tttmmmmmummmmwtwd til TTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT mmmmmIIIrU±iil±T±±: HOLY anwwwwwwwwtwwww Ilii ) Rt. Rev* Msgr* ARTHUR CANON RYAN \llll amnfflwwnwwwwwwmE International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, N* Y* The Holy Rosary By The Right Rev. Msgr. Arthur Canon Ryan have been often told that the Rosary occu- ( I pies among the devotions of the Church a yy remarkable position in uniting the two great forms of prayer, mental and vocal. The Fifteen Mys- teries of the life of Jesus and of His Blessed Mother are so many short meditations proposed to us; and in dwelling on these great incidents of our Redemption, in drawing from them pious affections and resolutions, consists the mental prayer of the Rosary. The vocal prayer, which is the second essential part, is made up as you know, of the familiar Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father. Now the Rosary proper, as commended by our Lady to St. Dominic, and as indulgenced by the Church, unites these two forms of prayer together, weaving, if I may so speak, one in through the other. To the poor and utterly illiterate the mental part is not required for the Indulgence — they have had a special grant from Pope Benedict XIV. But to almost all of us, who are instructed in the method of prayer and in the several Mysteries of our Redemption, this union of the Paters and Aves with the consideration of the Mysteries is essential, and without such union we do not gain the Rosary Indulgence. But how shall we unite our meditation on the Mys- teries with our devout recital of the prayers? How shall we with any success say one thing while we think another? (I am putting, you see, the objec- tion as no doubt it is often put by most earnest souls). Well, there is nothing easier. In fact, the difficult task would be to say this Psalter of Mary, these hundred and fifty Aves , without the interest and constant change added by the fast-succeeding Mys- teries. Such a form of prayer, St. Liguori says, might well be called most difficult—to many almost impos- sible. But one throws upon the Paters and Aves the light of the Mysteries, and monotony and dulness vanish, and the Rosary appears in its true beauty and attractive simplicity. [ 1 1 THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES FIRST JOYFUL MYSTERY The Annunciation It is the First Joyful Mystery, the Annuncia- tion. See Mary, the holy maiden of Nazareth, saluted by Gabriel, the messenger from God. Contemplate her humility, chastity, resigna- tion to God’s will: his reverence before the Queen of Angels, the Mother of his God. And then adore the Word made flesh, the fruit of Mary’s womb, Jesus, God with us. O how easily do we, in presence of such a scene, and with hearts moved to their depths by such a mystery of love, how easily do we begin our decade! “Our Father, who art in heaven, hal- lowed be Thy name,” hallowed for sending that Angel to that Virgin, hallowed for not sparing Thy only-begotten Son, sending Him down to be made flesh! “Thy kingdom come,” —it has come to us with Jesus Incarnate; “Thy will be done”—it is as perfectly done “on earth,” by Mary “as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,” canst Thou refuse us anything after giving us Thy Son? “And forgive us our trespasses”—our sins of pride, so unlike this humility of the Word Incarnate, of Mary, of Gabriel: our sins of selfishness, so unlike this Maiden’s chaste confusion: For- give us our trespasses “as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,” the temp- tation, the evil of such sins, “Amen.” And then we begin our Aves. Using the very words of that Angel of God, we salute our Blessed Lady: “Hail Mary, full of grace,” of humility, resignation, chastity, “the Lord is with thee,” by His grace before, by His incar- [2 ] nate presence after thy fiat ; “blessed art thou among women/’ how blessed, when angels and men, and all generations call thee blessed! “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” now made flesh of thy pure substance. “Holy Mary, Mother of God,” (Ah, see her there, in the first moment of her maternity!) “pray for us sinners” by pride, by self-will, by impurity, pray for us and shield us against these sins, “now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” “Glory be to the Father,” Who has sent His Son on earth to be the Son of Mary. “And to the Son,” Who has said: A body hast Thou pre- pared for Me, behold I come: “and to the Holy Ghost,” by whose ineffable operation of love this mystery was wrought. Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for this Joyful Mystery of the Incarnation, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” SECOND JOYFUL MYSTERY The Visitation But let us pass on to consider the Second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the Visita- tion of Mary to Elizabeth. The scene embraces the home at Nazareth, whence the Virgin Mother “set out with haste”; the long journey of close on one hundred miles to the mountain country of Hebron; the salutation of Eliza- beth to the Mother of her Lord; the joyous recognition by the yet unborn Precursor of the hidden presence of the Saviour whom he was to herald. It is a visit of charity—ah, how unlike some of our visits, when with bitterness in our hearts and ill-natured gossip on our tongues, we carry sin and detraction into the homes of our friends; where our salutations [ 3 1 are hollow, our motives selfish, our sympathy feigned, our visits a curse and not a blessing! Let us watch that visit of Mary, praying as we watch: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hal- lowed be Thy name,” for Thy love has come on earth, and is hastening this Maiden Mother’s steps. “Thy kingdom come,” the kingdom of charity in deed and word. “Thy will be done on earth,” in such offices of unselfish kindness, “as it is in Heaven,” the realm of love. “Give us this day our daily bread,” and may we in our charity break it with those that need it. “And forgive us our trespasses” against Thy law of brotherly love, “as we forgive those who tres- pass against us,” giving us by their offence a chance of Christian forgiveness; “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” the temptation of saying hard things and doing evil things to our brethren. “Amen.” “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and bearing in thy chaste womb, along that weary journey, the Author and Giver of all grace, “the Lord is with thee,” as He is wTith me when I rise from the altar rails after Communion; as He is with the priest who bears Him in His loving visita- tion to the sick and dying; “blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” blessed and welcome His visit to our hearts and to our homes. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” who have so often been uncharitable visitors, bearing wTith us curses and not blessings, “now and at the hour of our death,” that hour in which we hope for this visit to our death-beds, to be our Viaticum in our long journey. “Amen.” Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the spring and fountain-head in heaven of all true charity on earth. Amen. [ 4 ] THIRD JOYFUL MYSTERY The Nativity of Our Blessed Lard In the Third Joyful Mystery the scene is so familiar that I need not describe it in detail. Which of you cannot place himself within the Stable of Bethlehem, before Mary and her new- born Child? Look at the contradiction there of all worldliness; see how Jesus chose instead of riches, the most utter poverty; instead of honor, the humiliation of an outcast; instead of com- fort, the rigors of a manger. For such mer- cies how easy to hallow the name of our Father in heaven, whose kingdom has come to break down the pride of the kingdom of earth, whose will has been done when it was so hard to do. In Bethlehem, the House of Bread, we may well beg for our daily bread, ask for for- giveness for our trespasses against the poverty, humility, and self-sacrifice of this little Babe, and for grace to withstand the temptation of a world offering us evil under the guise of good. And how often have we addressed to the mother there, as she bends over her precious Babe, the words of the Hail Mary. How full she is of grace; how near her Lord lies to her; how blessed among women despite her poverty and houselessness, as she adores with Joseph and the shepherds the fruits of her womb. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” who lay such store by riches, honors, and pleasures, but who see their true value measured in this stable, pray for us poor worldlings “now and at the hour of our death,” when the hollow world will burst and vanish, “Amen.” And with the choiring angels we join our Gloria to God in the highest, to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the peace and joy of the mystery of Bethlehem. [ 5 ] FOURTH JOYFUL MYSTERY The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple In the next Mystery, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, we have much sor- row mingled with our joy. For look at that aged Simeon, as he receives the Infant reverent- ly into his arms. His aged face is radiant; for his eyes have seen Salvation, the light of Gen- tiles, the glory of Israel. Yet is he sad the while; and when he speaks it is to prophecy the sign of contradiction and the sword of sorrow. Forthwith, through Mary’s heart, that sword has pierced; her first of Seven Dolors has come upon her; she is even now the Mater Dolorosa. She sees in the Little One the Victim for Sacri- fice, and knows that she must nourish Him and care for Him, only that in time she may give Him into ruthless hands, which will nail Him to a Cross. That Presentation is for her no mere form; she goes in obedience to a law which she might claim to be exempted from; but her obedience is generous. In the presence of that solemn act we recite our Paters and Aves. ‘‘Our Father Who art in Heaven, hal- lowed be Thy name,” for accepting this little Victim here presented as our Saviour. