Rosarium Virginis Mariae : A Spiritual Commentary
by Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, FI, STD
To enter into the mystery of the Rosary means in fact to enter the theandric mystery of Christ and Mary; means, as the Pope teaches, "to put oneself in living communion with Jesus via, we can say, the Heart of His Mother" (n. 2) "and thus attain the contemplation of Christ's face in the company of and at the school of His Most Holy Mother" (n. 3).
The following is a complete text of the letter of Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, founder and Minister General, to the members of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. The letter is rich with spiritual reflection that it comprised a wonderful commentary on the Holy Father's document: Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
Dearest brothers and sisters in the Heart of the Immaculate,
The Year of the Rosary, begun this past October, offers us the happy occasion of a annual letter dealing with that 'hidden treasure in the field' (Mat. 13, 44) which is the Holy Rosary, enriched by the Holy Father John Paul II with five "precious pearls" (Mat. 13, 45), those five new mysteries of the light or luminous mysteries complementing the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries.
The joy experienced on the announcement of this double gift of the Holy Father: the presentation of the five new mysteries of the light, and the inauguration of a Year of the Rosary coinciding with the twenty-fifth year of his pontificate, has moved me, as it were instinctively, to compose for the solemnities of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, New Year"s and Epiphany a letter of salutary reflection on the precious Apostolic Letter of the Pope, Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
1. The "Mystery" of the Rosary
The Rosary is a prayer destined 'to yield fruits of holiness" (n. 1), the Pope immediately tells us in the introduction of the Apostolic Letter, because it is a prayer recapitulating in itself the "mystery" of Christ and Mary, the "mystery of the Church and man. Hence, the Rosary appears to prolong the Magnificat of Mary Most Holy "contemplating the work of redemptive Incarnation begun in her virginal womb" (n. 1), and so it is the prayer which obtains every grace "obtaining them from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer" (n. 1).
On reflection, we can already realize here how the concrete problem experienced in our recitation of the Rosary, often so fruitless or meagre in fruit, is rooted exactly in this fact, that we do not know how to penetrate the "mystery" of the Rosary. Too often, perhaps, we limit our care to praying the Rosary "attentively and devoutly", with ritual exactitude, with a certain sense of recollection, but without entering into the "mystery" of the Rosary, without making ours, therefore, the mind and soul of Mary in her Magnificat.
As every liturgical celebration entails both a rite in its external vesture and a mystery in its hidden soul, so analogously the Rosary is celebrated with an external rite which however serves as the wrapping of the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation, i.e., the mystery of Christ and Mary, of the Redeemer and Coredemptress, in the realization of the loving plan of God for the salvation of a sinful mankind. If one does not enter into the "mystery" of the Rosary, one remains on the sidelines of the celebration and of its fruits of grace.
To enter into the "mystery" of the Rosary means in fact to enter the theandric mystery of Christ and Mary; means, as the Pope teaches, to put oneself "in living communion with Jesus via, we can say, the Heart of His Mother" (n. 2) and thus attain "the contemplation of Christ's face in the company of and at the school of His Most Holy Mother" (n. 3). These are the priceless riches of the Rosary, source of every grace for Christian formation, for the contemplative life, for evangelization and for the sanctification of every soul.
Indeed, in the hope of the Pope, the Year of the Rosary should be lived "with prompt generosity", precisely because "the Rosary, if its full sense be rediscovered, carries one to the very core of Christian life and offers an orderly as well as fruitful spiritual and pedagogical opportunity for personal contemplation, formation of the people of God and the new evangelization" (n. 3). And in regard to the burning issue of ecumenism as well "if the Rosary is rediscovered adequately, far from being an obstacle to ecumenism it is found to be a help!" (n. 4). The spiritual vitality and apostolic soul of the Rosary, therefore, are riches of grace for meeting every problem, great or small as the case may be, for every man, whether saint or sinner.
2. The Rosary and "Contemplation"
The Rosary is above all contemplative prayer, linked to "the best and most celebrated tradition of Christian contemplation," states the Pope, closely recalling "the 'Jesus prayer' which germinated in the humus of the Christian East" (n. 5). But it is also intercessory prayer, active and urgent, especially today, for the peace of the world, for the salvation of the family, for the defense of life. The Rosary according to the Pope, in fact is "an efficacious help in dealing with the devastating effects of the present epochal crisis" (n. 6).
