  
Introduction
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, also known as the "Blessed Virgin Mary" among Catholics and some other Christians, and as "Mother Mary" among many who are seeking their
own unique spiritual paths, seems to have suddenly increased in spiritual "relevance," or what C. G. Jung called "numinosity." There have been a sudden spate of books and
articles: devotional, descriptive, critical--even empirical research on the sources of Marian devotion. In addition, The Lady seems to currently be on something like a world
tour. Reports of apparitions--and followings formed around a variety of seers (primarily female)--has increased dramatically in the past ten years. In the past decade,
apparitions, some of them ongoing, have been reported in Canada, Ecuador, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, the Ukraine, Yugoslavia; in the
United States in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, and more! Some reporters who go to "debunk" the sightings come back with profound religious
experiences.
What is going on here? What does it all mean?
Let's talk about it. I'll start with some general background, and history (Our Lady of Guadalupe dates to the 16th century), trying to highlight common themes: who reported
the apparition; how it was received; what the content of the messages was/is; whether there were "secrets" involved, and the like.
Mary in the Bible
Where does the Catholic devotion to Mary come from? How did it develop so far that while some refer to theology concerning her as "Mariology," some call it "Mariolatry"
(from "idolatry"). What can we learn by going back to the source, the Bible?
Well, the first thing one learns is that controversy starts immediately. Where is the first mention of Mary? The obvious place to look would be in the first book of the
Christian scriptures, the Gospel of Matthew. But, those who profess a strong devotion to Mary claim the first reference to her occurs in the first book of the Hebrew
scriptures: Genesis.
After Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden of Eden, having eaten of the forbidden fruit at the bidding of the serpent, and God tells them of the hard life they will now
have to endure. Then God turns to the snake, to curse it.
"Because you have done this, cursed be you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go and the dust shall you eat all the days
of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her's; he will strike at your head, and you will strike at his heel." (Genesis
3: 14-15)
Because of the reference to the defeat of the snake (Satan), some say the reference here is to Christ, and that the woman, whose offspring does the crushing, is Mary. By
association, this "crushing" role is sometimes passed on to her. Next time you see a statue of Mary, check out the feet: there's a good change you'll see a snake being
stepped on.
Now let us go to the New Testament. Here we find that the Gospels themselves quarrel about this woman.
In Mark's Gospel (generally considered to be the earliest of the four), there is no account of Jesus' birth and infancy, and about the only mention of Mary is that Christ's
mother comes with the rest of the family to see him, and are apparently rebuked, as Jesus says that those who fulfill his will are his family (Mark 3:31-35). In Mark's Gospel,
Mary is also not at the foot of the cross when Jesus dies.
In contrast, in Luke, Mary plays a quite prominent role. It is here, and only here, that the most familiar scenes from the Christmas story involving Mary are found: the angel
announcing Jesus' birth; the visit to Elizabeth; the circumcision and the prophecy that a sword will pierce Mary's heart; and the scene in the temple when Jesus is twelve; all in
the first two chapters! This emphasis on Mary has lead some to suggest that the author of Luke's gospel may have been a woman. (None of the most ancient Gospels have
"titles" with authors' names; the identity of the authors is based on ancient tradition.)
Then in the Gospel of John, Mary appears twice. Her first appearance is at the wedding feast at Cana. When the wine runs out, Jesus turns about 120 gallons of water into
the finest wine. This scene begins with Mary telling Jesus that they are out of wine and Jesus' apparent rebuke: "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has
not yet come." His mother then tells the servants: "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2: 4-5) The fact that Jesus apparently changes his mind when his mother makes a request
of him would later develop into the theology that "praying to Mary" or rather asking Mary to pray with the worshipper to Jesus, would make prayer more effective.