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”; may our generous obedience prove Thee to be king of our hearts: “Give us this day our daily bread,” for day by day Thy Son is presented to Thee in Thy temples under the form of bread, “and forgive us our trespasses,” our want of obedience, of gener* osity, “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” ah! how little are their offences against us when compared with ours against Thee! “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver 1 6 ] us from evil,” especially from ungenerous dis- obedience. “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and now it is the grace of the first sorrow, “the Lord is with thee,” thy Victim presented to the God of Jus- tice, “blessed art thou among women,” most sorrowful woman of all, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” set for the rise and fall of many, and for a sign to be contradicted. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sin- ners”—ungenerous, disobedient sinners, “now and at the hour of our death,” when we shall, like Simeon, sing our Nunc dimittis. “Amen.” Glory be to the Blessed Trinity, to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—the glory of the gen- erosity and obedience of Jesus and Mary in the Presentation in the Temple. FIFTH JOYFUL MYSTERY The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple The last Joyful Mystery is again one of Mary’s Dolors. For, before finding the Child Jesus in the Temple she has for three days sought Him, sorrowing. Again it is a scene we are familiar with. The noble Boy, seated in the Temple of Jerusalem, surrounded by the Doctors of the Law, whom He is teaching by His questions. We love to think of the joy of Mary and Joseph, when at last, through their tears, they see their lost Jesus. And we have laid many a time to heart His answer to His Mother’s loving remonstrance: “Didst thou not know that I must be about My Father’s busi- ness?” “Our Father,” we say, for His Father is also ours, “who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” may we be faithful in honoring that name in our temples! “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” Thy business which we must [ 7 ] be about, “on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread”—may we be taught by Thy Son, and our souls nourished with the bread of this heavenly teaching: forgive us our carelessness in doing Thy business, in listening to the teaching and questioning of Thy son; “and lead us not into temptation”—of sloth, of wilful ignorance, “but deliver us from evil” — from ever losing Thee through our own fault, or, having lost Thee, from failing to seek Thee sorrowing. “Amen.” “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” once again to comfort thee and reward thee for thy loving and sorrowing search; “blessed art thou among women”—how the doctors must have thought thee blessed! “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”: “Holy Mary, Mother of God” and made by Him Mother of sorrows, “pray for us sinners,” that we may seek and find Jesus, “now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” Ah, may we then have faithfully done our Father’s business! Glory be to that Father, who will so amply reward our faithful service; Glory be to that Son, our Model, our Teacher, in the one busi- ness necessary: Glory be to the Holy Ghost, by whose grace and guidance we shall find Jesus when we return to Him from our ways of sin, by whose strength we shall come to give to the Adorable Trinity the glory that “was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!” THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES FIRST SORROWFUL MYSTERY The Agony of Our Lord in fhe Garden The gloom of night is over Jesus, as with Peter, James and John, the chosen witnesses [ 8 ] of His glory on Thabor, He enters the garden of His agony. Over against Him is the City, where the traitor and the other plotters are already busied over the preparation of His arrest. See Him as, a stone’s cast from the weary Apostles, He falls on His knees, and then forward and flat upon His face on the ground. His Father in heaven is laying on Him the iniquities of us all. Listen to His prayer: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me—not My will but Thine be done.” See how He is abandoned by His Apostles in this supreme hour, by His sleeping Apostles: hear Him again and again praying the self-same word. See how the force of His agony and the weight of our sins are forcing the Blood from every pore, till His garments are crimsoned, and It runs in drops down to the ground. “My Father, . . . Thy will be done!” “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” for accepting this awful sorrow for sin as an atone- ment for our hardness of heart: “Thy King- dom come.” Ah, may something of this sorrow come to us! “Thy will be done”—the prayer, oft repeated, of Thy Son prostrate there in agony. “Give us this day our daily bread” — the daily bread of sorrow for sin—abiding sor- row for our trespasses: forgive us, Lord, “as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” — from the sin that crushes Thy Son to the earth there in the garden. “Amen.” And knowing how every pang of the Heart of Jesus found a response in the breaking heart of Mary, from whom no part of her Son’s Pas- sion was concealed, we address our sorrowful Mother with deepest compassion and contrition; “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and filled as with a sea of sorrow, “the Lord is with thee,” crushing C 9 ] thy pure heart that ours may be moved to grief for our sins; “blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."