John Paul II´s Apostolic Letter "Rosarium Virginis Mariae"

Zenit News Agency ^ | October 16, 2002 | Pope John Paul II

[SoothingDave]

Historically speaking, how big of a change is the proposal of adding the "luminous mysteries" to the rosary prayer? Has a change like this ever been proposed before, or has the basic prayer been the same since it began?

Historically speaking, I think it's pretty momentous. To think that for years and years (OK, decades and decades) people will be changed by this.

I am not a big Rosary buff and am not sure. But I imagine that it would be pretty surprising if the devotion in the present form spontaneously appeared. Let me see what I can find.

(I don't need to tell you that this is not a matter of dogma, not even of public liturgy, just a private devotion. I don't think it possible to pray, the Rosary or anything, "wrong.")

[eastsider]

Personally, I think the real significance of John Paul's proposed addition is not in his changing the form of the rosary -- as you can see from the entry for "Rosary" in the Encyclopaedia of the Catholic Church, the Rosary is a living devotion that is more or less in a state of continual development -- as it is his reintroducing the rosary to a generation of post-conciliar Catholics that is otherwise in danger of seeing this living devotion die of neglect.

[Steve0113]

Is this an official change or is this simply John Paul II's suggestion?

He wrote:

I believe, however, that to bring out fully the Christological depth of the Rosary it would be suitable to make an addition to the traditional pattern which, while left to the freedom of individuals and communities, could broaden it to include the mysteries of Christ's public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion.

It's just his suggestion, though he makes a powerful argument for it.

[fatima]

Viva Maria.

[eastsider]

Hail holy queen enthroned above
Oh Maria
Hail mother of mercy and of love
Oh Maria
Triumph all ye cherubim
Sing with us ye seraphim
Heaven and earth resound the hymn
Salve, salve, salve, regina

[malakhi]

OK, decades and decades

No pun intended, of course! ;o)

Historically speaking, I think it's pretty momentous.

as it is his reintroducing the rosary to a generation of post-conciliar Catholics that is otherwise in danger of seeing this living devotion die of neglect.

Thank you, gentlemen.

[Desdemona]

Our life our sweetness here below,
Oh, Maria
Our hope in sorrow and in woe,
Oh, Maria
Triumph All ye Cherubim,
Sing with us ye Seraphim,
Heaven and earth resound the Hymn,
Salve, Salve, Salve Rgina.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Viva John Paul the Great!

What a day.

[Loyalist]

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia,
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude, et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

[fatima]

Our life, our sweetness here below,
Oh, oh, oh, oh Maria.
Our hope in sorrow and in woe;
Oh, oh, oh, Maria.
Triumph all ye cherubim cherubim
Sing with us ye seraphim seraphim
Heaven and earth resound the hymn
Salve, salve, salve regina.

[ELS]

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae,
Vita dulcedo et spes nostra salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes, in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

[fatima]

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue

Lovely Lady dressed in blue-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
Tell me what to say!


Did you lift Him up, sometimes,
Gently on your knee?
Did you sing to Him the way
Mother does to me?

Did you hold His hand at night?
Did you ever try
Telling stories of the world?
O! And did He cry?

Do you really think He cares
If I tell Him things-
Little things that happen? And
Do the Angels' wings

Make a noise? And can He hear
Me if I speak low?
Does He understand me now?
Tell me- for you know?

Lovely Lady dressed in blue-
Teach me how to pray!
God was just your little boy,
And you know the way.

[fatima]

The Symbolism of the Image
The miraculous image produce on the apron or tilma of Blessed Juan Diego is rich in symbolism. The aureole or luminous light surrounding the Lady is reminiscent of the "woman clothed with the sun" of Rev. 12:1. The light is also a sign of the power of God who has sanctified and blessed the one who appears. The rays of the sun would also be recognized by the native people as a symbol of their highest god, Huitzilopochtli. Thus, the lady comes forth hiding but not extinguishing the power of the sun. She is now going to announce the God who is greater than their sun god.

The Lady is standing upon the moon. Again, the symbolism is that of the woman of Rev. 12:1 who has the "moon under her feet". The moon for the Meso-Americans was the god of the night. By standing on the moon, she shows that she is more powerful than the god of darkness. However, in Christian iconography the crescent moon under the Madonna’s feet is usually a symbol of her perpetual virginity, and sometimes it can refer to her Immaculate Conception or Assumption.

