As mentioned previously
, since the month of May is devoted to Our Lady, my next few blog posts will be
reflections on the Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
Of course, it must be remembered that these reflections are
by no means exhaustive. After all, they are reflections on the Mysteries of
Christ’s Life, Passion, and Resurrection. The very definition of a Mystery in
Christian theology is something that, whilst revealed and knowable, it is
beyond the powers of natural reason. So, we are able to meditate upon the
Mysteries of Christ’s Life, but we will never be able to exhaust or fathom them
completely. So, these reflections that I present are nothing more than a tiny
scratch on the surface of the Infinite.
The First Joyful
Mystery – the Annunciation
So, in one sense, the Rosary is an imitation of God Himself,
as we greet Mary with the same words that He did.
But the Rosary is not primarily about Mary – just as Gabriel’s
message was not primarily about Mary. Rather, Gabriel came bearing a message of
salvation and hope. Gabriel presented to Mary the message of the Incarnation –
that God would become Man to save His people from their sins...and that He
would do this through the means of Mary, whom He had prepared for this purpose.
But Mary was not a robot; she was a free creature. And in
this sense she was fully able to say “No” to God’s request. But, thanks be to
God, Mary didn’t say “No”. Rather, she pronounced her “Yes” to God as she affirmed
her desire to walk in humility and obedience to her God and Creator:
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according
to Thy word”.The Church Fathers teach us that in this great act of obedience, Mary untied the cord of Eve’s disobedience – and so, as St. Irenaeus reminds us, Mary became Eve’s advocate.
“...the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the Virgin Mary set free through faith.”
“As Eve was seduced into disobedience to God, so Mary was persuaded into obedience to God; thus the Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve.”
The Second Joyful
Mystery – the Visitation
Why is this important? Mary could’ve adopted an introverted
approach which focussed on her own needs as a new mother. But she didn’t.
Instead, she rose up with haste, and risked a long and treacherous journey so
that she could be with the aged Elisabeth in her hour of need.
Immediately upon hearing Mary’s greeting, the child in
Elisabeth’s womb leaped for joy (Lk 1:41) and Elisabeth, filled with the Holy
Spirit, acknowledged the very Presence of Christ in Mary (Lk 1:42). But Jesus
was not only in Mary in a physical sense (i.e. in her womb); He also filled her
spirit with His very own.
We see this in Mary’s humility and willingness to deny
herself for the sake of others. And it is this same spirit of Christ that this
Joyful Mystery calls us to imitate.
The Third Joyful
Mystery – the Nativity of Our Lord
The Third Joyful Mystery brings us to the birth of Our Lord
in Bethlehem – the great event where Jesus Christ is born among men to fulfil His
mission to redeem His people (Matt 1:21; Lk 19:10)
This mission was to take place in the context of God’s
Kingdom. In his message to Mary, Gabriel said that Jesus would inherit the
throne of David, and that there would be no end to His Kingdom. But what we see
at the Nativity event in Bethlehem looks nothing like what we expect of kings
and royalty. Jesus was not born with pomp and ceremony in the high palaces. No –
He was born in Bethlehem, in the obscurity of a cave used as a shelter for
animals.
So, this Mystery reveals the humility in Christ’s mission.
Not only was His mission marked by the humble beginnings in the cave-stable;
but even the proclamation of the Kingdom would continue in this humble vein,
even as Christ – a man without a place to call home (Matt 8:20) – would later appoint
unassuming fishermen to the high office of Apostles.
By virtue of our baptism, Christ continues to call each and
every Catholic to proclaim the Gospel of His Kingdom. But as we meditate on
this Joyful Mystery, we are reminded that we are to do so with the humility of
Christ.
The Fourth Joyful
Mystery – the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple
Given that God preserved Mary from sin, Mary had not have
been subject to the labour pains and bloodletting which came about as a result
of the Curse (see Gen 3:16). This is a logical conclusion of the Church’s
teaching of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity, which has been affirmed by the Church
Fathers since the earliest times. Furthermore, St. John of Damascus affirms that
the birth of Jesus “surpassed the established order of birthgiving, as it was
without pain; for, where pleasure had not preceded, pain did not follow”.
