Which are the most difficult of the Mysteries of the Rosary for you to meditate on?

[paramedicgirl]

My most difficult Mysteries of the Rosary are the fourth and fifth of the Glorious Mysteries. While there is a fair bit in the New Testament for the first three, there is not a lot - even in Church Tradition - to go on about the Assumption and the Coronation.

Has anyone got any ideas on improving my meditation on these as I say my rosary?

With thanks,

Rove

Try these for the Assumption (one meditation for each bead):

CCC 974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption; and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.

Canticles 6:4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, sweet and comely as Jerusalem: terrible as an army set in array. 8 One is my dove, my perfect one is but one, she is the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her.

Canticles 6:9 Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?

Canticles 6:10 I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valleys, and to look if the vineyard had flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

Canticles 8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved? 6 Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the lamps thereof are fire and flames.

Canticles 8:7 Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it: if a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing. 14 Flee away, O my beloved, and be like to the roe, and to the young hart upon the mountains of aromatical spices.

 

[paramedicgirl]

My most difficult Mysteries of the Rosary are the fourth and fifth of the Glorious Mysteries. While there is a fair bit in the New Testament for the first three, there is not a lot - even in Church Tradition - to go on about the Assumption and the Coronation.

Has anyone got any ideas on improving my meditation on these as I say my rosary?

With thanks,

Rove

For the Glorious Mysteries, you might want to try these meditations (again, one for each bead):

CCC 966 “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.

3 Kings, 2:19 Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right hand.

3 Kings, 2:20 And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee, do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: My mother, ask: for I must not turn away thy face.

Psalm 44:7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.8 Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity:

Psalm 44:8 Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 9 Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses

Psalm 44:10 The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.

Psalm 44:11 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father’s house. 12 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.

Psalm 44:13 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance. 14 All the glory of the king’s daughter is within in golden borders 15 Clothed round about with varieties.

Psalm 44:15After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee. 16 They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the king.

Psalm 44:17 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth. 18 They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

For the record, all passages are from the Douay Rheims Bible.

 

[paramedicgirl]

For the Glorious Mysteries, you might want to try these meditations (again, one for each bead):

Oops! too late to edit - I meant for the fifth Glorious Mystery, the Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven & Earth

 

[roveau]

I do use that image from the book or Revelation but I never thought to expand it to, for example, the apparitions of Fatima. Thank you very much for that.

I love praying the Rosary and try to make the experience as rich as possible each time.

There is still a challenge for you guys regarding the Assumption. I imagine the death of Our Lady at Ephesus and her having lived with St John there. The burial. According to the story some of the Apostles arrived late and wanted to see the holy body. When the tomb was opened Our Lady had gone and there were just lilies where her body was… and the assumption was made…

I hope that’s acceptable but it does rely on sources outside of the New Testament.

Thanks for all your ideas about the other Mysteries also

Rove

 

[reggieM]

There is still a challenge for you guys regarding the Assumption. I imagine the death of Our Lady at Ephesus and her having lived with St John there. The burial. According to the story some of the Apostles arrived late and wanted to see the holy body. When the tomb was opened Our Lady had gone and there were just lilies where her body was… and the assumption was made…

I hope that’s acceptable but it does rely on sources outside of the New Testament.

You caught me skipping over the Assumption. Yes, I will admit that it’s difficult to meditate on that mystery – although, where there is a challenge, sometimes it provides the most rewarding results.

If it was just the empty tomb of our Lady, that can be a difficult theme. This is a beautiful image of the Assumption

http://creationbydesign.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/dormition-of-our-lady-bevronese.jpg?w=275&h=300

… but I still find it difficult to get a theme there.
I like your ideas. Our Lady was living with St. John – quietly and hidden, but giving them insights about Jesus’ life that only she knew. Then the story as you have it. Some have St. Thomas doubting again but then the lillies show.

So, that is good … but I still find it hard to really get into a full meditation on that.

One possibility would be to consider Our Lady’s virtues – actually, the Assumption is a summary of her whole life. Like we do with anyone who dies, we reflect back on the person’s life.

In this case, we can see how pleased God was with her – and what an amazing life she lead. She was a young girl and simply embraced God’s calling – not knowing where it would lead. Then at the end, God lifted her up.

It’s a moment for her Son to greet His mother again. She was assumed into heaven – like the assumption of Elijah, Enoch or Moses.

Then we could wonder about the apostles. They saw the lilies and the empty tomb – then perhaps they had an inspiration from the Holy Spirit about what happened. They saw the power of God at work once again. So, the moment of death which would have been sad, was filled with joy that there was such a miracle.

She was their closest earthly link to Jesus and now she was taken up to heaven – so, they had to go out on their mission by Faith now.

I guess the greatest and most difficult thing about this mystery is that most of it is hidden in mystery. Our Lady lived an obscure life for so many years. But the incredible richness of knowledge that she had was the greatest treasure on earth – and we have to be sure that the apostles all benefitted from her presence. St. John especially learned from her in her later years.

… all of that said, I still think this is a difficult mystery to meditate on for a whole decade. It takes some effort. What I usually do is just think about Our Lady’s virtues – her courage, her obedience, her purity of love, etc. Then, the Assumption is her reward and her joy. Plus, she lived several years on earth while her son was gone – that is always hard for a parent. Then that reunion was a moment of great happiness.

By then, I’m done with the 10 Hail Marys. … and I hope I didn’t get distracted and have wandering thoughts.

 

[reggieM]

Psalm 44:10 The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.
.

That is a great passage for either of these mysteries.
In the Mass for the Assumption of Our Lady it is re-phrased something like this in the antiphon:

The queen stands at the king’s right hand, arrayed in gold.

That gives a great mental image – Our Lord with his mother there and she is arrayed in gold, surrounded with glory and the saints.

Our Lady is always oriented towards and directed to Jesus in everything – so the Assumption and Coronation complete the mysteries of the Gospel.

 

[LilyM]

Personally the most difficult one for me is one of the Luminous mysteries - Jesus proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

I mean right there you could include EVERYTHING that He preached and taught, because all of it contributed to His proclaiming of the Kingdom of God, no? Even leaving out those parts of the Gospels covered in the other mysteries, there’s a heck of a lot you could contemplate!

And if you try to imagine what the Kingdom of God is like - well, there’s umpteen images, metaphors and parables that Jesus used (‘the Kingdom of God is like a sower … a mustard seed … a father who had two sons … a pearl of great price … a treasure hidden in a field …’ )

The other option is to focus on the heart of what Jesus was proclaiming - the Beatitudes, the two great commandments, the works of mercy and so on. But doing that seems to leave out so much.

Most confusing. Any thoughts?