St. Ann's Rosary Garden (5 Photos)
MMR Rosary Garden (1 Photo)
PARISH ROSARY GARDENS
(62 Photo Links) John S. Stokes Jr
Layout
Parish Rosary Gardens are laid out with a Crucifix or Cross, and Our
Father and Hail Mary stepping stones, corresponding to the familiar
arrangement of five-decade Rosary beads - with flower beds
proportioned to the garden site and a focal statue of Our Lady.
Smaller gardens may have stepping stones for a just one decade,
traversed back and forth five times.
Flower Symbols
While the stepping stones in themselves serve as the "beads" for the
praying of the Rosary, and thus are all that are necessary, the
meditations on the Mysteries are enriched through reflection on their
flower symbols from Medieval popular Mary Garden tradition - of which
examples are presented here.
Flower symbols of the Rosary Mysteries are planted in harmonious
groups, borders or backgrounds suited to the garden site and beds,
and as feasible, arranged according to their symbolism of the Joyful,
Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous Mysteries.
While the symbolism of individual flowers is based on their
particular forms, colors and growth; as the garden (or any garden) is
approached from a distance, or glanced at in passing by, the
Mysteries are brought to mind by the general color symbolism of white
for the Joyful, red for the Sorrowful, yellow/gold for the Glorious
and purple for the Luminous Mysteries.
It is in their quickening and illumination of our meditations on the
Rosary Mysteries that the symbolic Flowers of Our Lady make their
special contribution in the Rosary Garden - together with the Our
Father and Hail Mary stepping stones, which serve to pace our
prayers, for greater recollection.
The use of flower symbols as quickeners of meditation on the
Mysteries exemplifies Pope John Paul II's observation in the 2002
Apostolic Letter, 'Rosarium Virginis Mariae' (par. 29), that:
"In the Church's traditional spirituality...devotions appealing
to the senses, as well as the method of prayer proposed by
Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the Spiritual Exercises, make use
of visual and imaginative elements judged to be of great help
in concentrating the mind on the particular mystery."
Flower symbols thus serve to focus the mind more vividly and
immediately on each Rosary mystery than does the simple announcing of
the Mystery in itself; and in our making of "the way of the Rosary",
the Our Father and Hail Mary stepping stones of the garden Rosary
produce a more paced praying of each prayer, than does its rote
repetition fingering the Rosary beads.
It has been observed that in the Medieval Age of Faith, before the
introduction of printing, literacy, book learning and catechisms, and
in which the Rosary was originated, the imaginations of the faithful
were pictoral, rather than verbal - such that religious truths were
largely taught and recalled by the sculptured programs of the
cathedrals, by religious art, and by the nature symbols of oral
tradition.
In the praying of the garden Rosary, the mysteries and the words of
each prayer, with the quickening of the flower symbols, are envisaged
with this same simplicity, directness and clarity of the pictorial
imagination - and this in turn provides the basis for spiritual
illumination.
To this end, each Mary Garden contains a focal statue, to which the
layout of the garden beds is oriented; and which presents to the
imagination an aspect of Our Lady's divinely bestowed prerogatives -
such as the Divine Maternity of the Madonna and Child; the
intercession of Our Lady of Knock, with her hands guiding our rising
prayers to God; the mediation of Our Lady of Grace with her
outstretched arms distributing graces; and the Woman Clothed with the
Sun of Our Lady of Guadalupe, coming forth from Heaven, "as the
morning rising..." to mediate the graces for the redeemed building of
God's earthly Kingdom, etc..
Getting to Know the Garden
Those visiting the Garden become familiar with the flower symbols
through 'take one" plant leaflets with lists of the plants by their
common, botanical and symbolic names, keyed to a bed layout plan,
which they can hold in their hand as they first walk through the
garden, and which may be posted in a suitable "wayside" shelter at
one side of the garden; and also by name markers located with each
plant group in the garden.
From regular garden visits, parishioners and school children become
generally familiar with the flower symbols, such that reflection on
the Mysteries is quickened as the flowers are cared for, or viewed in
walking through the garden; and in the praying the Way of the Rosary
their symbolism is recalled for reflection through familiarity of
imagination, if they are not in bloom or immediately located by the
stepping stones.
THE GARDEN WAY OF THE ROSARY
General
It is to be appreciated that the Rosary prayers and meditations lead
us to reaffirm and to make recourse to the basic truths of our
Catholic faith in distilled simplicity, directness and clarity: God,
Trinity, Creation, Grace, Fall, Incarnation, Sacrifice, Forgiveness,
Redemption, Reparation, Renewal, Sanctification, Kingdom...
For Mary Gardeners, accustomed to extensive meditation on these
truths as quickened by the symbolism of the individual flowers as
they tend the garden, the stepping stones "way of the Rosary"
provides an overall matrix for reflecting on these meditations.
The garden practice in praying the Rosary has been to follow the
familiar basic bead sequence of the prayers, with the inclusion of
St. Bernard's "Memorare" following the introductory prayers, for a
statement of particular intention; and the "Come Holy Spirit"
following the closing "Hail Holy Queen" and "O God, whose
only-begotten Son...", for going forth to the world with the
promptings of grace.
The following is an exposition of the Rosary prayers and mysteries
from the perspective of the Medieval flower symbols. (Texts of
prayers are included in indented paragraphs - for Website visitors
who may not be familiar with the Rosary.)
(Stepping Stone sequence is indicated in parentheses)
(CROSS)
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen
We are to be ever mindful of our unique Christian belief in one God
of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit - symbolized in the
Rosary Garden by the pansy, Trinity Flower; so named from its three
colors: white, yellow and purple in the wild, from which its
botanical name, Viola tricolor, is also derived; and by trillium, or
Trinity Lily.
We cooperate with those of other faiths in love, truth, justice and
mercy, etc., but always cognizant that the peaceful redemption of the
world, to be culminated in the establishment of God's Peaceable
Kingdom, is to be accomplished through the sacrifice of Jesus, the
Second Person of God, the Divine Word Incarnate.
Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven
and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our
Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and
was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended
to Hell. On the third day He rose again. He ascended
into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the
Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Especially emphasized and made recourse to in the Rosary, in the
Edenic context of the garden, is the truth that God has created the
world to show forth and share with us the divine goodness and action;
that to this end he has created us in the divine image and likeness,
and has redeemed us, that this sharing may be to the fullest; and that
Mary, in her immaculate perfection, has enabled God to enter into an
unique fullness of personal union and sharing with her - in her Divine
Maternity, Co-Redemption, Universal Advocacy, Mediation, Mercy, and
Power over evil, etc. - such that by, through and with her is
accomplished the fullness of divine sharing with us all.
(SQUARE STONE)
The Our Father
Our Father, Who are in Heaven; hallowed be Your name;
Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The uniqueness of our Christian belief in Creation - that it is to be
culminated in the building and coming of God's Earthly Kingdom, for
transfiguration on the Last Day, with the General Resurrection, into
the eternal New Heaven and New Earth - is affirmed in our praying of
the Our father
This is basic to our working for peace on earth, as distinct from
persons of other religions, who so far believe earth to be only a
place of conflict and violence from which they believe individuals are
saved only through rising ta a transcendent Paradise, Nirvana, Divine
Union or Tao, etc., - with the exception of Judaism which, with
Christianity, believes in peace on earth, but through a Messiah yet to
come.
