Oct
07
2016
0
By Anonymous (not verified)
By Fr. Michael Callea, MIC
I pray the Rosary daily. I have done so for years. But in my early years of praying the Rosary, sometimes dryness would set in, the meditations would become routine, and I would find myself struggling to persevere in the very prayer that had helped me to receive so many graces.
Then, an inspiration came to me - no doubt from Our Lady - that helped me to avoid that "dry spell" and draw ever deeper into the power Mary's intercession through the Rosary. With October dedicated to the Rosary, I'd like to share with you my inspiration: When you meditate on the mysteries of faith in the Rosary, meditate also on the mysteries of faith in the Sacred Scriptures. The Word of God, after all, is One (see 1 Cor 1:10,13a and 2 Cor 1:17-19).
With that inspiration, I picked up my pocket New Testament, put a sticky note at the beginning of one of its books, and, as I prayed each decade of the Rosary, I also reflected upon the Sacred Scriptures, taking one sentence at a time. With each decade, I advanced my sticky note to the next sentence, whether it seemed relevant to the mystery or not.
The results were amazing!
For example, once I was meditating on the Fifth Luminous Mystery, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, and the next sentence from the New Testament happened to be one from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship" (Rom 12:1).
How wonderful to think about these words of St. Paul in light of the Last Supper where Jesus is the first to offer His Body as a "living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God" and where He offers that same Sacred Body to us as our spiritual food - the first Holy Mass! It would seem that, according to St. Paul, we are called "by the mercies of God" to a deep participation in Jesus' saving action, not merely by words and acceptance, but by imitation as well.
Although intriguing connections between the mysteries of the Rosary and the Biblical sentences occur frequently, sometimes they are less obvious. But that's just it! Trying to discern such a connection keeps my Rosaries from becoming stale and, at the same time, it keeps me deeply engrossed in the Word of God.
Although it was never my intention, Our Lady has led me to reflect individually on nearly every sentence in the New Testament. And my experience of having done so leads me to one happy conclusion: It's all true! What a wonderful gift from God is the holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
We have a free Mary App. Download it here.
I pray the Rosary daily. I have done so for years. But in my early years of praying the Rosary, sometimes dryness would set in, the meditations would become routine, and I would find myself struggling to persevere in the very prayer that had helped me to receive so many graces.
Then, an inspiration came to me - no doubt from Our Lady - that helped me to avoid that "dry spell" and draw ever deeper into the power Mary's intercession through the Rosary. With October dedicated to the Rosary, I'd like to share with you my inspiration: When you meditate on the mysteries of faith in the Rosary, meditate also on the mysteries of faith in the Sacred Scriptures. The Word of God, after all, is One (see 1 Cor 1:10,13a and 2 Cor 1:17-19).
With that inspiration, I picked up my pocket New Testament, put a sticky note at the beginning of one of its books, and, as I prayed each decade of the Rosary, I also reflected upon the Sacred Scriptures, taking one sentence at a time. With each decade, I advanced my sticky note to the next sentence, whether it seemed relevant to the mystery or not.
The results were amazing!
For example, once I was meditating on the Fifth Luminous Mystery, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, and the next sentence from the New Testament happened to be one from St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship" (Rom 12:1).
How wonderful to think about these words of St. Paul in light of the Last Supper where Jesus is the first to offer His Body as a "living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God" and where He offers that same Sacred Body to us as our spiritual food - the first Holy Mass! It would seem that, according to St. Paul, we are called "by the mercies of God" to a deep participation in Jesus' saving action, not merely by words and acceptance, but by imitation as well.
Although intriguing connections between the mysteries of the Rosary and the Biblical sentences occur frequently, sometimes they are less obvious. But that's just it! Trying to discern such a connection keeps my Rosaries from becoming stale and, at the same time, it keeps me deeply engrossed in the Word of God.
Although it was never my intention, Our Lady has led me to reflect individually on nearly every sentence in the New Testament. And my experience of having done so leads me to one happy conclusion: It's all true! What a wonderful gift from God is the holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
We have a free Mary App. Download it here.
CRBK
