My Birthday Rosary

I've posted some on my fascination with the crucifixion of Christ here.
My path to understanding the cross has lead me to the rosary. Maybe all of this fascination is due in part to my intense attraction to Catholic boys. Maybe some is due to my attraction to the phenomena of teenage Catholic girls and their wild and rebellious sexual expression after breaking free from the confines of Catholic school.

Jerry has been helping me learn the Rosary prayers and he is being very good natured about it even though it's not such a pleasant memory for him as praying was usually associated with being punished as a child. He is a lapsed Catholic of forty years but still has some incredible stories. My friend Patrick loaned me his Catholicism for Dummies book but it's been hard for me to stomach reading it. I think I need something more mystical to study so I wrote down the titles to a few other books I found on his bookshelf. Probably some Thomas Merton would be nice too.

I'm learning to pray the Rosary. The top picture is of the Rosary that arrived in the mail yesterday. Jerry got it for me for my birthday. It's pearls and sterling silver with a gold Jesus. The center has the sacred heart on the front with and Mary and baby Jesus on the back.

So far I've ascertained (I'm a neophyte so please don't hold me to any of this) the purpose of the Rosary is to hold the mysteries in mind and to offer thanks and praise to God for them. The mysteries are twenty sacred events related to human salvation and they are divided into five categories: The Joyful Mysteries; The Luminous Mysteries; The Sorrowful Mysteries; and The Glorious Mysteries.

I can imagine that many of you will be bored out of your minds if you read any further but this is just something that I'm interested in and for whatever reason it's a path I am compelled to take for a while. Let's see where it leads me...well I do have a destination in mind--the sacrament of the Eucharist but that's for later.

The First Joyful Mystery is The Annunciation.
The spiritual fruit of this mystery is Humility.

The Annunication starts when the time was ripe for the incarnation of God as Jesus. God chooses Mary and prepares her to be the Mother of The Incarnate Word (Jesus). The Angel Gabriel shares this plan with Mary and she is shocked, dazed, confused, fearful and full of awe. Gabriel tells her not to worry, that she is going to conceive and give birth to a son. Well of course this troubles Mary who is an avowed virgin. But Gabriel goes on to tell her that she will remain a virgin, conceiving through the Holy Spirit and that her son will be The Son of God. Now that the proclamation has been made, the angel waits for Mary to decide if she is up for the task or not. She decides to go for it saying, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word."


The Second Joyful Mystery is The Visitation. The spiritual fruit of this mystery is Love of neighbor. Mary's cousin Elizabeth conceives even though she is quite old and Mary travels about eighty miles (a long and hard journey which takes four or five days) to help her before and during the birth. When Mary arrives she sanctifies John the Baptist while he is still in the womb. Elizabeth is really happy to see Mary and tells Mary how blessed they both are. Mary takes care of Elizabeth for three months until John the Baptist is born.

The Third Joyful Mystery is The Nativity.
The spiritual fruit of this mystery is poverty of spirit. That wording has never made sense to me--isn't the meaning material poverty and richness of spirit?

When Jesus was due to be born Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to comply with the census of Caesar Augustus. This is the second long trip for Mary during her pregnancy--this one is about 100 miles. Mary went into labor while in Bethlehem but there was no vacancy at the inn so Joseph found a cave for her to give birth in. Jesus was born at night, into very impoverished conditions to teach the lesson of detachment from earthly things. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Mary was joyful of course and nursed her baby. An angel announces to the shepherds the birth of a savior, Christ the Lord 'Today and the angelic chorus sang. The shepherds came to pay their respects to the baby Jesus and then the Magi arrived with adoration and gifts.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery is The Presentation. The spiritual fruit of this Mystery is Purity of Mind and Body (some sources say the fruit of this mystery is Obedience)

Mary and Joseph observe the custom of Moses by taking Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord. There was actually a law that the firstborn male of every family had to be consecrated to the Lord which basically meant that you give your child to God and then pay the temple money to get him back (pay the ransom). Even though Jesus is the Son of God and therefore not subject to the law of Moses, they submit to this law to teach obedience. And Mary as well, who is not subject to the law of purification after giving birth (since she was still a virgin) submits to this law also. Simeon sees Jesus at the temple and recognizes him as the Messiah and knows that he can now die (God had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah). Simeon lets Mary know the destiny of her child and then they return home.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery is The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. The spiritual fruit of this mystery is obedience (some sources say the fruit of this mystery is the joy at finding Jesus, otherwise known as spiritual zeal).

When Jesus is twelve years old Mary and Joseph take him to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. After it is over Mary and Joseph head back home but then discover that Jesus is missing and they go back to find him. They are really worried about him as they look all over for him and can't find him. Their hearts are heavy. On the third day they find him in the temple discussing spiritual matters with the wise ones there. Mary is upset and lets him know how worried she and Joseph have been. Jesus tells her that she should have known he would be at the temple attending to "his father's" business but he submits himself to his parents and goes home with them. This incident fills Mary's heart with knowledge of who her son really is.

I will continue with the other mysteries in future posts but for now I want to move on to the Rosary--both the rosary prayers and how to use the rosary prayer beads.

1. Make the sign of the cross and say the Apostles’ Creed
( hold cross)

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Ouch. Ok, that doesn't work very well for me. Next.

2. Say the Our Father
(First Bead)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen

Ok, this does work for me...kinda. I learned this prayer as a child and for years we said it every night at the dinner table before we eat. We used the words forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors rather than the word trespass though and also added this at the end... For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. So I'm going to contemplate this prayer and see what comes up for me in regards to the actual meaning...such as deliver us from evil and that sort of thing. I think I can make it work.

3. Say Three Hail Marys
(second third and fourth beads)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

I like this prayer but pray for us sinners tweaks me a bit but I think I can make it work too.

4. Say the Glory be to the Father
(between fourth and fifth beads)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

This works.

5. Announce the First Mystery; then say the Our Father
(fifth bead)

6. Say ten Hail Marys, while meditating on the Mystery

7. Say the Glory be to the Father. (In space)
8. Announce the Second Mystery; then say the Our Father. (on bead)

Repeat 6 (Say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery)
(next ten beads--next space is left unused)

Repeat 7 (Say the Glory be to the Father) (in space)

Continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner starting with saying the Our Father and then ten Hail Marys.

After the Rosary:

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Ok, this one is interesting and I both like it and get tweaked by it. I really enjoy the first line...Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! I'd kinda like to just leave it there as the rest really sinks into suffering but I'll work with it and see what I come up with.

It is suggested that the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday; the Luminous mysteries on Thursday; the Sorrowful mysteries on Tuesday and Friday; the Glorious mysteries on Wednesday and Sunday. The exceptions to this are to say the Joyful mysteries on the Sundays of the Christmas season and the Sorrowful mysteries on the Sundays of Lent.

This is the first installation on my circuitous path to the Eucharist