As I write this, it is two days before the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, and I am preparing my sermon for the Vigil Mass of the feast, held the evening before. My devotion to Mary has deepened in the past few years. I am a believer that our physical space influences our practices; that my previous parish and this one have chapels dedicated to Our Lady surely has and continues to influence my gratitude to her as a chief intercessor of my prayers to her Son.
Part of my practice is to pray the Marian Rosary, especially Monday through Thursday, as All Saints’ opens our doors then at 3:30 PM for Holy Hour. I place the Blessed Sacrament of the Body of Christ in the monstrance on the altar in the Lady Chapel and kneel to pray one of the sets of the mysteries of the rosary – the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, or Glorious. The prayers of the rosary are the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory be.
The Joyful Mysteries are 1) the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary; 2) the Visitation of Mary to her kinswoman Elizabeth; 3) the birth of Jesus; 4) the Presentation of Jesus in the temple; and 5) the finding of Jesus in the temple by Mary and Joseph.
The Luminous Mysteries are 1) the Baptism (and Temptations) of Jesus; 2) Jesus’ first sign at the wedding at Cana; 3) Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God; 4) His Transfiguration; and 5) His institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.
The Sorrowful Mysteries are 1) Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; 2) His being scourged at the pillar; 3) His being crowned with thorns; 4) His carrying the cross; and 5) His crucifixion and death.
The Glorious Mysteries are 1) Jesus’ resurrection; 2) His ascension; 3) the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; 4) Mary’s admission into heaven; and 5) her coronation as Queen of Heaven, of Angels, and of Saints.
I begin the rosary praying for the intentions of our presiding bishop. The first mystery is for the intentions of our diocesan bishop; the second for the intentions of the priests and deacons of our diocese; the third for the intentions of the professed religious in our diocese; the fourth for the intentions of the laity of our diocese; and the fifth for the salvation of the souls of those who die today. My prayers gather with your intercessions, through Mary, and to her Son, which makes them, I believe and I trust, powerful and effective.
God’s blessings and peace,
Dan +
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