A time is coming when we will have to worship God in the temple of our own hearts as the sanctuary lamps will no longer be lit. Our Irish ancestors survived persecution from protestant authorities who banned the Mass. The faith survived because the people prayed the Rosary. The Rosary is like a 'dry Mass' it nourishes our souls. When I pray the Rosary I like to contemplate the mysteries very much and picure the scenes in my head from the Holy Scriptures. I particularly love the Joyful mysteries -- This short little video on the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple reveals the wonder of the 4th sorrowful mystery. I could not help crying watching it this morning - tears flow too easily with me but when I ponder the goodness of God and the beauty of our Lady I cannot help it!
The 2nd Joyful mystery is perhaps my favourite mystery of the Rosary -- just full of the Holy Spirit. Only later in life did it occur to me that my birthday is on the feast of the Visitation!!
The Rosary Mysteries remind me of Great Mansions with many, many window. Each of us gaze into them with the eyes of our own experience of who and what we are. For instance this is the story of two pregnant women, close relatives and friends who meet in a Jewish Culture which extols fecundity and family. I am a man, single and something of a loner. So if a Mystery can be compared to a Great Feast I am afraid I bring only tiny dried crust to the table. But I do love camping and this is a story about a journey....just as the Nativity is a Journey, and this does ring bells inside me. A priest just back from the Holy Land told us he had recently retraced this journey through mountain country and he said it would have taken several days and been quite the effort, especially on those far off days on a donkey. The Holy Land was different back then. The climate was a lot better it would have been a country of many greens a lot more like Ireland than the Dust Bowl it is now. It is described so well in Venerable Mary of Agreda's, 'Mystical City of God'. https://catholicexchange.com/st-joseph-present-absent-visitation 'Both Mary of Agreda and Anne Catherine Emmerich are in agreement on Joseph’s role in the visitation. Mary of Agreda wites, “Having pursued their journey four days, the most holy Mary and her spouse arrived at the town of Juda, where Zachary and Elisabeth then lived”(180). Anne Catherine Emmerich, provides more details than Mary of Agreda, saying that “The time was now drawing near when Joseph wished to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover, Our Lady decided to accompany him in order to help Elisabeth in her pregnancy. Joseph therefore started with the Blessed Virgin on the journey to Jutta”(148). Another common emphasis of both mystics regards Joseph’s knowledge of Mary’s pregnancy. Both agree that he was not aware of the privilege granted to Mary (Agreda, 185. Emmerich, 148). Lastly, both agree for a third time, that Joseph returned to accompany Mary on her journey back to Nazareth. Where they differ though is on the distance traveled. Mary of Agreda reports Joseph returned to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth (cf. p 191) while Emmerich states Joseph met Mary half-way (cf. p 166). For both mystics, it was during the return trip home that Joseph notices Mary’s pregnancy and considers his course of action.' Perhaps I am wrong but it seems to me that Mary made the journey because she simply needed to talk and she knew that Elizabeth needed to talk. Two pregnant women needing to talk and share about their coming first child. What could be more natural? ..and why first children!!. Bach was very good on this. A Protestant who saw it with the eyes of his heart. He caught the joy and the wonder of it all. His music fairly dances with it. You can hear the angels that surrounded the two women as they embraced go crazy with delight and wonder.
I also love to meditate on the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary and have written down many of them. I offer this one to you: Meditation on the Presentation of Jesus: Mon. Jan 2, 1995 As Our Holy Mother presented Jesus in the Temple, She present to us Her Heart united to the Heart of Her Son, asking for our hearts in exchange, that She might present them to God the Father. We must offer our hearts to Them for this spiritual exchange of hearts. Meditation on the Finding of Jesus in the Temple: After this exchange of hearts, we find within the temples of our hearts the pure Hearts of Our Holy Mother and Our Lord. This is where we find Jesus & Mary united with us and where the Triumph of Her Heart will begin.** **Friday, Feb. 7, 2003, Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament: After receiving Holy Communion; I saw within my soul Jesus sitting upon my heart as if on a throne; His back towards me, looking out, with something like a rod in His right hand. He spoke to me saying, “It is from here I will reign!” Jesus then turned into a little child, but remained sitting upon my heart with the rod remaining in His Hand. Jesus then spoke again saying, “I will reign in those who love Me.”
I am just bumping this small prophetic utterance I made in October 2019 A time is coming when we will have to worship God in the temple of our own hearts as the sanctuary lamps will no longer be lit. Our Irish ancestors survived persecution from protestant authorities who banned the Mass. The faith survived because the people prayed the Rosary. The Rosary is like a 'dry Mass' it nourishes our souls.
