Rosary Series (part 3 of 4): A "Mysterious" Tour through Jesus' Life

When praying the rosary, each day of the week has a specific set of mysteries associated with it.  Sunday is typically associated with the Glorious Mysteries, which is fitting, since each Sunday is like a mini-Easter celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead.  During Advent, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recommends praying the Joyful Mysteries on Sunday, and during Lent, they recommend praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, in observance of the solemnity of these liturgical seasons (source).  Monday is typically associated with the Joyful Mysteries, Tuesday with the Sorrowful Mysteries, and Wednesday with the Glorious Mysteries.  Friday is associated with the Sorrowful Mysteries, which is fitting as Friday was the day of the events of Jesus’ death.  Saturday is associated with the Joyful mysteries.

Today, Thursday, is associated with the Luminous Mysteries of Pope St. John Paul II.  Prior to the implementation of the Luminous Mysteries in 2002, Thursday was associated with the Joyful Mysteries.  Some conservative members of the Church still observe this, contending that when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the prayers of the rosary, she did not give him the Luminous Mysteries.  Further, when she appeared to the children in Fatima, she said to pray the fifteen mysteries of the rosary for the reparation of sins, not twenty.

Personally, I like the Luminous Mysteries.  They complete the story of Jesus’ life as observed in the mysteries of the rosary.  If one prays all twenty of the mysteries in a single sitting (ambitious, but possible), one meditates on the entire life of Jesus, including the years of His public ministry.  Leaving them out, to me, feels like missing an important piece of Jesus’ life:  His example to us through His shared humanity with us.

Of course, there isn’t one right way to pray the rosary.  It is a private devotion.  What matters is that we use it in a way that is beneficial to us as well as to the world.  It doesn’t really matter which Mysteries one meditates on each day.  The typical associations noted above simply provide some unity throughout the Church’s prayer of this devotion.

How do you pray the rosary?  What is your opinion of the Luminous Mysteries?  Share in the comments below, and please remember to be respectful and courteous of others and their views and opinions.

The Redemption of Suffering

Over at The Roman Road, there's an excellent little series on the theology of suffering, a topic dear to my heart from years of preaching/encouraging in a devotional service at a local nursing home.

 It is also a topic very relevant to our modern culture which is so Corinthian and which requires a focus on 'Christ, and him crucified.' It seems to me that there are basically three attitudes towards suffering:

1 Suffering is an illusion, seek enlightenment

Classically expressed in Buddhism, this is also the perspective of some forms of scientific naturalism

2 Suffering is a fact, seek power

Although the paths to power differ, this is the common attitude of Mohammad, Nietzsche, and Marx.

3 Suffering is a redemptive opportunity, seek the Messiah

With its roots in the Hebrew scriptures, this attitude finds its fullest expression in the Catholic Church.

Pope John Paul II, in an apostolic letter from 1984, wrote extensively on the Christian meaning of human suffering in Salvifici Doloris. Here is a brief excerpt:

14. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life". These words, spoken by Christ in his conversation with Nicodemus, introduce us into the very heart of God's salvific work. They also express the very essence of Christian soteriology, that is, of the theology of salvation. Salvation means liberation from evil, and for this reason it is closely bound up with the problem of suffering.

Beloved Pope John Paul II

'Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II'

Pope Benedict XVI beatifies his predecessor as 1 million pilgrims crowd St. Peter’s Square and streets around Vatican to witness historic event

It wasn’t the quite “Santo Subito” shouted out at Pope John Paul II’s 2005 funeral, but millions who have a devotion to the late pontiff have reason to cheer after his May 1 beatification — the fastest in modern times.

More than 1 million pilgrims traveled to Rome to witness the historic event, packing into St. Peter’s Square and streets surrounding the Vatican, with others watching on large screens throughout Rome. The crowd cheered loudly when the portrait of the new blessed was unveiled and when Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, the French nun whose miraculous cure of Parkinson’s through Pope John Paul’s intercession paved the way for the beatification, and Sister Tobiana Sobodka, the Polish nun who ran his household, presented Pope Benedict XVI with a reliquary containing the blood of the late pontiff.
Deeply united to God

Pope Benedict addressed Pope John Paul’s holiness in his homily at the beatification, along with his contributions to the Church, his bravery in taking on Marxism and his devotion to Mary. But he ended with his own personal reflections of his predecessor, whom he served for 23 years:

“I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for 23 years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then, too, there was his witness in suffering: The Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a ‘rock,’ as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Church.

“Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. You often blessed us in this Square from the Apostolic Palace: Bless us, Holy Father! Amen.”

Resource: Our Sunday News Visitor May 5th 2011