10/22/13

Dear Family of Mary!

 
 Pope JPII and Divine Mercy

 
J.M.J.
October 22, 2013
Blessed John Paul II
 
Dear Family of Mary!
 
Today we honor our dear Pope John Paul II and turn to him for intercession. He will be canonized on April 27, 2014, the Feast of Divine Mercy. What a fitting day for his canonization! Blessed John Paul II championed this feast, proclaiming it in 2000, when he also canonized St. Faustina Kowalska! With great joy we await this wonderful canonization.
 
Blessed John Paul II wrote a beautiful letter on the Rosary that I wish to quote today. He spoke of the Rosary as a way to stay close to Our Lady's memories of Jesus. And in those memories, we can find our way to holiness and salvation. Our Lady, herself, has said the same thing, through Jelena Vasilj in the early days. So simple and yet so profound:
 
Saturday, June 1, 1985 - To Jelena:
"Always have the love of God in you, because without this love, you are not able to convert yourselves completely. Let the rosary be in your hands in memory of Jesus. Dear children, strive to deepen your knowledge of the Mass as you should."
 
Blessed John Paul II wrote:
 
Mary's memories
11. Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his every word: "She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51). The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son's side. In a way those memories were to be the "rosary" which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.
 
Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the "mysteries" of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary.
 
The Rosary, a contemplative prayer
12. The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: "Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: 'In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words' (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed"
 
It is worth pausing to consider this profound insight of Paul VI, in order to bring out certain aspects of the Rosary which show that it is really a form of Christocentric contemplation.
 
(APOSTOLIC LETTER ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
JOHN PAUL II TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY AND FAITHFUL ON THE MOST HOLY ROSARY )
 
"By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord." We are invited into the most beautiful relationship in all history, that of Jesus and Mary, through the Rosary. What love we are receiving each time we pray the Rosary, what intimacy and inclusion in the life of heaven!!
 
Friday, June 1, 1984 - To Jelena:
"May the love of God be always in you, because without it, you cannot be fully converted. Let the rosary in your hands make you think of Jesus."
 
May we hold our Rosaries close and think of Jesus!
 
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
 
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 "Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"   
Blessed John Paul II  -
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