Mysteries, heads the first chapter “The Mysteries of Christ are our Mysteries” because Christ lived them for us. “For us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven;” and he quotes St Paul: “I would have you know what manner of care I have for you…that your hearts may be instructed in charity, and unto all the riches of fullness of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ Jesus, in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Devout praying of Mary’s Rosary is a powerful help towards contemplation; which “is a gift of God, a moment of pure faith” during which we seek Christ and surrender ourselves to the loving will of the Father, placing ourselves under the action of the Holy Spirit in our souls.
At the end of the Rosary we pray that “we may imitate what they (the mysteries) contain.” We must then delve deeply into each mystery with an ardent desire to know where the Holy Spirit is leading us. This requires silence and attention. With every Hail Mary our hearts must call upon Our Blessed Mother to help us “keep all these things in our hearts and ponder them.” “Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.” This is the slow but sure road to contemplation, which leads us to the obtaining of what these wonderful mysteries of our Saviour promise to truly humble and devoted souls.
“Hallow E’en”
October 31st is the vigil of All Saints. The word hallow means holy, thus we hear of colleges and other religious institutes dedicated to “All Hallows” which means “All Saints”. During the year the Church celebrates one by one the feast of various Saints, but on November 1st she joins them all into one festival. In addition to those whose names she knows, she recalls in a magnificent vision all the others “of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight if the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and with palms in their hands,” proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood.
This feast should inspire us with tremendous hope. Among the saints in Heaven are some whom we have known. All lived on earth lives like our own. They were baptised, marked with the sign of faith, they were faithful to Christ’s teaching and they have gone before us to the heavenly home whence they call upon us to follow them. That is why we celebrate with happy family games “Hallow E’en” the “eve” or vigil of All Hallows. It was a night we always looked forward to as children, a night that we made joyful with joyous songs as we went from house to house around the village or the neighbourhood where we lived in the town. Some years ago a famous baritone, the late Owen Brannigan, made a recording entitled “Little bits of Nonsense” which included a children’s song for Halloween:
A soul a soul a soul cake,
Please good Mrs a soul cake,
An apple, a pear a plum or a cherry
Any good thing to make a soul merry,
One for Peter, two for Paul
And three for Him who made us all.
The Lanes are very dirty, my shoes are very thin,
I’ve got a little pocket to put a penny in,
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’penny then God bless you.
There were a good number of verses which I cannot now remember; but the first part was the refrain we sang after every verse. It was a joyful celebration in preparation for the great feast of the morrow, when we would be reminded at Mass in the Prophetic vision of St, John: “After this I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God and to the Lamb.”
Different and Dangerous Times
The same scene is so different these days when the very meaning of Halloween is unknown; and the children are faced with ugliness and horror. Many think there is no harm in this because they are not aware of the reality of what is happening in the world.
Satanism is an ideology willing to prepare the way for anti-Christ whom St Paul describes as “The Man of Sin”. Even here in our own country there are those who proudly boast of being Satanists. Then there is Wicca; an organisation or cult of people practising witchcraft. Recently this has been officially recognised as a religion in the USA, where chaplains of this sect have been appointed to the armed forces, and every facility provided for witchcraft ceremonies — as always at taxpayers’ expense. So it is well for us to be wise in a country where already the pagan practices of the Vikings is viewed with such favour; and silly superstitious practices like Tarot cards are advertised daily on RTE.
All Christians must awake and take heed. Halloween is a good Christian festival and we must reclaim it from the hands of those who are trying to destroy it and turn the occasion to their own profitable advantage with no consideration of the harm that results for young Christian souls.
From the Bishops’ Synod in Rome, October 2005
There were several interesting interventions at the Synod.
“Sacrifice as the Key” (Cardinal Jorge Arturo Estevez)
“The three aspects of the Eucharist – Sacrifice, Real Presence and sacramental Communion – are not juxtaposed realities but are expressed in such a way that the central reality might be sacrificial. The Real Presence is fully directed to the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and Holy Communion is participation in the Sacrifice.
It is not possible to separate any one of these realities from the other two, and the whole leads to the fact that all Christian life is dedicated to the glory of God.
Intimately united to the sacrificial nature is the propitiatory dimension of the Eucharistic celebration, as much for the living as for the dead.
The funeral liturgy is directed above all to the support of the soul of the deceased, and it is an abuse to convert the funeral homily into a tribute to the person who has died. ”
Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga MIC: Archbishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan
“Among liturgical innovations produced in the Western world two emerge that in a certain way cloud the visible aspect of the Eucharist, concerning its centrality and sacredness — the removal of the Tabernacle from the centre of the church, and the distribution of Communion in the hand.
When the Eucharistic Lord, “the immolated and living Lamb”, is removed from the centre and when distributing Holy Communion in the hand undeniably increases the danger of dispersion of the fragments, its profanation and the practical equating of the Eucharistic Bread with ordinary bread unfavourable conditions for the growth of a deeper and more devoted faith are created. Communion in the hand is spreading and even prevailing as something easier, as a sort of fashion. Academic specialists should not be in the first place, but the pure souls of children and of simple people who could teach us the way to treat the Eucharistic Lord.
I would like to conclude with the words of the great Pope John Paul II: we must be ‘careful not to diminish in any of its (the Eucharist’s) dimensions or demands…. There can be no danger of excess in our care for this mystery.’”
Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, SDB
“Pope Paul VI said that he wrote the Encyclical, Mysterium Fidei, ‘so the hope aroused by the Council that a new era of Eucharistic piety pervade the whole church would not be frustrated.’ He pleaded with pastors and bishops to ‘tirelessly’ promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
“Pope John Paul II, in his letter on the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist, wrote: ‘The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic Adoration, Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of His love.’ In the prayer to inaugurate the Adoration Chapel in St Peter’s Basilica, The Pope prayed for every parish in the world to have Perpetual Adoration.
His Holiness Benedict XVI has very vividly expressed: ‘Let us implore the Lord to reawaken in us the joy of His presence, so that we may once more adore Him. Without adoration, there is no transformation of the world.’”
The Soul Before God
Take me away and in the lowest deep
There let me be,
And there in hope the lone night-watches keep,
Tolls out for me.
There, motionless and happy in my pain,
Lone, not forlorn,-
There will I sing my sad perpetual strain,
Until the morn.
There will I sing and soothe my stricken breast,
Which ne’er can cease
To throb and pine and languish, till possess’t
Of its Sole Peace.
There will I sing my absent Lord and Love:—
Take me away,
That sooner I may rise and go above,
And see Him in the truth of everlasting day.
From: The Dream of Gerontius, by Cardinal John Henry Newman
Morning Prayer
“O Most Merciful Jesus, lover of souls, by the agony of Thy Most Sacred Heart, and by the sorrows of Thine Immaculate Mother, cleanse in Thy Blood the sinners of the whole world, who are now in their agony, and are to die today. Amen.
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