Understanding the Rosary

Light and Life – May June 2020, Vol 73, No 3
A Publication of the Western Dominican Province

 

Understanding the Rosary

By Fr. Basil Cole, O.P.

Many Catholics today do not pray the Rosary because, as they say, they find it too difficult to think about two things at the same time: the Hail Marys and the Rosary mystery. As a result, many persons of good will have simply given up praying the Rosary because they misunderstand how the Rosary should be prayed. In their confusion they hope that Mary will not mind, since their prayers have been so muddled with distractions and boredom.

MISUNDERSTANDINGS

This objection stems from a misunderstanding of what the Rosary is and how it is to be prayed. The Rosary is a combination of vocal prayer, the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers, and of mental prayer, the meditation on the various incidents or mysteries in the life of Our Lord and His Mother. Yet there is no conflict in this combination, but rather a blending of one with the other, for while the lips pronounce the words of the Hail Mary (vocal prayer), the mind should reflect (mental prayer) on the mystery of the Rosary that has been announced. The repetition of the 10 Hail Marys is used as a measuring device to determine the length of time to meditate on the mystery at hand. So, the Rosary, properly understood, brings before us for our reflection, not the vocal prayers being recited, but the mysteries of our redemption. However, one might well reflect on the Hail Mary during the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, for the words of that prayer recall those mysteries.

As regards those who see the Rosary as being insignificant, claiming that it is not in keeping with the spirit of Vatican II, the Second Vatican Council in the Decree on the Liturgy (no. 13) clearly states that “popular devotions of the Christian people are warmly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church.” Moreover, the fact that Pope St. John XXIII who called the Council, and Pope St. Paul VI, who presided over its sessions and conclusion, so highly recommended the Rosary, is clear evidence of the mind of the Church in this regard. In his Apostolic Letter, Pope St. John Paul II testified, “How many graces have I received in these years from the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary. Magnificat anima mea Dominum! I wish to lift up my thanks to the Lord in the words of His most Holy Mother, under whose protection I have placed my Petrine ministry: Totus Tuus!”

“Redeemed by reason of the merits of her Son and united to Him by a close and indissoluble tie, the Virgin Mary is endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother of the Son of God, by which account she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Because of this gift of sublime grace she far surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth.” – Lumen Gentium, n. 53

Not only were these three Popes, who reigned during Vatican II or afterwards, great lovers of the Rosary, but so was their predecessor Pope Pius XII, who wrote in an encyclical on this prayer of Mary: “We well know the Rosary’s powerful efficacy to obtain the maternal aid of the Virgin.” And speaking of the vocal and mental prayers that make up the Rosary, he said: “What prayers are more adapted and more beautiful than the Lord’s Prayer and the angelic salutation, which are the flowers with which this mystical crown is formed?”

MORE DIVINE THAN HUMAN

The Rosary is not only an important means of instruction in the truths of our faith, but an important means to bring Catholics to love and to be loved by Mary who gave this form of prayer to the Church. As Pope Pius XII points out, its very origin and the wisdom of its composition is “more divine than human.”

Yet the Rosary is not simply devotion to Mary. It is a devotion that leads one to the divine Trinity of Persons through the hearts and minds of Jesus Incarnate and Mary Immaculate. It is Mary’s instrument to bring us closer to her divine Son, and to become more involved in our lives as her children.

I am often saddened by the number of children and adults who do not know how, or do not care, to pray the Rosary; for when it is understood and prayed with devotion, it is a celebration of faith, of confidence and of love in the Most Holy Trinity.

OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS

In addition to the above-mentioned reasons why some have given up praying the Rosary, is the fact that some find its recitation monotonous. This problem, as a rule, comes from the misconception already referred to, namely, reflecting merely or mainly on the vocal prayers being recited. Such is like a body without a soul. A mere repetition of Hail Marys, fruitful as it may be as a prayer, or even as a source of meditation, is not the Rosary.

