Letting God do the Work

In the post, All Day, I set up the Rosary as one of the greatest examples of Prayer available to us as Catholics. At this, both Protestant and Catholic readers have asked for a greater description of the Rosary, both the why and the how we should pray it. So here goes:

Why Pray the Rosary?
The Rosary is one of the most beautiful and effective prayers in the Catholic arsenal. Literally, the name means "garland of roses", but behind the soft, gentle name lies a powerful weapon in our fight against sin and temptation in our lives, and in the world. Used properly, the Rosary is a powerful spiritual weapon used to bring forth many heavenly graces and draw us closer to Jesus and Mary.

On the 8th of March, 2003, Pope John Paul II said,

Today...I am handing you the Rosary beads. Through prayer and meditation on the mysteries, Mary leads you safely towards her Son! Do not be ashamed to recite the Rosary alone, while you walk along the streets to school, to the university or to work, or as you commute by public transport. Adopt the habit of reciting it among yourselves, in your groups, movements and associations. Do not hesitate to suggest that it be recited at hime ... because it rekindles and strengthens the bonds between family members. This prayer will help you to be strong in your faith, constant in charity, joyful and persevering in hope.

Beyond the exortation of John Paul the Great, Mary herself appeared to two men at different times, St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche, and gave them a total of fifteen promises to those who would pray the Rosary every day. These promises should inspire us to greater devotion. I reproduce them here, but they can also be found at Our Lady's Warriors.org Click the link to read an explanation of each of these 15 promises.

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Our Lady's Warriors.org reminds us that "these promises mean that, by faithfully and devoutly praying the Rosary, Our Lady will obtain for us the necessary Graces to obtain said promises. It is still up to each individual soul to respond to those Graces in order to obtain salvation."

The beauty of prayer, through the Rosary, was described beautifully by fellow Catholic convert, Owen Swain, in the archives of his spiritual oddysey. In a post titled Bead by Bead, he writes,

The fact of the rosary is this, it is not work but rather I rest in the rhythm of the Hail Marys, focusing on the meaning and prayer intention of the specific mystery from the life of Christ and his Mother, it is a realization that causes me to laugh that I ever thought that Catholics work for their salvation, in the sense that Protestants so often accuse Catholics of working for their salvation. In the rosary ours is to be obedient while God does the work of answering the prayer yes, but arguably more importantly as we rest in the rosary God does a work in us. I gave myself over early in faith to the idea that a central point of the rosary is seeing God’s Son through Mary’s eyes because she is our greatest example as devoted Christian. What I gave my self over to in faith, the substance of things I did not then see, I have now begun to see and understand and the speed at which this has happened I can only attribute to the grace of God. I could not have anticipated this and so I laugh a laugh of joy for God and not of derision for my Protestant brothers and sisters or Catholics for that matter who see no place for a holy devotion to the rosary. Yes, I have been taken by surprise in receiving what I asked for.

...

Now, no struggle in prayer, this is new for me. It is a kind of freedom in the spirit that I have not known before and I was a card carrying Pentecostal for over two decades. There is nothing vain in the repetitions of the rosary as the focus is Christ, which is more than one can say for endless list prayers that for all their spiritual sounding tone are at least as much self orriented as they are Christ centric. Instead when prayed with attention, intention and devotion there is an increase of hope, faith and love as well as practical reminders, promtings if you like, about specific intentions or prayer requests as I used to call them.

And by no struggle I mean not that we should not by times be hard at it, struggling in faith or doubt or hope or confession as we pray nor do I mean that setting time aside and getting down to the business of meeting with God is not sometimes an effort of the will. What I mean is that, perhaps to my shame, for the first time in a long time I am drawn to prayer, I want to return to the beads and the meditations on my Lord. What I mean is that as I come to those times my mind does not wander, I am not adrift thinking of what to pray for next or reciting an endless list of items to God and detailing some of them in such a way as if you would think I thought God was unaware of the details. Do you see that?

...

Praying the rosary, even for a novice, is a bit like watching God thread the spirit of his blessed Son into my life, bead by bead. Nothing vain in that.

I echo Owen's sentiments. Through the Rosary, I have grown closer to Jesus, through His Mother, than I ever had achieved at any time in my life before!

How to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary beads are a chain of many beads that form a loop. Trailing from the loop is a small stretch of 5 beads ending with a Crucifix. Where the tail connects to the loop, there is a medal, usually of Mary, or Jesus, or a saint. The one hanging from my rearview mirror has the Eucharistic Chalice with a Host above it. From the medal are ten beads, a slight space, a single bead, another space, ten more beads, etc. In all, there are five groups of ten beads, with a single bead between each group of ten, making four (plus the medal).

Beginning with the Crucifix, we pray the Apostles' Creed (See the prayers below). Then, while fingering the first of the five beads, we pray the Our Father. For the next three beads, we pray a Hail Mary each. On the fifth bead, we pray a Glory Be.

When we get to the medal, we announce the first mystery that we intend to meditate on (the mysteries will be explained below as well). Then we pray another Our Father. For the next 10 beads we pray a Hail Mary each, while meditating and praying about the mystery that we have just announced. When we come to the space between the tenth bead and the single bead, we pray a Glory Be, and then a Fatima Prayer. At the single bead, we announce the next mystery, and start the process over. This continues until all five mysteries are prayed through and meditated upon, and we arrive at the medal again. In the space after the final tenth bead and the medal, we again pray a Glory Be, and a Fatima Prayer, as we have done. Then, at the Medal, we pray a Marian prayer such as the Hail, Holy Queen (which is my preference) or another prayer to Mary of our choice. Then we cross ourselves and go on our way, knowing that we are not walking alone!

The Prayers of the Rosary
The Apostles' Creed
This prayer is a brief summary of our beliefs. It is called "The Apostles' Creed" because it was a summary of their teachings, passed on by the early Church.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty
Creator of Heaven and Earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into Heaven.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The Our Father
This is the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, when they asked Him how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed by Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.

The Hail Mary
This prayer is also taken from Scripture--at least the first half. The first two lines are Gabriel's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28, and the second two are Elizabeth's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:42. The second half is a simple prayer asking Mary to pray for us.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us sinners,
Now, and at the hour of our death.

The Glory Be
This is a simple doxology glorifying the Trinity.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and forever will be,
World without end. Amen.

The Fatima Prayer
This prayer was given to the three children of Fatima, Portugal, when Mary appeared to them in a series of visions. She asked them to pray it when they prayed the Rosary. In my mind, it proves the desire of Mary to lead us to Jesus:

O my Jesus,
Forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell,
And lead all souls to heaven--
Especially those in most need of Thy mercy.
Amen.

