"The Rosary helps us to be conformed ever more closely to Christ "- St. JPII

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

St. JPII’s Letter helps us to understand better the Church’s teachings on Mary – as a special way to draw closer to Christ. By God’s Grace we “see” in Mary how to make Christ the focus of our lives, as He was for her on earth and remains so in heaven.

CHAPTER III - “FOR ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST”

The Rosary, a way of assimilating the mystery

1. Meditation on the mysteries of Christ is proposed in the Rosary by means of a method designed to assist in their assimilation. It is a method based on repetition. This applies above all to the Hail Mary, repeated ten times in each mystery. If this repetition is considered superficially, there could be a temptation to see the Rosary as a dry and boring exercise. It is quite another thing, however, when the Rosary is thought of as an outpouring of that love which tirelessly returns to the person loved with expressions similar in their content but ever fresh in terms of the feeling pervading them.

In Christ, God has truly assumed a “heart of flesh”. Not only does God have a divine heart, rich in mercy and in forgiveness, but also a human heart, capable of all the stirrings of affection. If we needed evidence for this from the Gospel, we could easily find it in the touching dialogue between Christ and Peter after the Resurrection: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three times this question is put to Peter, and three times he gives the reply: “Lord, you know that I love you” (cf. Jn 21:15-17). Over and above the specific meaning of this passage, so important for Peter’s mission, none can fail to recognize the beauty of this triple repetition, in which the insistent request and the corresponding reply are expressed in terms familiar from the universal experience of human love. To understand the Rosary, one has to enter into the psychological dynamic proper to love.

One thing is clear: although the repeated Hail Mary is addressed directly to Mary, it is to Jesus that the act of love is ultimately directed, with her and through her. The repetition is nourished by the desire to be conformed ever more completely to Christ, the true programme of the Christian life. Saint Paul expressed this project with words of fire: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). And again: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). The Rosary helps us to be conformed ever more closely to Christ until we attain true holiness.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Jesus, we trust in You!

 

[Vico]

…

And one prayer that I say daily as a Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception member includes:

V. In Your Conception, O Virgin Mary, You were Immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father whose son, Jesus, you brought forth into the world.
Let us pray:
Father, you prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of your Son. You let her share beforehand in the salvation Christ would bring by his death, and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us by her prayers to live in your presence without sin. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Vico,

Thanks for your reply and your love of Jesus and Mary. May we all grow in our faith, hope and above all Charity through the intercession of Jesus and Mary as they plead before our Father for us.

 

[aservant]

Thank you for posting this.
I pray the rosary every day, and each time I do it becomes more meaningful, I never grow tierd of the mysterious or the Hail Mary’s, quite the opposite, it seems lately the decade is at times to short for all the thoughts on a particular mystery.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear servant,

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, by God’s grace we continue to grow in prayer. When God sees a soul truly asking, seeking and knocking, (cf Mt 7:7-11) He enables that child of His to receive more, and find Him in new ways, and He opens the door for that child to continue following Jesus as Mary did.