The contemplative soul of the Rosary and its active vitality also recall, theologically speaking, the maternal mediation of Mary, of the Mother of God, namely, that in fact in a personal way at Lourdes and at Fatima she "effectively made her presence felt and her voice heard exhorting the People of God to this form of contemplative prayer" (n. 7), cultivated for this reason in times more distant from us (St. Louis Grignon de Montfort, for example) and in times closer to us (for example Bl. Bartolo Longo and St. Pio of Pieltrecina) (n.8).
The Rosary, qua contemplative, leads to the discovery of the Face of Jesus and to discover it as identical with that of His Mother, wholly Virgin, ever Virgin, to whom, says the Pope, "the face of the Son belongs on special grounds. It is in her womb that this face was molded, taking from Her its human lines and indicating a still greater spiritual intimacy" (n. 10). And through Her eyes, therefore, "always rich in adoring wonder" one must look on Jesus in the Rosary: a questioning look, as in the fifth joyful mystery ("Son, why hast thou done this to us" Lk. 2, 48); a searching look at the wedding feast of Cana ("They have no wine", Jn. 2, 3); a sorrowful look on the crucified Son (cf. Jn. 19, 26-27); a radiant look on the Risen Jesus in the first glorious mystery; an ardent look "during the out-pouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost" (cf. Acts 1, 14) (n. 10).
The contemplation to be cultivated via the Rosary has been sketched by the Evangelist St. Luke where he describes Mary Most Holy in reference to the "recollections of Jesus" impressed on her maternal heart as "keeping all these things pondering them in her heart" (Lk. 2, 19). Surely, as the Pope explains, "these were the memories which comprised in a certain sense the 'rosary' which she herself constantly recited during the days of her earthly life" (n. 11), and which for us constitute "meditation on the life of the Lord, seen through the heart of Her who was closest to the Lord, and which therefore disclose for us His inexhaustible riches" as also Pope Paul VI affirms (n. 12). May our Rosary be the same as Hers: this is the contemplative ideal to achieve!
3. Rosary: becoming Mary-like and Christ-like
The Rosary, in effect, is the prayer which more than any other makes the soul Christ-like through Mary, for as the Pope explains "to immerse oneself from mystery to mystery in the life of the Redeemer is to assimilate profoundly and shape one's existence by what He accomplished and the Liturgy actualizes" (n. 13). Mary precisely is the one who expertly immerses us in Christ and deftly likens us to Christ, because "no one can, like Mary, introduce us to a profound knowledge of His mystery" and "so to traverse the scenes of Calvary is to enroll in the school of Mary to learn how to read Christ, to penetrate His secrets, to understand His message" (n. 13).
For this reason the Rosary is the prayer which efficaciously assists in "being conformed" to Christ (Rom. 8, 29), to be so likened to Him as to have "the same mind" (Phil. 2, 5), as "put on" Christ (Rom. 13, 14), as "to live" of Him (Phil. 1, 21). Bl. Bartolo Longo explains this so convincingly: "As two friends frequently exercising together customarily come to resemble each other even in their habits of life, so also when we converse familiarly with Jesus and the Virgin while meditating the mysteries of the Rosary and when in so conversing share their communion of life, can we become, to the degree our lowliness permits, similar to them and learn from their supreme example how to live humbly, in poverty, hidden, patient and perfect" (n. 15).
The Rosary, in addition, is the prayer of devotion to Mary, of devotion to Her who is "the creature most conformed to Jesus Christ," as St. Louis Grignon de Montfort says. Hence, the Rosary is the devotional prayer which "most consecrates and conforms a soul to Our Lord," in the sense that a soul only becomes more Christ-like to the degree it becomes more Mary-like, or as St. Louis Grignon, cited by the Pope (n. 15), teaches: "the more a soul is consecrated to Her , the more it will be consecrated to Jesus Christ" (On True Devotion, 120).
If in fact the Immaculate is the "Mold of God", the matrix of Christ, then only the person consecrated to Her and therefore immersed in Her and likened to Her, will find himself "in Christ", wholly and perfectly made Christ-like. The most complete likening to Mary, then, brings the most perfect likening to Christ. And it is precisely the prayer of the Rosary, the Holy Father teaches, which uniting us to Mary "helps us to grow in this conformation to the very utmost limits of holiness" (n. 26). These are perfect "conformity" to Christ, according to the loving plan of God (cf. Rom. 8, 29).
