20211007 ACTING WITH MARY (EPILOGUE TO PRAYING WITH MARY 2020)
07 October, 2021, Thursday, 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.
ACTING WITH MARY (EPILOGUE TO PRAYING WITH MARY 2020)
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 1:12-14; LUKE 1:26-38 ]
Having underscored the rosary as a contemplation on the saving events of the life of our Lord, in union with Mary and the Church as contained in the scriptures, particularly, the gospels, we must now consider how we should pray the rosary effectively so that we can live out what we pray.
Since the reflection on the life and events of our Lord begins with His passion and resurrection, it might be more beneficial too that we follow the path of the evangelists in their reflection on the life of Christ. We should pray the rosary backwards as well, beginning with the Glorious Mysteries where we contemplate on the joy of encountering the Risen Lord and the mission He had entrusted to His disciples to announce the Good News that He is risen and to believe in Him and be baptized. We should seek to enter into the cause of their joy and their unimaginable discovery of the Risen Lord. We should also consider how in the Ascension and at Pentecost, the Risen Lord prepared His disciples to go out to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth and establish His kingdom. This work cannot be done without the Spirit of Jesus because only the Spirit of Jesus can help us to be aware of the living presence of the Risen Lord in our lives, demonstrated by the manifestation of His gifts, which include the charisms for ministering, leadership and service. We too should enter into the joy of Mary, the women of Jerusalem and the disciples when they encountered the Risen Lord and when they were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
From the Glorious Mysteries, we must then turn towards the Sorrowful Mysteries and deepen our wonder at the power of the resurrection considering how the Lord suffered much in His final days, in total humiliation, suffering and abandonment. The sorrowful mysteries should lead us to understand the unconditional love and humility of Jesus in suffering not just for us but with us. Most of all, the sorrowful mysteries reveal to us the true humanity of Jesus. When we consider His love and sacrifice for us, and His total surrender to the Father and His forgiveness for our sins, praying for His enemies on the cross, we cannot but also be moved and touched by His compassion for us. We should ask ourselves how Mary and His disciples were feeling when our Lord was going through the passion. We can imagine their guilt at betraying Him, their helplessness, their scandal and their sorrow.
In the light of the Glorious and Sorrowful mysteries, having seen the conclusion of the story of our Lord, we can now read more deeply the significance of the words and actions of our Lord. Indeed, the gospel always showed how the disciples were ignorant about the teachings of our Lord. Most of them could not understand the depth of what Jesus spoke about because they had not yet encountered His glory. This is what the Lord said to them, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16:12f) Indeed, all the things that Jesus taught and did only became clear after His passion, death and resurrection. They only make sense when we know the conclusion of the life of our Lord. Even Jesus’ relatives could not understand Him. St John told us, “not even his brothers believed in him.” (Jn 7:5) And of course, St Mark recorded that “when his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.'” (cf Mk 3:21; 31-34) But one thing is clear, the gospel keeps repeating that Mary kept all these in her heart. (cf Lk 2:19; 51) She was a contemplative and was always pondering all these events that were happening.
Finally, contemplation of the rosary will lead to reflection on the Infancy Narratives. The childhood of Jesus only becomes clear when we understand who Jesus ultimately is. This is why the last part of the gospel to be written is the infancy account of our Lord. This part of the gospel can only be revealed by the brethren of our Lord, His relatives and friends, and of course, Mary. Only with the hindsight of the resurrection, could they understand all the events in His childhood life, such as the event when the Lord was found in the Temple. He said to His parents, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49)
But the contemplation of Jesus’ early childhood life should also lead us to ponder over Jesus as the Eternal Son of God even before He was born. This is why the mysteries of the life of Jesus in His birth and as a child should even go beyond His incarnation to His pre-existence, as what St Paul and St John did in their reflection. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (Jn 1:1-3) St Paul said, “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Phil 2:6f)
Indeed, all these significant salvific events in the life of our Lord and our Blessed Mother are captured so beautifully in the Creed we pray at the beginning of the Rosary. The recitation of the creed is the basis for our contemplation on the mysteries of Christ as enumerated in the mysteries of the Rosary. Putting the Creed at the beginning of the rosary gives us the direction and focus of what we intend to do when we pray the rosary, namely, to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the salvific events of Christ’s life in relationship to Mary, the Church and ours. So that our contemplation will gain for us insights that can help us to enter into the mind and heart of our Lord more closely.
The end result of contemplating on the Mysteries of the Rosary is really to live the life of Christ by imitating Mary, our exemplar of how a Christian should live. This is why at the beginning of each decade of the rosary, it is prefaced with the Lord’s Prayer, then the 10 Hail Marys, concluding with the Doxology. The Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of the rosary is placed as the pattern of all prayers. It sums up how we should pray to God, for the disciples asked the Lord, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” (Lk 11:1) The Lord’s Prayer gives us the guidelines on what to pray and how to pray. We are called to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in our lives, by doing His holy will, and so become holy like Him. We are asked to pray for what is necessary for our lives but most of all, the spirit of forgiveness. In the final analysis, the Lord’s Prayer is a prayer that we might live in His kingdom as God’s sons and daughters, trusting in His divine providence and doing His will.
The Ten Hail Marys invite us to reflect on Mary’s response as an exemplar of a true Christian who in all humility and docility trusted in God completely even despite the great uncertainties and challenges ahead of her. Mary was docile to God’s will, and being graced by God, and under the power of the Holy Spirit that overshadowed her, she became the dwelling place of God in her words and in her life. She became a living tabernacle of our Lord, carrying Him to Elizabeth’s House and making Him reveal His glory by performing the miracle of changing water to wine at Cana.
Finally, the rosary ends with the Doxology because in all things, we are called to give glory to the Holy Trinity. Mary encountered the Father in the Holy Spirit when she conceived Jesus in her womb. She had a deep encounter with the Holy Trinity even before this was explicitly recognized at His death and resurrection. To pray the rosary truly is to give glory to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for saving the world and for adopting us to be His children. Indeed, like Mary, we are to give glory to God by our life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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