Mary's second appearance in the Gospel of John is at the very foot of the cross. There, "when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he
said to his mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then he said to the disciple 'Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home." (John 19:
26-27)
From this simple scene, a number of Marian doctrines take root:
1. That Mary did not have any children besides Jesus, since if she had Jesus would not have been concerned about who would care for her. Therefore the
"brothers of the Lord" must be cousins or others who were close to Jesus, and the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity is supported.
2. The disciple whom Jesus loved is taken as a symbol of all believers in Jesus, and here Jesus entrusts all of them to consider Mary as their mother; "Mother of
the Church" as she would be called.
The last New Testament passage sometimes thought to refer to Mary is in that famous scriptural inkblot test of a book, the Book of Revelations. In chapter 12, there is an
account of "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Mary is sometimes thus depicted in Catholic religious art.
It will also be helpful to keep this image in mind when we discuss the Marian apparitions.
As the woman enters into the travails of labor, a dragon appears, to try to devour "her son, a male child, who is to rule all he nations with a rod of iron. But the child was
snatched away and taken to God and his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God." It is in this one and only book of the
bible that dragons are mentioned, and that in association with Mary.
This, then, is where it all starts. Remember the themes raised here:
Enmity between the woman and the forces of evil
The virgin birth
The statements of Jesus on the cross; even referring to Mary as "Woman."
We will see all these again and again.
Mary in the "Lost Books of the Bible"
One of the phenomena that has accompanied the recent widespread sense that some form of profound change is immanent has been a resurgence of interest in, and reports
of, the appearance of Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother Mary; she is called by many names. And she seems to be everywhere: Medjugorje in the former
Yugoslavia; Conyers, Georgia; Akita, Japan. While Mary has, in the past, been associated primarily with Roman Catholicism, today people such as Elizabeth Clare Prophet
of the Church Universal and Triumphant, and self-described "New Age channeller" Ray Sanford, invoke, and even claim to speak in, her name.
This is a series of columns examining both the historic traditions concerning Mary, and the modern accounts of her presence. In a previous column, we examined her role in
the events described in the New Testament, as well as passages believed to prefigure her in the Old Testament. In the process, we touched on the entire Bible, from Genesis
to Revelation. In this issue's column we will examine another set of writings: the New Testament Apocrypha.
THE NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA
The New Testament Apocrypha are sometimes presented as a group of alternative scriptures that were "suppressed" by the "establishment." In fact, these writings differ
from the New Testament writings generally in two respects. Most were written later than the New Testament documents. Scholarly consensus (if there ever is such a thing)
seems to be that most of the major documents of the New Testament were completed before the year 100 AD. Most of the Apocrypha have later dates of authorship; 50 to
100 years later. Thus, when the final "editorial" decisions were made about 400 A.D. as to what was in (the "Canon") and what was out, these writings were judged to have
been written too long after the fact to be reliable. In addition, the accounts in the Apocrypha are rather different from those included in the Canon.
In the Apocrypha, both Jesus and Mary appear less as teachers and holy people than as miracle workers. The boy Jesus, for example, turns mud into birds and then strikes
dumb a child who "tattles" on him for having done it. Joseph is working in the carpenter shop, cuts a board too short, and the boy Jesus makes it grow back. Jesus rises from
the dead, and a talking cross comes out of his tomb to comment on the situation. In short, these accounts often were so different from what most of Jesus' followers had
experienced or received in their teaching that they did not "ring the bell of the dharma" with respect to the Jesus they knew. (In case you're wondering, Revelation just barely
made it.)