From our belief in Christ's Redemption, we believe that in Sacred
History the world will be moved from its fallen state towards the
earthly Peaceable Kingdom step by step through cumulative acts which
when underken in accordance with God's will bring forth good from evil
- for which we pray in the Our Father, "Your will be done". We
believe further that to this end God enables us to undertake our acts
in accordance with his will through the guidance of grace, which we,
created in goodness, are enabled increasingly to discern through our
spiritual growth in fidelity to the graces of our baptism.
A primary purpose, therefore, of praying the Rosary is its
contribution to the heightening of our spiritual discernment in grace
of God's will for our own lives - through the spiritual perfection
which comes to us through meditating on the Mysteries "that by
imitating what they contain we may obtain what they promise" (closing
prayer).
(3 ROUND STONES)
3 Hail Mary's for Faith, Hope and Charity
In the three Hail Mary's following the Our Father, we pray for
increase of faith, as affirmed in the Creed; of hope, as
affirmed in the Our Father; and of Charity - love of God and Neighbor
- as shown forth in Mary's Mysteries; and so needed for our
times.
We add as introduction, from the Prayer of the Angel of Fatima:
O, my God; I believe in you, I adore you, I hope in you
and I love you. I ask pardon for those who do not believe,
do not adore, do not hope and do not love you.
o O o
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now
and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The fullness of God's above-mentioned sharing and union with Mary comes
about by virtue of her immaculate purity, her utter humility and her
total fidelity to God's word at the Annunciation - which enabled her
conception by the Holy Spirit and giving birth to God the Son, the
Divine Word, Incarnate; which Divine Parenthood she shared in with God
the Father.
It is because of the totality of Mary's union with God in her Divine
Maternity that God, in his creational desire and will for ever fuller
divine/human sharing, was able to extend this union as well to her
sharing as co-Redemptrix in her Divine Son's Redemptive Sacrifice;
and, following her Assumption body and soul into heaven, to her
universal sharing in his Advocacy and Mediation with the Father.
Thus, each time we pray to Mary, "Full of grace, the Lord is with
you; blessed are you among women", we affirm her union with God; and
in petitioning her to "Pray for us", we affirm our confidence in her
Divine Son's desire for her to share with him in his Advocacy with
the Father, and in his Mediation of the Father's response.
Further, in the course of her advocacy and mediation Mary augments
our prayers by taking them on as her own, and attunes her mediation
such that she distributes the grace and providence God wills for us
in proportion to our ability to receive them - for his ever fuller
personal sharing with us in his divine plan for the building of the
Creation-culminating earthly Kingdom.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall
be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus (Optional, Pope Pius II, from Fatima request)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires
of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
in most need of Your Mercy. Amen.
Religious Intentions
In addition to the praying of the first three Rosary Hail Mary's for
the religious intention of increase in faith, hope and charity, St.
Bernard's Memorare is often recited for specific immediate
intentions.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was
it known that any one who fled to your protection, implored
your help, and sought your intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of
virgins, my Mother; to you I come; before you I stand sinful
and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not
my petitions, but, in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
Mindful of St. Louis de Montfort's teaching that true devotion to Mary
is disinterested - devoid of self-interest - we seek to discern
intentions which are expressive of God's will and interest for the
person or matter prayed for, with confidence that as Mary intercedingly
presents our prayers to God as also her own, she will augment them
accordingly.
Always, our general intention in praying the Rosary is that by
meditating on the Mysteries we may grow spiritually in our ability to
contribute in grace to world reparation and Kingdom, according to God's
will.
(FIVE MYSTERIES DECADES - 1 SQUARE STONE - 10 ROUND STONES EACH)
Prayers for each mystery
1 Our Father
10 Hail Marys
1 Glory Be
1 O my Jesus (optional, Pope Pius II, from Fatima request)
Weekly Schedules
Traditional
The 5 Joyful Mysteries - Mondays, Thursdays, Sundays of Advent
The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries - Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays of Lent
The 5 Glorious Mysteries - Wednesdays, Saturdays, other Sundays
Optional, Pope John Paul II
The 5 Joyful Mysteries - Mondays, Saturdays, Sundays of Advent
The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries - Tuesdays, Fridays, Sundays of Lent
The 5 Glorious Mysteries - Wednesdays, other Sundays
The 5 Luminous Mysteries - Thursdays
The 20 Mysteries
The 5 Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation to Mary
In the most general way, purity and beauty which flowers retain from
their original creation in the Garden of Eden, remind us of Mary's
Immaculate Conception, and her fidelity to it, that she might be the
Virgin Mother of the Divine Word Incarnate.
In reflecting on the Joyful Mysteries, "that we may imitate what they
contain and obtain what they promise", we meditate first of all on
Mary's purity, humility and fidelity, at the Annunciation - that
through our emulation of these virtues epitomized in Mary, God may be
enabled more fully share with us, his inspiration for our sharing,
like Mary, in his action for Redemption and Kingdom. Our meditations
are quickened by considering the white lily as symbol of her
immaculate purity; the lowly violet, of her utter humility; and
Fuchsia, "Our Lady's Eardrops" adorning her hearing ears, of her
total openness and fidelity to God's word.
2. The Visitation of Mary
In meditating on the Mystery of the Visitation, symbolized by Our
Lady' Slipper and Mary's shoes, bringing to mind, that
"all her steps were beauteous" (Song of Songs) as she traveled to
the hill country to visit Elizabeth, we reflect that she did so
bearing in her womb the Divine Redeemer, of which Pope Benedict
XVI said on the feast of the Visitation, 2005:
"Carrying the recently conceived Jesus in her womb... we
can say that (Mary's) trip was...the first Eucharistic
procession in history....
"To receive Jesus and to take him to others is the true
joy of the Christian! Let us follow and imitate Mary,
profoundly Eucharistic soul, and our whole life will become
a Magnificat."
Now coming on May 31st, following the liturgical revisions the 2nd
Vatican Council, the Feast of the Visitation is the culmination of
the month of May, dedicated with all its flowers, to Mary, the
Mystical Rose - in which we see mirrored Mary's spiritual blossoming,
bearing the Christ Child in her womb, in accordance with the Song of
Songs,
2:10-13. Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful
one, and come. For winter is now past, the rain is over
and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land, the time
of pruning is come: the voice of the turtledove is heard in
our land: The Fig Tree hath put forth her green figs: the
vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love,
my beautiful one, and come:
and with Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, May Magnificat,
"May is Mary's month, and I
Muse at that and wonder why;
Her feasts follow reason,
Dated due to season -
"Candlemas, Lady Day;
But the Lady Month, May
Why fasten that upon her,
With a feasting in her honour?
"Ask of her, that mighty mother:
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring? -
Growth in every thing -
"All things rising, all things sizing
Mary sees, sympathizing
With that world of good,
Nature's motherhood.
"Their magnifying of each its kind
With delight calls to mind
How she did in her stored
Magnify the Lord.
"Well but there was more than this:
Spring's universal bliss
Much, had much to say
To offering Mary May.
"This ecstasy all through mothering earth
Tells Mary her mirth till Christ's birth
To remember and exultation
In God who was her salvation."
