Since October is the month of the Holy Rosary I wanted to challenge myself to journal my daily rosary reflections. In typical fashion, I'm starting this project a little late in the game as it's already the 17th. I figure it's better late than never, so here I go. Please pray for me that I'll have the discipline to keep with it. I would also LOVE to hear feedback from you all on your interpretations and, or revelations while praying the Rosary.
I've always found it perplexing that the first "Joyful Mystery" of the Holy Rosary reminds us of the moment that the Virgin Mary learned that she was with child. Of course, from our vantage point 2,000 plus years later, we can celebrate this proclamation because we have seen how God's grand-plan unfolded. However, from the perspective of Mary at that moment, it might have been more aptly labelled "The First Terrifying Mystery of the Holy Rosary." Imagine the distress this type of announcement could cause, even to a girl born without original sin? She did have one advantage over most of us though - she didn't have to guess what was going on with her body. She had an angel deliver the news.
Most of us don’t have an angel that announces God’s plans for us. Sometimes we’re blindsided by unexpected events that crash into us in an instant, and sometimes our crosses come to us as a slow, steady drip that seems to go on forever. Either way, when life happens, we’re all called to say, “yes” to God’s will, just the same as Mary.
When the angel Gabriel announced that Mary was with child, and not just any child but, the son of God, one could guess her immediate response wasn’t one of jubilation. One could even imagine that after this miraculous news set-in, she may have felt overwhelmed, uncertain, and downright scared. Mary was, after all, human. As fellow mothers, we sometimes fail to remember and recognize the trials that our Blessed Mother endured here on earth. So, when we’re faced with uncertainty, tragedy, exhaustion, loss, and we’re feeling hopeless, we need to remember that we are not alone. We have a mother in heaven that loves us, and wants to help us, more than we could ever comprehend.
Mary understands our pain and empathizes with our suffering because she too experienced profound loss and grief. However, unlike most of us, her trust in God was, and always be, unwavering. So, when we’ve experienced an unexpected pregnancy, a financial crisis, a marital meltdown, the loss of a loved one, kids that have gone astray, or we’re just plain tired and depleted, lets ask our Blessed Mother to protect us in her motherly mantel. We need to implore her to teach us how to trust with our whole soul, to make-up for what we are lacking in faith, and to lead us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Once we do this graces will start pour down from heaven.
And remember, what at first seems like a burden, may in time turn out to be an unexpected blessing. No matter what, in the end "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Let our new mantra be:
”Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word." Luke 1:38