The Rosary, in the words of Pope St. Paul VI, is a “compendium of the Gospel.” It is so devised that it helps us to reflect briefly on the principal events of our redemption. If some find it difficult to meditate on these mysteries, either because of lack of instruction, or because of fatigue, or some physical or mental difficulty, the Rosary will not be without its fruit, if they do the best they can, keeping in mind that involuntary distractions do not detract from the value of prayer. In prayer, what we want to do and try to do, is more important before God than whether or not we actually succeed in doing it. Those twenty minutes (more or less) given to this prayer, doing the best we can, are very pleasing to the Mother of God, and the source of much fruit, even if they might leave us without much personal satisfaction. We don’t measure the value of prayer by the “lift” we get out of it.

As Pope Pius XII wrote, speaking of the Rosary: “the recitation of identical formulas, repeated so many times, rather than rendering the prayer sterile and boring, has on the contrary the admirable quality of infusing confidence in him who prays, and causes a sweet compulsion towards the maternal heart of Mary.”

THE BODY AND SOUL OF THE ROSARY

In order for us to appreciate the Rosary, and overcome its obstacles, it will be helpful if we examine its body and soul, especially if we want to share with others its powerful help for our lives, whether we be very spiritual persons, or have a touch of the rascal within us.

After World War I, shell-shocked soldiers were introduced into a therapy that helped them deal with tensions. Doctors discovered that the art of knitting greatly relieved tensions. Somehow the fingers are the little avenues relieving anxieties for restoring natural calm. Perhaps one of the reasons why people love to smoke comes down to the pleasantness of touching the cigarette or pipe.

In a similar manner, the purpose of beads in any religion that uses them, is to boost the art of concentration. The mere fingering of the beads has an effect of calming the mind, while the frequent repetition of the Hail Marys is an attempt to further increase the attention span, helping to shut out distractions, something like the soft murmur of a river which helps to drown out competing noises.

As we have already indicated, the fingering of the beads while repeating the angelic salutation and the Lord’s Prayer is the body of the Rosary; but it is a body that needs a soul, and its soul is the reflection successively on the 20 mysteries which for many centuries have been fixed on five Joyful, five Sorrowful, five Glorious, and the five Luminous (added in 2002 by Pope St. John Paul II) events or mysteries in the life of Our Lord and His Mother.

ROSARY MEDITATION – LIMITLESS IN SCOPE

Nineteen of the twenty mysteries are taken directly from the New Testament, while one (the Assumption) comes from Tradition. The 5th glorious mystery, the Queenship of Mary, many think has its basis in the book of Revelation (Ch. 12). The woman of the Apocalypse, according to most scholars, seems to refer to the universal Church. However, as it is customarily thought in the Church today, whatever perfections are attributed to the whole Church, reside in their perfection in Mary and are attributed to her, the one individual member of the Church (other than Christ) without stain.

These mysteries of the Rosary are like high points of the New Testament that contain explicitly or implicitly all the fundamentals of our faith. For that reason, the more we are familiar with the content of these mysteries, the more profound will be our use of the Rosary. Our meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary might bring us to reflect on a wide variety of themes, such as: God the Father, His will, His love, His wisdom, the Holy Spirit, eternal life, the Incarnation of His divine Son, our Redemption through his death on the Cross, and the major events in the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and so on.

SCHOOL OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

All of us can reflect on the various virtues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that we contemplate in the Gospel story, and strive to apply these lessons to our own lives. Pope Pius XII stated how efficacious this can be. “From the frequent meditation on the mysteries,” he said, “the soul draws and imperceptibly absorbs the virtues they contain, and becomes strongly and easily impelled to follow the path which Christ Himself and His Mother have followed.” For this reason, he declares, “the Holy Rosary will form the most efficacious school of Christian life.”

Pope St. John XXIII spoke in similar terms: “In reciting the Rosary, the thing that matters is devoutly meditating on each of the mysteries as we move our lips. Therefore, we are sure that our children and all of their brethren throughout the world will turn it into a school for learning true perfection, as with a deep spirit of recollection, they contemplate the teachings that shine forth from the life of Christ and of Mary most holy.”