We come to see all blooming flowers as mirroring Mary's prophecied
giving birth to the Divine Redeemer
Of special significance in the Visitation is Mary's Magnificat, in
which she celebrates the fullness of the union with God to which
she was raised at the Annunciation for the Divine Maternity -
through her immaculate purity, utter humility and total fidelity to
God's word - and which unionenabled God subsquently to call her to
the blessed prerogatives of Co-Redemptrix and Universal Mediatrix.
3. The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ
In the Nativity, we share in the Father's, Mary's, the Angels',
Joseph's, the Shepherd's and the Wise Men's rejoicing over the birth
of the Redeemer, as symbolized by the Rose, Star of Bethlehem,
Christmas Rose and other flowers by their legends: by Yellow Bedstraw
bursting into golden blooms symbolizing the Christ Child
as True God as he was laid on it by Mary; and by the white specs on
the green leaves of Virgin Mary's Milkdrops symbolizing his nursing
by Mary as True Man.
We adore the Madonna and Child in our imaginations as we behold the
spathe and spadix symbolism of Lady-Lords flowers
And we pray that we may obtain Mary's love of Jesus in our hearts and
minds, mindful of the lesson from the Feast of the Presentation of
Mary in the Temple, November 21st, that:
"Mary heard God's word and kept it, and so she is blessed.
She kept God's truth in her mind, a nobler thing than
carrying his body in her womb. The truth and the body
were both Christ: he was kept in Mary's mind insofar as he
is truth, he was carried in her womb insofar as he was man;
but what is kept in the mind is of a higher order than what
is carried in the womb."
4. The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
In meditating on the Mystery of the Presentation of the Child Jesus
in the Temple by Mary and Joseph, we recall that it was revealed to
Mary, through the prophecy of Simeon, that Jesus was to be a light of
revelation to the world - for which the Feast of the Presentation,
February 2nd, was celebrated as Candlemas, with a procession of
lighted candles - of which the tiny white flowers of early-blooming
Snowdrops were seen as symbols, and accordingly known as Candlemas
Bells.
As the first blooms of the new growing season in temperate climates,
Snowdrops come to signify the beginning of the new year of
Mary Garden blooms, to be followed by the Lenten blooms of Crocus
(Penitent's Rose), Daffodil (Mary's Star), and Hyacinth (Easter
Spikes), etc. and then the sequence of blooms through spring, summer
and fall. In this period of early blooms, Mary Gardens are
customarily blessed for the growth and blooms of the new season, with
the priestly blessing of the Roman Rite - supplementing the original
blessing of the garden and it's Marian statue in their dedication
ceremony.
In this we recognize and esteem the sacramental blessing through
which objects "produce excitation of pious emotions and affections of
the heart" (Catholic Encyclopedia). This both gives the Mary Garden
a special spiritual quality, as sensed by those entering it, and
enhances our quickening by its flower symbols to reflection on the
Mysteries of the Rosary.
The Rural Life Prayer Book of the U.S. National Catholic Rural Life
Conference observes that today such sacramental blessings are:
"riches of the Church which have been long unknown and
unused like a treasure hidden under our very doorstep".
The importance of these blessings has been reaffirmed for our
times in the Second Vatican Council Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy (par. 62) which states:
"The liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals
sanctifies almost every event in [our] lives . . .
There is hardly any proper use of material things which
cannot thus be directed toward the sanctification of
men and the praise of God."
St. Therese of Liseaux, "The little flower of Jesus", saw meditation
on flowers as a way for her of receiving grace. What we seek to
obtain, further, through Mary's advocacy and mediation, from
meditation on the Mystery of the Presentation is, the light of
spiritual illumination - whereby in addition to the graces
experienced in contemplating flowers, we may see the subtle rays of
their heavenly essences irradiating them. Following these rays to
heaven in our active imaginations, we gain a vision of heavenly glory
and then of the all resplendent earth as the radiance of God's face.
This is a preview of the Glorious Mysteries; but first, mindful of
Simeon's further prophecy at the Presentation, of Christ's light as
"a sign which shall be contradicted", we are to meditate on the
Sorrowful Mysteries, through which Simeon prophesied to Mary that
through Christ's sufferings "her own soul a sword shall pierce, that,
out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed."
Because of their early blooms it was also said of snowdrops, in
popular folk legend, that as the first flowers to be seen by Adam and
Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden into the coldness
of winter, they were saw them as symbols of hope - and because of
their retention, like all flowers, of their original created purity
and splendor of Eden, the hope of the very return to Paradise.
5. The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple
Of the 5th Joyful Mystery, the Finding of the Boy Jesus in the
Temple, we have yet to find a suitable single symbol, but have
adopted Anemone, judged by botanists to be the Flowers of the field
to which Jesus referred in his parables, and thus perhaps in his
boyhood preaching in the Temple; and Obedient Plant (from the
retaining by its buds and flowers of any position into which they are
bent) as symbol of Jesus' returning with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth,
where, obedient to them, as True Man, he advanced in wisdom and age
and grace with God and men."
In our meditation on this Mystery we can reflect that in the Divine
Comedy, Dante observed that those souls who were in Purgatory to be
purged of worldly impatience, irritation and anger still on them,
were to be purged of these by a required listening over and over to
the sweetness of Mary's parental words on finding the boy Jesus in
the Temple, "Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold thy father and
I have sought thee sorrowing."
Through meditation on the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth,
concluding this Mystery, we may be quickened to see the purity and
beauty of the many Medieval flower symbols of Mary's features,
apparel and household articles, and of the plants in her garden, as
reflections of the purity of her intentions as she went about her
daily tasks - reminding us that, in emulation of Mary, we ourselves
are likewise to undertake all our own daily tasks for spiritual
intentions.
Of this, Pope John Paul states in 'Rosarium Virginis Mariae'
(par.18):
"The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary's side as
she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in
the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and
to mold us with the same care, until Christ is "fully
formed" in us."
The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries
In the redemption of the world, Christ takes upon himself as his own
all the sins of the world for their banishment, with the sacrificial
death of his body, into the nothingness of the outer darkness, in
satisfaction to the Father and with the accompanying restoration of
sanctifying grace. While this is accomplished by virtue of Christ's
divine infinity, we, in keeping with God's desire and will in
creating the world for a fullness of divine/human sharing, are
enabled to share in this infinite redemptive sacrifice by the
continuing and renewing it each day in the celebration of the Mass.
All the aggravations, sorrows, sufferings and other effects of sin in
the world - continuing in it after the nullification the sins
themselves - are likewise taken upon himself by Christ for
reparational dissolution through the death of his body, with
accompanying of the generation of actual graces dissolving their
immediate causes.
Since the effects of sin and their immediate causes are finite, it is
possible, and therefore willed by God in his creational desire for
the fullness of divine/human sharing, that we humans share in their
dissolution by sacrificially offering all our own experienced
aggravations, sorrows and sufferings for and with Christ - who has
already taken them upon himself as his own - in his continuing
sacrifice in each day's masses. The accomplishment of this sharing
is referred to by St. Paul as "making up what is wanting in the
sacrifice of Christ" (Col. 1, 24).
While usually not called for in lay spirituality, some with religious
vocations may be called upon by Christ in love to share, beyond their
own sacrificially offered sufferings, in sufferings he has taken upon
himself as his own for other persons - tempted or diminished by the
effects of sin, - who are not offering them sacrificially themselves,
as described in Sr. Josepha Mendenez' "The Way of Divine Love", and
in emulation of Mary's co-Redemptive experiencing and taking upon
herself of all the sufferings of Christ, through the sword of sorrow
piercing her soul.
