The Twenty Mysteries of the Rosary?

The Apostolic Letter opens the door for a "pastoral approach" to the Rosary that is "positive, impassioned and creative - as shown by World Youth Days". In other words, a nod is given to a jazzed-up Rosary for the "youth".

"When one lives by novelty, there will always have to be a new novelty." - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II marked the 24th Anniversary of his papacy with the release of the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, in which he proclaimed a "Year of the Rosary" from October 2002 to October 2003. The document also contained a major innovation from a Pope whose Pontificate has been marked by a steady stream of novelties. He announced that he would add five new mysteries to the Rosary.

Word of the new mysteries was reported first on October 14 by various news agencies claiming that information was leaked from Vatican sources.

Father Richard John Neuhaus from First Things magazine found these early reports hard to believe, and told The Chicago Tribune that the Pope was not likely to alter the Rosary. "That he would suggest," said Neuhaus "or even declare some kind of official change to the Rosary is totally atypical, totally out of character." Neuhaus then said that the Pope does not have the authority to mandate changes in such a prayer.1

Father Neuhaus is correct that a Pope cannot mandate such changes, but he is mistaken to claim that the Pope's change of the Rosary would be "out of character" for this Pontiff of post-Conciliar aggiornamento. Even the secular press recognizes John Paul II as a man with a passion for setting papal precedents.

The New York Times' Frank Bruni wrote on October 15: "Time and again, Pope John Paul II has boldly gone where other Popes have not: a synagogue, a ski slope, distant countries with tiny populations. Tomorrow, he will apparently cross another frontier, making a significant change in the Rosary, a signature method of Catholic prayer for many centuries." 2

Bruni failed to mention that John Paul is also the first Pope to kiss the Koran,3 participate in rock'n'roll liturgies,4 allow Altar Girls, permit "lay ministers" to distribute Communion at his Papal Mass,5 suggest a "common martyrology" that contains Catholics and non- Catholics, praise documents that call the need for non- Catholics to convert to the Catholic Church an "outdated ecclesiology," 6 take part in "inculturated" ceremonies that includes pagan ritual,7 and convoke pan-religious prayer meetings that include Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Snake-worshipers.8

On the same theme, Rueters said, "Changing one of Christianity's most fundamental prayers after nearly a millennium will be a typical way for the 82- year-old Pope to crown 24 years of a pontificate marked by bold initiatives sometimes taken against the advice of aides." 9

The "new mysteries" of the Rosary took everyone by surprise. Thus I have postponed publication of Part III of my World Youth Day series10 in order to comment on this latest "bold initiative".

Two weeks previously, the pontiff announced he was preparing a document to stress the value of the Rosary. He urged the faithful to recite the Rosary, including together as families. John Paul said then that he wanted people to "rediscover the beauty and depth of this prayer".

The Pope, for a good part of the Apostolic Letter was true to his word. Much of Rosarium Virginis Mariae is praiseworthy, even edifying. How can one argue with the promulgation of a "Year of the Rosary" in order to revitalize practice of this Holy devotion? How can one find fault with the Pope's call to pray the Rosary for peace? How can one complain when the Pope laments that families are fragmented, that they often get together only to watch television, and that they should set some time aside to pray the Rosary together instead?

Also of interest was the Pope's frequent references to Blessed Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) who was baptized Catholic, left the faith to become a satanic priest, and then repented, converted back to Catholicism and became an apostle of the Rosary. This is a beautiful lesson that conversion is possible even in apparently hopeless cases.

It is probable that the Letter will do much good in revitalizing Rosary devotion. Tens-of-thousands of Catholics who do not follow the details of Vatican events, will simply learn through the press, or from parish priests, that the Pope wants a renewed devotion to the Rosary and they will comply. I have little doubt that this Letter will produce its desired goal to inspire more Catholics in this holy exercise.