The Hail, Holy Queen
This poetic prayer to Mary can cause concern to Protestants, but we must understand that everything that we hold in this prayer is only because of Jesus, and because she brought Jesus into the world in order to be our salvation.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee we lift up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us,
And show unto us the Most Blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus--
O clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, most holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.

Those are the prayers of the Rosary. Many Protestants claim that the Rosary violates Jesus' condemnation of "vain repetition" in our prayers, since we repeat each prayer several times (Matthew 6:7-8). However, it is important to understand two things here:

1. Not all repetition is vain. Otherwise, many of the Psalms would fall under Jesus' condemnation, making Jesus a contradiction, since the Psalms are the inspired word of God. See, for example, Psalm 136, where the second line of each of its 26 verses is "For His faithful love endures forever." Now that's repetitious!

2. The focus of the prayer isn't on the words being said. They form a prayerful backdrop for the key part of the prayer--meditating on the life of Christ with Mary. Without this exercise of meditating on Christ, then yes, the Rosary would be vain repetition! The mysteries are the entire point of the Rosary! So what are they?

The Mysteries of the Rosary
By "mystery" it is meant an aspect of our faith that is miraculous, that we cannot comprehend. When it comes to the life of Christ, we will never comprehend how the Infinite, Almighty God could become a Man and live among us. Thus, everything that Christ did is a "mystery". In the Rosary, there are 20 mysteries, divided into four sets of five. One "rosary" is the praying of a set of 5, thus going around the loop.

The mysteries focus on Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection. When we meditate on each mystery, it is important to focus on it as if we ourselves were there, witnessing the event. How would we have felt, or reacted, in that situation? When we do this, we go right into the pages of the Gospels with Mary, as she shows us her Son more clearly. As such, it is important that we read and learn the stories from the Bible itself. Therefore, I will include the place in the Bible where the story is found.

When we undertake to meditate on a mystery, it is helpful to offer a prayer intention. One will be suggested for furthering virtues in your life, as we discussed in the Seven Deadlies post.

Let us look at each mystery.

The Joyful Mysteries
These five mysteries focus on Jesus' birth and early childhood.

The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary--Luke 1:26-38
Intention: When meditating on this mystery, pray for the humility of Mary when she responded to God's plan, saying, "You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38).

The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth--Luke 1:39-56
Intention: When meditating on this mystery, pray that you would have a greater love for your neighbour (Matthew 22:39). Think of Mary, visiting her pregnant cousin, and helping her to keep house, while she herself is pregnant with the Saviour!

The Nativity of Jesus--Luke 2:1-21
Intention: Pray that Jesus would help you to be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), as He Himself was: The King of the Universe born in a barnyard feeding trough! If He would do this for us, what should we do for Him?

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple--Luke 2:22-38
Intention: The Jewish people had to offer sacrifices of purification for every first-born child. When Mary and Joseph went to offer these sacrifices, two prophets, Simeon and Anna, give testimony to who Jesus is. If Mary and Joseph had not been obedient to even the seemingly minor points of the Law, Simeon would never have seen the Lord's promise fulfilled (Luke 2:26). Let us then pray for willingness to be obedient to Christ's laws.

Finding Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12--Luke 2:41-50
Intention: Jesus' parents lose track of Him on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. In their worry they look everywhere, and finally find Him, a 12-year-old, teaching scribes and teachers of the Law! When they find Him, Mary and Joseph are filled with joy and relief. Let us pray that we would also be filled with joy at finding Christ working in our own lives--even in the places we least expect to see Him!

The Luminous Mysteries
These new mysteries, given by Pope John Paul 2 in 2002, highlight key events in the life and ministry of Jesus.

Jesus' Baptism--Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-22; John 1:29-34
Intention: At His baptism, the heavens were opened, and God proclaimed His love for Jesus, and sent the Holy Spirit to empower His ministry. Let us pray that we would have a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Jesus Turning Water into Wine at the Wedding in Cana--John 2:1-12
Intention: In this story, we see Mary bringing the servants to Jesus so that He could meet their need, and she tells them the most important piece of advice ever: "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5). Let us pray and ask Mary to lead us into a deeper relationship with her Son.

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God--Matthew 4:23; 5:1-7:29
Intention: Let us pray that we would be willing to proclaim Jesus' Kingdom as He sends us out. Let us pray that we are never too worried about what others think that we would deny Jesus!

The Transfiguration of Jesus--Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8
Intention: When Jesus was transfigured, He displayed His true glory for a moment, to Peter, James and John. Let us pray that He would reveal His glory in our own lives.

The Last Supper--Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:7-20
Intention: Let us pray that we would come to know Jesus truly as He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist.

The Sorrowful Mysteries
These mysteries focus on Jesus' suffering and death, which brings us forgiveness for our sins.

Jesus' Agony in the Garden--Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus praying and sweating blood for us, let us pray for true sorrow and true repentance for our sins which brought Him here.

Jesus' Arrest and Scourging--Matthew 26:47-27:26; Mark 14:43-15:15; Luke 22:47-23:25; John 18:1-19:16
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' suffering, let us realise that it brought us our redemption: "He was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on Him, and we have been healed by His bruises" (Isaiah 53:5). Let us pray and thank Him for His salvation, and pray that we would understand the value of suffering in our own lives.

The Crowning with Thorns--Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20
Intention: Let us pray, as we meditate on Jesus' humiliation, that we will have the strength to stand up for Him, even in the face of ridicule and death.

Jesus' Carrying His Cross--Matthew 27:32-33; Mark 15:20-22; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:17-18
Intention: As we meditate on Christ carrying His Cross, let us pray for the patience that He had in enduring this torture.

Jesus' Crucifixion and Death--Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:23-39; Luke 23:33-49; John 19:18-37
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' death, let us reflect on the care He had for those around Him, even in His agony. Let us pray that we would persevere in our walk with Him always, so that we would inherit the crown of life.

The Glorious Mysteries
These mysteries focus on Jesus' resurrection and His power in the Church

The Resurrection--Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-13; Luke 24:1-42; John 20:1-21:25
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' Resurrection, pray that He would increase our faith in Him.

The Ascension--Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-11
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' Ascension into heaven, let us pray that He would fill us with hope in the angels' words, "Why are you...standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you will come back in the same way as you have seen Him go to heaven" (Acts 1:11).

The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost--Acts 2:1-36
Intention: As we meditate, let us pray that the Holy Spirit would fill us with a greater love and zeal for God.

Mary's Assumption into Heaven--Revelation 11:19-12:1
Intention: At the end of her life, Mary was assumed bodily into Jesus' presence in heaven so that she who had been graced to be without sin, would not suffer the unltimate consiquence of sin: death. Let us pray for the desire to join Mary and her Son, Jesus, in heaven, so that we would not stray from following Him here on earth.

Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven--Revelation 12:1
Intention: Let us pray and ask Mary to increase our trust in her intercession for us, and for the entire Church, of which she is the Mother (Revelation 12:17).

These mysteries of the Rosary, when we pray them, and meditate on them, will lead us to a greater knowledge of Christ, and a deeper relationship with Him. Let us take our cue from Mary herself, and ponder all these things in our hearts (Luke 2:51).

In conclusion, I'd like to leave some tips when praying the Rosary:

1. Set aside a specific time each day for reciting the Rosary, and stick to it. Whether it's in the morning when you get up, or before you go to bed. Maybe when you get home from school, or after you finish homework. Or, possibly, even say a decade on the bus ride to and/or from school.

2. Pray with your heart, not just your lips, so that prayer becomes a joy to you rather than a burden.

3. Announce each Mystery, and name a prayer intention, whether for you or for another, that is specific to that Mystery, such as I've suggested in the listing of each Mystery. But by all means, be creative. My suggestions are just that: suggestions!

4. Pause for a moment to meditate on and visually contemplate the Gospel Mystery being said.

5. Make the Rosary part of a greater spiritual program in your life, that includes Mass, receiving the Eucharist, Confession, reading the Bible, and other things.

And remember, God helps you pray, and He understands when we just can't seem to. To Him, even the very desire to pray is itself a prayer. So stick with it.

God bless!
Pray for me!

All Day

All Day
Hillsong United

I don't care what they say about me
It's alright, alright
I don't care they think about me
It's alright, they'll get it one day

I love you, I'll follow you
You are my, my life
I will read my bible and pray
I will follow you all day

I don't care what it costs anymore
'Cos you gave it all and I'm following you
I don't care what it takes anymore
No matter what happens I'm going your way

I love you, I'll follow you
You are my, my life
I will read my bible and pray
I will follow you all day

All Day
All Day now
All Day

I don't care what they say about me
It's alright, alright
I don't care they think about me
It's alright, they'll get it one day

I love you, I'll follow you
You are my, my life
I will read my bible and pray
I will follow you all day

All Day
All Day now
All Day

Anyone around can see
just how good you've been to me
For all my friends that don't know you
I pray that you would save them too

All Day
All Day now
All Day

I have to admit, when I first heard this song at a Pentecostal church here in Oakville, I thought it was the most repetitive thing I'd ever heard in my life! And Pentecostals love to accuse Catholics of vain repetition! However, I heard it on the actual cd by Hillsong United, and I liked it better, mainly because, while it was still repetitive (and a little banal), it was somewhat less so, and had a pretty cool bass line.

But it has grown on me, a little. Enough that I can base a talk on it. It does have a good message, even if it is, as I said, rather banal.

The song encourages us to have the courage to proclaim our faith in our world today, no matter what anyone thinks; no matter what it costs. We live in an age where pluralism is good, tolerance has replaced the "golden rule", and absolutes are viewed as narrow-mindedness and backward thinking. Those who believe in, and hold to those absolutes are often ridiculed or branded as fanatical or fundamentalists, or worse. Our Pope, in speaking out against the "Dictatorship of Relativism", has been labelled as a backwards-thinking archaism, who wants to return the world to the Dark Ages, or he has been libelled as a Nazi-sympathiser and a hater of almost everyone. Why? Because he has dared to speak the truth, and not water it down.

But we cannot water down the truth, because it is the Truth that sets us free! We have to fight for the truth, so that others can be set free, as well!

So what weapons do we have? The song, in typical Protestant fashion, gives the bare-bones answer: Bible and Prayer. And they're not wrong, only limited. As Catholics, we rely on the inspired Word of God, the Bible and the Apostolic Tradition handed down unchanged, though developed, since the beginning of Christianity. It is His Word which keeps us stable during the storms of uncertainty and relativism, and cuts through the lies and deceptions of the world. It is the Sword of the Spirit.

Further, we have prayer. In particular, we have that prayer that the saints, and particularly Pope John-Paul II, referred to as our most powerful weapon: the Rosary. Through it, we meditate on Christ's life, and are led closer to Him by His Mother, Mary. Through it, we receive an abundance of grace. Through it, we bind our hearts to God and walk on. Through it, we meditate on the Word of God, and understand its application to our own lives, so that we can live it out effectively in the world.

And so we will read God's Word, and pray the Rosary, daily. Maybe not for long stretches at first--but more and more. It takes discipline, but it is the lazy who will be caught off guard. With so many things competing for our time and attention, we desperately need to take that time and focus on Christ, His Mother, and His Church. Then we won't be intimidated by the world. We won't be ashamed of the Gospel. Then anyone around truly will see how good He has been to us, and they may become more devoted to Him, as we share His word with them.

God bless.

"Can We Get a Pool, Dad?"

Matthew 7:7-11

"Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

Prayer is a pretty big thing to Jesus. He talks about it a lot. We've already discussed His teaching on how to pray, as well as how not to pray, but before He finished His Sermon on the Mount, He had a few more words to say about it. No wonder, since prayer is so incredibly crucial to living in an intimate relationship with God! It's impossible to have a relationship without communication!

In Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus assured us that God knows all of our needs, even before we ask, and yet here, in Chapter 7, Jesus tells us to ask. In fact, the original Greek makes that asking a persevering kind of asking: "Ask, and keep on asking..." Sometimes, God doesn't immediately respond to our prayers with instant answers, but holds off, inviting us to keep seeking for them. Why? Because God wants us to be seeking Him, not just seeking what we want from Him. Sometimes, it seems the only time we ever take time to talk to God is when we really want something from Him. So He draws us after Him through that.

Other times, it's possible that we are asking wrongly, or for the wrong thing. And so God uses the time that we spend seeking Him in our prayer to change our understanding and our perspective. But that can only happen when we take the time to draw close to Him in prayer!

In this waiting, though, Jesus urges us to never give up, but to continue to seek God. Be persistent! It's like that episode of The Simpsons where Bart and Lisa want a pool, and they approach their father to ask him, but before they do, they warn him that refusing will result in months and months of "Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad?" A minute-long montage of Homer eating, Homer working, Homer sleeping, all the while haunted by his children, saying over and over, "Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad? Canwegetapooldad?Canwegetapooldad?" until finally he's had it, and gives in, and of course, mayhem ensues.

Now, I want to be clear, our Heavenly Father is nothing like Homer Simpson (Thank God!). If I may paraphrase Jesus' conclusion to this segment of the Sermon on the Mount, "If Homer, being as stupid and oafish as he is, can still give good gifts to his children, how much more then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

So let us draw near to God with boldness, knowing that He hears us and desires us to come to Him! Let us approach Him, seeking intimacy with Him, and persevere in our prayer.

God bless.

