20201007 PRAYING AND CONTEMPLATING WITH MARY
07 October, 2020, Wednesday, Our Lady of the Rosary
First reading | Acts 1:12-14 © |
The apostles all joined in continuous prayer with Mary, the mother of Jesus
After Jesus was taken up into heaven the apostles went back from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. All these joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Responsorial Psalm | Luke 1:46-55 © |
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
He looks on his servant in her nothingness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy his name!
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear him.
He puts forth his arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
He protects Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons for ever.
The Almighty works marvels for me. Holy is his name!
or
Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who bore the Son of the eternal Father.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk1:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:26-38 © |
'I am the handmaid of the Lord'
The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
PRAYING AND CONTEMPLATING WITH MARY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 1:12-14; LUKE 1:26-38]
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the Holy Rosary. In celebrating this feast in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Church wants to encourage the faithful to cultivate this devotion to our Lady and our Blessed Lord. For many, the rosary is boring, repetitive and mechanical. It does not change lives, increase our faith or strengthen our love for God and our Lady. This explains why some Catholics no longer pray the rosary.
To benefit from the rosary, we must therefore consider how the Church wants us to pray. In the first reading, we read how the apostles went back to Jerusalem after our Lord had ascended into heaven. They gathered at the Upper Room. “All these joined in continuous prayer, together with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” It is significant that St Luke specifically singled out Mary with the apostles coming together to pray continuously. It shows the importance of Mary in the context of prayer. They could not have prayed deeply without the assistance of Mary, much less still to pray continuously. Why is this so?
Mary provided the key to unlock the mystery of the person of Jesus. No one knew Jesus more than she did. Mary who took care of Jesus and lived with Him for 30 years would surely know the mind and heart of Jesus more than anyone else. If anyone were to know the person of Jesus intimately, it would be Mary. Furthermore, Mary was with Him in the background when Jesus went about His public ministry, coming to the fore only when our Lord was facing the greatest crisis in His life. As a mother, Mary did not want to overshadow our Lord in His ministry or show herself to be in control of Him. Rather, she looked from afar, and certainly must have joined Him in spirit and in prayer. However, when the Lord was alone at His passion and especially when He was hanging on the cross, Mary His mother returned to be with Him when all others had abandoned Him. Indeed, Mary holds the key to understanding Jesus’ person, His mind, His heart and His desire for humanity.
We must ask ourselves how the apostles, the disciples and Mary prayed unceasingly. Most likely they prayed the psalms, as this was the Prayer Book of the Jews. Besides the psalms, they would have read the Old Testament scripture to see how the promises of God through the prophets have been fulfilled in our Lord’s ministry, passion, death and resurrection. However, this would entail going back to the life of our Lord. The unceasing prayer of Mary and the disciples therefore could not have simply comprised of vocal prayers and unceasing articulation of their desires and petitions or even praises. If they had prayed for ten days in the Upper Room unceasingly, vocal prayer would have led to contemplative prayer. Indeed, only in contemplative prayer do we pray unceasingly because prayer is not so much words or what we say or even think, but when we are in union of mind and heart with God. Even if we are not saying anything or even thinking, but if our minds and hearts are consciously or even unconsciously in union with God, we are praying unceasingly.
For the apostles and Mary, after the vocal prayer had ceased, contemplation would have begun. Where would their thoughts have led them in their contemplation if not to the resurrection and death of our Lord? Take note of the order, the resurrection and death of our Lord; not death and resurrection. Why is this so? Because in the order of reflection, we always begin with what is most recent before we move backwards to the remote past. The recent events are those that occupy us most, as they are still vivid in our memories. However, as we seek to savor, relish or think through the recent events, we will find connection and understanding by linking them to the past.
Is not this the way the scripture was written? The first book written in the Bible was not Genesis, although chronologically it is the first. Modern scholars think that the book of Genesis was written around 6th or 5th century B.C. So, too, the Gospels as well. They were written backwards, beginning with the most recent events. The first part of the Gospel was the passion and resurrection narratives. Without the passion and resurrection accounts, there would have been no story about the ministry of our Lord. The infancy narrative was the last part of the Gospel to be written, and that is why St Mark’s Gospel, being the first book to be written, does not have the infancy narrative. St John’s Gospel, being the last book written, even have reflections brought backwards to eternity, even before the Word of God became flesh.
When the vocal prayer was completed, we can be sure that the apostles and disciples together with Mary contemplated on the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. These most dramatic events took place hardly 40 days before, and these were fresh in their minds. We can be sure that whilst thinking over what happened in those last days of our Lord’s life, they would have wondered what the Lord had gone through. They would also have reflected on their reactions to these cruel and yet surprising twists in these events. From the passion and death, they would have sought to make sense of these events by going back to the life of Jesus, all that He had said and done in His ministry. From the hindsight of the passion, death and resurrection, they would have begun to understand deeper the words and actions of Jesus when He was with them. This was what the Lord did for the disciples at Emmaus. “‘Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Lk 24:26f)
However, their reflection on the recent happenings did not stop here. They would have shared with each other their insights into the person and life of Jesus. Seeing everything in the light of the resurrection, everything made greater sense. All the implications of the life and ministry of our Lord were unfolded. But there was one aspect of the life of Jesus that none of the disciples would have known, the interior life of our Lord and His childhood. Perhaps Jesus’ brethren, that is, His cousins, may have shared some stories about the life of Jesus before His ministry; but none other than Mary would have been able to fully share with the apostles and disciples the day of His conception in her womb and the earlier days of His life. Most of all, no one could have shared as intimately as our Blessed Mother on the life and person of our Lord.
This is what the rosary seeks to do for us. Together with Mary and the Church, we want to enter into the mystery of the person, identity, and salvific work of Jesus. Through the four categories of mysteries of the rosary, the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, we contemplate on the life of Jesus with the help of Mary and the Church. The Luminous mysteries of the rosary is truly a gift of St John Paul II to the Church, without which the contemplation on the life of Jesus would have been incomplete. The Luminous mysteries complete the missing three years of Christ’s life from the beginning of His public ministry until His death, passion and resurrection.
Hence, we can appreciate why the rosary is such a beautiful prayer because it captures the entire Bible in the mysteries we contemplate, the significant salvific events culminating in the life and paschal mystery of our Lord. It is a beautiful prelude to the celebration of the Eucharist and a fitting epilogue as well. This is because the Mass celebrates the different mysteries or saving events of the life of our Lord according to the liturgical calendar. The rosary does the same by inviting us to contemplate on these saving events for our salvation. Indeed, when we learn how to appreciate the rosary in this manner, we can no longer say that the rosary is Marian-centric. On the contrary, it is Christocentric with a Marian flavour because we see the life of Christ through the eyes of Mary. Praying with Mary in the rosary will bring us closer to our Lord in union with Mary.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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