ANTIDOTE FOR THE ILLS OF LIFE

It was yet another Pope, Leo XIII, the “Rosary Pope” of the 19th Century, who wrote nine encyclicals on devotion to Mary through the Rosary, who expressed the theology of this prayer so simply. He spoke of the Joyful Mysteries as an antidote for the boredom and tedium of ordinary life; the Sorrowful Mysteries as an antidote for those who feel suffering has no meaning; and the Glorious Mysteries as an antidote for those who forget their real homeland.

“Come, let us wonder at the Virgin most pure, wondrous in herself, unique in creation. She gave birth, yet knew no man; her pure soul with wonder was filled, daily her mind gave praise in joy at the twofold wonder: her virginity preserved, her child most dear. Blessed is He who shone forth from her!”

– St. Ephraim the Syrian

LOOKING AT A MYSTERY IN DEPTH

One can pray the Rosary privately, or in common with others. When praying it privately one can determine his own pace, spending up to a half hour on one decade, or if one’s time is limited he can skip along at about four minutes a decade, which is equally legitimate, as long as one lovingly considers the mystery under some aspect.

If one is praying alone and time permits, it can be helpful to pause a bit after declaring the mystery under consideration. Let us take, for example, the mystery of the Annunciation. As you announce this mystery, you can pause as long as you wish, putting yourself and your problems into the meaning of the mystery. Since there are many different types of prayer, from petition to thanksgiving, from praise to sorrow, or from submission to simple love, we can begin to look at the Annunciation from any of these angles.

We can, for instance, pray for the gift of faith and confidence, as Mary consented to a most difficult assignment from Heaven with faith and confidence in God. Or we can thank Mary for having consented to be the Mother of God on our behalf, welcoming the Savior of the world. We can also praise the work of the Holy Spirit for creating in the womb of Mary the human body and soul of the Word. We might simply express to God the Father, or to the Son, or to Mary, our sorrow for those who refuse the gift of human life and have aborted it; or for those who refuse the gift of divine life, or have doubted it.

Then again, we might be rebelling against some necessary decision either for ourselves, our family, or our work – that will entail personal pain or difficulty. We reflect on this in the light of Mary’s trusting and total surrender. Or we may be fascinated with the Angel Gabriel, and we think of the many times we have either listened to or rejected the suggestions of our guardian angel. Or we might just be wrapped up in loving wonder of he Trinity, that the Divine Persons would plan such a mystery of love, the Word becoming flesh through the love of the Holy Spirit. For some, these considerations might hold their attention for a considerable time, and while they finger the beads their whole personality could experience a deep and trusting surrender to the divine Trinity.

From all this, we can see there is no limit to the extent of the depth and breadth to which one’s Rosary meditation can lead. Its freedom within the consideration of the mysteries gives a structure to our meditation, and yet will let the inspiration of the Holy Spirit lead one towards those meanings which are more helpful for stirring up love and devotion to the Holy Trinity. In each mystery we are considering lovingly a different aspect of the merciful love of God. Thus, through it all, while fingering the beads, we are trying to imitate Mary’s spirit of reflection, of which St. Luke says: “His Mother meanwhile kept all these things in her heart.” _{(Luke 2:51)}

DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU

So, what we are doing in the Rosary is recalling the chief mysteries of our faith, in a manner taught us by a loving Mother, Mary the Mother of Jesus and of us all. And the love of this Mother does not stop with her, for her role is to lead us to her Son. Mary’s last words recorded in Scripture – at the marriage feast of Cana – summarize well her whole concern in our regard: “Do whatever He tells you.” _{(John 2:5)} She leads us to her Son, not only by her words, but especially by her example, for more perfectly than all others she mirrors his virtues.

May the Rosary see an increase in the contemplative life of each one who takes up his beads seeking union with the Divine Trinity through the perspective of Jesus and Mary. When we reflect on these mysteries, we ask that Mary help us to “imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise.” She not only reflected on those mysteries in the past, and had an intimate part in them, but she prays along with us now, and helps us to understand them, and to live them.