Prayer

Woohoo! 60th post! Here we come to the beginning of Lent, and the end ouf our Trilogy of topics from Matthew 6. Stay tuned for the heart-stopping, action packed conclusion! ...Or something like that ;)

Sorry for the delay in getting this out. It was due to be finished last Thursday afternoon, but work stuff sidetracked me, and I haven't seen a computer until today! So, without any further ado...

Matthew 6:5-15

'And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
'In your prayers, do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. So you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
may Your name be held holy,
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the Evil One.

'Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.

In the first two verses, Jesus makes exactly the same point about prayer as He does about almsgiving and fasting, namely that we need to do it out of sincere motives and a desire to serve God, not out of a desire to appear spiritual before men. Jesus again says that those who pray, just as those who give alms and fast, out of hypocritical and pretentious motives, receive their reward. What does He mean? That those who give and fast and pray in order to get praise from others will only ever get praise from others as a reward for their religiosity. But as we have seen with the previous posts, and now here, God will reward those who serve Him for His sake, sincerely. How? As I mentioned in almsgiving, the Bible talks about the reward being the removal of the penalty of sin. With fasting, the reward is a greater knowledge and intimacy with God. As we'll see in a minute, the divine reward for prayer is a bit of both.

Jesus spends a little bit more time on prayer than on almsgiving and fasting (which is why I saved it until last). After warning about doing it for false motives, Jesus then warns us against doing it with false methods. And instead of comparing the true way with that of the hypocrites, He contrasts true prayer with that of the gentiles--namely, the pagan peoples who worshipped false gods and relied on magic incantations and long, babbling prayers to appeal to those false gods. It's important to understand that distinction, because so many people misinterpret this passage. Many, many people (mainly Protestants) think that Jesus is condemning the repetition of written or memorised prayers, as in the Catholic Rosary, for example. In fact, many translations of the Bible use the phrase "vain repitition" where the New Jerusalem Bible quoted above says "babbling."

But there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Number 1, not all repitition is "vain" or worthless. Jesus is not condemning the repitition of phrases or recited prayers. He is condemning, again, the motive or belief behind the repitition--namely, the notion that if we say a prayer enough times, or say precisely the right words, then God will do something, or reply, or grant our request. This is not prayer, this is magic, and that's why Jesus condemns it--that kind of repitition makes God out to be something we can control or manipulate--and that, as we'll see in a minute, is a sinful attitude!

Second, repitition becomes bad when it is no longer sincere, but simply rattling off words. This can happen very easily when we commit prayers to memory. If we are not careful, that memorised prayer can become meaningless when we fail to engage our minds in the recitation. The Church has given us a wonderful gift in its collections of prayers from various saints throughout the ages, don't get me wrong! They are so useful in expressing thoughts and desires that we ourselve can't always find the words for. But when we read or recite such prayers, we must always mean them, and speak them with sincerity.

For any Protestant (or Catholic) readers who practice a more spontaneous form of prayer, and are thinking "I don't have to worry about that!" consider your own prayers. Take note, in a single prayer, how many times you repeat certain clichéed phrases. Growing up, I noticed that many people replaced the word "um" in their prayers, with "Lord." If that's not "vain repitition" then what is? And that's not to mention a worship service where the songs might be sung over and over. Now, I'm not attacking other traditions here, but I want to point out just what it is that Jesus is and is not referring to, and that is this: Prayer must never be reduced to a magic formula.

To counter this, Jesus gives us the Our Father as an antidote. This simple, direct prayer is packed with meaning, and must be prayed with an understanding of that meaning. More, the meaning of the Our Father must inform all of our other prayers. So let's break it down:

Our Father in heaven
These words are perhaps the most important part of this prayer--maybe even all of Scripture! God, the All-Powerful Creator of the Universe, is our Father?! If we really ponder the idea, it is ludicrous! How can we dare to approach God, as if He were our Daddy? There is absolutely no way that we could, on our own. But that's just it: we aren't on our own! Through Jesus' Death and Resurrection, He makes us able to become the sons and daughters of God!

St. John writes in his first epistle, "You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God's children--which is what we are!" (1 John 3:1.) That word, "lavished", describes it beautifully. Think of it like painting: you can put just a little bit of paint on the brush, and gently apply it to the canvass, or you can dip a big brush into the bucket and just slather that canvass! That's the idea behind "lavish". God is just heaping His love on us, saying, "Here! Have some more! And more! And more!" That's what it means to be His Children! That's what it means when we pray, "Our Father"!

May Your name be held holy
But in case we start taking the Father for granted, and approaching Him like we would our fathers, "Hey Dad, can I have 5 bucks?" the next line returns us to the right perspecitve. Yes, God is our Father, and He lavishes His love on us, but He is still holy, and deserves our awe, respect, and worship! On the one hand, we can curl up in His lap and call Him "Daddy", and on the other, we revere and adore Him as the All-Holy King of the Universe! There is and must be a balance between these perspectives, for they are both equally true.

Your kingdom come / Your will be done / on earth as in heaven
Since God is King, He obviously has a Kingdom, and that Heavenly Kingdom needs to be realised here on earth, so we pray that He would be present here with us, working out His Will on earth. So what's His Kingdom? St. Paul describes it as "the saving justice, the peace, and the joy brought by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). This is what we pray for--and the awesome thing is that when we pray for it, God chooses then to include us in the realising of it! He expects us to work to bring saving justice, peace, and joy to the world through the Holy Spirit working within us!

Give us today our daily bread
If God expects so much from us, then we can be assured that He will make it possible. This line in the prayer has a two-fold meaning. In the first place, we see that Jesus urges us to pray that God will meet our every need. But more, there is a reason that we pray the Our Father right before we receive the Eucharist at Mass: Since the earliest times, the Church has seen this line fulfilled in the Real Presence of Christ, who Himself is the Bread of Heaven, which is daily available in the Catholic Church! Through the Grace given by His presence, we truly can accomplish living a life that brings about His Kingdom!

And forgive us our debts, / as we forgive those who are in debt to us
Not only does Jesus meet our every need, and empower us by His Flesh and Blood, but He forgives our sins, as well! God desires to again, lavish grace and mercy upon us, but He again makes it conditional: we must also be willing to forgive. Just as Jesus said in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall have mercy shown them," He reiterates here when He says, "'Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either'" (Matthew 6:14-15). If God gives us so great a grace through such a high cost (Jesus' suffering and death), then we are expected to bestow that same grace upon everyone who has harmed us!

And do not put us to the test, / but save us from the Evil One
Finally, we learn that we can not only be forgiven of our failings, but that we can even be preserved from temptations! Staying close to God is staying far from Sin. Through Jesus, we are given the grace to flee temptation and resist the Devil (cf. James 4:7). St. Paul reassures us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, that "none of the trials which have come upon you is more than a human being can stand. You can trust that God will not let you be put to the test beyond your strength, but with any trial will also provide a way out by enabling you to put up with it"!