4. Marian Vow and Rosary
If, then, it is certain that the Marian Vow entails being totally immersed in the Immaculate and in being possessed by Her as her "thing" and "absolute property," this means that, living the Marian Vow, or immersing oneself in the "Mold of God" in the womb of the Immaculate to the point of being transubstantiated into Her, the soul finds itself wholly and perfectly made Christ-like, as St. Maximilian so clearly teaches when he affirms that "in the womb of the Immaculate the soul is reborn in the form of Christ" (SK 1295).
Therefore, the Rosary, with its constant rhythm of 10, 50, 100 and 200 Hail Mary's, is the prayer which best expresses this union with Mary, which better than every other places one in direct communion with Her in the contemplation of the Incarnation (joyful mysteries), of Revelation (luminous mysteries), of Redemption (sorrowful mysteries), of Glorification (glorious mysteries). This direct communion with Her, aligned with the rhythms of the Hail Mary, exactly constitutes that precious work of assimilation to Her, as St. Maximilian also teaches when he says: "Converse often with Her and you will be transformed into Her" (SK 1367).
So, fruit of being assimilated to Her is precisely Mary-likeness, which is the direct matrix of fullest and most perfect Christ-likeness. For this reason the Pope teaches that the Rosary is "a path of assimilation, aiming at making us enter ever more profoundly into the life of Christ" (n. 33). It is enough to recall in this regard St. Maximilian and particularly his death, to understand how Mary-likeness had made him conformed to Christ Crucified, to the "immolated Lamb" (Rev. 5, 6), who willingly sacrificed himself in death: "He was offered because it was his own will" (Is. 53, 7). It is enough to remember how St. Pio of Pieltrecina also, with Rosary in his hands, rubbed smooth 10, 50, 100 times, day and night, was made Christ-like, in soul and body, as a "living crucified" for fifty years.
5. The Rosary: "Meditation and Supplication"
The Pope teaches that "the Rosary is at once meditation and supplication" (n. 16). Therefore, from the Rosary qua "meditation" also wells up that "supplication" to Her who as Mother of God and our Mother acts qua maternal Mediatress because "omnipotent by grace" (n. 16), as Bl. Bartolo Longo puts it. This mediation is "a certainty", insists the Pope, "for, beginning with the Gospel, it has been progressively reinforced by the experience of the Christian people" (n. 16). Her maternal mediation at Cana in fact and her intercession to help men in their need evidently confirm her "omnipotence by grace" across the history of Christianity.
The Rosary is "supplication" for the defense of truth, for victory over heresy, for the protection of the Church from enemies assaulting her. If such, historically, has been accomplished more than once by this supplication, the Pope is right to exhort us, saying: "Today we face new challenges. Why then not take the Rosary beads in hand again with the faith of those who have gone before us" The Rosary still has all its power and remains a not insignificant resource in the pastoral equipment of any good evangelization" (n. 17).
Historically, the most important example is that of Lepanto where the Church, at the insistence of Pope St. Pius V, obtained by praying the Rosary the victory of Christianity over the stronger forces of the Turkish half-moon: "Non arma, non vires, non duces, sed unice Regina sacratissimi Rosarii fecit nos victores" (not arms, not power, not commanders, but the Queen of the most holy Rosary alone made us victors): so wrote the veterans of the victory in the great naval battle of Lepanto on the walls of the palace of the Doge in Venice.
The seer of Fatima still living, Sister Lucia, well said: "There is no problem, small or great, material or spiritual, national or internatinal which cannot be solved by praying the Rosary". Perhaps it is not sufficiently known that St. Pio of Pietrelcina entrusted to the incessant recitation of the Rosary the requests for favors from his "world-wide clientele", his spiritual children, obtaining for them rivers of graces. We, Franciscans of the Immaculate, brothers and sisters, are surely well aware that only with many Rosaries recited did we overcome so many serious obstacles, unexpected and unexplainable, and obtain in so short a time pontifical status.
4. The "Mysteries of Light"
There were missing in the Rosary, notes the Pope, any references to the "mysteries of the public life of Christ between His Baptism and Passion" (n. 19), passing directly in fact from the Gospels of the infancy (joyful mysteries) to the Gospel of the Passion and Death of Jesus (sorrowful mysteries), and then to the Glorification of the Risen Christ and of Mary Assumed into heaven (glorious mysteries). To integrate the life of Jesus and Mary in the Rosary, therefore, the Pope believes it rightly opportune that "after recalling the Incarnation and hidden life of Christ (mysteries of joy), and before reflecting on the sufferings of the Passion (mysteries of sorrow) and on the triumph of the Resurrection (mysteries of glory), our meditation be directed to some particularly significant moments of the public life (mysteries of light)" (n. 19).
