[biblewonk]

"The five new mysteries, the "luminous mysteries," will focus on the public life of Jesus Christ, Vatican sources say. They will be: the Baptism in the Jordan, the temptation in the desert, the proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfigurations, and the entry into Jerusalem."

How exactly is meditation on the Baptism in the Jordan, the temptation in the desert, the proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfigurations, and the entry into Jerusalem "Mary Worship?

At this point, my whole being screams out to you, [deteleted phrase]!" But I'm not allowed to say that here, or as a Christian for that matter.

So I'll simply pray a Rosary for all you anti-Catholic bigots, and in honer of JPII I'll include these new mysteries too.

How many times is Mary's name spoken in the Rosary? What in the world is a 'luminous mystery' anyway? RC's abolutely love naming things don't they. I expecially love the 'magnificat' name for few verses where Mary actually says something.

Sorry my entire being doesn't scream at RC's anymore, I'm used to the false doctrines and only seek to lay them open.

[Polycarp]

Sorry my entire being doesn't scream at RC's anymore, I'm used to the false doctrines and only seek to lay them open.

Sorry my entire being does scream at anti-Catholic bigots, I'll never get used to their false doctrines and and willful lies and I only seek to lay them open.

[Catholicguy]

<> The Rosary isn't Doctrine, Ace<>

[Desdemona]

I expecially love the 'magnificat' name for few verses where Mary actually says something.

Mary says something absolutely lovely.

The Magnificat. Luke 1:46-55

My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit finds joy in God, my savior,
For He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness;
all ages shall call me blessed.
God who is mighty has done great things for me,
holy is His name;
His mercy is from age to age on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm;
He has confused the proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has deposed the mighty from their thrones
and raised the lowly to high places.
The hungry He has given every good thing,
while the rich He has sent empty away.
He has upheld Israel His servant, ever mindful of His Mercy;
Even as He promised our fathers,
promised Abraham and his descendants forever.

One of the loveliest sentiments in the Bible.

[heyheyhey]

RC's abolutely love naming things don't they.
I expecially love the 'magnificat' name

If you knew a little about the Fathers of the Church, then you would seriously consider becoming an "RC" :-)

Here is where the name Magnificat comes from,
Long, long time ago, even before Al Gore invented the Internet, people used Latin language for international communications.
In the 4th century there was a man -- Jerome, or "the Man of the Bible" who was ordered by the Pope (Damasus I) to translate the Books of the Bible into Latin -- the "English of their times" -- so to speak.

Many Bible-scholars and even Biblewonks used Jerome's Latin translation, also known as the "Vulgate," for over a thousand years.

The Hymn of Our Lady starts with the word "Magnificat" and so the hymn is known as the "Magnificat."

Biblia Sacra Vulgata

Luke 1: 46-55

46. Magnificat anima mea Dominum/
47. et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo/
48. quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae/ ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes/
49. quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen eius/
50. et misericordia eius in progenies et progenies timentibus eum/
51. fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos mente cordis sui/
52. deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles/
53. esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes/
54. suscepit Israhel puerum suum memorari misericordiae/
55. sicut locutus est ad patres nostros Abraham et semini eius in saecula/

[pseudo-justin]

How many times is Mary's name spoken in the Rosary?

For your information, the name of Mary is said the same number of times as the name of Jesus , for every time the angelic salutation is said, so is the name of Jesus: hail mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, JESUS". The name of Jesus is at the center of the "Hail Mary" prayer. When we add the references to "The Son" said in the "Glory Be", it turns out that in the Rosary, there are more references to the Second Person of the Trinity than there are to the Mother of the Second Person of the Trinity.

Why would God be interested in hearing what amounts to a chant?

For the same reasons that the Book of Revelation says: "Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."" (Rev. 4:8)

So before you say something stupid, I suggest you learn your Scripture and inform yourself of basic facts.

[RobbyS]

Every hail Mary contains the name of Jesus. You object to that?

[MarthaB]

Just to be clear about what the Rosary is, for those who are not Catholic... the actual prayer known as the Hail Mary goes as follows... it begins with a Bible verse from when the angel came to Mary, "Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with Thee." That's a Bible verse we are reciting.

It continues, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb," which is what Elizabeth said to Mary which is in the Bible, both Catholic versions, and Protestant versions. Again, we are reciting a Bible verse... wonder why God had that put in the Bible? It's there, must be there for a reason... I'll return to that... but, we add the word, "Jesus" at this point, because Elizabeth, when she said, "blessed is the fruit of your womb," that was Jesus she was referring to, so we add his name there to make things clear... we are remembering the fact that Mary was (is) the mother of Jesus.

Finally, just as I might ask you to pray for me or you might ask me to pray for you (probably not, but I would) we ask Mary, since she is now in heaven, where we hope we will all be one day... we ask her, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, PRAY FOR US SINNERS... now and at the hour of our death, Amen. We are remembering what the Bible says about her and asking her to pray for us. Pray is from an old English word meaning to ask... To a Catholic, when we "pray" to a saint or to Mary, we are asking them to pray for us, not honoring them with the worship that is due to God alone.

I know there is a place in the Old Testament where Solomon specially honors his mother, gives her a seat at his right hand, and so on...I'm sorry I don't recall the chapter and verse... but it has been pointed out, that if Solomon loved and honored his mother, would Jesus want to do less for his mom? So, it's there in the Bible, and we remember in this prayer...