Yet at the same time, countless Catholics are baffled at the unnecessary addition of five new mysteries. What is this strange post-conciliar belief among today's Church leaders that Catholics will not find a traditional devotion interesting unless John Paul updates it? Why is it thought necessary to disfigure our devotions in order to capture a Catholic's attention? Why was it requisite for the Pope to put his personal stamp on the Rosary, rather than simply promote it as is: as did all the Popes before him, as did countless saints, and as did the Mother of God at Fatima?

The addition proposed by the Pope, called the Five Luminous Mysteries, also called the "Mysteries of Light," center on the public life of Christ. They are:

the Baptism of Christ in Jordan, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Announcement of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, the Institution of the Eucharist as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. These new mysteries, according to John Paul, are to be placed between the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries.

The Pope says that these additions are not mandatory, and explains his reason for the change. "I believe" he writes, "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." 11

Do you know of any Catholic, any saint, any Pope who ever considered the Rosary "lacking" in Christological depth? Did not the saints and the Popes constantly speak of the excellence of the Rosary? Did they ever suggest a radical addition to alter the structure of the Rosary in order to "improve" what was already excellent?

Reaction to the new mysteries has been predictable: everything from traditional Catholics who call it an "outrage," to Medjugorje followers who claim it "bears all the hallmarks of Divine inspiration". Once again, the much-vaunted "Pope of unity" has launched a novelty that divides Catholics.

A constant characteristic of the pre-Vatican II Popes was to abhor novelty and to safeguard tradition, including traditional devotions.

Thus, if one could go back in time and ask any of the pre-Vatican II Popes why they never added "new mysteries" to the Rosary, the answer is easy to presume. "Because," the pre-conciliar Pope would say, "if I add 5 new mysteries, I will have to add 5 new decades. If I add five new decades, then the Rosary can no longer be called 'Our Lady's Psalter'. Now Catholic tradition, my holy predecessors and Our Blessed Mother referred to the Rosary as Her 'Psalter', because the 150 Hail Mary's of the 15-decade Rosary correspond to the 150 Psalms of David. It would be audacious of me to add 5 decades. This would be the decimation of the entire concept of Mary's 'Psalter', a term hallowed by centuries of usage, a term that explains the origin and essence of the Rosary, a term used by the Queen of Heaven Herself. Further, if I make this radical change to the Rosary, then what is to prevent more radical changes in the future?"

The entire history of the Rosary is bound up with the 150 Psalms of the Old Testament, otherwise known as the Psalter of David. From the dawn of Catholic history, monks and hermits prayed these Psalms as part of their daily liturgical life.

Saint Benedict, in his Holy Rule, explains that the monks of the desert recited the 150 Psalms every day. Saint Benedict arranged the Psalms for his monks so that all 150 would be recited in one week.12 This became the Divine Office (Breviary) that priests and religious recited every day until the post-conciliar aggiornamento revolutionized both Breviary and Mass.

The story of "Mary's Psalter" reportedly begins with the Irish monks in the 7th Century. These monks divided the 150 Psalms of David into a Na tri coicat format of three groups of fifty. Arranged in such a way, the "fifties" served both as reflective and corporal/penitential prayer.13

The people of the Middle Ages in their great love of Our Lady set to fashioning "Rosariums" in Her honor. They composed Psalms in praise of Mary to match the 150 Psalms of David. St. Anselm of Canterbury (1109) made such a Rosary. In the 13th Century, St. Bonaventure divided his 150 Marian Psalms into three groups. The first group commenced with the word Ave, the next with Salve, and the final fifty Psalms each commented with the word Gaude. Such Rosaries of praise took the name of Our Lady's Psalter.14

It was not long before the custom of reciting Hail Mary's became the substitute of reciting the Psalms in praise of Our Lady. "By the 13th Century" writes the Redemptorist Father James Galvin, "the number of Aves was set at one hundred and fifty to equal the number of the Psalms of David." 15

Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that the Psalter of David, composed as it is of one hundred and fifty Psalms, is divided into three equal parts of fifty Psalms each. These three equal parts represent figuratively the three stages in which the faithful find themselves: the state of penance, the state of justice, the state of glory. Likewise, explains Father Anthony Fuerst, "the Rosary of Mary is divided into three parts of fifty Hail Mary's each in order to express fully the phrases of the life of the faithful: penance, justice and glory." 16

Heaven itself declared the immeasurable value of this Psalter. In 1214, Our Blessed Mother told Saint Dominic to "preach My Psalter" in order to rekindle faith, to convert sinners and to crush stubborn heresy. Saint Louis de Montfort tells the story in his magnificent work, The Secret of the Rosary.

"Saint Dominic," writes Saint Louis, "seeing that the gravity of the peoples' sin was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew to a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh penances in order to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his discipline so much that his body was lacerated, and finally he fell into a coma."

Our Lady then appeared to him, accompanied by three angels. She said, "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 souls and win them over to God, preach My Psalter." 17

She uses the language of the Church militant. She does not speak of the Rosary in a sentimental manner in order to achieve good feelings or pan-religious unity. No, She refers to it as battering ram against heresy.

She twice uses the term "Psalter", which is the Rosary designated as 150 Aves that link it to the Psalms of David. Regarding the Rosary's traditional structure, Msgr. George Shea writes, "Because its 150 Hail Mary's correspond to the 150 Psalms of the Psalter, the complete Rosary is sometimes called Our Lady's Psalter. In fact, the latter was its common designation down to the end of the 15th Century, while 'Rosary' was reserved for a part, i.e., a third, of Our Lady's Psalter." 18

As late as the last quarter of the 15th Century, Blessed Alaus de Rupe protested vigorously against the use of the terms "Rosario," "Chapelet" or "Corono," and insisted that the title of Our Lady's Psalter be retained.19 Msgr. Shea points out that the first indication from a Pope that the Psalter of Mary is commonly called "Rosary" is found in the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Leo X, Pastor Aeterni dated October 6, 1520, over three hundred years after Our Lady spoke to Saint Dominic.

The term "Psalter" of Mary, as a link to the 150 Psalms of David, is what we find consistently from the Popes throughout the centuries.

The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Leo X, Pastor Aeterni October 6, 1520, uses the term "Psalter of Mary" in connection to the Rosary.20

Pope Saint Pius V wrote in Consueverunt Romani of September 17, 1569, "And so Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter, and by the Lord's Prayer with each decade." 21

Pope Leo XIII wrote "Just as by the recitation of the Divine Office, priests offer a public, constant, and most efficacious supplication; so the supplication offered by the members of this Sodality in the recitation of the Rosary, or 'Psalter of Our Lady' ..." 22

Pope Leo XIII later said, "The formula of the Rosary, too, is excellently adapted to prayer in common, so that it has been styled, not without reason, the 'Psalter of Mary'." 23

Pope Pius XI wrote in his Encyclical Ingravescentibus Malis. "Among the various supplications with which we successfully appeal to the Virgin Mother of God, the Holy Rosary without doubt occupies a special and distinct place. This prayer, which some call the Psalter of the Virgin or Breviary of the Gospel and of Christian life, was described and recommended by Our Predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII ..." 24

Sadly, Pope John Paul II has made the term "Psalter of Mary" with its rightful connection to the Psalter of David, as obsolete as fund drives for Pagan Babies. Anyone who accepts the twenty-decade Rosary, and still refers to the Rosary as Mary's Psalter, will use the term divested of meaning. Why introduce this destabilization? Would not Pope John Paul show more respect to the pious sentiments of Catholics worldwide, to his predecessors and to the Mother of God by leaving Her Psalter at peace?

Dear Polycarp, I cannot subscribe to any ideology even if it is Catholic. Therefore I don't think I fit into any of those categories.

I do lean toward GK Chesterton since I myself am a convert.

The controversy over new mass and old mass seems futile to me. The Eucharist is Jesus even if the priest doesn't believe it. That was quite a revelation to find in the catachism.

