The Rosary is 

       

         Scriptural

 

 

    "Blessed are you among women"

 And 

               blessed is the fruit of your              

womb

Why is it that non-Catholic Christians who quite rightly and consistently put so much emphasis on Scripture, seem to have missed the point, that the Hail Mary prayer which is repeated over and over again during the recitation of the Rosary, is in fact, truly scriptural.      

   The prayer for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with it goes thus:  

"Hail Mary, full of grace,

 the Lord is with thee.  

 Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.   

Holy Mary mother of God,

pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. 

 Amen."    

   May I suggest that you turn to Luke's Gospel, Chapter One, verses 28 and 42 where you will read the exact same words:   "And having come in, the angel said to her: " Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you;  blessed are you among women!", and in verse 42: "Then she ( Elizabeth) spoke out with a loud voice and said:    "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!".    

  The remaining words of the prayer are typical of the requests we all make every day of the week to other mothers down the road, and who is better equipped to plead for us with Jesus, than His very own mother, whose precious blood courses through His veins?  

  The  Holy Rosary is in fact, an album of the life of JESUS CHRIST,

from conception to death , resurrection and Ascension into heaven and what better meditation, I ask of you, than such a prayer.

You are praying the Gospel, the Good News, Jesus Christ, when you pray the Rosary.  Mary is pointing to Jesus when we say the rosary as she did at the Wedding Feast of Cana when she said: 

 ' Do what He tells You! '  

She is always pointing to Jesus.   She is speaking directly to us when she says:   'Do what He tells you!'   If you do that, 'the truth will make you free'.

 

"Mary was a humble person,

Humble people care nothing for acclaim.

They receive praise and honour the way a clean window

receives the light of the sun.

The brighter and more intense the light is,

the less you see of the glass.

It retains nothing of the light of itself

but lets it all shine through.

Mary attributed everything to God.

The Almighty has done great things for me,

holy is His name.

Mary will help us to be humble,

open and trusting before God.

Then God will enrich us,

and we, too, will sing His praises".

 

'Our tainted nature's solitary boast'.  William Wordsworth.

 

We get a better understanding of Mary if we look at her through the eyes of the poor of the third world.   She experienced  uncertainty and insecurity when she said

'Yes '

To the Angel.  

She knew what oppression was when she couldn't find a room in which to give birth to Jesus.    She lived as a refugee in a strange land with a strange language and strange customs.   She knew the pain of having a child who does not follow the accepted path, but who causes controversy wherever He goes.   She knew the loneliness of the widow, and the agony of seeing her only son executed.   Mary is the friend of the poor, oppressed and lonely women of our times. Every word about her in the Scriptures points to her close connection with all those who are rejected, despised and pushed arounhd.   She gives hope to those who struggle for a more just world, and challenges us all to live a simpler life.

 

Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican writes : One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism : 

" Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head.   If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end".   

The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation.   It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is meditation centered.  Please enunciate each word and do not trample on the heels of the words. 

 A Mother is a constant source of blessing and protection. 

She is out strength in weakness, our consolation in sorrow, and our hope in misery. Everything in nature speaks of a mother.   The sun is the mother of the earth, nourishing it with light and heat.   It never leaves at night until it has put everything to sleep, to the songs of the birds and the brooks.

The earth, in its turn,is mother to the trees and flowers.   And the trees in their turn become mothers of their fruits and seeds.  And Mary is our spiritual mother.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our passing from this world to the Father.  Amen.


Anita Kilbride-Jones, 

 

Saint,Pauls Bay, Malta.

 

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