Praise God that He is so loving to us, that He meets all our needs and forgives our sins! That is what it means to have God as our Father! So let us draw close to Him in prayer in this season of Lent and all throughout our lives!

Let us Pray!

Through Her Eyes

A Journey to Jesus

Back on November 19, Catholic singer/songwriter Mark Mallett came to St. Luke's school to give a concert. I happened to show up that day, and got to chat with Mark and his wife, Léa about their ministry and about mine. Then he put on a good concert and gave a stirring talk spurring us to greater commitment to Jesus! Afterwards, he was selling cds, and blessed me with his latest, "Let the Lord Know", which I mentioned briefly in the last post, and also with a double cd of the Rosary, titled "Through Her Eyes: A Journey to Jesus." I wanted to share with you a bit about that album, and I encourage you to get it (it's available here).

"Through Her Eyes" is a great cd set, and a wonderfully helpful way to pray the Rosary (for more on the Rosary, read the article I Shall Not Walk Alone). It's the rosary dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and opens up with the telling of how in AD 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican Native named St. Juan Diego, and told him that she wanted a church built on the hill where he was. However, the bishop didn't believe Juan, and Our Lady appeared to him again, and sent him to the top of the mountain, and told him he would find flowers growing there, in the middle of December! He did, and he tucked the roses in his cloak and went to show the Bishop. When he let the flowers fall out of the cloak, an image of the Virgin remained imprinted on the cloak! This cloak still exists today and has been tested by experts numerous times throughout the years. Their conclusions? They have absolutely no idea how the image was made! Because of these events, a church was built on that site, and within ten years of Our Lady appearing to St. Juan, 9,000,000 people converted to Christianity!

The album continues with the Rosary itself, going through all four sets of mysteries, with a sung Creed, Our Father, and Glory Be kicking off each Rosary, and a sung Hail Holy Queen to conclude. Before each mystery, a text of Scripture describing the mystery is read by Mark with music acting like a soundtrack in the background. When the mystery is meditated on, Mark and Fr. Ray Guimond recite the Hail Marys, while the same music that played during the Scripture plays again, in order to help us meditate! This is amazingly effective, because the music helps create the images of the reading in our heads!

In the Liner Notes to the CD, Mark has this to say about the Rosary and about this project:

The Rosary may be the most misunderstood of Christian prayers.

Pope John Paul II correctly identifies one reason as being an "impoverished" method of praying it (Rosarium Virginis Mariae). I also believe it is because the goal of the Rosary has been largely confused.

The Rosary is all about Jesus. Jesus--and union with Him--is its goal. It is about getting to know Him, love Him, and open ourselves to Him. We do this by meditating on the mysteries of His life, from His conception to His ascension into Heaven (They are called mysteries because how else can you describe God becoming flesh and dwelling among us?) Thus, the Rosary is really just meditating on the Gospels--but doing so in the school of Mary. We look, as it were, through her eyes. We see what she saw, feel what she felt, and hopefully imitate her response, which was perfect. If we surrender ourselves to Jesus as she did, we too shall receive our reward, as expressed in the last Glorious Mystery.

But what about all those repititious words? Besides the fact we are praying words found in Scripture (and supplicated with "Pray for us sinners..."), it is important to understand their role. Jesus warned against those who supposed multiplication of words would win favour with God. So why 200 Hail Mary's? Think of them this way: as a drum keeps the beat for a song, so too do the Hail Mary's give our meditation a rhythm, allowing our minds to focus on the mystery at hand.

Imagine the mystery to be meditated on as a flower; and the cascade of words as though they were the constant sound of a gentle waterfall behind you. Your focus is on the flower, while the waterfall gently occupies your other senses. The goal is not to think about the words you are saying, but to contemplate the face of Jesus in the mystery.

But even so, this can be difficult. Which is why this album was created: to help focus the mind and intellect on each mystery through music. Unlike other fine musical Rosaries in which the music forms a part of the "waterfall", the scores beneath the Scriptures and decades here are written to aid the imagination in forming a mental picture of the events taking place. The music is the stem of the flower, supporting the beauty of the petals--of Christ's life. For this reason, it sits more prominently against the decades helping to lift the meditations to the foreground. That is, the music may at times seem to compete with the Hail Mary's; rather, it is there to draw your attention from them toward Jesus.

You'll also notice that the music accompanying each Scripture repeats again during the decade--this is the key to praying with this album: as you are saying the Hail Mary's, the music will help you to recall and enter into the events of that mystery. Listen to the music, and allow it to form the meditation in your mind.

Lastly, this album was created to honour our dear Mother (Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of all America and my [i.e. Mark's] ministry), the perfect embodiment of the Christian life. By joining our prayer to hers, she makes it more perfect and even her own, offering it to her Beloved Son, the only mediator between us and the Father.

In making an act of consecration to Mary, I had bought her a bouquet of carnations and placed it at the feet of her statue in the little country church where I married my wife. When I came back later that day, I found the carnations missing. I assumed the cleaner had thrown them out. Instead, I found them at the feet of the statue of Jesus, perfectly arranged in a vase.

This is what Mary does with our prayers, indeed with our very souls if we entrust them to her. She picks us up, brushes us off, wraps us in her mantle of love, and places us gently at the feet of our Brother and Lord. If we let her, she will not only accompany us, but carry us in her arms... on our journey to Jesus.

I love that final illustration, and it was the reason that I asked Mark if I could publish the liner notes here. I really encourage you all to pray the Rosary--get the cd, it's a great help--because through it, I have experienced my own walk with Jesus to be closer, and my understanding and love for Him to be deeper. It's one of the most effective things that we can do as Catholics to grow closer to our Lord. Don't just shrug it off, but make use of this great gift from our Mother!

Pope John Paul II, on the Rosary:

Rediscover the rosary as a simple but very profound prayer. When it is recited well, the rosary leads one into the living experience of the Divine Mystery and brings to hearts, families, and the whole community that peace which we need so much. --Pope John Paul II, summer 2003

The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer....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.

Dear brothers and sisters! A prayer so easy and yet so rich truly deserves to be rediscovered by the Christian community....I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives....May this appeal of mine not go unheard! --Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Let us heed the call!

God bless

The Sign of the Cross

Last night was the first meeting of the St. Andrew's gym night at St. Vincent school. We had a great time playing dodgeball and soccer! If you're interested in coming out, it's from 7 until 9, every Tuesday night, at St. Vincent's elementary school. As part of the night, I give a brief talk about our faith and how it applies to our lives. I'll post those talks here, since the Sunday meeting is now a drama team, and doesn't have a formal message anymore.

