Thursday, May 24, 2018

GUEST BLOGGER: The Fruits of the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary


The Fruits of the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary
Jenny N. Sullivan  
© 2018
   
The fruits of the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary are not usually the subject of rosary commentaries.  The mysteries themselves are. And they are quite obviously worth study and contemplation. But the fruits of the mysteries helped me to understand the mysteries better and appreciate the mysteries more. So I write about them. The fruits tell us in plain language what we will obtain from earnestly meditating upon the mysteries as we pray the rosary. What a gift from God and His mother.
The Fruits of the Luminous Mysteries
                The Luminous Mysteries seem to me to be vitally important for coming to an appreciation of the importance of being in the faith. They call us to be open to it, to see the light, I suppose.
1.       The Baptism of Christ: John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River.
Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit.
Openness to the Holy Spirit is the cure for loneliness. I pray that all, especially those I love, are open to the Holy Spirit in their lives. Openness is a matter of not creating a barrier.  George Herbert, the early 17th century English poet, in his poem “Love,” speaks of God’s love for us and longing for us in the lines “Love bade me welcome” and Love “drew nearer to me” and “Love took my hand.” That love is God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Openness to the Holy Spirit is a matter of letting God in and letting God work. Letting the Holy Spirit in is letting love in.
2.       The Wedding at Cana: Jesus turns water into wine at the prompting of His mother Mary.
Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary.

When Mary came to Jesus and told Him that the wedding guests were running out of wine, He answered, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”  But then Mary said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2: 4-5) Turning water into wine was His first miracle. But in the way that He speaks to his mother, he sounds as if He was not ready to perform His first miracle: his “hour had not yet come.” Nevertheless, Mary seems to know He will in fact honor her wishes. We do not hear her debating with her son but rather telling the servants to do whatever He is going to tell them to take care of the wine shortage. Mary holds a lot of sway with Jesus. She is special. She was not born with the original sin we all share; she is the Immaculate Conception. She was obedient to God when she said “yes” to the angel Gabriel. And so, like the servants who have no more wine, we can go to Mary and ask her to speak to her son on our behalf. Look at what the mother of God tells the servants. It is the same wise counsel she gives to us: “Do whatever He tells you.” That is the prescription for a life well lived in the will of God.  The prayers of the rosary and meditations upon its mysteries are Mary offering us the opportunity to contemplate and appreciate the life, death, and resurrection of the Savior and the establishment of His church.

3.       The Proclamation: Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God as he travels throughout Israel, calling all to conversion.
Fruit of the Mystery: Conversion of Heart.

If someone is already praying the rosary, doesn’t that person already have a converted heart?  Yet a luminous mystery offers the fruit of a converted heart. Most of us likely can identify with Paul when he says “not even the good that I desire is what I do; but what I hate, that is what I do.”(Romans 7:15) We all fall away from time to time and need over and over the conversion of our hearts.  John Donne, in his poem “Batter My Heart,” explains in his opening lines how he is he is in need of conversion of heart and asks God to do whatever it takes to retrieve him. 
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you 
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend; 
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend 
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new. 

We have the gift of praying the rosary to accomplish just that.

4.       The Transfiguration: Jesus leads the apostles up a high mountain where they see Him transfigured in a glorious light.
Fruit of the mystery: Desire for Holiness.

As Saint Augustine said, “God made us for Him, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”  Things of this world can make us restless and anxious. But all these things speak to a deeper restlessness, which is a yearning for God. He has placed this longing in the hearts of His creatures. Sometimes it takes a while for us to understand this longing, this unease when we are outside of God’s grace. It can be so masked by the enticements of the world, enticements that can never fully satisfy. That desire for Him is a great blessing. It leads us to truth and dignity and right reason about our beautiful blessings in this life. Praying the rosary nurtures our desire for holiness.


5.       The Last Supper: Christ gives Himself to the apostles in the form of bread and wine and tells them to do this in memory of Him.
Fruit of the Mystery: Love of the Eucharist.

“Recognize in this bread what hung on the cross and in this chalice what flowed from His side,” instructed St. Augustine. The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the greatest gift of the Mass—Christ with us in body and blood, soul and divinity. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, there is no real life in you.” (John 6:53) Through the Real Presence we have real life, life that is deep and authentic, full of meaning, purpose, and direction—a life of joyful pilgrimage. The Eucharist feeds us with the love of Christ and sends us forth to live in God’s grace with joyful hearts.

