For October 7th, Feast of the Holy Rosary
It’s a special day for one who was first formed in a Parish dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In those days there were fifteen decades of an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Jesus prayer from the children of Fatima, Portugal, 1917.
Five Joyful Mysteries related to the birth and childhood of Jesus, were for Monday and Thursday. Five Sorrowful Mysteries, related to the Passion and Death of Jesus, were for Tuesday and Friday, and Five Glorious Mysteries, related to the Resurrection of Christ, were for Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday. This was essentially the Rosary as revealed by Saint Dominic.
It is asked, what about the times, recorded in the Gospels, when Jesus of Nazareth “went around doing good and healing all who were held in the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10: 38) ? Pope Saint John Paul II has given the Church Five Luminous Mysteries, the description of which follows.
First, however, how do the Mysteries of the Rosary fit in with the Our Fathers and Hail Marys? At each Our Father is the announcement of each Mystery, for example, the First Joyful Mystery, The Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, found in St Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1: 26-38). We may add the full account, or maybe just a few significant phrases, or a mental picture to keep in mind as the Hail Marys flash by.
Thus with each passing Mystery. Perhaps also an opportunity to meditate briefly and let the Holy Spirit suggest a prayer intention, to offer that decade for a particular grace for our families, the church, our world, or just ourselves, for health and salvation.
What about the Five Luminous Mysteries? They are suggested for Thursdays, and are:
Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan (Matthew 3: 14-17; Mark 1: 9-11; Luke 3: 21-22; John 1: 29-34)
The Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-12)
The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Matthew Chapters 3 – 23, summarized in 4: 23-25)
The Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-13; Mark 9: 2-13; Luke 9: 28-36)
The Institution of the Eucharist (Matthew 26: 17-29; Mark 14: 12-16; Luke 22: 7-13)
These can each be treated in a similar way to the fifteen above, with a full account or a few special verses, a mental picture, and a prayer intention.
There could be more sets of Mysteries, perhaps one day The Ecclesiastical Mysteries. These might embrace Christocentric and Marian highlights from the remainder of the New Testament: from the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and even The Revelation to John. For instance: The Preaching of Saint Peter, The Witness of Saint Stephen, The Mission of Saints Barnabas and Paul, Saint Paul in Athens, and The Woman Clothed with the Sun.
There are plenty of great moments throughout the New Testament. As a youngster, these I discovered as an eleven-year-old opening my dad’s New Testament. It opened at Acts of the Apostles, and to me it read like a thriller. I was truly excited.
