Word to the Wise
Tuesday, October 7, 2014 - Tuesday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 1:13-24 and Luke 10:38-42]There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her. [Luke]
OCTOBER 7, 2014 OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated with greater solemnity in Dominican parishes and priories because the Order of Preachers has been associated with the rosary devotion from its very earliest days in its present form [minus the five "new" mysteries established by Pope St. John Paul II] Once Bl. Alan de la Roche OP established the first Rosary Confraternity in Cologne, Germany in 1455, the devotion spread like wildfire because anyone rich or poor could join. It has continued to be one of the most popular Roman Catholic devotions. We Dominican friars wear a 15 decade rosary as part of our religious habit. [Our Eastern Catholic brethren have their own form of "beaded" prayer.]
A rosary can mean more than simply the devotion itself. If one sees a rosary hanging from a rearview mirror in a car, it is a way of announcing that the owner is a Roman Catholic! It can serve as a familiar comfort. In his last days, my father kept a rosary looped around his neck so that he could reach it easily while lying in bed.
One of the hazards of such a familiar prayer is that we may recite it without thinking about it. That is not the purpose of the prayer. It was "invented" to enable the user to meditate on events and "mysteries" from the life of Christ and Mary. I encourage people to use the bible and pick five parables, or five healings or five preachings, etc.. One does not have to use the "official mysteries." Today's gospel from Luke about Martha and Mary could serve as a fruitful meditation! One could divide it into five phrases, or simply take it as one of five incidents from the Gospel of Luke.
The rosary is a daily part of my life. Each morning I pray it and use it as the framework for remembering all the people for whom I have promised to pray - by name! So my Beloved Congregation knows that I do pray for it and the rosary is the way I do that. I recommend it to you all! AMEN
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