(The Luminous Mysteries were instituted by Saint Pope John Paul II in October 2002. The Rosary was given to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Mother in the beginning of the 13th century.)

The Joyful Mysteries

I write about the Joyful Mysteries next because they are just that—joyful and therefore a wonderful place for an open heart to begin, a heart opened by the Luminous Mysteries. They are about Mary’s joy in her child and remind parents and all adults of the joy we take in children.

1.       The Annunciation: The angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is to be the Mother of God.
Fruit of the Mystery: Humility.

Mary’s humble “yes” to God brought salvation into the world. Eve pridefully said, “No, I will not follow God’s will” and followed the serpent instead. But without God we wander in a desert east of Eden, in a fallen world, wounded, lonely, sometimes on the edge of despair.  Only when people say yes to God can dignity and true freedom flourish. Jean Francois Millet’s painting “The Angelus” is an icon of Christian humility. A farmer and his wife stop their work in the field at noon to pray the Angelus, a devotion humbly adhered to today by millions. What the prayer honors, Mary’s consent to God that it be “done until me according to Thy word,” is itself a verbal icon of Christian humility. Mary’s humble “yes” gave to us her child and redemption.

Source: Google Images


2.       The Visitation: Upon Mary’s arrival at the home of her cousin, Elizabeth greets her with “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
Fruit of the Mystery: Charity toward neighbor.

John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at the presence of Christ in His mother’s womb. In love, in charity, God knit these children in their mothers’ wombs. In love, in charity, these women gave their flesh to their children. In love, in charity, they blessed one another with their care and companionship. In love, John the Baptist gave his life to Christ and for Christ. Christ, in love, gave his life for all. We must remember to love those Christ died for, even when it is difficult. Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor wrote stories of grace and redemption using characters who ranged from unattractive to grotesque. But her stories show how God offers them grace too and uses them too as vehicles of God’s grace for others. The challenge to show them love and charity can be huge, but God’s love for them demands that we do. He loves us even when we are unattractive and made grotesque by sin.

3.       The Nativity: Mary gives birth to the savior of the world.
Fruit of the Mystery:  Poverty of Spirit.

Poverty of Spirit is not what it may sound like at first. A poor spirit is one that understands that everything comes from God. He made us, He sustains our being, He redeemed us and prepares a place for us in Heaven because Mary, in her poverty of spirit, said yes to God. God created our beautiful world and gave man dominion over it. We are to enjoy it and should use it to His glory. However, materialism, which is giving the things of the world the power to control us and drive us, can put a wedge between us and God. Worldly success may make us think we do not need Him or don’t have time for Him. This is perhaps why it is so difficult for a rich man to get to heaven (Matthew 19:24). The true joy of living comes from a relationship with God and the ability to see His wonderful creation for what it is , God’s gift to us.

4.       The Presentation: The Blessed Mother and her husband Joseph present the Christ child at the Temple.
Fruit of the Mystery: Obedience.

Mary’s yes to God the Father, her obedience to God, continues as she brings her child to the Temple with Joseph to consecrate Him to the Father. Parents present their children in thanksgiving to God for entrusting children to them for their joy and for His glory. Parents pledge to raise them in His truth so that, by living in obedience to Him, their children will have full lives, knowing God’s comfort and joy. And families, friends and godparents gather joyfully at an infant’s baptism in loving support.

5.       The Finding in the Temple: After three days, Mary and Joseph find Jesus among the Temple elders.
Fruit of the Mystery: Joy in finding Jesus.

The joy of Mary and Joseph at finding their child in the House of God is the joy of any loving parent whose child comes to know Christ truly.  It is also our own joy in coming to the temple and finding Jesus.
      
The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries remind us of the sacrifice of Christ to save us all. They give meaning to suffering, His and our own. Pain is so hard to bear. But when we join our suffering with that of Christ on the cross and offer it up for the sins of the world, our pain is transformed into purpose and meaning. It still hurts, but the pain is not victorious. It can be put to precious use.

1.       The Agony in the Garden: Jesus prays to the Father in anticipation of the pain He is about to suffer.
Fruit of the Mystery: Acceptance of God’s will.

The old Baltimore Catechism explains that we exist to know, love, and serve God in this life and enjoy Him in the next. Sometimes it seems difficult to discern God’s will. We have scripture, church tradition, and the teaching of the Magisterium to help us. When we know we have failed to follow His will, we have the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When it seems we are given trials to bear, what we do with that “cross” makes all the difference. I think of dear Flannery O’Connor, on the verge of an exciting life as a writer in New York City, being struck down with lupus and having to return to her home in Georgia to live as a semi-invalid until her early death. This life was not what she had longed for. But look what she did with it, writing great short stories about grace and redemption. Like cloistered nuns who spend their lives praying for the salvation of the world,
F O’C sat down to her typewriter religiously every day and wrote her jarring stories out of that same holy concern. Her small life was huge and rich and meaningful.