The Importance of the Family Rosary

This article is taken from the booklet “Our Glorious Faith and How To Lose It” written by Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J. It contains different stories of how we can lose our faith but this paper will deal only with the Holy Rosary. Fr. Thwaites’ words on this subject are as follows:

 

Without delay now, I want to talk about my theme. It seems to me that a principal cause of the loss of faith is the dropping off in the practice of the family rosary.

 

In Austria, after World War II, there was a complete collapse of vocations. One year, apparently, no one at all entered the seminaries. So the bishops held a synod, to find out how it could be that this had happened. The conclusion they reached was that the war had so disrupted family life that the centuries-old practice of the rosary in the home had stopped, and had just not started up again. This is my experience, too; when the rosary goes, the faith soon collapses.

I remember someone telling me of a friend of his, a great Catholic, the pillar of the parish, whose children had all lapsed, one after the other. They had all fallen away from the sacraments and from attending Mass. So I said to him, “I wouldn’t mind betting that your friend had been brought up to recite the family rosary when he was a boy, and that his children haven’t.” The next time I saw him, he said that this was indeed true. His friend had recited the family rosary at home when he was a boy, and when he had got married and started his own family they ll said the rosary. But then, one evening when they were about to start the rosary, one of the children switched on the television, and that was that. The custom of the family rosary was dropped, and in due course, they gave up the practice of the faith.

 

After this life, that one unrebuked action will be seen to have affected the eternity of many people. God sent His Mother to Fatima to tell us that we had to say the rosary every day. There were no other prayers She asked us to say. Accordingly, we should do what She asked.

 

A layman I met once who did not say his rosary told me that he read the breviary every day. That is fine. It is what priests have to do. It is the prayer of the Church. So in a way it is better than the rosary. But it is not what Our Lady asked for. She asked for the rosary. If a mother sends her child to the shop for a bottle of milk, and he comes back instead with ice cream, is she pleased? In a way, ice cream is better than milk, but it is not what she asked for.

 

In that most holy home at Nazareth, do you think that Our Lady had to ask for anything twice? If we want in any way to be like Jesus, we must do what His Mother asks. If we do not, can we expect things to go right? We cannot with impunity disobey the Mother of God. She knows better than we the dangers of this spiritual warfare. She sees more clearly than we do the dangers that beset us. She warns us: You must say your rosary every day.

 

If the garage mechanic warns you that your car needs repairing or else it will break down, surely you would heed that warning. If the gas gauge warns you that you need more gas, do you do nothing about it? And if Our Lady comes to Fatima and tells us, not just once but six times, that we must say the rosary every day, do we disregard that warning? If we do, we have only ourselves to blame when we find that our children have lapsed from the faith.

 

I know that Fatima is only a private revelation, but nevertheless the Church has endorsed it, and that makes it rash for us to disregard it. If the Church informs us that Our Lady really did come to Fatima and tell us these things, then we must harken to her words. It really seems to me that those Catholics who do not take Fatima seriously and say the rosary every day in their homes are very akin to the Jews who laughed at Jeremiah. If God sends us His prophets and we do not take them seriously – well, we have the whole of the Old Testament to tell us what happens as a result. But at Fatima, God sent us, not His prophets, but His Immaculate Mother. So I think that the abandonment of the family rosary is a main reason why so many Catholics have lost the faith. It seems to me that the Church of the future is going to consist solely of those families who have been faithful to the rosary. But there will be vast numbers of people whose families used to be Catholic.

 

In my work of going round visiting homes, I have seen this conclusion borne out time and again. Homes can be transformed by starting the recitation of the daily rosary. I remember a woman telling me that she could not thank me enough for having nagged her into starting it; it had united her family as never before. And I remember another home where I called. There was a strange tension there: the children were silent and the wife seemed withdrawn, but the husband was willing to start the family rosary. When I called back again a couple of months later, the atmosphere was quite different. The children were chatty and the wife was friendly, and the husband walked down the road with me afterwards and said how amazing it was that the home was so much happier.