MARY IN THE APOCRYPHA
All of that having been said, it is interesting to note that much of what is taken as information about Mary's life, and the basis of several traditional "feast days" associated with
her--the names of her parents (Joachim and Anne), her conception, nativity, presentation in the temple--all come from New Testament Apocrypha. Mary's importance and
powers are emphasized in these sources. The Gospel of the Hebrews portrays the Archangel Michael being incarnated as Mary, bringing Christ with him/her. Accounts of
the actual birth of Jesus, noting that the birth process did not require a midwife, and did not alter Mary's virginity, are in the Ascension of Isaiah. This (and parallel texts) are
among the sources for the Catholic doctrine--still presented in the most recent Catechism of the Catholic Faith--that Mary was a virgin before, during, and after Jesus' birth
(ante partum, in partu, post partum). The Gospel of Philip, one of the Nag Hammadhi documents, considers Mary the incarnation of the Holy Spirit. There are also "gospels"
that focus on Jesus' nativity and infancy. In these, Mary's birth is presented like that of the Old Testament prophets: to an aged couple, in an answer to prayer. There is an
account of Mary's presentation in the temple, complete with prophecies like that of Jesus. The Gospel of Nicodemus (also known as the Acts of Pilate) recounts a meeting
of Mary with Jesus as he is on the way to his crucifixion. In this account, Mary faints. Note that while this incident is not in the accepted Canon of the New Testament, the
meeting (but not the fainting) is included in the tradition "Stations of the Cross" depicted in every Catholic church, and ritually reenacted in them every year. The Gospel of
Nicodemus also includes a soliloquy by Mary at the foot of the cross.
Thus these documents form much of the wider tradition held about Mary, and also present her as something more than human; nearly a heavenly power.
SOURCES:
For information concerning Mary in the New Testament, I recommend:
MARY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
A COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT
By Protestant & Roman Catholic Scholars
This is a wonderful, scholarly, ecumenical work. Raymond E. Brown, Karl P. Dunfried, Joseph A. Fitzmeyer, and John Reumann (editors). Philadelphia Fortress Press,
1978.
For the text of many of the New Testament Apocrypha, see:
THE LOST BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS OF EDEN
For almost anything on Mary, see:
THEOTOKOS:
A THEOLOGICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
by Michael O'Carroll
Michael Glazier Books, 1982. This column relies on this source often.
Mary Online
It struck me as I was preparing the column I was going to do--on Marian apparitions between the end of the New Testament era and the appearance of Our Lady of
Guadalupe--that I may be being too linear or "left-brained" for some of you. Wouldn't surprise me; my wife once accused me of not having a right brain. In any case, some
of you may be chomping at the bit for me to "get on with it" and talk about "the juicy stuff"--current Marian apparitions. That's not going to happen right away, but I wanted
to address those concerns by using this column to talk about how people can get rapid access to information on this topic; online of course!
The bulk of this column comes from the "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) file for APAR-L, a mailing list for people who want to discuss Marian apparitions. They
regularly post the latest message from a wide variety of "non-disapproved" Marian apparitions. "Non-disapproved" apparition (my term, not their's) is (and here I quote from
the FAQ document) "any apparitions either approved by the Catholic Church, or not contrary to or condemned by the Catholic Church." That list is far, far longer than I
expected. Here are a few of the "acceptable apparitions" the list includes:
All apparitions approved by the Catholic Church
Sr. Anna Ali, Daughters of Jesus, the Good Shepherd (DOJGS)
Fr. Don Stefano Gobbi, Marian Movement of Priests
Christine Gallagher, Cortnadreha, Ireland
Julia Kim, Naju, Korea
Garabandal, Spain
Vassula Ryden, Switzerland
Josyp Terelya, Formerly of the Ukraine
Estella Ruiz, Phoenix, Arizona, USA (Our Lady of the Americas)
Fr. Jack Spaulding, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Nancy Fowler, Conyers, Georgia, USA
Ray Doiron, Belleville, Illinois, USA
Joseph Reinholtz, Hillside, Illinois, USA
Coldspring, Kentucky, USA (Our Lady of Light)
Sandy, Falmouth, Kentucky, USA (Our Lady of Light)
Gianna Talone Sullivan, Emmitsburg, Maryland, USA
Eileen George, Millbury, Massachusetts, USA
Cyndi Cain, Mesquite, Texas, USA
Mariamante
Poem of the Man-God by Maria Valtorta.   