2.       The Scourging at the Pillar: Jesus is lashed and whipped at Pilate’s orders.
Fruit of the Mystery: Purity of Intention.

An act is more or less pure according to the degree of selfless love of God with which it is performed. Christ, in complete selfless love of the Father, submitted to the scourging in the garden. He prayed to the Father to “let this cup pass” from Him. (Matthew 26:39). But he also affirmed that it was the Father’s will, not His, that should be done. Later, from the Cross, He would pray to the Father to “forgive them for they know not what they do.”(Luke 23:34) Only when we come to the faith do we begin to understand the Father’s will so that, in imitation of Christ, we can strive for purity of intention, that is to say we can strive to act out of love of God in all that we do.

3.       The Crowning with Thorns: A crown of thorns is pressed into Jesus’s head to mock Him.
Fruit of the Mystery: Contrition.

Our sins mock Jesus as the soldiers mocked Him with the crown of thorns. They did not believe that He was God, so they spat on Him. We do the same when our words and deeds are not motivated by a love of God, when they do not possess purity of intention. But Christ wore that crown and went to that cross so that we could be reconciled to the Father. We can be brought back to peace and love by way of a contrite heart and a full and honest examination of conscience. I love the ending of a George Herbert poem in which the speaker tells of his decision to live “free as the road,” meaning not caring for how God wanted him to live. As the speaker goes on and on about his dissolute life he exclaims

As I raved and grew more fierce and wild
at every word
Me thought I heard one calling, “Child!”
And I replied, “My Lord.”

His raving is suddenly soothed by the call of God the Father, and he calmly answers with a grateful, contrite heart, recognizing God as “My Lord.” Beautiful.

4.       The Carrying of the Cross: Christ carries the heavy cross along the way to Calvary.
Fruit of the Mystery: Patience.

Christ stumbled three times on the way to Calvary. So do we all stumble along the way on our pilgrim’s progress. Sometimes we stumble under the weight of our pain and sufferings. Patience will help us to endure. Christ stumbled under the weight of our sins but patiently calls us over and over to come home and be reconciled to the Father. So too, in imitation of Christ , with His grace, are we called to be patient with others, even when they sin against us, and we are called to forgive them “seventy times seven,” if that is what it takes. (Matthew 18: 21-22)

5.       The Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies after three hours of agony.
Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance.

Perseverance is remaining in a state of grace until the end of one’s life. This is impossible without God’s help and our poverty of spirit.  And so He gives us the church and its sacraments. Let me say first that in every age, the Church has some people in charge who do not represent her rightly and who drive God-seeking people away. Flannery O’Connor once said that “Sometimes we have to suffer from the Church as well as for her.” I am not sure what in particular she had in mind, but I know that when people in the church sin against the church, it is a sad thing if that drives others away from the church. Ours is a sacramental faith, and the Church gives us priests to administer the sacraments to carry us through life. We have Baptism to consecrate us to God. We have Confirmation to teach us our faith. And especially in the context of perseverance, we have Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. We remain in grace through repentance and confession, and we sustain a life of grace through the Eucharist. If we are so fortunate as to realize our impending passing, we have Anointing of the Sick to give us a happy death.

The Glorious Mysterious

The glorious mysteries are the culmination of the faith. They invite us to contemplate the great gift of eternity with God.

1.       The Resurrection: Christ rises from the dead. He appears to His followers, speaks to them, and eats with them.
Fruit of the Mystery: Faith.

With His resurrection, Christ’s divine authority is confirmed, and so our faith is confirmed. Christ will do what he promises. “Just as in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:20-22) The virtue of faith is the gift of faith, and by it we believe all that God has revealed to us and that His church proposes for our benefit.

2.       The Ascension: Jesus ascends to Heaven forty days after His Resurrection.
Fruit of the Mystery: Hope.

Hope desires good for us in the future. We long for what is good and, with hope, we live in the expectation of it. In the Christian life, hope enables us to look forward from day to day, to strive to know, love, and serve God in this life and enjoy Him in the next.

3.       The Descent of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit at Pentecost descends upon Mary and the apostles.
Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God.