The reparationally dissolving graces generated by our sacrificial
offerings, through Mary"s and Christ's advocacy and mediation with
the Father, are applied to the effects of sin in the world most in
need of reparational dissolution for it's redemptive renewal and the
building of God's Kingdom. This is the essence of Mary's beseeching
at Fatima:
"Recite the Rosary every day...to obtain peace for the
world."
"The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment
of his duties in life".
"Tell everybody that God gives graces through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary....Ask them to plead for peace
from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has
confided the peace of the world to Her."
as amplified by the Prayer of the Angel of Fatima:
"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
I adore you profoundly. I offer you the most precious
body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, present
in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for
the numerous insults, sacrileges and negligences whereby
he is offended.
"By the infinite merits of his Most Sacred Heart, and
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg of you the
conversion of sinners."
It is through our sufficient sacrificial offering for and with
Christ, through the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, of the
aggravations, sorrows and sufferings experienced in performing the
duties of our daily lives, that the hearts and minds of all - and
especially of world leaders, dissidents and insurgents - will be
delivered from the evil effects of sin, as we pray for in the Our
Father. This deliverance will be by the reparational dissolution of
the effects of sin in their hearts, minds and souls through actual
reparational graces, that they, in their innate created goodness, may
be responsive to the graces of reconciliation and peace beseeched in
all the Rosary prayers of the faithful.
(In this we are to keep in mind that God's grace is bestowed on all;
not just on the baptized and sanctified, of which the Catholic
Encyclopedia states:
"As the object of these graces is, according to their
nature, the spread of the Kingdom of God on earth and
the sanctification of men, their possession in itself
does not exclude personal unholiness. . . .
"Actual grace is that unmerited interior assistance
which God, in virtue of the merits of Christ, confers
upon fallen man in order to strengthen...his infirmity
resulting from sin".)
This is dealt with here at length because it is the specific basis,
revealed by God through Mary at Fatima, for our hope of world peace -
in these times of nuclear arms, compacted weapons of mass destruction
and suicidal bombings. The Sacrifices of just one person one day
offered for and with Christ can make the reparational difference for
a reconciliation at a summit confrontation.
As Christ takes upon himself redemptively all the sufferings of the
world including our own, we at the outset can share in those of his
sufferings which he has taken on from us, by ourselves embracing and
offering them sacrificially for and with him. While we are to seek
health, well being and the development of our potentials for our
fullest contribution, guided by grace, for the building of God's
Kingdom - to the extent that aggravations, obstacles, sorrows and
pain are our lot, we are thus to undertake them sacrificially for and
with Christ. As has been said, we share with God in Redemption and
Kingdom by doing and by suffering, in grace.
To start with, as we meditate on each of the Sorrowful Mysteries, we
do so with self-examination, interior resolution, and periodic
recourse to the confession, absolution and penances of the sacrament
of Reconciliation, that we may, in love, purge ourselves of blocking
distractions, attachments, attitudes and imperfections, that we may
more fully offer our diminishments sacrificially for and with Christ,
as he takes them upon himself, along with those of all the world, in
his sacrifice, renewed in each day's masses.
1. The Agony of Christ in the Garden
First, in discerning and mortifying our attachments of will, we
meditate on the Agony in the Garden, in which Christ, envisioning the
sufferings of his Passion and Cross to come, suffered a bloody sweat,
praying, "Father, let this cup pass me by; yet not my will but yours
be done."
As prophesied by Simeon at the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the
Temple, Mary was to participate co-redemptively with Christ in his
sufferings by way of a sword of sorrow - symbolized by Iris spears,
"Mary's Sword" - piercing her soul; but in Irish Gaelic popular
devotion the Elegant St.Johnswort flower, with the red dots on its
petals, was seen as "Allus Mhuire", or "Mary's Sweat", indicating the
envisioning of the faithful that through the enormity of her sword
of sorrow, she participted directly in Christ's bloody sweat,
symbolized by the common St. Johnswort.
This is indicative of Mary's fullness of compassion for Christ's
sacrificial sufferings which we are to emulate.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
In meditating on Christ's Scourging at the Pillar - visualized on
viewing or reflecting on the flat clusters of the red flowers,
Chrsts (bloody) Back, and also the many flowers seen as Christ's Lash
- we examine all our sufferings of the flesh, as to whether
we see them as just our own, or also as they are taken on by Christ
sacrificially, in which we are to join.
3. The Crowning With Thorns
In meditating on the mocking of Christ, through his Crowning With
Thorns - symbolized by be several flowers commonly known today as
Christ's Crown or Crown of Thorns - we examine all our mental
sufferings, likewise to see whether we see them as just our own, or
also as taken on by Christ sacrificially, in which we join.
4. The Carrying of the Cross
The sufferings of Christ's carrying of the Cross are brought to mind
for our reflection by the flower, Christ's (bloody) Knee, symbolizing
his falls. Through the flower symbols of Christ's Eye, we
experience his poignant appeal to us though his gaze for compassion
with him his sufferings, in emulation of Mary's co-redemptive
compassion through the sword of sorrow piercing her soul.
We are assisted in this from our beholding of paintings of the relic,
Veronica's Veil, retaining the image of Christ's face and the
intensity of his eyes, from its reputed use by Veronica ("true
image" ) to wipe the sweat from his brow during the carrying of the
Cross - as symbolized also by the two "eyes" of the flower, Veronica
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord on the Cross
In meditating on Christ's sacrificial suffering and death on the
Cross we reflect on the enormity of his taking upon himself in love -
for their annihilation with the death of his body - both of all the
sins of the world; and also of all the effects sins - the first of
which he makes satisfaction to the Father through his infinite
annihilation of them in his human death, as God, but in the second of
which he wishes us, in love, to share with him in his finite
annihilation of them, as human.
To the extent we are able, we continue to emulate Mary's
co-redemptive sharing in Christ's sufferings, through her sorrow of
soul - symbolized by the flower spears of her Sword of Sorrow, by
the many flowers seen as Mary's Tears, and as Mary's Hair (by legend
torn from her head by her in sorrow at the foot of the Cross).
The Passion Flower and its various parts is seen as a multiple symbol
of Jesus' scourging, crowning with thorns, and crucifixion:
The spiraled tendrils - the lash of Christ's scourging
The central flower column - the pillar of the Scourging
The 72 radial filaments - the Crown of Thorns
The top 3 stigma - the 3 Nails
The lower 5 anthers - the 5 wounds
The Style - the Sponge used to moisten
Christ's Lips with Vinegar
The leaves (some species) - the head of the Centurion's Spear
The red stains - Christ's Blood Drops
The Round Fruit - The World Christ came to save
The Fragrance - The Spices prepared by the Holy
Women
Finally, in meditating on Christ's words, "Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit", just prior to his death, we are to emulate in
ourselves the mystical loosening of our own souls through the
spiritual crucifixion of our bodies - in preparation for the mystical
rising of the Glorious Mysteries.