 

One reason, I think, why the daily rosary makes for a happy home, is this. From what some possessed people have said, and from what some of the saints have said, it seems certain that demons fear the rosary. It makes their hair stand on end, so to speak. Holy water certainly drives them out, but they come back again. The daily rosary drives them out and keeps them out. It is rather like living in an old house where there are mice everywhere. The only way to get rid of them is to bring cats. If you get a couple of cats, after a week or two there simply will not be any more mice. Mice fear the very smell of cats. And in a home where the rosary is said every day, after a time the demons realize they are impotent in front of Our Lady, and go elsewhere.

 

This must be one reason why, as they say, “the family that prays together stays together.” In that home, utterly free of evil spirits, there is an atmosphere one does not find outside. In a demon-infested city like London, where I live, such a home is an oasis of God’s grace, and people find a comfort and peace there which they enjoy greatly. We human beings are not meant to live in the company of demons, but with God and with the angels and saints in heaven.

 

So, as I see it, in this effort we are making to keep the faith and pass it on, the practice of the rosary is absolutely indispensable. Whatever else a person may do, even though they go to Mass every day, they still need to say the rosary in their home. It is the medicine our Mother has told us to take, to keep our faith strong and healthy.

 

From: https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/

 

Sound Cloud

https://soundcloud.com/pamphlets-to-inspire/joyful-mysteries-of-the-rosaries-with-meditations-by-st-padre-pio

 

Prayer to Saint Joseph for the Month of October

https://twishort.com/D1Bnc

 

Blog Post - October 6th

https://www.pamphletstoinspire.com/blog-page
#OctoberthemonthdedicatedtothemostHolyRosary

 

What the Rosary Means to Me

Pope Pius XI once said that “the rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.” His words speak to a truth that the Church has recognized for centuries. In addition to blessing us with joy and peace, the Blessed Mother also protects us from harm. The devil and his demons tremble before her. They could not tempt her into sin, and they know what a powerful intercessor she is, calling us to conversion and a return to the Lord.

"The devil and his demons tremble before her. They could not tempt her into sin, and they know what a powerful intercessor she is, calling us to conversion and a return to the Lord."

The Rosary is MY communion with God on a personal level.

This is why I pray the Rosary. Our Blessed Mother's intercession and protection is what I ask for when praying Her rosary. I trust that Christ will not turn away from His mother when She looks upon him with loving eyes and pleads for mercy on my behalf.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen knew that one of the most profound ways to find Christ is in the rosary. More than a mantra, each mystery allows us to reflect on the message of the Gospel, the pivotal moments in the life of Jesus. “The rosary is the book of the blind,” he says, “where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of Universities and other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.”

Most commonly recognized in the United States as a symbol of Catholicism, other religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, some branches of Protestantism, Paganism and Islam employ rosary bead traditions as well. There has been a lot said about "who" gave Catholics the Rosary, how it was given and why. Does all that matter? All the prayers in the Catholic Rosary are found in the Bible, even the Protestant Bible. What is more important? The traditions of counting beads on a string, which actually started long before Catholicism by shepherds while tending their herds; who we got it from - men were already counting beads before our Holy Mother talked to St. Dominic; how we got it, why we got it? Or is the most important thing the prayers themselves and what those prayers mean? Do I need a string of beads to pray the Rosary? No! The string of beads is for the earthly part of me, something for my earthly will, attitudes and feelings to grab on to and be guided by. My spiritual will (the Holy Spirit), attitudes and feelings are guided by the prayers in my soul. Those prayers come from Jesus.

To me, the Rosary is the whole Bible (yes, I think you need to understand the Old Testament to fully understand the first decade - the Annunciation) that can, with a little work, can be committed to memory. The "Mysteries" are what I contemplate and meditate on while we are praying, they awaken the Holy Spirit within me. The Rosary, in the words of Pope St. Paul VI, is a “compendium of the Gospel.” It is so devised that it helps us to reflect briefly on the principal events of our redemption.