"The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God." - 1 Corninthians 1:18
"I was resolved that the only knowledge I would have while I was with you was the knowledge of Jesus, and of Him as the crucified Christ." - 1 Corinthians 2:2
"'Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'" - Matthew 20:28

When we opened our meeting in prayer, we finished by crossing ourselves--touching our foreheads, our chests, and then our left shoulders and our right shoulders. Not everyone at the meeting was a Christian, and one girl asked me afterwards, "What was that?" I told her, "Stay tuned, it's the subject of tonight's talk!"

So what exactly is it when we make that motion, or when we see basketball players or football players or people in movies make that sign? What is its significance? It is not just a superstitious gesture, like crossing our fingers. It is not some glib joke like Austin Powers seems to think ("Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch"). It is something far more powerful than a superstition, and far more meaningful than glib jokes.

The Sign of the Cross is a prayer. It's a prayer in which we dedicate ourselves to God, and a prayer that expresses our belief in God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in one being. When we cross ourselves we pray, "In the Name of the Father (touching our forehead), of the Son (touching our heart), and of the Holy Spirit (touching first our left, then our right shoulder)."

Through this prayer, we offer ourselves to God, desiring that everything we are be in Him. By touching our heads, our hearts, and shoulders, we demonstrate that we desire our minds, our hearts, and our entire selves to be given to Him. And we recognise in this same action, the very means of how we are in Him: The Cross.

Because, you see, we didn't start off in Him. We are all born without Him in our lives. This is because, when, many thousands of years ago, God created the first people, He created them so He could know and love them, and so they would know and to love Him. But love is only genuine when it is freely chosen, and so He gave them a choice: obey and love Him, or disobey Him and be excluded from His life of love. They were tempted by the Devil to believe that God was keeping them from their true potential by serving Him, and told them that by disobeying Him, they would become gods themselves! Well, who can pass up an offer like that?

I learned recently, buying furniture, what "Too good to be true" means. And that offer of the devil, my friends, is too good to be true. But Adam and Eve bought it--and many people today buy it as well--and were cast out of God's presence. And we inherited that state. And while many people today are "happy" living apart from God, and many don't even believe in Him, He is not content to let us live apart from Him. He knows that we are only complete with Him, and He still believes in us and loves us. The problem is, though, that our sin (that flipping God off and wanting to do it our own way) has serious and unpleasant consequences. The Bible says that the reward for sin is death--and that death winds us up in a place that we affectionately refer to as Hell. And Hell is a place you don't want to be!

Notably, God doesn't want us to be there, either. And so He put a plan into motion to bring us back to Him, and to cancel out the terrible reward for our sin. God the Son came to earth as a human being, 2000-odd years ago, named Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ lived and taught us about God. And if that was all He did, that would be pretty amazing. But there's more.

This Jesus Christ who taught us about God, demonstrated God's incredible love and power through many miraculous signs--healing people from incurable sicknesses, raising people from the dead, feeding multitudes with very little food, walking on water, calming the storm, and many others! And if that was all He did, that would be incredible! But there's more.

This Jesus came for one reason, and one reason alone. His teaching and His miracles were "side effects" of God walking around on earth as a Man. But the true purpose wasn't to teach or to heal. It was to die. His teachings enraged a lot of people who didn't want to surrender their lives to God, and so they tried to silence this Man by killing Him. But that was the plan all along. Jesus was flogged, beaten, and finally nailed to a Cross. What seemed like the Devil's ultimate victory was really his absolute defeat--and what seemed like Jesus' total failure was His absolute glory. Because it was on that cross that Jesus forgave that penalty that we owed because of our sins! And to top it all off, to complete the story, three days later Jesus rose from the dead! 'Cause you can't keep the God-Man down!

This is why Catholics cross themselves. We realise that we are "In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" because our sins are forgiven through the Cross. That forgiveness, that love relationship with God that surpasses all other relationships that we could hope to have, is available to all of us if we would just ask.

† "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

I Shall Not Walk Alone

In the recent open forum (That's still open, by the way!) many Protestants (among them a minister) made the point that Jesus is the main thing for us as Christians. And they are absolutely right. In fact, the aim of the Open Forum was intended to demonstrate that everything that we believe as Catholics focusses on and orbits around Jesus, as the earth orbits the sun.

Focused on Christ

We must remain focused on Christ, and remain in Christ. He is our Salvation. Last Sunday, there was a large rally at St. Joseph's here in Oakville, and the different youth groups from the different Catholic parishes in and around Oakville came out to worship Jesus (with the kickin' music ministry of Critical Mass!). The theme was about coming together to worship Christ--and in fact, we got the opportunity to meet with Him in a powerful way, for those who took the opportunity for the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. For an hour in the Church, we had a time of quiet to come and pray before the altar, on which the Eucharist was displayed, so that we could spend time with Jesus, and meet with Him.

After that, we had Mass, where we had the opportunity to actually have Communion with Jesus, to receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, into ourselves in the Eucharist!

Experiencing the Presence of Christ again at that rally really reminded me that He is Present in His Church, and He is our ultimate and absolute focus!

Mary leads us to Christ

But there are many, many doctrines in the Church, and not all of them obviously teach about Christ at first glance. Among those doctrines are the Church's beliefs about His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Open Forum (which seems to have petered out at 180 comments), the first half of the discussion is focussed on Mary, and her role in the Church. For many, especially Protestants, she seems to be a stumbling block and a hinderance to a full relationship with Jesus Christ. But this is not the truth!

Christ has given us His Mother as our Mother (John 19:26-27; Revelation 12:17). She helps us to know Christ even more intimately. And through her prayers for us, we can find strength in Christ to live for Him. For her whole raison d'?tre is to give glory to God, and to bring people to her Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 1:46-47; John 2:5).

I have a cd by the Blind Boys of Alabama, called Higher Ground. On it they sing a song called "I Shall Not Walk Alone", that talks about how this relationship with Mary strengthens us in our pilgrimage on earth.

I Shall Not Walk Alone
Ben Harper

Battered and torn still I can see the light
Tattered and worn but I must kneel to fight
Friend of mine what can't you spare
I know sometimes it gets cold in there

When my legs no longer carry
and the cold wind chills my bones
I just reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

Hope is alive while we're apart
Only tears speak from my heart
Break the chains that hold us down
And we shall be forever bound

When I'm tired and weary
and a long, long way from home
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

Beauty that we left behind
How shall we tomorrow find
Set aside our weight in sin
So that we can live again

When my legs no longer carry
and the cold wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
and I shall not walk alone

Just as you or I might pray for each other, in the hard times, when we don't know how to continue, our Mother, who loves us, prays for us and brings us to Christ, her Son and our Older Brother, who walks with us. We truly will never walk alone!