The 5 Glorious Mysteries
After reflecting on the Sorrowful Mysteries of Jesus' sufferings and
sacrifices of his Passion and Cross - for the forgiveness of sins and
in reparation for the temporal effects of sin in the world - we move
on to the Glorious Mysteries, which have taken on new significance
with Pope John Paul II's addition of the Luminous Mysteries
Previously, with the Rosary ending with the 5th Glorious Mystery, of
The Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven and Earth, our focus in
meditation and prayer were on her heavenly Advocacy and Mediation and
her occasional revelatory personal appearances on earth.
Now, with the meditations and prayers of the concluding Luminous
Mysteries, focusing on the coming and final transfiguration of God's
earthly Kingdom, we look to Our Lady more fully for her Queenship on
earth, and thus to the 5th Glorious Mystery more as a heavenly
preparation for this - as she "comes forth as the morning rising,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as a army set forth in
battle array."
In meditating on the Glorious Mysteries we are to "obtain what they
promise" by way of more fully emulating in ourselves Mary's heavenly
grace, light, wisdom and power that, with her, we may work and pray
more fully for the coming of God's Kingdom on earth.
In this, while many ascetics and mystics have followed the way of St.
Teresa of Avila, St. john of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales and
others to God in heaven above; Jesus has taught also that "the
Kingdom of Heaven is within you" - which is the ordinary way we
follow in praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.
In the course of examining ourselves in praying the Joyful Mysteries
that with the help of God's grace, we may more fully emulate Mary's
Annunciation virtues; and in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries, we may
emulate the sword of sorrow piercing her soul in uniting our
sufferings sacrificially with those of Christ's Passion and Cross; we
develop an interior sense of our souls and spiritual hearts, minds
and bodies through which meditatively to emulate her filling with
heavenly grace, light, wisdom and power in the Glorious Mysteries.
This, that we may act with her and her spouse, the Holy Spirit, in
working and praying for the coming of God's Kingdom, as we meditate
on her, and emulate her coming forth, in the Luminous Mysteries.
In this sense the Luminous Mysteries are Pope John Paul's legacy with
us whereby we may emulate the mystical fortitude with which he
affirmed traditional personal morality, life, truth, justice, peace,
love and mercy in everyday life - so urgently needed today.
It is to this end that we are to meditate on the Glorious Mysteries,
that we may, as with the other Mysteries, "imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise" - mystical participation in Christ's
Resurrection and Ascension; reception of the Pentecostal descent of
the Holy Spirit for the conversion of souls to the Church to be
"workers in the vineyard" for God's Kingdom; mystically to share in
Mary's Assumption body and soul into Heaven, in her crowning as Queen
of heaven and earth, and in her coming forth clothed with the sun
from the Heaven of the Trinity, for her returns to earth "as the
morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the Sun and terrible as
an army set in battle array" (Song of Songs) to inspire, and to
mediate graces for, the culminative building of God's Kingdom - in
which we will participate through the Luminous Mysteries.
1. The Resurrection of Our Lord
In meditating on the Glorious Mysteries "that we may imitate what
they contain and obtain what they promise", we first of all reflect
on Mary's Joy over the Resurrection of her Divine Son - symbolized by
the translucent white petals and golden anthers of the Easter Lily,
and generally by the emergence from the soil, and blooming, of all
spring blooming winter-dormant perennial flowers. Special symbols of
the Resurrection are the Holy Land desert flower, Resurrection Plant,
so named because of its "instant" blooming from its dried up
condition when desert rains come, and "Touch-me-not" balsam, named
from the words of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene because when
lightly touched its seed pods burst open, scattering the seeds.
Mary's joys over the Resurrection, after her Passion and Crucifixion
sorrows, are celebrated in the Servite Order by on Holy Saturday
crowning of her statue for Easter with flowers, symbolizing the
Resurrection - with the blessing:
"O almighty everlasting God we beseech thee to bless
these flowers . . . that there may be in them goodness,
virtue, tranquility, peace, victory, abundance of good
things, the plenitude of blessing, thanksgiving to God
the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and a most
pleasing commemoration of the glorious Mother of God -
that in whatsoever places they shall have been humbly
received trustingly stored up and reverently kept by thy
faithful, they may put forth an odor of virtue and
sweetness."
Mindful of the statement in the Catholic Encyclopedia that:
"Blessings...are sacramentals and, as such, produce
...excitation of pious emotions and affections of the
heart..."
we "trustingly store up and reverently keep" these flowers as dried
flowers in our homes and classrooms, for the quickening of our
meditations on the resurrection of Christ, and the spiritual
quickening of our souls - as we do blest palms for the quickening of
our sorrowful mortifications
Through our meditations on the Resurrection over a period of time, we
may obtain, a sense of own spiritual resurrection - of the ascetic,
mystical softening of the bondings of our souls to our bodies, when
they were initially placed there by God - such that with, St. Francis
de Sales, we may begin to have a sense of our souls as such, and of
entering into heavenly mystical marriage with Christ, as the Bride of
the Spouse in the Song of Songs (Canticles), as set forth extensively
by St. Bernard in his Sermons on the Song of Songs - the Bride
traditionally being seen as respectively Mary, the Church and the
individual soul... saying to Christ:
2:1. I am the Flower of the Field, and the lily of the valleys.
2:5. Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples:
because I languish with love.
8:6. Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm,
for love is strong as death,
To which Christ replies:
4:12. My sister, my spouse, is a garden enclosed, a garden
enclosed, a fountain sealed up.
4:13. Thy plants are a paradise of pomegranates with the
fruits of the orchard. cypress with spikenard.
4:14. Spikenard and saffron, sweetcane and cinnamon, with
all the trees of Lebanus, myrrh and aloes with all the
chief perfumes.
4:15. The fountain of gardens: the well of living waters,
2. The Ascension of Our Lord
For our assistance in obtaining what our mediations on the Glorious
Mysteries promise, our minds now are illuminated not so much by the
symbolic forms and colors of flowers - as in the Joyful and Sorrowful
Mysteries - but by the retained purity and luminosity of their
original creation in Eden whereby we perceive them illuminatively
according to their heavenly essences, such that our spiritually
loosened and softened souls are drawn by all flowers - symbolically
by those such as Ladder to Heaven and Heavenly Way - to heaven;
whether to heaven above, or to the Kingdom of Heaven within us.
In this we are to continue our self-examination for limiting bodily
attachments of soul - with continuing periodic confession, absolution
and further purifying penances, as distinct from previous
purifications of body.
1:3. Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy
ointments.
1:6. Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest,
where thou liest.
Through this God enables a fuller illuminative divine/human sharing
with us, according the purpose of Creation, supplementing that of the
infusion of grace in our souls as initially placed in our bodies by
God at Baptism, and subsequently in the sacraments of Holy Communion,
Confirmation and Reconciliation
Through this fuller sharing with God - from grace to grace and glory
to glory, as St. Paul has said - our souls, like those of the
Apostles praying in the Upper Room following on the Christ's
Ascension into Heaven, are more opened to filling with the Holy
Spirit, who, through Mary's mediation comes to us for our personal
Pentecostal spreading of faith in the Church by our words and deeds.
3. The Descent of the Holy spirit upon the Apostles
A number of flowers were named Pentecost Flower from their bloom at
the time of Pentecost, especially in Germany, where they were named
named for the German name of Pentecost, "Pinkster" - some of which
came to be known in English as Pinks, with special association with
Pentecost through the serrated edges of their flower petals seen to
represent the tongues of flame of the descending Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, from which petals were named the pinking, and pinking
shears, of garment making.