Anyway, I do agree that the Church in American like most things is in trouble and the Vatican is looking to the future of the Church, and it's not in the North but in the south..Africa and South America.

Chesterton talked quite a bit about the Industrial Capitalism and how it has been a huge enemy of the family. He said Communism could have been but it was doomed to failure. But Captialism requires families to split up in search of a livelihood.

This is the crux of the modern problem. I believe that Pius X was right as was Leo XIII. Without a break from the current system of wage slavery as Belloc called it we cannot expect things to get better within or without the Church.

When I meet foreign priests from the third world I am constantly amazed at their orthodoxy and reminded that America is after all a Protestant country.

Dajjal, in post #218:
"I'm not talking about "my" rosary or "your" rosary, which are voluntary and can have whatever mysteries we like."
Dajjal, in post #220:
"I read Lady In Blue as saying that she no longer says the other fifteen."
It sounds like you ARE talking about "my rosary" or "your rosary", despite your protestations otherwise.

Posts #218 and #220 are on two different topics. That's why they are two different posts.

For all you know, she may be saying all 20 in one day. Then what would you say?

I would apologize for misreading her post. But it was a side comment in #178 and not essential to my thesis that Pope John Paul II has rendered the 15-mystery rosary and the wealth of supportive literature and artwork obsolete and unusable.

Are our prayers less pleasing to God if we use the luminous mysteries?

I never said that. I simply lament that the pope chose to tinker with the Rosary rather than introduce these meditations as a new chaplet, for the reasons given above in posts #5-7, 10, 178 & 218-220.

As I said way back at the beginning of the thread, I think this is nit-picking.

And you are intitled to that opinion. But I disagree. While the Rosary is not essential to the Catholic faith, history has given it a place of central honor and prominence. I lament that the pope chose to transmogrify it. That is my opinion, for the reasons given above.

<> This piece is for you and your ilk<>

Our Pope, Our Blessed Mother and the Cult of Gloom

by Matt Abbot, Art Sippo and Pete Vere

To celebrate the 24th anniversary of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II recently promulgated Rosarium Virginis Mariae. In this work, the Holy Father dedicates the year 2003 to the Rosary and proposes five new Mysteries to be contemplated while praying this most popular of devotions to the Blessed Mother. These optional Mysteries, called Luminous, are all taken from the life of Our Lord. As Peggy Noonan so aptly points out, in the sunset years of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II has shown the world what truly matters most, namely prayer. And thus as Catholics faithful to Tradition, the present authors look forward to meditating upon the life of Our Lord as seen through the eyes of Our Blessed Mother.

After all, the five Luminous Mysteries emphasize the great mysteries of Christ's life that are in the Gospels but not noted in the previous mysteries. For example, the Transfiguration is the major event in Christ's life in the Church’s Eastern Tradition and merits inclusion in order to make the Rosary more of a universal prayer for all Catholics. The miracle at Cana is also a Marian event of great importance that supports the overall theme of the Rosary. The preaching of the Kingdom is critically important in Catholicism because it emphasizes the Kingship of Christ and the fact Our Lord founded a visible messianic community, and not merely an invisible secret society of elite individuals. Finally, the inclusion of the Baptism of Jesus and the Last Supper helps to link the rosary to the Church's liturgical tradition – a tradition that has suffered greatly in the last forty years.

Yet not all folks share our enthusiasm for these optional Mysteries proposed by Holy Father. As usual, the ever-vigilant and lidless eye of integrism has turned its pitiless gaze toward the Luminous Mysteries. “How dare the Pope tamper with the Rosary,” they exclaim in sanctimonious outrage. “Isn’t the Rosary fine as it is? What good can come from changing it? It must be some sort of subtle modernist plot.”