Why do I prefer to pray in front of Our Holy Mother or at the foot of the large crucifix in every Catholic Church? I'm comfortable with Her and Her Son. I have felt Her presence, not every time I pray the Rosary, but many times. I ask her to intercede for me and to pray to God for me because She is the human Mother of Jesus and Jesus is God. I do not think God would refuse to hear a prayer from Mary, our Holy Mother. If you think I am praying to Mary, you need to re-read the "Hail Mary" again. By-the-way, every word of the Hail Mary and the context in which they are used is found in the Bible.

Many times non-Catholic Christians accuse Catholics of praying to the Saints and not going to Jesus. Catholics have always gone to Jesus. Every day at Mass millions of Catholics recite the Lord’s Prayer. If one listens closely during Mass, everything is asked “Through Christ our Lord”. Practicing Catholics have the most intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, greater then any Protestant Christian group; by Christ’s command we actually consume his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at every Mass. Christ literally becomes part of us and strengthens us on our road to holiness and salvation. Protestants have communion services every so often but the bread and wine (or grape juice) is just a symbol of Christ’s body and Blood. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are the only Churches that have the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. What greater personal relationship can one have with Jesus then actually partaking in his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?

Just like Catholics who go directly to Jesus but also ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us, Protestants themselves ask for the prays of their: pastors, ministers, elders, family and friends. There is nothing wrong with this; James 5:16 says “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” and we are told to “pray for one another.” With this in mind, how greater are the prayers of Mary and Saints, particularly Mary, who is most blessed among all of humanity. All Christians should have an intimate relationship with Jesus but also be united with the other members of the Body of Christ in prayer. As said earlier death temporally separates Christians physically but death cannot separate those who have been baptized in Christ’s life, death and resurrection and live in Christ Jesus.

The Rosary is not a devotion to Mary. It is a devotion that leads one to the divine Trinity of Persons through the hearts and minds of Jesus Incarnate and Mary Immaculate. It is a celebration of faith, of confidence and of love in the Most Holy Trinity. It is Mary’s instrument to bring us closer to her divine Son, and to become more involved in our lives as her children.

Historical Background of the Saturdays in Honor of Mary

To dedicate Saturday in honor of Mary is an ancient custom. It is based on a legendary account that Jesus appeared to Mary on the Saturday, the day after His death. He did so to reward her for her steadfast faith in His divinity, which did not waver under the Cross. Another strain of devotional thought explains that Divine Wisdom, becoming flesh of the Virgin Mary, rested (Saturday = Sabbath = day of rest) in Mary as on a bed.

One of the oldest customs traced to honoring Mary on Saturday in the Church of Rome took place on the Saturday before "Whitsunday" [White Sunday]. The newly-baptized members of the Church were led from St. John's baptistry of the Lateran to Mary's great shrine on the Esquilin, St. Mary Major [built under Pope Liberius 352-66]. St. John of Damascus' († 754) writings testify to the celebration of Saturdays dedicated to Mary in the Church of the East. The liturgical books of the ninth and tenth centuries contain Masses in honor of Mary on Saturday.

The Dictionary of Mary states:

Hence, Saturday acquired its great Marian tone and the existing fast on that day became associated with Mary. Today, the strongest trace of Mary's relationship with Saturday occurs in the Liturgy. Saturday is dedicated to Mary by a Mass or Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through these liturgical acts, Christians exalt the person of Mary in the action that renews the sacrifice of Christ and in the action that prolongs his prayer.

This liturgical attribution of Saturday to Mary was largely the work of Alcuin (735-804), the Benedictine monk who was "Minister of Education" at the court of Charlemagne and who contributed in a decisive manner to the Carolingian liturgical reform. Alcuin composed six formularies for Votive (that is, devotional) Masses – one for each day of the week. And he assigned two formularies to Saturday in honor of Our Lady. The practice was quickly and joyously embraced by both clergy and laity.

Cardinal Peter Damian († 1072) fostered the Marian Saturday celebration as well.

