THE OTHER MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY

A REFLECTION FOR THE 17TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Mirroring the story of our Redemption, with its joys, sorrows and glories, our lives are also divided into three parts.  From the joy of parents as a new child is born into the world to the sorrow of a family as an elderly member passes on—we’re all familiar with the joys and sufferings of this world.  Between birth and death, we live an entire life bouncing from one to the other, balancing our emotions and trying not to let them get the better of us.  A balanced temperament is something to be desired, and in this grim age in which we live, we meet fewer and fewer people, it seems, who actually have one.

One of the reasons half of us seem to be ‘bi-polar’ these days is because we’re not putting our joys and sorrows in context.  The Rosary shows us that context in all its (literally) glorious magnificence.  Our joys are transitory and will not last, and our sufferings are for a purpose.  The glorious mysteries tell of resurrection, an everlasting life in heaven for those of God’s children who cooperate with his graces throughout their temporary stay here on earth.  Thus, our life is given a purpose.  We can enjoy the happiness we sometimes feel, despite knowing that it will soon somehow be spoiled or taken away.  We can endure our sufferings, knowing that by offering them up we help our Lord carry his cross, make reparation for our own sins, and can help others, even the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

But is it enough?  Is praying the Rosary sufficient in and of itself to save our souls?  The answer is that if it were, our Lord would have given it to his apostles to pass on as the means of salvation.  He did not.  Instead he gave us, at the Last Supper and on the Cross, the same thing in a different and even more powerful form.  He gave us that most important of the seven sacraments, the Holy Eucharist.  Like the Rosary this sacrament has three aspects.  They are the same aspects contained in the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, although instead of merely telling the story of our Redemption, the Holy Eucharist actualizes this story and makes it real, making available to us on a daily basis the infinite sanctifying graces that actually still flow from Christ sacrificed in the Holy Mass and given to us in Holy Communion.  In other words, both Rosary and Mass provide in different ways the same three essential aspects of our Redemption.  

As the Holy Eucharist, Christ himself dwells amongst us in our tabernacles, and is our greatest joy on earth.  THROUGH him, in this Real Presence we commemorate the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, celebrating our Redemption, the divine Advent of the Son of God as he became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and dwelt amongst us.  Secondly, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass reminds us that it is only by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross that we are redeemed, and that it is only by the loving embrace of our crosses that we will find our salvation.  The Sorrowful Mysteries lay out the steps we must take if we want to walk WITH our Lord in his redemptive suffering, along the road to our own Calvary, and beyond to glory.  Finally, by receiving him IN Holy Communion, we literally taste that intimate union with God described in the Glorious Mysteries, a union that will one day be ours if we persevere in grace.  Just as the joys and sorrows of our Lord’s life led to his restoration to glory at his Father’s throne, his presence in the Eucharist and his continued sacrifice at the Mass draw us ever closer to the eternal union of which our Holy Communion is the reflection and foretaste.  Per ipsum et cum ipso et in ipso.  Through him (to joy - Eucharist); with him (in sorrow - Mass), and in him (in glory - Communion).