Rosary Reflections

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart-Luke 2:19

The first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel hold a secret key that links directly to the Holy Rosary and helps us unlock the mystery and grace embedded in this most beautiful evening family prayer. Luke begins with the prophetic announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, followed by Angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary proclaiming the birth of “the Son of the Most High”-Lk 1:32. From then on, the reader journeys through experiences that are at once  harshly human and intensely divine— the stable that served as Mother Mary’s labour room, the heavenly host of angels singing praises to God, the shepherds who visited the baby in the manger. Even as these events unfold in quick succession, Mother Mary holds our attention— her attitude, and, in particular, her strong and silent introspection that we first begin to notice when she faces God’s messenger, and which continues right through the early years of the life of Jesus.

Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary left her understandably troubled. It was an encounter beyond the realms of human experience. But, true to her nature, she began to wonder about what this meant. An emissary from God! What might this mean? She could hardly guess but she kept thinking, reflecting, wondering….! Soon after the birth of Jesus in the stable, shepherds came to see the child. Matthew’s Gospel speaks of the Magi who followed a star and came from the East in search of a newborn King to offer Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Mary must have been overwhelmed just like all the others who were “amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”-Lk 2:18.  But, characteristically enough, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”-Lk 2:19. Years passed by, and Jesus was lost in the temple in Jerusalem for three days. A distraught Mother Mary asked her Son why He had done this to them. His reply was unexpected-“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Lk 2:49. She did not immediately understand but she once again “treasured all these things in her heart”. Lk 2:51

It is important for us to follow the path that her treasured reflections led her through. Even though she did not understand the full import of her Son’s reply immediately, her contemplation gave her the grace to realize the purpose of His birth and what lay before Him. She knew that He had come to fulfil His Father’s Will. As she pondered over each event she had carefully stored in her mind, the power of the Most High, the Holy Spirit revealed to her  God’s purpose and plan for the redemption of His people.

It is exactly this spiritual exercise  that Our Lady invites us to experience when we say the five decades of the Holy Rosary. With each rosary recital, we reflect on one of the four sets of mysteries, which, put  together, weave the entire picture of Jesus’s Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection. As  we repeat ten ‘Hail Marys’ after the Lord’s Prayer, it forms a perfect space within which  we ponder over the respective mystery, just as our Blessed Mother taught us. When we treasure God’s Word in our heart, the Holy Spirit becomes actively involved in giving us God’s grace and understanding beyond the limited capacity of our mind and spirit.   

 In a chronological order the Joyful Mysteries come first as it recounts the incidents from  the Annunciation  right upto the incident at the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old. While these are all familiar stories to us, these five decades form the perfect backdrop to delve deeper into the spiritual implications of the divine birth of Our Lord and Mary’s true role as she carried the Word Incarnate in her womb.

Mother Mary is often hailed as the Ark of the New Covenant , taking us back to the Ark that held the stone tablet of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses. In this case, Mary carried God’s Word in her womb after the Power of the Most High overshadowed her just as God’s glory had once overshadowed the original Ark of the Covenant. Our daily reflections on the joyful mysteries slowly bring these mystical connections to the forefront.

 Soon after the Immaculate Conception, Mary hurried to the hill country to visit Elizabeth who was with child. Elizabeth’s excitement knew no bounds— “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Even her baby leapt in her womb.  Once again this connects  back to King David’s joyous dancing as he  brought the sacred Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem . The comparison between David and Elizabeth becomes clear in relation to the Ark in the Old Testament and Mother Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant respectively. It is through our daily  devotion of the Holy Rosary that we unravel these spiritual gems that we can carry in our hearts forever.

In a similar way, the Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries are comprised of biblical events  that float on an ocean of deep spirituality. The Sorrowful Mysteries that recount the Passion and Death of Christ speak of the untold suffering Jesus endured when He took on the burden of the sins of humanity. The Garden of Gethsemane echoes with Jesus’s plea to His Father. At the Cross there is forgiveness for all humanity and love for His Mother. At the same time, we sense His deep anguish on being separated from God the Father on account of the sins He carried  to redeem humanity–“ My God, My God Why have you forsaken me?”-Mat 27:46.

 Finally, the ransom having been paid in full, the Glorious Mysteries celebrate His Resurrection and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The final mysteries venerate Mother Mary through her Assumption and Coronation. John’s Revelation 11 ends with the image of the Ark of the Covenant and continues into the next chapter with the image of Mother Mary clothed with the sun , the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She gives birth to the Saviour and confirms her position as both Queen of Heaven and as the Ark of the New Covenant.

The Holy Rosary in its entirety is a pocket edition of the New Testament. Its reflections delve deep into the sacred text of the Old Testament and reach forward to the final book of the Bible, the Revelation. Its potential is limitless if we swim below the surface and discover its incomparable spiritual treasures. Mother Mary stored these treasures and pondered them in her heart, and she calls each one of us to do the same through the beads of the Holy Rosary.