The custom was specially furthered during the time of the crusades. Peter of Amiens preached the first crusade and started out with a vanguard for Constantinople on a Saturday, March 8, 1096. Pope Urban II admonished the faithful to pray the hours of the liturgy in honor of the most holy Virgin for the crusaders. At the Synod of Clermont the year before, he had prescribed priests to do so.

The custom of dedicating Saturday Masses to Mary was fostered specially in the cloister churches of the various orders, and quickly spread throughout the whole Church.

In addition to the liturgical celebrations on Saturdays, other customs kept step – especially works of neighborly love. For example, King Louis of France († on the last crusade) fed over one hundred of the poor at his palace. He ate with them and sent them away richly-laden with gifts.

The great theologians of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Sts. Bernard, Thomas, and Bonaventure explained the dedication of Saturdays to Mary by pointing to the time of Christ's rest in the grave. Everyone else had abandoned Christ; only Mary continued to believe. This was her day!

A Dominican missal of the fifteenth century listed additional reasons in a hymn: Saturday is the day when creation was completed. Therefore it is also celebrated as the day of the fulfillment of the plan of salvation, which found its realization through Mary. Sunday is the Lord's Day, so it seemed appropriate to name the day preceding as Mary's day.

In the centuries to follow, the Marian Saturdays were expressed in several devotions. This was the day the faithful selected to go on pilgrimages. Sodalities held their meetings on Saturdays and called them Fraternity Saturdays or Sodality Saturdays. The seven dolors or sorrows of Mary were commemorated on seven consecutive Saturdays. The fifteen Saturdays before the liturgy in honor of Mary as Queen of the Rosary [October 7] recalled the fifteen decades of the rosary. In some areas this was the day that the crops and harvests were blessed and celebrated. A German manuscript from 1673 states:

The people of Hamingen have from ancient times vowed to hold a procession to this church every Saturday from the feast of St. Gregory to the feast of St. James [to ask] for protection for the fruits of the fields and against the storms and hail. Their descendants failed to do so to their great misfortune because the hail did great damage. After they renewed the practice, no one heard further of great damage.

The growing devotion in honor of the Immaculate Conception by the Franciscans contributed to furthering the Marian Saturdays. In 1633 the Order's Chapter determined that a Holy Mass in honor of this mystery was to be celebrated.

Over time, it became customary for Catholics everywhere to consider Saturday Mary's day just as Sunday is the Lord's Day. Many of the faithful commemorated the day by attending Mass, receiving the Eucharist, and praying the rosary as a family or attending an evening devotion at the Church, as well as performing works of neighborly love in many forms.

Vatican II with its liturgical reforms did not abolish the practice of Masses in honor of Our Lady. Additions were made to expand the number of the liturgies. In 1986 A new sacramentary and lectionary were published with forty-six options for votive Masses in honor of Our Lady. [See this list at: udayton.edu/mary/maryliturgy.html.]

 

SATURDAYS IN HONOR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, Saturday is the day of Our Lady and Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. To dedicate Saturday in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not a personal invention but rather an ancient Church custom which is based on the fact that during Black Saturday, Our Lady was alone and all Christians want to accompany and console her after the death of Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Some base it as well on a legendary account and popular belief that Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Mary on the Saturday, the day after His death to reward her for her steadfast faith in His divinity, which did not waver under the Cross.

What can we do during Saturdays to honor Our Lady? We can offer her a lot of things:

Praying the “Hail Holy Queen” or any other prayer; Praying the Holy Rosary if one does not have the custom of doing so, better as a family or group; or in a church or oratory, and be able to gain a PLENARY indulgence for yourself or for the souls in purgatory (click on this link); Offering a small sacrifice, not taking snacks for example, for Our Lady’s intentions: conversion of sinners and reparation for our sins…

If you want to know more about this Saturday devotion, below you’ll find an article on its historical background from the University of Dayton website which is a worthwhile read on this matter. Neverthekess, let us not forget that Our Mother Mary is THE SHORTCUT TO GET TO GOD (St. Padre Pio) and the EASIEST AND SAFEST PATH TO THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, BEING THE DAUGHTER OF GOD THE FATHER, MOTHER OF GOD THE SON AND SPOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

