LET US PRAY THE ROSARY
That little
child realized, as you and I must realize that the words of the Hail Mary are
brought from Heaven.
In
1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three little children near Fatima in
Portugal: Lucia, 10; Francisco, 9; Jacinta, 7. While they were watching their
sheep, a dazzling light flashed in the sky. Suddenly Our Lady appeared and told
them, "I come from Heaven." She appeared to them six times between
May and October. The last appearance was accompanied by the miracle of the sun,
the vision of the Holy Family, Our Lord in His manhood blessing the crowd, and
of Our Lady wearing the scapular of Mt. Carmel. Thousands witnessed these
wonders as many were there questioning whether or not they actually took place.
The seen of the three children kneeling in front of our Blessed Mother is in
our very own rosary terrace here at the retreat center.
Whether
Fatima is of interest to you are not, you will be interested in what little
Jacinta did in later years. She would go into the mountains to pray the Hail
Mary, stopping after each word. She would say "Hail" and then wait
for the word to echo back from the mountains. Slowly and reverently she called
out the Hail Mary in this fascinating way. That little child realized, as you
and I must realize that the words of the Hail Mary are brought from Heaven.
The
first part, "Hail, full of grace," was spoken by the Archangel
Gabriel at the Annunciation, when he told Mary she was to be the Mother of God.
The second part, "Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of
thy womb," were uttered at Heaven's inspiration by St. Elizabeth during
the Visitation (cf Lk 1:42). The last part was added by Christ's Mystical Body,
the Church, but in a sense was brought from Heaven when Our Lady, in one of her
appearances, told the three children of Fatima to "pray for sinners"
- those who are lost, confused and who cannot find their way to God. "Now
and at the hour of our death," is especially appropriate on this Feast of
the Assumption, which means that Mary, at the end of her life, was taken -
assumed - body and soul into Heaven.
With
Mary let us have joy! We want to tell her we have joyful hearts! We want to
talk to her in her own words, but better still, in the words of the Hail Mary,
the words brought down from Heaven. Like little Jacinta we want to pronounce
every word with love and thought. We want to hear every word echo back from
Heaven and into our hearts. The Assumption of Mary is our meditation for the
fourth decade of the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary. The story in today's
Gospel is that of the Visitation; it is the meditation for the second decade of
the Joyful Mysteries.
After
you read this reflection, I would like to invite you to join me in praying the
rosary while thinking about these two happy and glorious events in the life of
Jesus and His Mother. Our words will echo back from the mountain of where we
are right now. It is here that the Lord is with each of us and the blessed
fruit of Mary's womb is born again. This is where we can ask to be in Heaven
with the Mother of God and celebrate the prayerful action that saved us
sinners. Here we think of our own death as we celebrate the death of Mary's
Son, Our Lord and Our Redeemer.
I
will also pray in a spirit of thanksgiving for this retreat center named in
honor of Our Lady. May the Mother of God help all of us to celebrate the
Sacrifice of her Son with everything we have and let us ask her to continue to
intercede for this retreat center in honor of her Immaculate Heart.