The listings that follow note the year the purported apparition first began (a number of apparitions have lasted more than two years), the location of the apparition site, the visionaries
involved and a very brief description of the principal types of events that are reported to occur. The list is shown in two parts - Western Hemisphere apparitions and apparitions
elsewhere in the world. The events indicated with an asterisk denote approval by the local bishop; otherwise, the listing only indicates celebrity, not necessarily the validity or
authentication of the apparition itself or the messages and phenomena reportedly occurring.
Some Purported Marian Apparitions in the Last Half of the Twentieth Century
NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA
(SINCE 1950)
DATE LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ ________ __________ _____
1953 Sabana Grande, PR Barrio Rincon Marian visions &
prophecy
1954 Dayton, OH Sr. Mil. Neuzil Marian visions
* 1976 Betania, VZ Maria Esperanza continuous Marian
apparitions, rose
smell, healings
1980 (?) Paulina, LA Fr. Albert Hebert Marian visions
and prophecy
* 1980 Cuapa, NIC Edward Martinez Marian apparitions
1981 Worcester, MA Eileen George Jesus visions
1982 Cankton, LA Genevieve Huckady Marian apparitions
* 1983 San Nicolas, ARG Gladys Quiroga Stigmata & Marian
visions
1983 Penablance, CH Miguel Poblete Visions of Jesus &
Mary
1984 Guatemala Carmen Marian messages
1985 Cleveland Maureen Sweeney locutions & prophecy
DATE LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ ________ __________ _____
1986 Michigan Mariamante Marian visions
1986 Santa Fe, NM Vange Gonzales Marian visions
1987 Conyers, GA Nancy Fowler Marian apparitions,
solar phenomena,
healings
1987 Terra Blanca, MX Elba & Zendia Marian visions
1987 El Ranchilo, TX Bro. David Lopez Marian apparitions &
prophecy
1988 Phoenix, AZ Estella Ruiz Marian apparitions
& family & prophecy
1988 Lubbock, TX Mary Constancio Marian messages
1988 El Cajas, EQ Pachi Borrero Marian apparitions
1988 Scottsdale, AZ Fr. Spaulding visions and locutions
& 6 parishoners of Jesus & Mary.
1989 Marlboro, NJ J. Januszkiewicz Marian messages
lights & doves
1989 Burlington, ON Zdenko Singer Marian & Trinity
visions
1990 Hillside, IL Joseph Reinholtz Visions & locutions
DATE LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ ________ __________ _____
1990 Santa Maria, CA Carol Nole locutions &
solar phenomena
1991 Lake Ridge, VA Fr. James Bruse Weeping statues of
Mary, stigmata
1991 Denver, CO Veronica Garcia Jesus & Mary visions
1992 Steubenville, OH Tony Fernwalt visions & prophecy
1993 Belleville, IL Ray Doiron locutions
1994 Hollywood, FL Rosa Lopez Marian visions
1994 Emmitsburg, MD Gianna Sullivan locutions of Mary
Aside from this listing of purported Marian apparition sites in the Americas, there have been dozens more reported from other locations around the world, the most famous being the
on-going apparitions at Medjugorje.
In Medjugorje, the Blessed Virgin has reportedly been appearing to six youngsters (now young adults) in this rural hamlet for more than fourteen years. There have been conflicting
evaluations of the nature of the apparitions there. The first Bishop who investigated the apparitions found them explanable by natural means. Because of local political conflicts, these
findings were set aside and another council was empowered to evaluate events. Subsequent investigations have been inconclusive as to the supernatural character of the apparitions there.
Nonetheless, millions of pilgrims visited Medjugorje prior to the civil war and, even today, a small number brave the sniper fire and harsh conditions to visit the site since the apparitions
reportedly are still occurring. The visionaries report that Mary told them about a series of ten future events, many of them horrific, which will occur if humanity doesn't convert and turn
back to God. But, Mary also was reported to say:
"Do not think about wars, punishments, evil, because if you do you are on the road toward them. Your task is to accept divine peace, to live it, and to spread
it."