The Rosary

This issue of Marian beliefs and Marian devotion was one that I struggled with right up until even shortly after I became a Catholic. I couldn't understand, as many Protestants can't, how she leads us to Christ without somehow getting in the way. Since becoming a Catholic, I have begun to understand her better, and certainly to love her more. This really began when I took up what is possibly the most famous Catholic devotion: The Rosary. In this series of prayers and meditations, John Paul the Great tells us, "We meditate with Mary on the life of her Son." We ponder with Mary the mysteries of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and come to a fuller and greater understanding of Him--and at the same time, pray perseveringly for our needs and the needs of others!

John Paul 2, on March 8th, 2003, said to us,

My Dear Young People! Today, I am handing you the Rosary beads. Through prayer and meditation on the mysteries, Mary leads you safely towards her Son! Do not be ashamed to recite the Rosary alone, while you walk along the streets to school, to the university, or to work, or as you commute by public transport. Adopt the habit of reciting it among yourselves, in your groups, movements and associations.

With these words from our late Holy Father in mind, we will begin to do just that at our Sunday meetings starting this fall, as our group switches over to a drama team. So come prepared!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Rosary, here is a simple guide for praying it:

How to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary beads are a chain of many beads that form a loop. Trailing from the loop is a small stretch of 5 beads ending with a Crucifix. Where the tail connects to the loop, there is a medal, usually of Mary, or Jesus, or a saint. The one hanging from my rearview mirror has the Eucharistic Chalice with a Host above it. From the medal are ten beads, a slight space, a single bead, another space, ten more beads, etc. In all, there are five groups of ten beads, with a single bead between each group of ten, making four (plus the medal).

Beginning with the Crucifix, we pray the Apostles' Creed (See the prayers below). Then, while fingering the first of the five beads, we pray the Our Father. For the next three beads, we pray a Hail Mary each. On the fifth bead, we pray a Glory Be.

When we get to the medal, we announce the first mystery that we intend to meditate on (the mysteries will be explained below as well). Then we pray another Our Father. For the next 10 beads we pray a Hail Mary each, while meditating and praying about the mystery that we have just announced. When we come to the space between the tenth bead and the single bead, we pray a Glory Be, and then a Fatima Prayer. At the single bead, we announce the next mystery, and start the process over. This continues until all five mysteries are prayed through and meditated upon, and we arrive at the medal again. In the space after the final tenth bead and the medal, we again pray a Glory Be, and a Fatima Prayer, as we have done. Then, at the Medal, we pray a Marian prayer such as the Hail, Holy Queen (which is my preference) or another prayer to Mary of our choice. Then we cross ourselves and go on our way, knowing that we are not walking alone!

The Prayers of the Rosary
The Apostles' Creed
This prayer is a brief summary of our beliefs. It is called "The Apostles' Creed" because it was a summary of their teachings, passed on by the early Church.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty
Creator of Heaven and Earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into Heaven.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The Our Father
This is the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, when they asked Him how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed by Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen.

The Hail Mary
This prayer is also taken from Scripture--at least the first half. The first two lines are Gabriel's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28, and the second two are Elizabeth's greeting to Mary in Luke 1:42. The second half is a simple prayer asking Mary to pray for us.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us sinners,
Now, and at the hour of our death.

The Glory Be
This is a simple doxology glorifying the Trinity.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and forever will be,
World without end. Amen.

The Fatima Prayer
This prayer was given to the three children of Fatima, Portugal, when Mary appeared to them in a series of visions. She asked them to pray it when they prayed the Rosary. In my mind, it proves the desire of Mary to lead us to Jesus:

O my Jesus,
Forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell,
And lead all souls to heaven--
Especially those in most need of Thy mercy.
Amen.

The Hail, Holy Queen
This poetic prayer to Mary can cause concern to Protestants, but we must understand that everything that we hold in this prayer is only because of Jesus, and because she brought Jesus into the world in order to be our salvation.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee we lift up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us,
And show unto us the Most Blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus--
O clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, most holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.

Those are the prayers of the Rosary. Many Protestants claim that the Rosary violates Jesus' condemnation of "vain repetition" in our prayers, since we repeat each prayer several times (Matthew 6:7-8). However, it is important to understand two things here:

1. Not all repetition is vain. Otherwise, many of the Psalms would fall under Jesus' condemnation, making Jesus a contradiction, since the Psalms are the inspired word of God. See, for example, Psalm 136, where the second line of each of its 26 verses is "For His faithful love endures forever." Now that's repetitious!

2. The focus of the prayer isn't on the words being said. They form a prayerful backdrop for the key part of the prayer--meditating on the life of Christ with Mary. Without this exercise of meditating on Christ, then yes, the Rosary would be vain repetition! The mysteries are the entire point of the Rosary! So what are they?

The Mysteries of the Rosary
By "mystery" it is meant an aspect of our faith that is miraculous, that we cannot comprehend. When it comes to the life of Christ, we will never comprehend how the Infinite, Almighty God could become a Man and live among us. Thus, everything that Christ did is a "mystery". In the Rosary, there are 20 mysteries, divided into four sets of five. One "rosary" is the praying of a set of 5, thus going around the loop.

The mysteries focus on Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection. When we meditate on each mystery, it is important to focus on it as if we ourselves were there, witnessing the event. How would we have felt, or reacted, in that situation? When we do this, we go right into the pages of the Gospels with Mary, as she shows us her Son more clearly. As such, it is important that we read and learn the stories from the Bible itself. Therefore, I will include the place in the Bible where the story is found.

When we undertake to meditate on a mystery, it is helpful to offer a prayer intention. One will be suggested for furthering virtues in your life, as we discussed in the Seven Deadlies post.

Let us look at each mystery.

The Joyful Mysteries
These five mysteries focus on Jesus' birth and early childhood.

The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary--Luke 1:26-38
Intention: When meditating on this mystery, pray for the humility of Mary when she responded to God's plan, saying, "You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38).

The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth--Luke 1:39-56
Intention: When meditating on this mystery, pray that you would have a greater love for your neighbour (Matthew 22:39). Think of Mary, visiting her pregnant cousin, and helping her to keep house, while she herself is pregnant with the Saviour!

The Nativity of Jesus--Luke 2:1-21
Intention: Pray that Jesus would help you to be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), as He Himself was: The King of the Universe born in a barnyard feeding trough! If He would do this for us, what should we do for Him?

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple--Luke 2:22-38
Intention: The Jewish people had to offer sacrifices of purification for every first-born child. When Mary and Joseph went to offer these sacrifices, two prophets, Simeon and Anna, give testimony to who Jesus is. If Mary and Joseph had not been obedient to even the seemingly minor points of the Law, Simeon would never have seen the Lord's promise fulfilled (Luke 2:26). Let us then pray for willingness to be obedient to Christ's laws.

