The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
(Acts 1: 12 – 14; ; Resp. Luke 1: 46 – 55; Luke 1: 26 – 38)
Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary but it could also be called Our Lady of the Mysteries of Christ. In reflecting on the 20 mysteries of the Rosary, it is clear that Mary was personally present for more than half of them beginning with the mystery of the Annunciation, today’s Gospel.
St. Luke records that Mary, having given birth to Jesus and having welcomed the shepherds who came to see, she pondered all these things in her heart, and surely the pondering continued all through her life. Certainly, with wonder she grew in wisdom, the wisdom of the Word who became flesh, the One born of her flesh.
In our Catholic devotion to Mary, we often call upon her intercession; in every Hail Mary we implore “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” But Mary, our Mother, is also a model, perhaps we could say ‘THE MODEL’ of our journey of faith. We do her an injustice if we limit her only to our needs, our petitions. She, as one who pondered, who opened her heart more and more to the Word, always teaches us, her sons and daughters, the right relationship to have with our God – a relationship that goes beyond petitions and comes from reflecting on the mysteries of our faith, mysteries always alive and full of grace.
Someone has stated that we always live in relationships and the ultimate goodness of one’s life depends on the rightness of these relationships. But none of our relationships can be right if the first and most important relationship, the one with our God, is not right, that is, not first in our lives and influences all of life.
Mary proclaims for all to hear and for all time her place before God: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…holy is His Name.” – the exclamation of one who pondered in prayer, with a seeking, desiring heart all her life and acted upon what she heard.
Mary came to know the mystery, the divine thread that holds all of the mysteries of the rosary together; she experienced the “unswerving love of God” and as our Mother, she calls us to experience the same “unswerving love of God”. As our Mother, she wants only the best, the most excellent for us, her beloved children. May we hear her petition for us that we too ponder, welcome personally the Christ she bore.
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