The other thing that people lose sight of, is that when the title Mother of God came into acceptance by the Church, my understanding is that it was at a time when some people where asserting that Jesus was truly God but not man... he only seemed to die, he was God and did not really die. Fact is, I believe he is "true God and true man," hard to understand, but what the Church has taught from the beginning, and reaffirmed when it declared Mary to be the Mother of God. That "Mother of God" title does NOT mean she is the mother of God the Father or greater than God Himself... but that she is the mother of Jesus, who is God... she is not just mother of a human son, but Mother of God. Like it or not, believe it or not, that is how I was taught in a graduate theology program at a Catholic university, and I believe it. Mother of God is not intended to be about Mary being greater than God or equal to God, but to say something essential about Jesus, which is why or at least part of why God Himself had the bits about mary put in the Bible... he could have left that out entirely... who needs Mary? Well, God did... God needed Mary in order for Jesus to be born as a human baby, both God and man, and in order for God to save the world in the way that he willed... he needed Mary in that way and he put her in the Bible. The Catholics didn't make up those verses to justify the rosary. (Not that God "needs" any of us, since I believe he is perfect and perfectly happy without us, but in his great love he wanted to save us just as he did, and to do that, for Jesus to be born as a baby, he needed a mom for Jesus... and he picked Mary. In that sense, he needed her, and needed her cooperation. He could have not saved us, or he could have saved us some other way, but this was his plan, to use a humble woman who ... perhaps in some way can be an example to us in her "yes" to God's will and in her humble service... )

Anyway, the point of the rosary is NOT actually just to say the words, but actually, the point is to keep your mind focused on the "mysteries," the things we can learn from the Scripture stories related to Jesus and/or Mary or the time of the apostles (such as the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

When I first started praying the rosary, I used to look up the scripture verses, like, for the First Joyful Mystery, I would look up the verses in the Bible about the angel coming to Mary, and read it, and picture it in my mind while I said the first ten Hail Mary's... think about what that would be like to say "yes" to God when asked to do something difficult that I didn't fully understand, like Mary... and like me... not that I am giving birth to Jesus the way Mary was, not physically, but aren't we ALL supposed to let Jesus be present to others through us... how do we carry Jesus into the world for others.. so you can spend time "pondering these things in your heart," as they say Mary pondered...

But, then there is another mystery... The Visitation, Mary going to visit Elizabeth. Well, she wasn't just going to the beach or to a picnic, Elizabeth was pregnant, a little farther along than Mary, and she was old. She may have needed some help. I might look up those verses, and think about it for a minute, and then keep that in mind while I say the next ten Hail Mary's, and really, you can think about asking Mary to pray for us, but also to think about that mystery... Mary going to visit, to serve Elizabeth, as we are called to serve others, sometimes in the little ways that are behind the scenes and humble, like women's housework... but Mary was carrying Jesus with her in her womb... and John recognized that, leapt for joy. Do we carry Jesus with us when we go to serve others, or do we serve people at work with an attitude? Do we carry Jesus to other people on the internet... You see how you can think about it and ponder... why DID God put this story in the Bible, and what can I learn from it. What does God want to speak to me about this story today?

Granted, a lot of Catholics don't get out the Bible every time they pray the Rosary, but many of us have many times, and we are taught those stories as children and I certainly go back and reread them periodically.

But I don't have to reread them every time to remember the stories and think about them. While I'm driving, or while I'm waiting for a bunch of photocopies to be run off, or doing busy work, it's easy to pray at least part of a rosary, a little here, a little there, and repeating the words helps to focus one's mind, so that I'm not thinking about distractions or annoyances, the words help one to focus on prayer, and then you can think about the mysteries, these events that Jesus intended to speak to all of us, as we ask Mary to pray with us and for us.

For every ten Hail Mary's, there is also a prayer of praise to God, "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, and each decade of the rosary also starts with the Our Father (Lord's prayer) which is also from the Bible. The "Fatima prayer" is one many people add at the end of each decade, which I think someone quoted, I don't know if I say the same words, but "O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to you in heaven, especially those who most need Thy Mercy." So we are praying for ourselves and others, praying to Jesus every time we finish a decade. I think most people do, I was taught that prayer as a child many years ago.

And of course, the rosary starts with the Apostles Creed, which many churches accept. My husband is not Catholic, but the reformed church his parents attend have this in their prayer book and recite that every Sunday...

As for the repetive nature of the rosary... children's lullaby's are repetitive but comforting as every mother knows and some fathers. As some have pointed out, some of the prayers within the Bible have repetiions, some of the psalms and other parts of the Bible... the Canticle of the Three Young Men (in the fiery furnace) comes to mind, with all the "praise and exalt him forever"s... The Repitition is not for GOd but for us... When I am making a gazillion different photocopies of pages for school children, or standing to wait for my washing machine to be ready for the blue stuff to be added... I might have repetitive bad thoughts, or just plain repetitive boring busy work, but I choose to use my mind by repeating prayer that keeps Jesus in my thoughts... not always the rosary, because I like to listen to and sing hymns, including Catholic and Protestant praise and worship music, which of course have repeated refrains and choruses... it all helps to keep one's mind focused on Jesus.

I am glad to know about the new mysteries, and look forward to the announcement... a good idea to think about these other important events in Jesus' life, to reflect on and ponder.

MarthaB

[Conservative til I die]

Sorry my entire being doesn't scream at RC's anymore, I'm used to the false doctrines and only seek to lay them open

The arrogance is hilarious. This, from a guy who's most likely against "Luminous" because it's too big a word and makes his brain hurt. Plus, it's not one of those simple Bah-bul only words like "Jeebus"

[Theresa]

"I'm used to the false doctrines and only seek to lay them open."

Groan!!! Why do some Prots talk as if they were from the middle ages...."seek to lay them open"....????

If you don't like the Rosary, don't pray it, and leave us Catholics alone. We don't need critiques ...which we've already heard a thousand times before...it's sooooooo predictable and so boring. And we are not listening anyway.