The eyes of Our lady of Guadalupe are looking down with humility and compassion. This was a sign to the native people that she was not a god since in their iconography the gods stare straight ahead with their eyes wide open. We can only imagine how tenderly her eyes looked upon Blessed Juan Diego when she said: " Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief…Am I not here who am your Mother?"

The angel supporting the Lady testifies to her royalty. To the Meso-American Indians only kings, queens and other dignitaries would be carried on the shoulders of someone. The angel is transporting the Lady to the people as a sign that a new age has come.

The mantle of the Lady is blue-green or turquoise. To the native people, this was the color of the gods and of royalty. It was also the color of the natural forces of life and fecundity. In Christian art, blue is symbolic of eternity and immortality. In Judaism, it was the color of the robe of the high priest. The limbus or gold border of her mantle is another sign of nobility.

The stars on the Lady’s mantle shows that she comes from heaven. She comes as the Queen of Heaven but with the eyes of a humble and loving mother. The stars also are a sign of the supernatural character of the image. The research of Fr. Mario Rojas Sánchez and Dr. Juan Homero Hernández Illescas of Mexico (published in 1983) shows that the stars on the Lady’s mantle in the image are exactly as the stars of the winter solstice appeared before dawn on the morning of December 12, 1531.

The color of the Madonna’s dress is rose or pale-red. Some have interpreted this as the color of dawn symbolizing the beginning of a new era. Others point to the red as a sign of martyrdom for the faith and divine love.

The gold-encircled cross brooch under the neck of the Lady’s robe is a symbol of sanctity.

The girdle or bow around her waist is a sign of her virginity, but it also has several other meanings. The bow appears as a four-petaled flower. To the native Indians this was the nahui ollin, the flower of the sun, a symbol of plenitude. The cross-shaped flower was also connected with the cross-sticks which produce fire. For them, this was the symbol of fecundity and new life. The high position of the bow and the slight swelling of the abdomen show that the Lady is "with child". According to Dr. Carlos Fernández Del Castillo, a leading Mexican obstetrician, the Lady appears almost ready to give birth with the infant head down resting vertically. This would further solidify her identification with the woman of Rev. 12 who is about to give birth.

---

Our Lady of Guadalupe . Mother and Patroness of the Unborn 1999 Office of Respect Life – Diocese of Austin

[eastsider]

One of my favorite representations of the rosary -- a detail from Michaelangelo's Last Judgment -- showing two people being pulled up to heaven by the rosary.

[Coleus]

so, what are the 5 new Mysteries.

[Gophack]

Thank you for your post ... it was en'light'ening! :-)

God bless!

[Gophack]

The Mysteries of Light

21. Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries which may be called in a special way "mysteries of light". Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the "light of the world" (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom. In proposing to the Christian community five significant moments – "luminous" mysteries – during this phase of Christ's life, I think that the following can be fittingly singled out:

(1) his Baptism in the Jordan,
(2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana,
(3) his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion,
(4) his Transfiguration, and finally,
(5) his institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery.

He also suggests that because Saturday is already a day associated with Marian devotion, moving the Joyful mysteries to Saturday would be fitting, freeing up Thursday for the Mysteries of Light. That would make the Rosary "calendar" as follows:

Sunday: Glorious
Monday: Joyful
Tuesday: Sorrowful
Wednesday: Glorius
Thursday: Luminous
Friday: Sorrowful
Saturday: Joyful

"According to current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the "joyful mysteries", Tuesday and Thursday (sic - Friday) to the "sorrowful mysteries", and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the "glorious mysteries". Where might the "mysteries of light" be inserted? If we consider that the "glorious mysteries" are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has always had a special Marian flavour, the second weekly meditation on the "joyful mysteries", mysteries in which Mary's presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday. Thursday would then be free for meditating on the "mysteries of light".

[ELS]

Very cool! I didn't know about that.

[Salvation]

Thursday would then be free for meditating on the "mysteries of light".

I like this.

[Lady In Blue]

Thanks for posting the Holy Father's letter.I was just going to post it.Glad I checked first!