Finding Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12--Luke 2:41-50
Intention: Jesus' parents lose track of Him on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. In their worry they look everywhere, and finally find Him, a 12-year-old, teaching scribes and teachers of the Law! When they find Him, Mary and Joseph are filled with joy and relief. Let us pray that we would also be filled with joy at finding Christ working in our own lives--even in the places we least expect to see Him!

The Luminous Mysteries
These new mysteries, given by Pope John Paul 2 in 2002, highlight key events in the life and ministry of Jesus.

Jesus' Baptism--Matthew 3:1-17; Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-22; John 1:29-34
Intention: At His baptism, the heavens were opened, and God proclaimed His love for Jesus, and sent the Holy Spirit to empower His ministry. Let us pray that we would have a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Jesus Turning Water into Wine at the Wedding in Cana--John 2:1-12
Intention: In this story, we see Mary bringing the servants to Jesus so that He could meet their need, and she tells them the most important piece of advice ever: "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5). Let us pray and ask Mary to lead us into a deeper relationship with her Son.

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God--Matthew 4:23; 5:1-7:29
Intention: Let us pray that we would be willing to proclaim Jesus' Kingdom as He sends us out. Let us pray that we are never too worried about what others think that we would deny Jesus!

The Transfiguration of Jesus--Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8
Intention: When Jesus was transfigured, He displayed His true glory for a moment, to Peter, James and John. Let us pray that He would reveal His glory in our own lives.

The Last Supper--Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:7-20
Intention: Let us pray that we would come to know Jesus truly as He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist.

The Sorrowful Mysteries
These mysteries focus on Jesus' suffering and death, which brings us forgiveness for our sins.

Jesus' Agony in the Garden--Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus praying and sweating blood for us, let us pray for true sorrow and true repentance for our sins which brought Him here.

Jesus' Arrest and Scourging--Matthew 26:47-27:26; Mark 14:43-15:15; Luke 22:47-23:25; John 18:1-19:16
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' suffering, let us realise that it brought us our redemption: "He was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on Him, and we have been healed by His bruises" (Isaiah 53:5). Let us pray and thank Him for His salvation, and pray that we would understand the value of suffering in our own lives.

The Crowning with Thorns--Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20
Intention: Let us pray, as we meditate on Jesus' humiliation, that we will have the strength to stand up for Him, even in the face of ridicule and death.

Jesus' Carrying His Cross--Matthew 27:32-33; Mark 15:20-22; Luke 23:26-32; John 19:17-18
Intention: As we meditate on Christ carrying His Cross, let us pray for the patience that He had in enduring this torture.

Jesus' Crucifixion and Death--Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:23-39; Luke 23:33-49; John 19:18-37
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' death, let us reflect on the care He had for those around Him, even in His agony. Let us pray that we would persevere in our walk with Him always, so that we would inherit the crown of life.

The Glorious Mysteries
These mysteries focus on Jesus' resurrection and His power in the Church

The Resurrection--Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-13; Luke 24:1-42; John 20:1-21:25
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' Resurrection, pray that He would increase our faith in Him.

The Ascension--Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:1-11
Intention: As we meditate on Jesus' Ascension into heaven, let us pray that He would fill us with hope in the angels' words, "Why are you...standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you will come back in the same way as you have seen Him go to heaven" (Acts 1:11).

The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost--Acts 2:1-36
Intention: As we meditate, let us pray that the Holy Spirit would fill us with a greater love and zeal for God.

Mary's Assumption into Heaven--Revelation 11:19-12:1
Intention: At the end of her life, Mary was assumed bodily into Jesus' presence in heaven so that she who had been graced to be without sin, would not suffer the unltimate consiquence of sin: death. Let us pray for the desire to join Mary and her Son, Jesus, in heaven, so that we would not stray from following Him here on earth.

Mary's Coronation as Queen of Heaven--Revelation 12:1
Intention: Let us pray and ask Mary to increase our trust in her intercession for us, and for the entire Church, of which she is the Mother (Revelation 12:17).

These mysteries of the Rosary, when we pray them, and meditate on them, will lead us to a greater knowledge of Christ, and a deeper relationship with Him. Let us take our cue from Mary herself, and ponder all these things in our hearts (Luke 2:51).

God bless!

Thought on Prayer

I listen to a Christian Talkback radio show based in Oakville, on JOY 1250 (AM). It's on Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00. It's called the Drew Marshall Show. More often than not, I'm busy on Saturdays, so I'm incredibly grateful for the website updates where I can listen to segments of his show (not to mention the weekly emails about upcoming guests.

Wednesday I got the email that his last Saturday's interview with Brennan Manning was now online. Brennan Manning is a former Fransiscan priest, who after serious struggles with alcoholism, is now having a serious impact with his ministry. He's written numerous books, such as "The Ragamuffin Gospel", which is popular even (especially?) among Evangelical Protestant Christianity.

When I was listening to the interview I was very challenged and inspired by Mr. Manning, especially when he was talking to Drew about prayer. Drew confessed that he didn't pray much, and saw it as a "waste of time." Manning's reply was straight-shooting and to the point:

Manning: ...I recommend 20 minutes of prayer each morning and 20 minutes in the evening. And surprisingly that 20 minutes in the morning will spill over into the rest of the day, you'll find yourself saying things you never dreamed you would say, suddenly a passage of Scripture will spring out of your mind...

Marshall: I...don't pray. Uhm, I mean I pray, but I don't pray, you know what I mean? I've never been a man of prayer. I've surrounded myself with great men of God who get up at 5 in the morning, 4 in the morning, who spend 3 hours on their knees begging, pleading, pouring out. I've tried New Resolution-y kind of things time and time and time and time again. I have a shocking prayer life. What's the prescription? More brokenness? I have to get more broken before I get on my knees?

Manning: Nope...Do 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes in the evening. [someone says] I'd love to, but I just don't have the time...Here's my suggestion. Go to your room, close the door, kneel down, and honestly say to Jesus, "I don't really enjoy spending time with You. I find it boring, I find it monotonous, I'm constantly distracted. I don't have any fierce longing to be with You. I just find prayer is a waste of time--I could be out helping somebody instead of praying. The real problem is, you have to move from "I should pray" to "I want to pray"

...

Marshall: To me it's the biggest waste of time there is. I would be motivated if I saw answers left, right and centre...but it seems like a big waste of time.

Manning: The moment you move from "I know I should pray" to "I want to pray," that's when you do it...The want is a gift from the Holy Spirit. So, in your prayer, you say, "Jesus, I really don't have any desire, any want, and longing to be with You, and I know I can't pull it off. So I'm asking You now, with all my heart, to plant the desire in my heart, to really desire to spend time alone with You." And that prayer gets answered.

Listen to the whole interview at www.drewmarshall.ca/listen.html#050604 It's powerful!
God bless!

Part two of the Beatitudes this weekend!