—Ah, there lies that fruit upon the crimsoned earth, the blessed fruit of thy womb! “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners"—whose sins are doing this to Him and to thee. “Now and at the hour of our death": may the thoughts of this Agony of Jesus bear us up in our agony when the vision of our sins shall force the death-sweat out upon our brow, and crush our failing hearts—pray for us sinners, then. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, for the mercy here shown to poor sinners, for the acceptance of this agony of sorrow from the Sinless One, of expiation of the callousness of sinners. SECOND SORROWFUL MYSTERY The Scourging of Our Lord at the Pillar Our Lord is scourged. It is the Second Sorrowful Mystery, and the awful scene is one that has, I trust, often moved us to sorrow for our sins, so terribly avenged upon the innocent flesh of Jesus. Look at the scourges, with their horrible knots, their knots of lead, their tough, lithe lashes. See the merciless soldiers, devil- possessed now. And listen . . . And this is for my sins: He is innocent. It is I that ought tc be there bearing the anger of my outraged God. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hal- lowed be Thy name" in this awful Mystery of Justice wreaked on my sin, and of mercy shown to me; “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done," Ah, may I bear the chastisements it is Thy will to send me:—so light compared to this! “Give us this day our daily bread," and with it the grace of daily mortification, “and [ 10 ] forgive us our trespasses"—our deliberate venial sins, when with Pilate we have said: I will scourge Him and let Him go—forgive us as we forgive all who have ever by Thy permission scourged us; “And lead us not into temptation" of thinking lightly of venial sin, “but deliver us from evil," from pampering this sinful flesh of ours, “Amen." “Hail Mary," Ah, Mary, to think of saluting thee here, in presence of thy Jesus, torn from head to foot by those demons — “the Lord is with thee," loving thee beyond all, yet letting every one of these lashes fall upon thy heart. “Blessed art thou among women," in the fulness of thy resignation most like the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus,—see that fruit now! “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sin- ners" whose sinful hands have again and again raised high the scourge, pray that we may have a horror of all venial sin, of all unchristian and luxurious self-indulgence, “now and at the hour of our death. Amen." Glory be to the Adorable Trinity in the pres- ence of this scourging of the Son of God, and may we daily give that glory to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost by our lives of contrite penance. THIRD SORROWFUL MYSTERY Jesus Crowned With Thorns In the next Sorrowful Mystery we contem- plate Jesus crowned with thorns, throned in mockery and saluted as King of the Jews. See His meek form there, clothed with the purple cloak through which the Blood from those mangled shoulders is fast soaking. See that crown of torment, from which the crimson drops are pouring down the weary Face into which those frantic men are casting their de- [lll filement. Ah, let us who love honor, and are sensitive about our dignity, look here , as we tell our beads. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name/' may we honor Thee in atonement for this hideous dishonor done to Thy eternal Son! “Thy kingdom come/' for King of Kings Thou art, and He too who bears the mock honor of a King; “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” in dishonor and humiliation here, in exaltation there. “Give us this day our daily bread,” for humility is indeed the daily bread of a Christian soul. “And for- give us our trespasses”—our hasty resentment of insults, our proud assertion of our rights — “as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation” of such angry self defence, “but deliver us from evil. Amen.” And as we think of this heartrending scene re- vealed to the gentle Mother who has honored that Son from the moment she knelt to worship Him in Bethlehem, can we withhold our deep compassion while we say, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”—and thou art with Him, thy Lord and Son in the bitter humilia- tion of this hour — “blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”—blessed shall we be if, for His sake and thine, we welcome humiliations and lovingly bear insults and derision. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” who by our pride have joined these mockers of our Saviour, “now and at the hour of our death,” our last great humiliation. “Amen.” And, as we look for the last time at that mock glorification of our Lord, do we find no reason for special fervor in our cry: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen! [ 12 ] FOURTH SORROWFUL MYSTERY Jesus Carries His Cross As we pass to the next decade we find our- selves in the presence of Jesus, carrying His Cross. We have often accompanied Him on that way of the Cross. In scenes, or sta- tions, found depicted in even our humblest chapels, we have been made acquainted with all that scripture and tradition have preserved of the manifold afflictions of that last journey of our Blessed Saviour—of the Cross that three times crushed Him to the ground by its weight; of the lamentation of the women; of Simon and Veronica; and most touching of all, of His meeting, on the way, Mary, His Mother. We, who have all of us to bear our cross along our Via Dolorosa , we should love the comfort of this decade of the Rosary, while we walk for a time with our burden on us, in the foot- steps of Jesus carrying His Cross. “Our Father who art in heaven,” whose mercy to us is often measured by the weight of the cross we bear, “Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,” to us in patience beneath our cross, “Thy will be done,” whatever the load it lays upon us to bear: “Give us this day our daily bread,” for patience we shall want now and always; “and forgive us our trespasses”—our want of resig- nation, of courage beneath our crosses, our re- fusal to bear them in Thy Son’s steps—forgive us “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” when they lay, by Thy permission, the cross of their injustice or unkindness or severity upon us; “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”—from having to bear a cross while losing by impatience all its merit and the company of Jesus. Then, watching the sorrowful Mother as she meets her Son cross-laden on His way to Cal- f 13 1 vary, we say our compassionate Aves. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” — how sad that He, thy Son, should be with thee here and in this plight! “blessed art thou among women”—thy sorrow the measure of thy blessedness, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners”—that we may be patient—“now and at the hour of our death,” when the heaviest cross shall be at last laid down and the longest road shall end. Glory be to the Father, who laid this Cross upon His Son: Glory be to the Son, who bore it giving us an example that we should follow in His steps: Glory be to the Holy Ghost, by whose grace and comfort we shall bear our crosses bravely until this world of patient suffering shall pass into the joys of the world without end. Amen. FIFTH SORROWFUL MYSTERY The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord We have come now to Calvary. It is there we contemplate the last and crowning mystery of sorrow, the Crucifixion and death of our Lord. If we want to be moved to contrition for our sin, let us say this decade well. If we want the spirit of self-sacrifice in God’s service, let us look at this awful self-sacrifice of Jesus for us. If we want to know what unrepentant sinners shall suffer—what shall be done in the dry wood, fit for the fire, let us consider what fiery torments the innocent Son of God suffers —let us see, as He has bid us see, what has been done in the green wood. If, in fine, we want to see how far the Sacred Heart of Jesus has loved us, and how fully the immaculate heart of Mary has shared that love, let us see that Heart opened for us upon the Cross, and the mother's [ 14 ] heart broken for us beneath. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name/’ for this is the only Sacrifice, the only Victim worthy of Thee, and able to repair the dishonor done to Thy name by sin. “Thy kingdom come,” whose standard is the cross, whose loyal sub- jects are those who crucify the flesh with its vices and lusts. “Thy will be done on earth” by the lovers of the Cross of Christ, “as it is in heaven” by all who in that sign have conquered. “Give us this day our daily bread”; may we love that unbloody Sacrifice daily offered in our midst, in which the Sacrifice here consummated on Calvary is renewed to the end of time. “And forgive us our trespasses,” forgive us as we kneel at the pierced feet of Jesus, Thy dying Son, “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” as Jesus forgave those that nailed Him to that Cross: “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” from ever crucifying Thy Son afresh by mortal sin. “Amen.” And to her who stands there by that Cross, given us to be our Mother by Him who hangs upon it: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” giving thee not only this unspeak- able affliction, but also strength to bear it, and to stand there, the Valiant Woman as well as the Sorrowful Mother. “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” hanging now above thee, the fruit of that shameful tree. “Holy Mary,” most sorrow- ful, “Mother of God,” and henceforth our Mother also, “pray for us sinners,” who lament our sins with Magadalen beneath this cross: “now, and at the hour of our death.” O Mary, stand by us when we are dying, as thou didst stand by thy dying Jesus! Show us then this mystery of sorrow, that it may bring us comfort in our hour of dereliction, and that with the [ IS ] crucifix in our hands and the love of the Cruci- fied in our hearts, we may, in perfect hope and peace, commend our souls into the outstretched arms of our Saviour. “Amen.” Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for this work of our Redemption, for the sorrow that has brought us joy, and the death that has brought us life; as it was in the beginning, before sin brought death; as it is now, that one Death has conquered sin; as it ever shall be, when sin and sorrow and death shall be no more, world without end. Amen. THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES FIRST GLORIOUS MYSTERY The Resurrection But not for ever does the shadow rest on the Son of God and on His Blessed Mother. The morning breaks after the dark night, and it is Easter morning. See the tomb, where on Good Friday evening the Body of Jesus was laid, dead and cold: see that tomb now, radiant with light, the resting-place of white-robed angels, and that Body, risen glorious and im- mortal, victorious over death, dispelling for- ever the darkness of the grave. Let us feast our souls upon the glory of that scene, for here is the foundation of our Faith. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” hallowed in the Resurrection of Thy Son. “Thy kingdom come,” Thy bright reward for sorrow borne for Thee; “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” May we too rise from sin and walk in newness of life. “Give us this day our daily bread,” a lively faith in our risen Saviour, “and forgive us our trespasses,” our cold, un- fruitful faith, our unchristian fear of death, “as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead [ 16 ] us not into temptation,” especially against our faith “but deliver us from evil,” from our sinning against the light of this Easter morning. Amen. Our last Hail Marys were most sorrowful Aves to the Mother standing by her crucified Son; but now they are joyous congratulations to the happy and ever glorious Mother whose Son returns to her more beautiful than ever, His face glowing with love, His wounds all turned to brightness—her joy and glory to all eternity. As we see that meeting, how gladly our Ave comes! “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women;” how blessed, this bright Easter day! “And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” the first-fruit of them that sleep come to show poor shuddering souls the blessing of the grave. “Holy Mary, Mother of God”—at last thy Motherhood brings thee joy untouched by sor- row; “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death,” when the thought of this glorious mystery will rob death and the grave of their terrors. “Amen.” “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” the glory of the risen Son of God, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” SECOND GLORIOUS MYSTERY The Ascension When next we see Jesus and Mary, in the Second Glorious Mystery, they are the center of a group upon the summit of Mount Olivet. The Apostles are there listening to the last words of their Master. His time for going in and out among men is ended—His days of weariness and sorrow are past. From this high mount He looks upon the garden of His agony [ 17 ] on the slopes beneath Him, on the city that cast Him out lying across the valley, and without its walls the place of Calvary. The time has come for Him to leave the vale of tears and to go to His Heavenly Father’s kingdom, and as He is yet speaking to His Mother and His dis- ciples, He slowly rises from their midst. With straining eyes and hearts stilled with awe they watch His ascending form, till a cloud receives Him out of their sight. Let us too watch Jesus ascending from earth to heaven, from toil to rest, entering in at the gates that He has opened by His death, and, amid the jubilee of expect- ant angels, taking His seat at the right hand of His Father—the human body, the fruit of Mary’s womb, for ever the joyous vision of the saints—our joy too when our happy ascension day shall come. With hearts full of that bless- ed hope we tell our beads: “Our Father who art in heaven,” where Jesus now has joined Thee, “Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come.” May we come to Thy bright kingdom whose gates receive the Master in whose steps we tread. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and may our hope of heaven en- courage us to do Thy will. “Give us this day our daily bread,” in the strength of which we shall walk to the mount of God, “and forgive us our trespasses”—our hopeless forgetfullness of heaven, our contentment with pleasures of earth — “as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation.” Father, keep us from temptations to despair! “but de- liver us from evil,” from the only true evil that will stop our entry into heaven. Amen. And looking from Jesus ascending, to Mary remaining on Mount Olivet, happy in the ful- ness of her hope, we say: “Hail Mary, full of grace,” of hope and peace after all thy sorrow, [ 18 ] “the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women,” now that Jesus has gone up to heaven the most blessed being on earth, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus,” sitting at the right hand of the Father. “Holy Mary, Mother of God,” Mother on earth of thy God in heaven, “pray for us sinners,” that like thee we may live and die in hope; pray for us, remain with us “now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” The gates of heaven are open, and we join in the angelic song: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” O bright mystery of hope, may our loving meditation on you be a light upon the sad days of our sojourning here! THIRD GLORIOUS MYSTERY The Descent of the Holy Ghost In the Third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the expect- ant disciples, we miss from the scene, for the first time Jesus incarnate. His Comforter here takes His place. As the life of Jesus in the flesh was the work of the Holy Ghost, so is the life of Jesus in His mystic body, the Church, His new birth in the upper room of Jerusalem, the work of the same Holy Spirit. How grate- fully we should watch this scene. See the Apostles and disciples, with the holy Mother in their midst; the body of the Church of God waiting, as it were for the breath of the Holy Spirit to give it life. Hear the rushing of that mighty wind, the breath of God, filling the whole house as His presence is to fill the uni- versal Church. See the tongues of flame—sym- bols of Christian zeal and truth and courage; see the wondrous change already wrought, as the C 19 ] doors of that upper chamber open, and strong with the strength of God, that little band goes forth to conquer the world. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come;” may it extend to every corner of the earth to which has gone forth the sound of that day of Pentecost. “Thy will be done,” by the grace of Thy comforting Spirit, “on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,” give peace to the Church, zeal to its ministers, loyalty to its people; “and forgive us our trespasses,” our sloth in bringing souls to Thee, our cold, half-hearted devotion to Thy cause, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Ah, what loyal support we expect when our interests are at stake! “And lead us not into temptation,” may we never grieve the Holy Spirit by our lukewarm Catholicity; “but deliver us from evil. Amen.” “Hail Mary,” the central figure in that upper chamber, the joy and powerful protector of the infant Church. Hail “full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” to make thy fulness yet more full; “blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” who has kept His promise and sent His Comforter on earth. “Holy Mary, Mother of God,” and Mother of His holy Church, “pray for us sinners,” thy children longing to see thee and to feel thee near, “now and at the hour of our death” — when we shall want that Comforter, and thy presence by us, Mary. “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” the glory rendered by the never failing Church, “as it was in the begin- ning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” Should we not love thus to re- call the presence of the Comforter on earth: His presence in the Church, teaching her all [ 20 ] truth: His presence in our souls, by the double grace of Baptism and Confirmation? We are too apt to forget the Holy Ghost, whose temples we are. Let us then ask Him that He would warm our hearts and enlighten our minds and recall our wandering thoughts whenever we recite the third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary. FOURTH GLORIOUS MYSTERY The Assumption of Our Lady Twelve years—or, as some think, more — divide the mystery of Pentecost from the mystery of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. For those years has she been the precious treas- ure of the Church of Christ on earth. He can spare her no longer; she must come to Him to take her place at His side as Queen of Heaven. And so she lies down to die. It is not that her sixty years have worn her, but her love for the Son who died for her makes her die for the love of Him. And since the grave could not hold the fruits of Mary’s womb, so neither can the grave, into which she is reverently laid, remain long closed above her pure body. Behold her on the bright day of her Assumption from earth to heaven. See the choirs of angels as they meet her, hailing her Queen of Angels, and conduct- ing her to the gates of pearl. How full of grati- tude for this glory of our Mother should our filial hearts be as we pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” for this triumph of our sweet Mother. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;” she did Thy will most perfectly on earth, she is now nearest to Thee in heaven. “Give us this day our daily bread”—that Bread of Life which is, even to the poor bodies that receive It, the seed of immortality, the title to [21 ] an assumption some day into heaven. “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temp- tation,” to carelessness in our Communions, to a want of reverence towards these bodies that so often bear the Body of Jesus, the pledge of future glory; “but deliver us from evil. Amen.” And watching that loved form, as Christian art has often pictured it, rising amid choiring angels from this world of sorrow and death to the realm of joy unending, we join our saluta- tions with those of the heavenly spirits, saying, with hearts of gladness: “Hail Mary, full of grace,” of grace increasing