"But Mary kept in mind all these words,
pondering them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)
- Christmas 2002 -
by
Father Courtney Edward Krier
I must of necessity speak about the Rosary this Christmas Season since
the Modernist Church has, under the leadership of John Paul II, also
chosen to single out this Catholic devotion. I do so, not because I
want to follow in their footsteps, but because certain errors may
become accepted unless they are specifically pointed out. This deals
mainly with the addition of five new mysteries, the so-called
“Mysteries of Light”.
We all know what happened when the Fathers of Vatican Council II
decided to change the Mass and the Sacraments. Just as there is now no
semblance between the Novus Ordo and that of the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass celebrated in the Latin (Roman) Church from Apostolic times, and
then later the Sacraments received a signification that departs from
Catholic belief, so also we may fear the Rosary, too, will soon lose
any semblance to its original intent. There are two considerations that
must be weighed as we speak of the Rosary: The Rosary has been given to
the Church by Mary in its present form and has not changed it since;
the Rosary consists of 150 Hail Marys, one each for the 150 Psalms of
David.
Let’s begin with an historical foundation. I am using the Secret of the
Rosary by St. Louis Marie De Montfort as reference, a book highly
recommended to all who truly have or wish to have a great devotion to
the holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church has always
continued the tradition of reciting the Psalms of David, the Voice of
Christ in His Life and Passion and Death. The Church, united to
her Spouse, makes these her own as a precious treasure savoring the
words of her Divine Spouse. Because the laity in the early Church
wanted to participate in this blessing, but prohibited because there
were no texts as today (illiteracy was the norm) and duties of the lay
state prevented them from going to daily Divine service while the
Psalms (Psalter) were recited, there arose the habit of reciting 150
Pater Nosters or 150 Ave Marias. The latter became known as Our Lady’s
Psalter or Angelic Psalter (The Angel Gabriel greeting Mary with the
words: Hail, full of grace…) and became more prevalent.
In the year 1214 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic and
taught him the present way we recite the Rosary. Instead of merely
reciting Ave Marias, the Blessed Virgin divided the Rosary into three
parts: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious
Mysteries. These parts were again broken down into five groups of ten
Hail Marys. She prefaced it with the Apostles Creed and an Our Father
before each group of Hail Marys followed by a Glory be. A first group
of three Hail Marys was to honor the Blessed Trinity, reminding us that
Mary is Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and Spouse of the
Holy Ghost. The following fifteen sets of decades honored the Life,
Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Life, Assumption,
and Coronation of Mary. The Rosary would then not be merely a
repetition of laudable prayers, but a means of briefly focusing our
mind on the chief mysteries of Our Lord’s and Our Lady’s life and to
draw strength and help in our own personal life. Pope Leo XIII pointed
this out when wrote in his encyclical, Laetitiae sanctae (September 8,
1893):
[L]et us seek a remedy in the Rosary,
which consists in a fixed order of prayer combined with devout
meditation on the life of Christ and His Blessed Mother. Here, if the
joyful mysteries be but clearly brought home to the minds of the
people, an object lesson of the chief virtues is placed before their
eyes. Each one will thus be able to see for himself how easy, how
abundant, how sweetly attractive are the lessons to be found therein
for the leading of an honest life. Let us take our stand in front of
that earthly and divine home of holiness, the House of Nazareth. How
much we have to learn from the daily life which was led within its
walls! What an all-perfect model of domestic society! Here we behold
simplicity and purity of conduct, perfect agreement and unbroken
harmony, mutual respect and love - not of the false and fleeting kind -
but that which finds both its life and its charm in devotedness of
service. Here is the patient industry which provides what is required
for food and raiment; which does so "in the sweat of the brow," which
is contented with little, and which seeks rather to diminish the number
of its wants than to multiply the sources of its wealth. Better than
all, we find there that supreme peace of mind and gladness of soul
which never fail to accompany the possession of a tranquil conscience.
These are precious examples of goodness, of modesty, of humility, of
hard-working endurance, of kindness to others, of diligence in the
small duties of daily life, and of other virtues, and once they have
made their influence felt they gradually take root in the soul, and in
course of time fail not to bring about a happy change of mind and
conduct. Then will each one begin to feel his work to be no longer
lowly and irksome, but grateful and lightsome, and clothed with a
certain joyousness by his sense of duty in discharging it
conscientiously. Then will gentler manners everywhere prevail;
home-life will be loved and esteemed, and the relations of man with man
will be loved and esteemed, and the relations of man with man will be
hallowed by a larger infusion of respect and charity. And if this
bet-terment should go forth from the individual to the family and to
the communities, and thence to the people at large so that human life
should be lifted up to this standard, no one will fail to feel how
great and lasting indeed would be the gain which would be achieved for
society.
It was in this fashion Our Lady spoke to Saint Dominic:
"Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon
the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?...I want you to
know that in this kind of warfare the battering ram has always been the
Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New
Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened sinners
and win them over to God, preach my Psalter."
And why, we may ask? Because understanding the dignity of Mary
and her part in our salvation allows us to understand her Divine
Son. Protestants dwell on the Baptism of Christ, the Marriage
Feast of Cana, the Proclamation of the kingdom of God and call to
repentance, His transfiguration, and the institution of the Eucharist
(Last Supper) - the new “Mysteries of Light.”. As true adoptionists,
they see Christ “adopted” by the Father, and the transformation of
Christ as “Son of Mary” to “Son of God”, enlightened and empowered.
They acknowledge the symbols of Christ’s “love” and “desire” even to
remain with us, but they deny the reality. The Church fought for
centuries the Gnostics who would have Christ accepted as another
“Buddha”, enlightened and empowered and set as a symbol of our
transformation through initiation into the “mysteries” and obtaining
perfection through our own efforts (Pelagianism). There is,
unfortunately, hidden within the words of John Paul II the
transformation of the Rosary of Mary into a Bible reading session,
dwelling upon Christ no longer as Son of Mary, but transformed into Son
of God.
We, as Catholics, realize, as the Council of Nicea in proclaiming Mary
Mother of God, we can only find Christ with Mary as Elizabeth in the
Visitation, the Shepherds of Bethlehem, and as the Wisemen from the
East. It is thus, when we pray the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, we meditate upon the mysteries in union with her because, Mary
kept in mind all these words, pondering them in her heart. “Blessed
among all women”, she, more than any other person, knew her Divine Son
and it is through her we desire to learn. As we begin this Advent and
Christmas Season, let us contemplate with Mary the divine mysteries of
the most Holy Rosary that “we may imitate what they contain and obtain
what they promise.”
I wish to thank again all who have helped support St. Joseph’s Catholic
Church and St. Felicissimus School during the past year by your prayers
and gifts.
All the Faithful are remembered in Mass on Christmas Day, especially
those who themselves cannot be present for the august Sacrifice because
of illness, age or for want of priests to offer Holy Mass in their
regions.
Wishing all a blessed Christmas and asking Our Divine Saviour to bestow His blessings upon all during the coming New Year.
In His Service,
Father Courtney Edward Krier
|