Forget that the Rosary is a private devotion and that these new Mysteries are optional. Forget that Our Lady’s purpose is to bring us closer to her Divine Son, and that these Mysteries assist us in contemplating the life of Our Lord. Forget that over the nine-hundred-year period since the first introduction of the Rosary, it has continuously evolved as a popular devotion. For example, in time the Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer were added after each decade. While the Hail, Holy Queen and Pope Leo XIII’s Prayer to St. Michael were added to the Rosary’s concluding prayers at a date much later than this pious devotion’s first introduction. And since the following prayer is at the very heart of the Rosary, dare we mention that the entire second half of the Hail Mary is an addition? Read St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentary on the prayers of the Rosary, and you find no mention of the following incantation when he reflects upon the Ave Maria: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at time of our death. Amen.” All these practices, which pious Catholics today take for granted when praying the Rosary, are additions that arose throughout the years from the pious popular expressions of good Catholic men and women. In short, the Rosary is an evolving devotion subject to organic growth.

And thus as one individual recently commented on an email discussion list, perhaps the lidless eye reactionaries would have been happier if, in lieu of the five Luminous Mysteries, the Holy Rosary would have evolved toward the five Gloomy Mysteries. These could include the following: 1) Our Lord preventing the Pharisees from giving the adulteress the stoning she so richly deserved. 2) The five foolish virgins being told, "I know you not". 3) The rich man goes to hell and is denied a drop of water. 4) The blood curse of the Jews of which Pontius Pilate washes his hands. And 5) Judas betrays Our Lord with a kiss, hangs himself, and his stomach bursts open.
posted by Pete Vere on 10/24/2002 | Comments (6)

Saint Micheal the Archangel, defend us in battle...

LOL better you do what God told you to do tiki ..not some superstition

Eph 6:11   Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
   Eph 6:12   For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
   Eph 6:13   Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
   Eph 6:14   Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
   Eph 6:15   And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
   Eph 6:16   Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
   Eph 6:17   And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

So Tiki did you ever ask God if you should pray to Mary?

<> The Catholic Church is the Pillar and Ground of truth. Holy Mother Church condemns superstition and promotes praying the Rosary. The Pillar and Ground of Truth, of whom Jesus said, "He who hears you hears me" does not teach error or promote superstition.

Jesus would not have established His Church upon Peter, sent the Holy Spirit upon it to teach all truth, refer to that Catholic Church as The Pillar and Ground of Truth, Promise the gates of Hell would not prevail, Promise to be with His Catholic Church until the end of time and then abandon His Church and allow it to teach and promote truth and error. That makes no sense. That would be like saying the Triune God would allow the poison of superstition to be mixed in with the honey of Christian Doctrine so as to deceive His followers.

Now, I know you believe that to be the case. It is also the case you cannot back up those beliefs using the Bible. You cannot show me in the Bible where it says the Church isn't the Pillar and Ground of Truth. You cannot show me in the Bible where Jesus says I didn't build my Church upon Peter. You cannot show me in the Bible where Jesus says I will send the Hoily Spirit upon My Church teach it superstition. You cannot show me in the Bible where Jesus said the Chruc is The Pillar and Ground of truth but the Church wil teach error and superstition so don't listen to the Church. You can't show me in the Bible where Jesus said "he who hears you (Catholic Church) hears me" means that Church will teach error.

No, lo these many months I have been a citizen of Freeperville, I never see any Biblical evidence that Jesus intended to establish a Church that would fail. You Mom, of all people, have the most difficult time tryin to make that arguement make sense.

You continually assert everything had been predetermined prior to the foundation of the world. That would necessarily mean that God planned all this...He planned to found a Church that WOULD fail. He planned to establish a Church and call it the Pillar and Ground of truth and let it deceive BILLIONS of Christians and condemn them to Hell for following false Doctrine. It would mean that God sent out into the world to Teach all nations a Church that would teach falsehood. It would mean that he established Sacraments like Baptism that were superfluous...

RnMomof7...you are welcome to such beliefs. But, having adopted such thoughts, how can you call what we do superstition?<>

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