Other flower symbols of Pentecost are the Red Columbine and the
Holy Spirit Philodendron, whose up-reaching terminal spike or spine
is flaming red with the irradiation of the light of the Spirit -
representing our spiritual upreaching to receive the Holy Spirit -
and which in time unsheathes or unfurls its down-pointing, trailing
leaves representing the many tongues of flame of the Holy Spirit,
descending as at Pentecost .
The large number of flowers named in various places for Pentecost
show the great importance placed on Pentecost in Medieval times, with
the liturgical designation of the following period as "days after
Pentecost".
In our meditation on the Mystery of Pentecost, we examine ourselves
for the sacramental elimination of any spiritual imperfections or
defects which may prevent our going forth in fullness of the
affirmation of our faith, like the Apostles .
4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven
St. Bede, the Venerable, wrote of the while lily as symbol of Mary's
Assumption, body and soul, into heaven - the white petals symbolizing
her pure body and the golden anthers her glorious soul. We have found
only one flower named for the Assumption - Assumption Lily, the white
day lily hosta, blooming in north temperate zones at the time of the
Feast of the Assumption, August 15th.
In medieval rural cultures, with close dependency on the harvesting
of crops, the Feast of the Assumption was a special occasion for the
blessing of the first fruits, on which herbs, grains and other plants
were brought to Mass by the faithful tied in Assumption Bundles, and
placed on the altar in special processions. Then, after blessinq
during the Mass ceremony, they were taken home for reservation as
blest holy objects for use - much as palm fronds blessed and
distributed on Palm Sunday are used today.
Included in these blessings were Flowers of Our Lady, of which one
19th century report states:
"Their gathering is relegated to the school children and
thereby gives occasion to a botanical excursion, which has
great appeal for them. The plant names by which the children
identify them are to an extent quite original and reveal,
so to speak, the the propensity of folk culture - Our Lady's
Bedstraw, Our Lord's Little Fingers."
In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the following blessing is
used on the feast of the Assumption today:
"Almighty and everlasting God . . with mind and word we
earnestly implore your unspeakable Goodness to bless these
various herbs and fruits, and add to their natural powers the
grace of your new blessing. May they ward off disease and
adversity from men and beasts who use them in your name."
In Mary Gardens, in respect for the Medieval closeness to plants, the
Feast of the Assumption has therefore been selected as a time at
which harvested Flowers of Our Lady, generally, are blessed and dried
for reservation indoors, for symbolic quickening of reflection after
the outdoor bloom season is past - mindful of the statement of the
Rural Life Prayer Book, mentioned previously in connection with Holy
Saturday flower blessings, that today such sacramental blessings are:
"riches of the Church which have been long unknown and
unused like a treasure hidden under our very doorstep".
Our Lady's Candle,? Giant ?M?u?l?l?e?i?n?,? was ?t?h?e? ?p?l?a?n?t? ?m?o?s?t? ?f?r?e?q?u?e?n?t?l?y?
?u?s?e?d? ?a?s? t?h?e? ?'?s?p?i?n?e?' ?or '?b?a?c?k?b?o?n?e?'? ?o?f? ?t?h?e? ?A?s?s?u?m?p?t?i?o?n? ?b?u?n?d?l?e?s? ?o?f?
?f?l?o?w?e?r?s?,? ?h?e?r?b?s? ?a?n?d? ?g?r?a?i?n?s? ?b?l?e?s?s?e?d? ?a?t? ?M?a?s?s? ?o?n? ?t?h?e? ?F?e?a?s?t? ?o?f? ?t?h?e?
?A?s?s?u?m?p?t?i?o?n?. ? Mystically, Mary's Assumption is the time of her bodily
spiritual empowerment for her mediating returns to earth.
5. The Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven and Earth
As we meditate on the 5th Glorious Mystery, we envisage Mary in
accordance with our prayer in the closing Hail Holy Queen pryer of
the Rosary, "and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit
of your womb, Jesus" - as she emerges from the Heaven of the Trinity
as the Heavenly Queen in gilded clothing, with her Child.
It is reported that St. Hildegard of Bingen dedicated the Calendula
to the Virgin Mary and gave it the name Mary's Gold - the original
marigold - after a heavenly vision, of which it is said in her Life
and Works,
"In 1141, Hildegard had a vision that changed the
course of her life. A vision of god gave her instant
understanding of the meaning of the religious texts,
and commanded her to write down everything she would
observe in her visions.
"'And it came to pass ... when I was 42 years and 7
months old, that the heavens were opened and a blinding
light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire
brain. And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like
a flame, not burning but warming... and suddenly I
understood of the meaning of expositions of the
books...'"
The plants presently known worldwide as marigold, or Mary's Gold, are
Mexican plants of the genus Tagetes, named after their discovery by
Christian missionaries.
The 5 Luminous Mysteries
We are to meditate on the five Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, the
legacy of Pope John Paul II, to obtain what they promise - emulation
of the the Pope's spiritual steadfastness and power for the
advancement of God's Peaceable Kingdom in today's fallen world.
In this our souls are to come forth from the spiritual rest of
heavenly contemplation, to active spiritually empowered participation
in the Mary-mediated building of God's earthly Peaceable Kingdom.
1. Christ's Baptism in the River Jordan
Flower Symbol, Columbine - Dove of the descending Holy Spirit.
While in Eden our First Parents were to have undertaken the building
of God's Kingdom with the guidance and promptings of the actual
graces of the Holy Spirit, we now are attentive to staying in a state
of sanctifying grace through the sacraments of Holy Communion and
Confession, but are not attuned to turning to the actual graces which
sustain our sacrifices of Reparation and our actions for Kingdom.
Through meditation on the Mystery of Christ's baptism, we are
reminded that even though he was True God, as True Man he looked to
the guidance and promptings of the actual graces of the Holy Spirit
for the guidance in his ministry and sacrifice. While we may look to
the Holy Spirit for guidance in major matters, such as selecting a
vocation, we are now, per the Luminous Mysteries, to attune ourselves
regularly to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our daily
sacrifices for Reparation and in our work for God's earthly Kingdom.
In this we turn to the teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his
Spiritual Exercises, for the discernment of spirits, so that we can
recognize the guidance and promptings of grace, through which God
enables us to share with him in the work of Redemption and Kingdom -
in fulfillment of his purpose for Creation.
In essence, St. Ignatius' teaching is that - for those who are
spiritually attuned - actions that are in accordance with God's will
and promptings are, on reflection, perceived to be accompanied by
consolations of grace; while those that are not are accompanied by
the sense of the desolation of the absence of grace.
Accordingly, in making a specific decision for an important matter at
hand, we are to compose ourselves in spiritual quiet for successive
reflections on the alternate choices envisaged; and to discern for
which reflection we experience the consolation of grace. If we have
no clear indication in reflecting thus on the choices as such, we are
to reconsider them in the context of reflection on the purpose
Creation; and if still no indication, to consider them again, in
relation to God's love.
If in this we are unable to detect the consolations of grace, we are,
through self-examination, to detect any blocking distractions,
preoccupations, attachments, or other spiritual imperfections, and to
purge ourselves of them through the confession, absolution and
penances of the Sacrament of Reconciliation...and by praying in the
Come Holy Spirit, "grant that we may ever rejoice in your
consolation."
