6th Sunday, Crowning of Mary & Rosary

 

As we begin the month of May, we crowned the Virgin Mary before Mass, and after Mass, we will gather to pray the Living Rosary by the statue of Mary, outside the Parish Hall.

When I was attending Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the year before I was ordained a deacon, we crowned a statue of Mary. It was the first year, we had a may crowning at the seminary.

Tuesday of this past week, I gave a 10 to 2 talk about the Rosary at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita. I spoke about the power of the Rosary and the importance of meditating on its mysteries.

In 1208, St. Dominic tried to convert Albigensian heretics, but was very unsuccessful. They believed the body and all physical things were bad, but only spiritual things and the soul was good.

In the year, 1214 Dominic was in anguish and went alone into the forest. He wept and prayed continuously for three days to ask God to help him convert the heretics. He flogged his body and scourged his flesh.

While in the woods, Dominic had an apparition of the Virgin Mary, who gave him the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the Rosary and asked him to preach it.

Shortly after this apparition, St. Dominic preached the Holy Rosary to the unconverted Albigensian heretics. This helped the Albigensian heretics to better understand and to imitate the virtuous life of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary and thousands were converted.

Today, when we pray the Rosary, we should think about the mystery of each decade. Its a double prayer. We pray the Hail Marys and Our Fathers with our lips and pray in our mind when we think about each mystery. When we pray the Rosary, we spiritually crown Mary with a wreathe or roses in heaven. Did you ever wonder why the Rosary is called Rosary? Its named after the rose.

There was an apparition of a Franciscan who was praying the Rosary, who another Franciscan witnessed. During the apparition, every time a Hail Mary was prayed by one of the Friars, a white rose came out of his mouth and ever time he prayed the Lord’s Prayer, a red rose would come out of his mouth. An angel would take the rose and place it in a wreathe on Our Lady’s head.

For example, with regard to the joyful mysteries. Picture the scene of the Virgin Mary praying, when suddenly an angel appears before her saying, “Hail Full of Grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled because She did not know what the angel meant. But he told Her--She would become the Mother of Jesus and His kingdom would be without end. Mary gave Her Yes and then suddenly the Holy Spirit came down upon Her. Jesus descended from heaven into Her womb as a tiny unborn baby. Mary’s Heart was filled with joy and She immediately began to thank the Lord for the wonderful gift of being the Mother of God.

Mary then traveled for 5 days to the town of her cousin Elizabeth. She was elderly and pregnant with John the Baptist. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the unborn John the Baptist leapt with joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, saying, “How is it the Mother of my Lord should come to me, for at the moment of your greeting, the child leapt for joy.” Jesus was just 5 days from conception and had no hands, no eyes, nor no beating heart, yet He blessed John the John the Baptist through the wombs of the mothers.

Then we consider, the birth of Jesus. While taking refuge in a cave with animals, on a cold winter night, Mary miraculously gave birth to Jesus, not in the ordinary way. It's believed Joseph most likely didn’t witness the event, perhaps either sleeping or fetching water. When Jesus was born, He was suddenly before Mary, who picked Him up and held Him in Her arms. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and kissed His chubby little face. In the meditation, you see the Virgin Mary giving you the Child Jesus to hold in your arms. Tears fall from your face as you gaze upon the smiling face of Jesus.

Then out of obedience to the law, Joseph and Mary take the Child Jesus to the temple. Simeon, an elderly priest’s heart is filled with joy because he waited his whole life for the moment he would present the Savior of the World to God the Father, as a tiny infant. Anna, an elderly woman looks on. She had been fasting and praying in the temple for years, hoping someday to see the Messiah. And now He is here. What unutterable sweetness for her to see the Divine Child.

The last joyful mystery, Joseph and Mary are unable to find the 12-year-old Jesus. They had walked for several days in the caravan without noticing His absence. Now they are searching for Him in tears, wondering what happened to Him. Did bandits come and take Him. Was He hurt? Did He have food and water to drink? Where is He, they wondered. Then finally, they discover Jesus in the temple speaking to the doctors of the law and answering their questions. They could not understand how a 12 your old boy, could have such deep knowledge of scripture and spiritual things. Mary and Joseph quickly come to Him and embrace Him out of love. Mary asked, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been seeking you in sorrow.” Jesus responded, “Did you not know, I must be in my Father’s house?”

When we pray the Rosary, with our imagination, with God’s grace, we can make the events of the Rosary come alive and participate in them in our mind as well. When we pray the Rosary, our soul is flooded with grace, our heart is filled with love of God and neighbor, and it gives us peace.

St. Louis de Montfort said that when we pray the Rosary in a group, graces are multiplied. For example, if a group of 5 people pray the Rosary, then each person receives the same grace as though he prayed 5 rosaries. Therefore, if you have cares or concerns and desire your petitions to be heard, pray the Rosary with others, especially your family or at church. During weekdays, we pray the Rosary after all Masses, and we pray the Rosary before Sunday Mass. It is powerful to pray the Rosary every night together as a family. The family is drawn closer to God through the Rosary and closer to each other. We receive graces to endure the difficulties of family life and everything else that involves our life.

In the Gospel today, Jesus said, “As the Father loves me, so I love you.” We can experience the love of Jesus when we pray the Rosary. Pray it as family every day. Maybe start out with a decade each night before you go to bed. Then slowly work up to 2 decades, then the whole Rosary.

My aunt Bertha and uncle Frank prayed the Rosary every day for nearly 68 years of their married life.

Today, crowned the Virgin Mary before Mass, as our mother, and after Mass, we will pray the Living Rosary by the statue near the parish hall.

Let us make the commitment to pray the Rosary every day and to pray it daily as a family, knowing by Mary’s intercession, She will present our petitions to God and by Her motherly assistance, they will be granted, if it's His holy will.