October 11, 2023
Ave Maria
Why pray the Rosary?
Many Christians attack Catholics for praying the Rosary. However, it seems ridiculous to say that praying the Rosary is worshipping Mary. Even archangel Gabriel, according to the Gospel of Luke, when he made the announcement to Mary, that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Christian Messiah and Son of God, marking the Incarnation, greeted her by saying “Hail Mary”.
26 But in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth [to which the name Nazareth],
27 to a maiden [to a virgin], wedded to a man, whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the name of the maiden was Mary.
28 And the angel entered to her, and said, Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed be thou among women.
29 And when she had heard, she was troubled in his word, and thought what manner salutation this was.
30 And the angel said to her, Dread thou not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
31 Lo! thou shalt conceive in [the] womb, and shalt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
32 This shall be great [He shall be great], and he shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give to him the seat of David, his father,
33 and he shall reign in the house of Jacob without end [and he shall reign in the house of Jacob into without end], and of his realm shall be none end.
34 And Mary said to the angel, On what manner shall this thing be done, for I know not man?
35 And the angel answered, and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come from above into thee, and the virtue of the Highest shall overshadow thee; and therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
36 And lo! Elisabeth, thy cousin, and she also hath conceived a son in her old (age), and this month is the sixth to her that is called barren;
37 for every word shall not be impossible with God.
38 And Mary said, Lo! the handmaid of the Lord[a]; be it done to me after thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Source : https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:26-38&version=WYC (Wycliffe Bible)
Thus this greeting of Mary is not given by Catholics but we are merely repeating the words that found its first salutation by an angel of God to a human being who God favored to become the Mother of His incarnation.
The Blessed Mother’s “YES” at the Annunciation is known in Latin as her “Fiat”. This Latin word is translated into English as “let it be done” and summarizes Mary’s humble obedience to the Word of God and not only affirms what was spoken of, but is a pledge of allegiance to God and in humble submission. Something the 1st Eve did not do. Mary’s obedience allowed for God’s Divine Plan to enter the world and for that he needed her “Yes” her “Fiat” not only by saying “Yes” one time, but to allow for His plan, “His Will” to take over Mary’s “Free Will”, a right God in his Divinity bestowed on every human being. Mary’s “Yes” was a surrender of her “Free Will”, her only human choice which even God has never violated in all of eternity before. And for His Divine Will to succeed, He needed the obedience of this meek and lowly woman.
When we think of what Mary has sacrificed, there isn’t a woman in today’s world or even during those ancient days, who would have pondered what God was asking of her. She was barely 16 (4 years age when she was taken to the temple + 12 years of dedicated service). It was sure death for Mary to be “caught” in an adulterous relationship, not having a human father and bearing a child. In her Yes, she had to forego what she desired for herself and instead to completely surrender not only her body, but her heart and soul to what God was going to accomplish in her life.
When I think about the magnanimity of what God asked her, I am sure that Mary was in complete or perfect knowledge of this “Ask”. This was a sacrifice like no other. It meant that Mary could become a crucible, a vessel for holding the most Holy body of God in it’s human form, merged with her human DNA and her emotions and feelings. This meant that the Holy Spirit who “came upon” her transformed her very being and every fiber of her human body by making it a vessel worthy to “contain” the King of Heaven and Earth. It meant that from that moment onwards, her human self was merged with the Divine Self so that she had no “human desire”, except for the desire of Heaven. Her heart, soul and body was infused with the Divinity of the Trinity. She could not hold anything in her that would prevent the perfect God from Himself taking on an human nature. Let that sink in! It is truly a mystery like no other, the mystery of the incarnation.
Being a mother myself, I understand how the emotions and experiences a mother goes through impacts her child. Every thought the mother thinks and every experience she goes through, develops the personality of the child she holds in her womb. In Mary’s case she had to become the crucible that could “Hold Her Lord”, the savior of the World, without so much as letting any of her human traits to intervene in His divinity. So if there is any doubt in anyone’s mind about how Holy Mary is, you need only ask yourself, does a person once having worshipped God in the instruments and vessels on His altar then take those vessels and throw them away? Aren’t those vessels also transformed because of the Divinity of what was worshipped in it? We don’t worship the vessels, but we don’t trample them under the feet and provide for it a place in our worship. We are speaking of the Mother of God, His very own Mother whose life was now integrated into the Trinity! Daughter of the Father, Spouse of the Holy Ghost and Mother of God!
Mary had to become the perfect reflection of God’s Divinity to let His light shine, by extinguishing everything she held as a human being. It meant having nothing for herself even her human ego and self-worth, lest even a speck of her human self tarnish the perfect image of God. Mary became more than a mirror and more transparent that the most purest river. Mary holds nothing, because she is so transparent that she gives everything to God what she receives from her earthly children and she gives everything to her children what she receives from her Spouse the Holy Spirit.
25 But beside the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and the sister of his mother, Mary Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 Therefore when Jesus had seen his mother, and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to his mother, Woman, lo! thy son.
27 Afterward he saith to the disciple, Lo! thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his mother [And from that hour the disciple took her into his things].
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:26-38&version=WYC
When Jesus gave His Mother to us on the Cross, he knew well that Mary was now the “New Eve” who would birth His Church through his death and resurrection. For having given the World Her Savior Son she had only one mission to unite all God’s children to His “Divine Will” just like she had accepted the “Will of God” in her life. Who better than Mary, will be able to do justice and faithfully guide us to God in the path she had already endured on this earth!
Let’s seek recourse to Mary and pray that the advancement of Heaven and God’s Divine Will is soon accomplished on this earth, through her intercession. Each Rosary decade begins with “Our Father” and every time we pray it we are asking God to allow his Kingdom come on earth! Therefore the Rosary is not a worship of Mary, but a chord with which a Mother binds herself to her children and pledges her eternal love and protection to those who choose to be bound to her!
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Gloria Dei 
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