“Mary’s role is to draw men to her Son, placing them before Christ so that they can be reconciled with Him, learning to love Him and follow Him. St. Josemaria said in one of his homilies: “Without ceasing to be a mother, our Lady is able to get each of her children to face his own responsibilities. Mary always does the immense favor of bringing to the cross, of placing face to face with the example of the Son of God, those who come close to her and contemplate her life. It is in this confrontation that Christian life is decided. And here Mary intercedes for us so that our behavior may lead to a reconciliation of the younger brother—you and me—with the firstborn Son of the Father (Christ is Passing By, n. 149).”

Thus “the beginning of the way, at the end of which you will find yourself completely carried away by love for Jesus, is a trusting love for Mary (Holy Rosary)." Found in the introduction to a short book on the Rosary, I have often experienced the truth of those words. I am not going to complete that thought here, instead  I invite you to discover it for yourself, showing your love for Mary, opening your heart to her, confiding to her your joys and sorrows, asking her to help you recognize and follow Jesus Christ.

True Marian devotion leads always to a greater love for God the Father, for the Word, and for the Holy Spirit. “Most Sweet Heart of Mary, prepare a safe way. Guide our steps on earth with strength and security. Become for us the path we are to follow, since you in your love know the way, a sure short-cut, to the love of Jesus Christ (Ibid. 147) in Prof. A. Blanco, “St. Josemaria’s Devotion to Mary and Unity of Life” in (http://en.romana.org/art/37_8.0_1).”

With all these facts in mind, and underlining the fact that the Marian devotion leads to a closer relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ who is the center and source of all graces, let us then have a filial love and affection to Our Lady most especially during Saturdays of the month.

Pogi's Reflections on First Saturday Devotion

In 1208 St. Dominic was laboring without success to convert souls back to the Faith, our Lady gave him a powerful weapon, that consisted of the Angelic Salutation, a pattern of “mysteries” and how they should be prayed. Her intention for the the Angelic Salutation combined with meditations on the mysteries was that it should be used as a prayer and catechism to teach the true Christian faith. Today, we call this our Rosary.

On December 10, 1925, as the world was turning to dictators and communism, Our Blessed Mother appeared Sister Lucia in Spain. By Our Blessed Mother’s side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The Most Holy Virgin rested one of Her hands on Lucia’s shoulder and showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which She held in Her other hand. Our Lady said: 

“Look My daughter, at My Heart, surrounded by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, try to console Me by announcing in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company in prayer for fifteen minutes.

We call our Rosary and devotions, like the one we are about to start “Marian” in nature. We Catholics say we are devoting ourselves to our Blessed Mother. Are we? Or is She devoting Herself to us?

When we pray the Rosary it is in the name of the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Angelic Salutation gives us a way to call on our Blessed Mother for support when we speak to Our Heavenly Father. “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee,” is a respectful greeting to to woman in Mary’s time. “Blessed art Thou among women and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.” Again, this is a respectful greeting to Mary from Elizabeth because Elizabeth knows about Mary’s pregnancy. “Holy Mary Mother of God,” References to Mary as the “Mother of God” are found throughout the New Testament, not in those words, but the meaning is there. “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” When you put it all together, we are using respectful greetings from God and man to ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us – 54 times in our Rosary. In essence, by praying the Rosary and fulfilling Her request of 5 First Saturdays, we are asking Her to devote Herself to us in prayer, now and at the hour of our death.

As you pray your First Saturday devotion, think about our Blessed Mother who through Her devotion to Her Son’s last act on the cross, brings us together with Her in prayer. That last act was when Jesus looked at his Mother and said: “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to His disciple John, “Behold your mother."

Throughout the Church's history, great theologians, mystics, popes and saints have all viewed John as representing you and me. The last gift Jesus gave humanity before giving every drop of His Sacred Blood was His mother.