At Medjugorje and elsewhere, the messages received have Mary asking each of us to return to her Son through prayer, fasting, conversion and works of mercy. She is seen entreating
each of us to come back to her Son; and, like any good mother, she attempts to warn us of the consequences should we fail to do so.
The following are the sites of purported Marian apparitions located outside the Western Hemisphere, the events indicated with an asterisk have received the approval of the local Bishop:
SOME PURPORTED MARIAN APPARITIONS
NON-AMERICAN SITES
SINCE 1960
YEAR LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ __________ __________ _____
1960 Balestrino, France Caterina Richero visions
1960 Turzovka, Czech. Matous Lasuta visions &
prophecy
1961 Garabandal, Spain 4 local girls apparitions,
mystical hosts,
healings &
prophecy
1962 Janonis, Lithuania Ramute m-Mapiukaite visions
1964 San Damiano, Italy Rosa Quattrini visions
1966 Montichiari, Italy Piercina Gilli visions &
prophesy
1966 Port San Stefano, IT Enzo Alocci locution &
prophesy
YEAR LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ __________ __________ _____
* 1968 Zeitun, Egypt Farouk Atwa+200 th. photographed,
televised
apparitions above
St. Mary's Coptic
Church
1968 San Damiano, Italy Carmella Carabelli visions &
prophesy
* 1969 Akita, Japan Sr. Agnes Sasagawa visions, prophecy
bleeding & crying
statues of Mary
1970 Vladmir Pr., Ukraine Josyp Terelya visions &
prophecy
1972 Milan, Italy Fr. Stefano Gobbi locutions &
prophecy
1973 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Julka visions &
prophecy
1974 Putot-en-Auge, France Madeleine locutions &
prophecy
1975 Calabria, Italy Sr. Elena Aiello visions &
prophecy
1975 Binh Loi, Vietnam Stephen Ho Ngoc Ahn visions, healing
transportation
1978 Chiang Si, China various witnesses apparitions
1980 El Escorial, Spain Amparo Cuevas stigmata, visions
& prophecy
YEAR LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ __________ __________ _____
* 1981 Kibeho, Rwanda six teens apparitions &
prophecy
1981 Medjugorje, Croatia 6 village teens visions,
locutions,
prophecy,
healings, solar
& rosary
phenomena
1981 Rome, Italy John Paul II vision &
solar phenomena
1982 Eisenberg, Austria Aloisia Lex visions &
permanent grass
cross
* 1982 Damascus, Syria Maria al Akharas Locutions, fragrant
oils, healings
1985 Naju, Korea Julia Kim visions, statues
flowing oil,
eucharistic
miracles &
prophecy
1985 Oliveto Citra, IT Twelve children visions,
prophecy &
aroma of roses
1985 Melleray, Ire. Ursula O'Rourke visions,
Breda Coleman prophecy &
statue of Mary
seen moving
YEAR LOCATION INDIVIDUAL EVENT
____ __________ __________ _____
1986 Blue Mountain, Aus. Paul visions &
moving statues
of Mary
1986 Cameroon, Afr. Eight children visions & healings
1987 Inchigella, Ire. Rosemary O'Sullivan pillar of light,
visions
1987 Bessbrook, N.Ire. Beulah Lynch visions &
prophecy
1987 Hrushiw, Ukraine Maria Kizyn visions
1987 Rome, Italy Sr. Anna Ali visions & prophecy
1988 Gortnodreha, Ire. Christina Gallagher visions,
prophecy &
stigmata
1988 Cachiche, Peru several parishoners statue of Our
Lady of Lourdes
crying
1989 Zarvanystya, Ukraine Chornij Zenovia visions
1989 Burlington. Ontario Zdenko Singer visions &
prophecy
1990 Litmanova, Slovakia Ivetka Korcakova visions &
Katka Ceselkova prophecy
1993 New South Wales, Aus. Matthew Kelly locutions
1994 Rome, Italy Marisa Rossi visions,
messages &
eucharistic
miracles
The varied physical phenomena reported at Marian apparition sites can be categorized into four basic types:
solar phenomena - pilgrims at various sites report multicolored displays or pulsations by the sun. This phenomena has been video-taped and photographed thus confirming some of
its physical characteristics.