2. Christ's Self-revelation at the Marriage of Cana
Flower Symbol, Grapes - recalling Christ's first miracle of the
turning of water into wine.
In emulation of the 2nd Luminous Mystery of Mary's intercession and
mediation with her Divine Son to meet the need for more wine at the
Marriage of Cana, we are now to turn to her intercession and
mediation likewise in the "little" immediate, practical situations we
encounter, as we sense her constantly at hand while working and
praying for the building and coming of God's earthly Kingdom in
today's fallen world - as well as in the "big" matters previously
referred to her in heaven.
Having attuned ourselves to perceive the presence of God's actual
graces, we find we have an accompanying sense of Mary's constant
presence, since as Mediatrix of all grace, she is present by her
mediating action wherever grace is present.
Thus, moving from our contemplation of Mary as Queen of Heaven, in
the Glorious Mysteries, we now to turn to her immediate intercession
and mediation "on location", as, Queen of Earth, as she "comes forth
as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun and
terrible as an army set in battle array (Song of songs _,_),
Rather than envisioning her as interceding and mediating from her
heavenly remoteness, with occasional appearances on earth, we are now
to envisage her as actively promoting her earthly Kingdom - in
accordance with the couplet associated with Giant ?M?u?l?l?e?i?n, "Our
Lady's Candle", "Heaven's Fire":
The Virgin Mary flies all over the land,
With Heaven's Fire in her hand.
As Pope Benedict observed on the feast of the Assumption, 2005:
"Mary is taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven,
and with God and in God she is Queen of heaven and earth...
"Precisely because she is with God and in God, she is very
close to each one of us....knows our hearts, can hear our
prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness and has
been given to us, as the Lord said, precisely as a "mother"
to whom we can turn at every moment...who is not far from
any one of us."
In this our prayer is to be, "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of
your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love" - love of the
Blessed Virgin - "and (we) shall be created and you will renew the
face of the earth" - that we may turn to her for assistance in
perceiving the guidance of God's grace.
3. Christ's Announcement of the Kingdom of God with the Invitation to Conversion
Flower symbol: The growth of the tall Mustard plant from its tiny
seed - Gospel symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven.
God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - created the world in love to show
forth and share the divine goodness and action with us humans, with
culmination to be in the building and coming of the earthly Peaceable
Kingdom of God of divine/human sharing, with transfiguration on the
Last Day, with the General Resurrection, into the Eternal New Heaven
and New Earth. Then, with the fall of the world into evil through
the sins of our First Parents, God, again in love, redeemed the world
through the incarnation, teaching, sacrifice and death of Jesus
Christ, the Divine Son.
However, many Christians have reduced this only to acting morally,
and staying in the state of grace through the sacraments, so their
souls will go to heaven when they die, to be rejoined by their bodies
at the General Resurrection.
While this does lead to personal salvation of souls; to the
development of the earth through the arts, crafts, sciences and
technologies; and to many acts of love, mercy, justice and freedom,
it does not lead to the sufficiency of sharing in Christ's sacrifice
necessary for sustained world peace, for the kingdomal culmination of
world redemption, and for ultimate transfiguration into the eternal
Heavenly Kingdom.
The practice of this truncated Christianity has the effect of making
it appear to be just one of the competing, warring, world religions:
each embracing belief in God, in basic religious values, and in
individual transcendence in life after death - into Paradise,
Nirvana, Tao, Divine Union, etc. - but lacking belief in earthly
redemption and the building of God's earthly Peaceable Kingdom, for
eternal transfiguration.
To meet this situation, Pope John Paul II has given us his personal
example of the fullness of mystically based Christian spiritual
commitment, and the legacy of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
for its popular emulation by the faithful.
As the Pope has said, "This is our great hope and our invocation:
'Your Kingdom come!' - a Kingdom of peace, justice, and serenity,
which will re-establish the original harmony of creation."
Thus, instead of living with only secular recourse to ever-shifting,
never resolved, diplomatic, military and economic strategy, tactics,
timing and power struggles, we, the faithful, are called to live -
through Mary's practical, on location, Advocacy and Mediation - by
the grace of reparation of the temporal effects of sin, of the
Sorrowful Mysteries, and by the inspired grace promptings of the
Spirit of the Luminous Mysteries which will open the way to the
truth, justice, love, freedom and material sufficiency of God's
Peaceable Kingdom.
While the discursive, verbal description of God's Earthly Kingdom as
a Peaceful Kingdom of truth, justice, love, freedom and material
sufficiency sets forth an ideal towards which we are motivated to
work - both for overall society, and for the immediate relationships
of our daily lives, including the relationships of our children - we
turn for inspiration to Mary's prophecy in the Magnificat of the
coming of God's Kingdom - through her divine Son, and her blessed
Advocacy and Mediation:
"My soul magnifies the Lord",
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior",
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid".
For, behold, from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed
For he that is mighty has done great things to me,
And holy is his name
And his mercy is from generation to generation.
He has shown might in his arm
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart,
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
He has exalted the humble;
He has filled the hungry with good things
And the rich he has sent empty away",
He has received Israel his servant,
Being mindful of his mercy,
And his mercy is from generation to generation,
As he spoke to Abraham and to his seed forever."
...praying that this vision of the Kingdom will inspire conversion to
its building in sacrifice and grace,
4. Christ's Transfiguration, When He Revealed His Glory To His Apostles
Flower symbol: Goldenrod of heavenly radiance.
Motivation in working for God's Kingdom is to be enhanced by
envisioning it as it will be transfigured on the last Day, as
exemplified by Jesus' glorious transfiguration before the Apostles.
As mentioned in regard to the 4th Joyful Mystery, the created
luminosity of flowers enables us in our purified active imaginations
to gain a vision of heavenly transfiguration - as given by Jesus to
the Apostles - such that we may so envisage the ultimate
transfiguration of the earthly Kingdom, as motivation for us to work
for it in grace.
Thus, in meditating on this 4th Luminous Mystery, we pray that we may
so be filled with this vision of the transfigured Kingdom that we may
inspire this vision in others, especially the young.
Then, after our initial overall transfigured envisioning of the
earthly Kingdom of God, as city glistening in the sun, the
architectural close=ups we see in our daily lives - and the whole
world - come to have the same luminosity.
In this we beseech Mary for the luminosity for all to envisage, for
their further motivation, God's Earthly Kingdom as transfigured at
the end of time into the eternal New Heaven and New Earth.
5. The Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper as the Sacramental Expression of
the Paschal Mystery
Flower symbols: Wheat of the Eucharist; Lunaria, seed pod symbols
of the Eucharist.
While each morning we make our virtual Morning Offering of our
spiritual intentions for the day; during the day offer, with the Sign
of the Cross, our actual sacrifices of work and suffering as they
occur; and in the Mass continue and re-enact Christ's sacrifice and
ours....in the quiet of the Spiritual Communion of Eucharistic
Adoration, we affirm our basic faith, hope and love of Jesus, and the
Father, in the union of the Holy Spirit - for Creation, Redemption
and Kingdom.