If this is true, and Mary did not require purification, why
did she succumb to this requirement of the Law? What we have already seen in
the Second Joyful Mystery gives us a glimpse at the answer i.e. she was filled
with the spirit of Christ. Since Jesus Christ was the Divine Lawgiver, He was, in
principle, not subject to the Law. However,
to show obedience, He humbled Himself and made Himself subject to the Law. In
the same way, Mary humbled herself to obey the Law of God, even though she
could have argued that the way in which Christ had been born, without “tainting”
her Virginity, repudiated her need for purification.
In imitation of Jesus and Mary, the Third Joyful Mystery
calls us to subject ourselves humbly in obedience to God. Even when God’s
requirements do not make sense, faith answers in humble obedience.
The Fifth Joyful
Mystery – Finding Our Lord in the Temple
Mary was no doubt puzzled by Jesus’ actions. The Boy had
been lost for three days. Where did He stay? What did He eat? And yet, here he
was, in the Temple, seemingly unconcerned about these things and that His
parents had been frantically looking for Him.
Mary’s did what any mother would’ve done – she asked Him why
He did what He did. At the same time, her question also surpassed any question
a normal mother could have asked. The very way she asked the question seems to
indicate that Mary remembered that Jesus was not an ordinary Boy. Rather than
simply asking Him “Why have you done this?” she asks: “Son, why have you treated
us like this?” It wasn’t simply the
question of a Mother to her Child – it was also the question of a creature to
her God. Mary knew Christ was Divine...but she couldn’t understand why He would
allow them to search for Him with sorrow and anxiety. It wasn’t a question
asked in anger or disappointment. Rather, it was a question which, in humility,
admitted a lack of understanding.
Jesus’ response was to remind her that they needn’t have searched
for Him – they ought only to have looked in the place where He was most likely
to be i.e. in His Father’s House. St. Luke tells us that Mary and St. Joseph
still didn’t understand what Jesus meant (Lk 2:50)...but sometimes that’s still
alright. Because even though they didn’t understand, Jesus went with them and
remained obedient to them...and all the while, Mary treasured these things in
her heart.
This Fifth Mystery exhorts us to humbly accept the
limitations of our understanding, and to ask God to help us to understand
better. And even though we may still not understand, we are encouraged to
continue to treasure these things in our hearts. And when we feel like we have “lost
Jesus”, we ought to search for Him in the place where He said that He would always
be – if we want to “find Jesus”, we must look within His Holy Church.
Obtaining the
Promises through Jesus Christ
As we meditate upon these Mysteries, we see that the common
thread that runs through them is humility. And as we pray the Rosary, we ask
Mary to show us more of the Lord Jesus so that we can be further encouraged in
our imitation of Him.
As we persevere in imitating Christ, we can be sure of
receiving the reward of our Heavenly Father. Elsewhere in Scripture, God
promises us that if we walk in humility, He will exalt us:
“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” – Matt 23:12 (NRSV)
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time.” – 1 Pet 5:6 (NRSV)St. Paul exhorts us to have the same mind as Christ who, when He humbled Himself, was exalted by the Father to highest place – where every knee would bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil 2:5-11).
The degree to which we suffer with Christ, is the degree to
which we will be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17b). There is no creature who has
suffered as much as the Blessed Mother suffered for her Divine Son, and because
she shared in His sufferings, He has also made her to share in His glory by
crowning her as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Not only is the Incarnate Lord an example of God’s promise
kept, but so too is His Blessed Mother. If we are faithful in imitating Jesus
and Mary in humility, we can rest assured that God will also exalt us to share
in Christ’s victory!
POST-SCRIPT:
For related posts on this topic, click the links below:Reflections on the Rosary - Introduction
Reflections on the Rosary - Part II (The Luminous Mysteries)
Reflections on the Rosary - Part III (The Sorrowful Mysteries)
Reflections on the Rosary - Part IV (The Glorious Mysteries)
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