for all those sixty years, “the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou among women.” Who can see thee now, and not call thee blessed; welcome into thy eternal rest by the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus! “Holy Mary, Mother of God,” happy Mother, met by thy Son, not on the way of the Cross, as once, but in the gates of heaven! “pray for us sinners,” who loved thee and long to see thy sweet face up there beside thy Son; pray for us “now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Glory be to the Blessed Trinity, for the glory of Mary entering into the joy of that world without end. Amen. FIFTH GLORIOUS MYSTERY The Coronation of Our Lady While the mystery of the Assumption brought us up to the heavenly gates, open to receive the soul and body of the glorious Virgin Mary, the next and last mystery brings us past the shining threshold, and places us in the presence of the Eternal Throng itself, where Jesus is crowning His Mother Queen of Heaven. Who can tell the glories of that pageant! If on earth the coro- nation of a sovereign is so splendid, what shall [ 22 ] we say of the coronation of the Queen of An- gels crowned by her Son, the King of Kings, with the brightest diadem of glory! Let our decade in presence of that mystery of gladness be one of praise to the Eternal God for the wonderful things He has done for her, and for those who, even at a distance, have followed her in patient- ly suffering and in faithfully doing His adora- ble will. “Our Father, who art in heaven,” where Mary now is Queen, “hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,” reign, O Lord, in our hearts now, that, like Mary, we may reign at last with Thee. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” where every one who doth that will, shall one day be crowned. “Give us this day our daily bread,” the grace to persevere from day to day till the glorious day of final perseverance; “and forgive us our trespasses,” for nothing of our soul’s defilement can enter heaven; “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” and have given us this chance of forgiving and being forgiven; “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” the evil of forgetting, or endangering our everlast- ing crown. Amen. Our beads are nearly told. Look at the final vision of Mary. For a moment remember Naz- areth and Bethlehem, Egypt, Jerusalem, Cal- vary. Remember the Seven Dolors, from the prophecy of Simeon to the grave of Jesus. Re- member what was, and see what is. Look up, for even as we tell our beads today in the valley of tears, the crown that Jesus set upon Mary’s brow is filling Heaven with joy and brightness, and cheering the very gloom of the valley. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” thy joy, thy crown, for ever and for ever; “blessed art thou among women,” most blessed and most glorious of all the works of God, “and [23 ] blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” Thou hast shared His crown of shame, Mary, and thou shares t His crown of glory. “Holy Mary, Mother of God,” O the thought of that Mother- hood in heaven “pray for us sinners” that our penance may be rewarded, and our tears wiped away at last; pray for us now that we may perse- vere, and at the hour of our death that our perseverance may in that hour be crowned. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Glory to each Divine Person of the Blessed Trinity for the relation borne by each. Father, Son, and Spouse, to that Queen of Glory. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Our Rosary is ended. To the Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope, we, poor banished children of Eve, have sent up our cry, our mourning and weeping, from this valley of tears. Three hundred times have we, in the course of our fifteen decades, called on her sweet name, Mary. One hundred and fifty times have we blessed the fruit of her womb, Jesus: as many times have we implored her aid now and at the hour of our death. But we have done more than devoutly recite our Paters and Aves and Glorias. We have meditated on the mysteries of our redemption, from the day God sent His angel to begin the work in the annunciation of His will to Mary, down to the day when He set upon her brow the crown that was the choicest fruit of that redemption. Through joy, through sorrow, through glory, we have lovingly followed the steps of Jesus and Mary; and now we pray “that having meditated thus on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [ 24 ] NEW EDITION PRAYER BOOK From Approved Sources * The special paper, clear type, attractive, durable cover, assure a continued demand for this popular devotional booklet, often described as the gray Prayer Book. v The contents include Prayers for General Devotions, Benedic- tion, Way of the Cross, etc., and Prayers for Private Devotion, i.e., Morning Prayers, Night Prayers, Confession, Visit to Blessed Sacrament, etc. Single Copy, 10c. Includes Post- age. 50 for $4.00, 100 for $7.00, Postage Extra. * International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen Street Brooklyn, N. Y. 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