In such wise the Rosary also becomes, significantly, prayer of "light", as the Holy Father teaches once again, in relation "to the entire mystery of Christ who is the light. He is the light of the world" (Jn. 8, 12) (n. 21). Jesus is shown to be such in five moments or events of His life: "1. in His Baptism in the Jordan; 2. in His self-revelation at the wedding of Cana; 3. in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God with the invitation to conversion; 4. in the Transfiguration, and finally, 5. in the institution of the Eucharist, sacramental expression of the paschal mystery" (n. 21).
And where is the presence of Mary Most Holy in these "mysteries of light"" The Pope replies that in the mysteries of light "the presence of Mary remains on the backdrop" (n. 21). Nonetheless the presence of Mary appears expressly in the Wedding at Cana, a presence intensely effective, because the words spoken by Her on that occasion: "Do whatever He tells you", remind us quite exactly of the words of God the Father at the Baptism and Transfiguration of Jesus, while the miracle of the water changed into wine at the request of the Mother: "They have no wine", recalls the wine transubstantiated into the Blood of Christ at the Last Supper in the institution of the Eucharist. Because of this the presence of the Mother of Jesus at Cana constitutes, one might say, the constant and luminous "Marian backdrop of all the "mysteries of light"" (n. 20.
On the other hand, as the Pope himself explains, it is important to take account of the fact that throughout the Rosary "the mysteries of Christ are also, in a certain sense the mysteries of the Mother <....>. Making ours the words of the Angel Gabriel and of St. Elizabeth in the Hail Mary we feel ourselves urged to seek ever anew in Mary, in her arms and in her heart, the "blessed fruit of her womb" (cf. Lk. 1, 42) (n. 24).
5. The "Light" Against the Darkness
According to a happy expression of the Pope, the Rosary is a prayer whose "beat is the rhythm of human life", of the life of man, with cadenzas of joy and sorrow, between light and darkness which follow one another in a constant counterpointing of anxieties and hopes, with tempests and calm in uninterrupted sequence.
The image of "light", authentically biblical, specifically evangelical, is the prevalent image in the Pope"s proposal, giving us thereby the mysteries of light, a gift indicating the relevance of concrete needs and the nature of a historical situation on which he, the Pope, wishes the entire Church to reflect and act. This he does with a seriousness matching the value and dignity of something as precious as prayer, the noblest and most salutary activity of man. If the Pope speaks to us expressly of "light", this is above all because we have need of light today. If the Pope is preoccupied over "light", this is because we are in the dark. If the Pope offers us the "light", this is because only with the light can we put to flight the darkness.
Evident to all today, provided one is not "culpably blind", is the devastating presence of the "darkness" darkening and throwing into confusion the faith of Christians and the morals of the vast majority of mankind by means of the culture of death, the ruination of the family, corruption at every level of social life, the rejection of God, the denial or doubt of the truths which are the patrimony of our Faith, abandonment of the Church, the confusion of syncretism, of false ecumenism, of modernism.
All this, as is well known, defines the kingdom of Satan, otherwise the kingdom of darkness, the "power of darkness", just as Jesus himself says (cf. Lk. 22,53).
Whence the need of the "light"! An urgent need, an extreme need. For this the Pope offers us the Rosary with its mysteries of light, to help us flee the darkness of error and sin, which fill our poor earthly life with tribulations. The Pope expressly urges us to "consign our tribulations to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother" (n. 23).
6. Mary: "Mother, Teacher, Guide"
The Rosary is the school of prayer which commits and engages the whole man: soul and body, mind, heart, will, in the exercise of vocal and mental prayer, affective and contemplative. In virtue of this the prayer which is the Rosary helps one to experience, by way of the full participation of soul and body, the riches of Christian spirituality, "which though possessing sublimer forms of mystical silence <....>, is ordinarily characterized by the total involvement of the person in his complex reality, psycho-somatic and social" (n. 27).
And in this school of prayer which is the Rosary, it is Mary Most Holy herself, says the Pope, who for us "is the Mother (Mater), Teacher (Magistra), Guide" (n. 37). For She alone is the Mother of the spiritual life, the life of grace; she alone is the Teacher of the truth which saves from darkness and error of every kind; she alone is the sure Guide in the midst of the difficulties and dangers of our journey in this world, all "concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life" (I Jn. 2, 16).
