October is traditionally the month of the Rosary and Catholics all around the world observe this special month of devotion to our Blessed Mother with various activities centred on the praying of the rosary and meditating on its mysteries. One of the significant liturgical celebrations of this month is the Memoria of Our Lady of the Rosary which is celebrated on 7th October every year and was instituted on the anniversary of the Christians victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 attributed to the praying of the rosary. Today, we are still able to celebrate a similar victory of many Christians who are conquering the battles of their daily their lives on their knees with their rosaries in their hands. The rosary is still an all-time favourite devotion of Catholics all around the world because it is a prayer that is simple enough to appeal to diverse peoples. What is the most significant effect of praying the rosary?
The rosary is often misunderstood by many and Catholics are often accused of babbling it like the pagans which Jesus warns us against in Matthew 6:7. This seems like a valid accusation when the rosary is understood only from face value instead of going deeper into the essence of this prayer. The Church has always taught that at the heart of the Church’s recommendation of praying the rosary is not the centrality of Mary but the Mysteries of our Faith which we are called to enter into a deep contemplation of during the reflective praying of each decade. Essentially, we are called to contemplate the Face of Christ as Mary did when we enter into this prayer.
Personally, the rosary forges in us a simplicity and openness to God that Mary herself is honoured for. In the simplicity of the rosary, one is invited to transcend the ego of the self that seeks to be in control or to be excited and enters into the docility of a heart that is waiting upon the Lord. The repetition of the prayers is not to be understood as a means of pestering God but one of stilling our easily excitable spirits and centring us to be open to Christ and His action in us. This is the hallmark of our Blessed Mother who was herself so thirsting and open to the Lord that the God of the Universe was able to find a worthy dwelling for His Son in her womb. This is also the call for each of us who desires to honour our Blessed Mother; that we too shall imitate her in her disposition of total openness to the Lord.
St Augustine once said, “Mary conceived Jesus in her heart long before she had conceived him in her womb”. The clearest sign of the openness of Mary was the Incarnation and so it shall also be for us. If we are truly open to the Lord, then, the clearest sign of this openness in us will also be that the Word will become flesh in us and we will be “pregnant with Jesus” for Christ will continue to make His sacred presence felt in the ordinary situations of human life through our own being which becomes the open channel for the Incarnation to take place in our daily lives. God is desiring to transform our world today into His Kingdom through our openness to His Incarnation in our lives and this is the most significant call of all who pray the rosary with such devotion.
When we have truly embraced the spirit of praying the rosary as it was meant to be and thereby allowed the Word to become flesh in us, then we too shall sing with Mary, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness.” (Luke1:46-48)
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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Terence Kesavan on 18th Oct 2010.
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