physical healings - a number of pilgrims report spontaneous healing of chronic medical problems as well as acute diseases such as cancer. While healing does occur, medical
science has been unable to determine the physical agent in a number of cases.
changes in state - rosaries of pilgrims have changed of religious color, statues have been observed objects crying, bleeding or moving. Tests conducted reveal varying results. Most
rosary changes appear related to chemical reactions involving skin oils created while praying the Rosary. Blood has been analyzed and found to be human and the tears have been
tested to show human chemical markers at some sites.
stigmata - a number of visionaries have a visible imprinting of Christ's crucifixion scars. Markings bleed regularly (usually on Friday's). Several visionaries report internal stigmata
which correspond to external scars but which are endured internally.
Perhaps the most important effect these occurrences create is the growth in spiritual awareness and prayerfulness. Tens of millions of people worldwide have conducted pilgrimages and
created prayer groups as the direct result of the Marian apparition phenomena. The "miracle" of rosaries changing color is not the color change but the return to an active prayer life by
many who visit the sites of Marian apparitions.  
 MARIAN APPARITIONS
The most powerful preacher of the Gospel in history is not Billy Graham or the sum total of the TV evangelists. It is the Woman whose seed are those who "have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." The appearances of the Woman throughout history and in different parts of the world has led to the conversion of millions.
Once we recognize that Mary is the Woman whose seed follow Jesus, then the inevitability and the reason for her appearances are self-evident. Her mission is to bring her Son's message
of salvation to all her other seed so that she can lead them to Jesus. This understanding of Mary's appearances helps us understand that they not only fulfill Scripture but are demanded by
Scripture. We realize too that Mary and the Holy Spirit always work together.
The supernatural and the miraculous have been critical ingredients in the growth of Christianity. His followers believed in Jesus and His Message primarily because of His miracles.
Moreover the spread of Christianity around the world was at least partially dependent on the many miracles performed by the Apostles (some of which are recorded in the Acts of the
Apostles). Today both Fundamentalists and Liberals try to deny the continuing presence of the miraculous in Christianity; Liberals, of course, go a step forward and deny even that
miracles were present at the origin of Christianity. But their arguments are based on bias and not a study of the evidence.
Marian appearances are part of the overall pattern of the manifestation of the supernatural and the miraculous in Christianity. The miraculous nature of these appearances and associated
messages has brought millions to Christ. Through her appearances Mary has spread the Gospel in every corner of the world. Invariably these appearances have resulted in conversions,
repentance, growth in holiness and an improved prayer life.
Space does not permit any further description of the famous Marian apparitions of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. The famous atheist psychologist Sigmund Freud once exclaimed, "I
do not think our cures can compete with those at Lourdes. There are so many more people who believe in the miracle of the Blessed Virgin than in the existence of the unconscious."1
Without question the most dramatic and most influential appearance of Mary in history was her miraculous visit to the New World at Guadalupe and the resultant conversion of over nine
million Aztecs.
Some practical applications of the Marian apparitions may be mentioned here.
A mother's first concern is to protect her children from danger following which she will feed, clothe and shelter them. Every Marian devotee can testify to the maternal care and protection
they have received from their Mother. She who protected the Son of God from every danger from His earliest days and Who met His every need for thirty years has now been asked to
look after His brothers and sisters "who do the will of the Father."
Not only has Mary appeared to her children and drawn them to her Son but she has also left them with weapons and shields to protect them in their perilous journey to salvation. These
weapons include the Miraculous Medal and the Rosary, two great gifts given by a loving Mother to her children.