Mindful of the world's suffering and violence, we renew our
understanding that the evil, tempting, possessing, effects of sin in
the world cannot to be overcome for Kingdom by diplomatic, military
and economic strategy, tactics and timing of themselves - but only by
our fullness of sharing in Christ's reparational sacrifice.
Then, in hope, renewing our recognition of the decisive moments of
sacred world history towards Kingdom when a combination of
sacrifice-generated grace and providential movements have led to
major acts of reconciliation across alienations - as for example in
the ending of the cold war between two factions facing one another
with the potential of mutually assured atomic destruction - we
resolve to renew our prayers and sacrifices for a less stressful
further movement of the world towards Kingdom.
(SQUARE STONE - Medal on beads)
Concluding Prayers
These petitions are made at the conclusion of the Rosary prayers and
meditations, as we turn to go about our daily lives - for needed merciful
comfort and healing; and generally for our spiritual perfection and
action for reparation and kingdom, in emulation of Mary in her
Mysteries, and for our rising to the heavenly vision and adoration of
Mary and her Divine Child.
Hail Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness
and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of
Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping
in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy towards us. And after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed Fruit of your womb, Jesus. O
clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, Whose only-begotten Son
O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and
resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal
life, grant, we beseech You, that meditating upon these
Mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they
promise, through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Closing Sign of the Cross
Suggested Prayer After the Rosary
Mindful of Mary's closeness to us of the Luminous Mysteries, we are
moved at the conclusion of the Rosary to evoke anew her divinely
positioned Advocacy and Mediation in our daily lives and in world
events - through a special prayer such as that of the Legion of Mary:
"Confer, 0 Lord, on us,
who serve beneath the standard of Mary,
that fullness of faith in you and trust in her,
to which it is given to overcome the world;
"Grant us a lively faith, animated by charity,
which will enable us to perform all our actions
from the motive of pure love of You, and ever to
see You and serve You in our neighbor;
A faith, firm and immovable as a rock, through which
we shall rest tranquil and steadfast amid the crosses,
toils and disappointments of life;
A courageous faith which will inspire us to undertake
and carry out without hesitation great things for
your glory and for the salvation of souls;
A faith which will be our Legion's Pillar of Fire
- to lead us forth united
- to kindle everywhere the fires of divine love
- to enlighten those who are in darkness
and in the shadow of death
- to inflame those who are lukewarm
- to bring back life to those who are dead in sin;
and which will guide our own feet in the way of peace
Amen."
o O o
Flowers mentioned in the above text, in the order of mention
General
White
Red
Yellow/Gold
Purple
Nazareth
Specific (62) ©
Pansy Trinity Flower Viola tricolor MG
white lily Annunciation Lily Lilium candidum MG
violet Mary's Humility Viola odorata MG
Fuchsia Our Lady's Eardrops Fuchsia magellanica WU
Ladyslipper Our Lady's Slippers Cypripedium calceolus MG
Columbine Spurs Mary's shoes Aquilegia vulgaris MG
Fig Tree Fig Tree Ficus carica FW
Rose Rose Rosa MG
Star of Bethlehem Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum umbellatum MG
Christmas Rose Christmas Rose Helleborus niger MG
Yellow Bedstraw Our Lady's Bedstraw Galium verum WP
Lungwort Virgin Mary's Milkdrops Lamium maculatum FF
Cuckoo Pint Lady-Lords Arum maculatum IP
Snowdrops Candlemas Bells Galanthus nivallis FW
Crocus Penitent's Rose Crocus vernus MG
Daffodil Mary's Star Narcissus psuedonarc WU
Hyacinth Easter Spikes Hyacinthus orientalis FS
Anemone Flowers of the Field Anemone nemerosa MG
Obedient Plant Obedient Plant Psychostegia virginiana MG
Iris Mary's Sword (of Sorrow) Iris germanica MG
Elegant St.Johnswt Mary's (Bloody) Sweat Hypericum pulchrum MG
St. Johnswort Christ's (Bloody) Sweat Hypericum perforatum MG
Yarrow Christ's (Bloody) Back Achillea millefolium MG
Knotweed Christ's Lash Polygonum persicaria MG
Crown of Thorns Crown of Thorns Euphorbia splendens MG
Tigridia Christ's (Bloody) Knee Tigridia pavonia MG
Plains Coreopsis Christ's Eye Coreopsis bicolor FS
Veronica Christ's Eyes Veronica filiformis FF
Sundew Mary's Tears Drosera rotundifolia MG
Maidenhair Fern Mary's Hair Adiantum capillis veneris MG
Passion Flower Passion Flower Passiflora incarnata MG
Easter Lily Resurrection Lily Lilium longiflora WF
Resurrection Plant Resurrection Plant Anastatica hierochuntica MG
Palm Palm Phoenix dactylifera PA
Touch-me-not Touch-me-not Impatiens noli tangere FW
Anemone Flower of the Field Anemone coronaria MG
Lily of the Valley Lily of the Valley Convallaria majellis FI
Solomon's Seal Our Lady's Seal Polygonatum officinalis MG
Pomegranate Pomegranate Punica granatum MC
Cypress Cypress Cupressus sempervirens NC
Spikenard Spikenard Nardostachys jatamansi AV
Saffron Crocus Saffron Crocus sativus US
Cane Cane Arundo donax CO
Cedar Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani FL
Myrrh Myrrh Commiphora gileadensis HP
Aloes Aloe Aloe vera HP
Gladiola Ladder-to-Heaven Gladiolus IP
Chicory Heavenly Way Cichorlum intybus MG
Clove Pink Mary's Pink Dianthus plumarius MG
Red Columbine Pentecotal Holy Spirit Aquilegia canadensis MG
Philodendron Holy Spirit Philodendron Philodendron wilsonii MG
White Day Lily Assumption Lily Hosta plantaginia MG
Fumitory Our Lords Little Fingers fumaria officinalis BO
Giant ?M?u?l?l?e?i?n Our Lady's Candle Verbascum thapsus FW
Pot Marigold Mary's Gold Calendula officinalis HP
Marigold Mary's Gold Tagetus (genus) FS
White Columbinee Dove of the Holy Spirit Aquilegia (white) MG
Grapes (Cana Miracle of Wine) Vitis vinifera MG
Mustard Kingdom of Heaven Brassica nigra MH
Goldenrod Heavenly Radiance Solidago virgaure MG
Wheat Bread Triticum aestivum IP
Honesty (Eucharistic Symbol) Lunaria annua MG
© Copyright Credits
AY - Ayurvedic Products
http://www.sbepl.com/
BO - Botanical Online
http://www.floridata.com/
CO - Nature Conservancy
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/
FF - Flagaus Faust
http://www.flogaus-faust.de/flores.htm
FI - Flower Image Library
http://www.thefloralnet.com/fil/
FL - Floridata
http://www.floridata.com/
FS - FlowerScape
http://www.fscape.com
FW - Freiburg Wild Flowers
http://nafoku.de/flora/flora.htm
HP - Henrietta's Plant Photos
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/pictures/pics.php
IP - Imagines Plantarum
http://www.imagines-plantarum.de/
NC - North Carolina Consumer Horticulture
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/
PA - PACOA
http://www.pacsoa.org.au/
US - USDA PLANTS National Database
http://plants.usda.gov/
WF - Wildseed Farms
http://www.wildseedfarms.com/
WU - Wild Flowers of the UK
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/general.htm