With the Rosary, then, the Immaculate herself "effectively becomes our Mother, Teacher, Guide" to lead us to the contemplation of the highest mysteries of our Faith: the Incarnation, Revelation, Redemption, Glorification. Theology and spirituality, dogma and morals, doctrine and piety form a wonderful synthesis in this "traditional prayer", affirms the Pope, "a synthesis with the simplicity of a prayer of the people, but also the theological depth of a prayer appropriate to anyone who adverts to the need of a more mature contemplation" (n. 39). And the Rosary teaches us all things in the school of the divine "Mother, Teacher, Guide", of Her who is the Seat of Wisdom, the Queen of the Apostles, the Teacher of theologians, the Guide of the faithful, the Mother of the Church.
The Rosary is the Marian prayer, in effect, which more than any other makes plain the maternal mediation of Mary in the salvation and sanctification of souls, in the work of reestablishing peace in the world, of safeguarding the family and of the defense of life on earth. Such in fact is the hour of fatal danger which mankind is living today, particularly harmful to the peace of the world, to the integrity of the family, and to the life of men already consigned to death in the mother"s womb by the laws legalizing abortion.
CONCLUSIVE REFLECTIONS AND A PROPOSAL
7. Two Painful Reminders of the Pope
Two painful reminders of the Pope are especially worrisome. The first occurs when in regard to the peace of the world he says that "only an intervention of the Most High, capable of guiding the hearts of those living situations of conflict and of those who govern the lot of nations can provide hope in a future less dark". These are extremely serious words, leading one to consider the peace of the world as being enveloped by agonizing darkness, even though the Pope is striving to lay the grounds "for hope in a future less dark": but if even this "future less dark" is still wanting, what will become of the peace of the world" Whence it is even more urgent to take up once again the praying of the Rosary, which, the Pope once against insists, is "the prayer by nature most orientated to peace" (n. 40).
The second painful reminder concerns the disappearance, for over forth years, of the custom of reciting the Rosary in the family and for the family. "Time was" writes the Pope sadly, "when this prayer was particularly dear to Christian families, and without doubt supported the communion of their members" (n. 41). In fact the disappearance of the Rosary from the family realistically constituted an incalculable disaster for the inner cohesion of its members, for parents and for children. For this reason, in the hope of anticipating total ruin, "it is necessary not to lose this precious heritage definitively" and to strive in every way to reactivate it: "it is necessary to return to the custom of praying in the family" insists the Pope pinpointing the heart of the matter, "and to pray for families, utilizing precisely this form of prayer. <....> I am requesting those who are entrusted with pastoral ministry to families to suggest convincingly the recitation of the Rosary" (n. 41), the prayer of communion in Christ among all the family members, all too often victim to the television: "absorbed by the images on a television set" (n. 41).
Sadly the Pope must speak of a "rediscovery" of the Rosary "by the Christian community", making it perfectly clear how insane it was during they heyday of conciliar renewal to set aside "a prayer so easy, and at the same time so rich"(n. 43). For this reason the Pope now proposes the Year of the Rosary and heartily recommends all Christians "once again to take confidently into their hands the Rosary". Then with the anguish of a father"s heart he adds: "May my appeal not fall on deaf ears!". He concludes with the wonderful reflection of Bl. Bartolo Longo: "O blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain linking us to God, bond of love which unites us to the Angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of hell, sure port in our common shipwreck, we will never leave you again..." (n. 43).
8. Our Unanimous Response
We want to concretize our unanimous response to the Pope"s heartfelt and agonizing appeal along the lines learned in the school of St. Pio of Pietrelcina and St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, our great Patrons.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, also called Saint of the Rosary, really was extraordinary in his devotion to the prayer of the Rosary, rubbing the beads of the crown continuously, day and night, to obtain rivers of graces and blessings for that mass of faithful who flocked to him from every part of the world. The reality is that the prayer of the Rosary, so fruitful in graces and blessings, seemed to be for St. Pio of Pietrelcina the prayer most thoroughly confirming the universal and maternal mediation of Mary, the mediation, namely, of every grace and blessing for the salvation and sanctification of all souls.