Thousands of miracles have been attributed to the efficacious prayer of the Rosary. The late Neville Ward, a Methodist minister, wrote a famous book on the Rosary (Five for Sorrow,
Ten for Joy) from which these excerpts are taken.
The Western Rosary considers fifteen forms of experience-- five at its happiest, five at its most horrible, five at its most glorious - as seen in the life of Jesus and
his mother. These are fifteen representative images of reality. Nothing can happen to us that is not contained there; all that is there can happen to us and in some
sense is happening to us now. To pray the Rosary is to try yet again to keep in touch with life in its fullness, to insure that we do not evade or miss anything.
The ring of beads is a means for counting prayers as we work through a program of prayer and meditation. There are five groups of ten beads, each group
separated from the next by a larger bead. To this circlet of beads is added a short pendant consisting of a large bead, three small ones, another large bead and
a crucifix.
It is used in various ways. A common way of doing this program of prayer is to start with the crucifix at the end of the small pendant. On this is said the Creed,
then on the first large bead the Lord's Prayer, a Hail Mary on each of the three small beads, and the Glory be to the Father or the Salve Regina on the
remaining large bead.
Where the pendant joins the round there is a large bead or a medallion on which is said the Lord's prayer; then come ten small beads on each of which a Hail
Mary is said; the large bead that follows is used for the saying of the Glory be to the Father to conclude the first decade and then the Lord's prayer to begin the
next ten, and so on until the decade consisting of the Lord's Prayer, ten Hail Marys and the Gloria, has been said five times and the round is finished.
These memorized prayers are combined with a scheme of meditation on fifteen subjects, all drawn from the Bible with the exception of the last two. These
subjects are called mysteries and are divided into three groups as follows:
The Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation. St Luke 1:26-38
2. The Visitation. St Luke 1:39-56
3. The Nativity. St Luke 2:1-20
4. The Presentation. St Luke 2:22-40
5. The Finding in the Temple. St Luke 2:41-52
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. The Agony in the Garden. St Luke 22:39-54
2. The Scourging. Isaiah 5:3-1; St John 19:1
3. The Crowning with Thorns. St Matthew 27:27-31
4. The Carrying of the Cross. St Luke 23:26-32
5. The Crucifixion. St John 19:17-37
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection. St John 20
2. The Ascension. Acts 1:1-11
3. The Coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-13
4. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary
5. The Coronation (Rev. 12)
While each decade of the Rosary is said one of these themes or mysteries is held in the mind for meditation, so that each time the Rosary is said the mind will
have dwelt on five great Christian meanings. They are taken in turn according to the days of the week: on Monday and Thursday, the Joyful Mysteries; on
Tuesday and Friday, the Sorrowful Mysteries; on Wednesday and Saturday, the Glorious Mysteries.
Such is this fifteen-point program of Christian themes for meditation in a setting of familiar prayers which has been found to be so helpful to innumerable people
greatly varying in age and education and experience. No other scheme of prayer has been so widely used in the Christian west.2
It may be asked, Why do we need Mary and Marian devotions and holy objects like the Rosary and the Miraculous Medal? Because this world is a dangerous place in which Satan is
active, because damnation is possible for any one of us. The constant Our Fathers and Hail Marys of the Rosary are required because of our depraved nature: such prayers are
instruments to hold back the world, the flesh, and the devil. Moreover, the prophecy that all generations are to call Mary blessed is a command not an option. Many Fundamentalists who
frown at Marian devotions like the Rosary are likely to frown even at devotions directed exclusively to Jesus. The whole idea of "devotions" is alien to them. Only when they realize their
own perilous condition, their own need for supernatural resources can they begin to understand the urgency of these devotions. Even expert swimmers are helpless in powerful currents -
and when you are swimming in dangerous waters the current could get you before you know it. Lifejackets can be lifesavers in such circumstances.
God will use every created instrument to help us reach Him. It is for this reason that He sends us a loving Mother who will protect us from danger and feed, clothe and shelter us.
|