When my mother had her first stroke, the one from which she recovered, thank God, I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit descending to bring to me the love of God. Mother was in the hospital, and I was staying at her house, alone, having left my precious children in the care of their loving father. Because she had a living will, the hospital asked me to bring them a copy for them to have on file. That morning, the copy shop in Ocean View was not yet open when I arrived. I was a wreck and felt so alone and lonely. I decided to walk along the beach to pass the time. The water and the sand were breath-taking, as usual. The beauty made me want to cry. But the beauty was too late: I was already crying out of sadness over Mother and fear about whether or not I could competently do all the things that would be required of me and because I felt lonely and helpless. Alone on the beach, I began to sing one of the “modern” hymns we sang at Mass, one that was the prayer of my heart at that moment. “Lord, send down your spirit and renew the face of the earth….” No sooner had I blubbered that through my wracking sobs than I reached into my pocket and found a long lost cross with garnet stones, a pendant I long ago had accepted that I would never see again. More than a year earlier I had packed away a pair of trousers with other out-of-season clothes. Only recently had I rediscovered the pants and decided to start wearing them again.  I put them on that morning but had no reason to put my hands in the pockets. When I finally did so on the beach, I found the Holy Spirit waiting for me. Mother later wrote one of her wonderful poems about the incident. Here it is.

            Jenny’s Cross of Garnet Red

I walked along the sea and shore
      At the dawning of the day.
My heart was sad and troubled
    As I began to pray.
O Lord, please lift my burdens.
      They are so hard to bear.
Or give me strength and comfort me
      Because I know you care.

And as I walked along the shore,
      My feet upon the sand,
I reached deep in a pocket
      And a cross was in my hand.
So long it had been missing
      I counted it for lost.
Now quietly He spoke to me
      Through my little chain and cross.

Now in my heart my little cross
      With its stones of garnet red
Is laid upon a greater cross,
      The cross on which He bled.
And then my day grew brighter
      And my heart was fresh and free.
For He had heard my morning prayer,
      And He had answered me.     

4.       The Assumption: The Blessed Mother is taken up to be united with her  Divine Son in Heaven.
Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Heaven and the Grace of a Happy Death.

Let me return to Mother. In the nursing home, after a second, devastating stroke, she declared three times that she wanted to come into the Church. I contacted a priest, who gave her instruction and received her into the faith. Earlier she had asked me what Catholics believe, and I told her we believe that Christ founded this church for us and gave us the sacraments so that He is with us throughout our lives. But something else also probably helped her to “cross the Tiber.” One day I walked into her room as two African aides were attending to some of her needs. One sweet young woman smiled down at Mother in her bed and began, “Hail Mary, Full of Grace. “ The other woman joined in, smiling too as they adjusted Mom’s sheets and prayed the Hail Mary together. Mama seemed pleased and smiled back at them. “She likes that,” one of them told me. That led me to believe that Mother had had this experience of prayer with these young women before. I will finish this story with the next mystery.

5.       The Crowning: Mary is gloriously crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Fruit of the Mystery: Confidence in the intercession of Mary.

During Mother’s period of instruction, I shared the story of the nursing assistants with Father. When it came time for Mom to pick a confirmation name, she wanted Ruth. While Ruth is a figure from the Old Testament, I believe she wanted that name to honor her beloved sister who died early from cancer. Father explained that pre-Christian figures are a bit problematic for confirmation names and that he thought that “Mary might have been calling to you through those nurses.” She liked that suggestion, and so she became Kurkee Mary, as I called her for the next while.

On the day she died, little Ana, who was hired to sit with her until I arrived in the afternoon, witnessed her death. “Mrs. Norman looked all around the top of the room, stared into that corner, smiled, and died,” she told me.

Mother had the Grace of a happy death. She had the Grace of a desire for Heaven and confidence in Mary’s intercession, I am sure.

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Sunday, May 20, 2018

Nothing Conventional About Christianity?

Nothing Conventional About Christianity?


It was on the day of Pentecost
That the Spirit created the Church
Fifty days following The Holocaust,
Upon that sacrifice, its perch.

Then was delivered to all
The unchangeable deposit of faith
Once given, we “tremble to forestall”
This mystical state, not a wraith.

The steadfast person, we are told, in trial
Is blessed by God.
But a wavering faith beguiles,
And alters the path we trod.

Following nuptials, two overseers meet the press,
One of the Cantuariensis archiepiscopal See
Responding to reporters as if in a game of chess,
That nothing is conventional about Christianity! 

May just well be.