St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, instead, teaches us to make our own his "secret", which was precisely the Rosary, as we gather from this small, but splendid episode of his life (reported by Gerlando Lentini, Il Santo dell"Immacolata, pp. 234-236).
Paul Takkashi Nagai, radiologist, scientist, Catholic writer, was professor of medicine at the University of Nagasaki. After being subjected to the radiation from the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans on the city, August 9, 1945, he made himself subject of experiments for the cure of atomic sicknesses. Friend of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, he remembers his first meeting with him as a physician:
"At Nagasaki, in the district of Homgochi, at the foot of Mt. Hikosan there was built after leveling the land the convent of Seibo no Kishi.
During 1935 I often visited this convent. I would find Fr. Maximilian Kolbe in his cell, seated at his desk. But was this a dwelling place" No more than two or three persons could be accommodated. Very modest.
On entering I immediately thought this was but a small closet for storing goods. I saw with my own eyes a cross, a statue of the Immaculate, the Bible, a prayer book, a few documents, a pencil and a few other things....
Smiling Fr. Kolbe met me. He shook hands with me. As soon as he did so, I perceived the delicacy of his gesture, but at the same time felt a great heat. I was amazed, fully aware at the touch that he had a high fever over 38" C.
"Father, you are sick," I said.
"Doctor, do you wish to examine me"" He replied still smiling.
I took out my stethoscope and began the examination. Shortly I exclaimed: "Father, this is frightful. Both your lungs are infected, and in advanced stages. You must take absolute rest, starting immediately!"
But smiling he replied: "Thanks, Doctor. I don"t doubt your reputation as a physician. But I have been examined by other famous experts in your field, in Rome, in Poland and elsewhere. And all of them have told me exactly what you have just said. Indeed, I have heard just this from physicians for over ten years!"And as he ended, his voice trailed off in a whisper.
"What, I said incredulously, for ten years already" "Stupefied, and breathing heavily I observed Fr. Maximilian. He continued to smile at me, but I noticed how his respiration became progressively weaker. With the stethoscope I could perceive that the pulsation in his lungs altered between faint and strong. And in amazement I realized how for so many months and years he had worked for the cause of the Militia of the Immaculate, traveling about half the world; and the illness which he had borne for ten years had neither bettered nor worsened the state of his health!Beyond the slightest doubt this is a case without medical explanation: 4/5 of the lungs infected by TB, next to useless, and a high fever showing no signs of receding. Were he an ordinary sick man, he would have to be confined habitually to bed.
While I continued to show my amazement by hitting my head, unable to stop thinking about this singular phenomenon, Fr. Maximilian lifted up the Rosary in his hand, and smiling still more joyously exclaimed: "This is my secret! This is my secret"!
9. Our "Secret": the Rosary
Let our prompt and unanimous response to the Pope be this very same "secret" which sustained St. Maximilian in his immense and fruitful apostolic labors; let it be the "secret" of the Holy Rosary, which is the "secret" of the victories of the Immaculate Mediatress over the errors and sins of men, which is the "secret" of graces for peace and for the family, the "secret" of salvation and of sanctification for us and for others, the "secret" for obtaining many vocations to the consecrated life, the "secret" for sustaining and developing the missions, the "secret" for the growth of the mass-media apostolate, the "secret" for repairing and building the Church, the "secret" for saving the peoples in pilgrimage on this earth "full of thorns and thistles" (Gen. 3, 18).
The effort we make daily to recite in common in the Marian Houses and in the Houses of the Immaculate the four crowns of the Rosary is intended to be the sign of the Year of the Rosary lived as an expression of our personal and community commitment, obtaining graces and blessings from the devout contemplation of the ineffable mysteries of the Rosary, the compendium of the Gospel and a wonderful synthesis of our Faith.
For the solemnities of the Immaculate Conception, of Christmas, of New Year"s, of Epiphany, may the "secret" of the Rosary be our most precious offering, an offering including a special intention for the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of our Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, to whom we owe great thanks and supernatural affection and for whose complete "transubstantiation" into the Immaculate we pray.
From the Heart of the Child Jesus, of the Immaculate and of St. Joseph may the fullness of every heavenly blessing together with the sweetest Christmas joy descend upon all of you.
Fr. Stefano Manelli is the founder and the Minister General of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. He is a popular writer and speaker. A doctor of Sacred theology, Fr. Stefano is known for his contribution to Mariology especially his works: The Biblical Mariology and Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love. A good number of his books are available in our online bookstore.This article hasn't been commented yet.
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