|
Rosaries of Divine Union
|
|
|
The Joyous Mysteries General Instructions Begin by having an intention in mind for the rosary. This intention may be stated as part of the following prayer. Prayer of Intention We who gather to pray this rosary do have in our minds and hearts the following intentions: (Here a few moments of silence allow all to clarify their intentions). We ask that these intentions may bring forth the results desired, according to Your will. Amen.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in complete surrender that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Alternate "Our Father" translated from the Aramaic (see introduction) O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, focus your light within us—make it useful. Create your reign of unity now; Your one desire acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms. Grant what we need each day in bread and insight. Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strand we hold of others’ guilt. Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from what holds us back. From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do, the song that beautifies all; from age to age it renews. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is how and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
First Joyous Mystery The Annunciation Mary said "I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say." Luke 1:38. Thoughts… In the Gospel of Luke, when Mary received the news that she was to be the bearer of Christ, her first reaction was of surprise. Doubting the message, asking "Why me" and "Really, Me?" are the expressions that she may have used when contemplating this extraordinary event. She must have felt such love from this understanding! When Mary accepted her condition, she surrendered to the will of the Divine. This reaction illustrates something important about our own relationship with our deepest being in God. When she understood that she carried divinity within her, she was changed in a fundamental way so that she could never really look at life, even common events, without making reference to the deepest values and depths of her being—a reflection of the joy she contained in her womb. In this way, we too react in much the same way when we are presented with the same kind of reality: that we are carrying divinity inside of our awareness, at the deepest level of our being. We too ask "Really, me?" and we too are given to remember that we have a relationship with that aspect of Christ in us, a relationship with the wholeness of life that is encompassed thereby. Like Mary, we are called to surrender to the Divine. Mary’s responsibility became different at that point: for in conceiving and nurturing the divinity within, her relationship to all of Life became her focus, her reason for living. For her, nurturance would give way to birth. Like Mary, it is our responsibility to feel within ourselves the divinity that both gives and seeks nurturance. This recognition begins with the question "Really, Me?", and the growth process from nurturing to birth is the focus of this joyous Mystery as we say "let thy will be done." Prayer: O Heavenly Mother, who responded to the call with Love and commitment, we ask you for your blessings that we may respond to our call to interior life with the same Love and commitment. May we, with your aid and compassion, experience the depths of conception and nurturance as you did, and may we answer our own call to divinity with the development of nurturance for all of life. Amen.
Second Joyous Mystery The Visitation Mary set out proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Luke 1:39 Thoughts… Mary’s visit to Elizabeth’s house was the scene for the recognition of the importance of what she carried within her. For as Elizabeth heard the voice of Mary, her own baby-in-the-womb reacted to the sound and Elizabeth was overcome with joy in the Holy Spirit. Our task, like that of Mary and Elizabeth, is to recognize the joy of God within us, not as an abstract concept, but as a living reality. As it says in the next part of the narrative, in the passage giving rise to the Magnificat, "My soul doth magnify the Lord". These are words that we need to contemplate in our hearts, words that Mary spoke from joy and love, words that reflected her own recognition of the Divinity growing inside of her. We are made to magnify the Lord, to bring to life the qualities of Love and Joy. Prayer O Heavenly Mother, who was recognized as blessed among women, and who recognized and accepted the work of God within you, so bless us with your prayers, your love, and your help that we may experience the Joy of the God’s work within us and recognize the same in all of life. Amen.
Third Joyous Mystery The Nativity She gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Luke 2:7 Thoughts… All people are mothers. All of life is a giving birth—a birthing process that creates and sparks new places and times for love to manifest, for ideas to emerge, for Christ to be born in our lives and in the lives of others. We must nurture Christ within us and give birth to Christ within us and give birth to Christ in others. Mary gave birth to both a son of man as well as a son of God. The fruit of her surrender to God was the birth of God, the birth of the Prince of Peace. Prayer O Queen of Peace, help us to surrender to the process of the birth of life within us; bless us with the strength and the courage to give birth to Christ in ourselves, our lives and our world. Amen.
Fourth Joyous Mystery The Presentation When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought him up to Jerusalem so that he could be presented to the Lord. Luke 2:22 Thoughts… When the time came to bring the baby to the Temple for his day of blessing by the Temple priests, Mary was treated to the sight of a holy man who held Jesus and exclaimed Him to be the salvation not only of Israel, but of the Gentiles as well. Mary had seen the beginning of divinity within herself, the nurturance and birthing of that Divinity and now she was witness to the recognition of that divinity by others. She, who was holy, was thus offering that which was Holy to the world. By His consecration in this mystery, all peoples are thus consecrated to work for the good of all life, for the evolution of all people to God. Prayer O Queen of our hearts, who offered yourself in consecration to the service of God, bless us that we may so consecrate our lives to His service that we may ever serve Him joyfully in all that we do. Amen.
Fifth Joyous Mystery The finding of Jesus in the Temple Son, why have you done this to us? You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow. Luke 2:48 Thoughts… Mary and Joseph had been searching for their son. He was not in any of the usual places, so they retraced their steps back to Jerusalem and found Him in the temple. While searching, they felt abandoned and alone. They were relieved and joyed to find him, and were amazed at the depth and profound nature of His knowledge as He discoursed with the temple priests. Like the Holy Family, we too must search for Christ, and must look for Him in our temple, the temple of the soul. Once finding Him, we can say with Mary, "I have found you!" The search is through retracing our own steps—our own steps away from God around us and God within us. Our steps, taken in prayer and contemplation, take us back to the Temple where He awaits us. Prayer O Mother of Divine Grace, hear us in our search for the temple. Bless us with your guidance and inspiration that we may always find the temple, and become reunited with He who dwells therein. Amen.
Sixth Joyous Mystery The resurrection Thoughts… The word Resurrection has many meanings, among them is "renewal". A renewal of heart, of purpose, of Love, of Grace in our lives is a resurrection of spirit. Mary and the disciples witnessed the ultimate act of creation in the resurrection: God renewing Himself through Himself as Christ Risen. This demonstration was the living Spirit of Love that promised the same to all: renewal of heart and transformation of Being in Christ. Prayer O Heavenly Mother, wrap us in your Love and bring us to the place where our renewal is the Work of God within us: help us experience the joy of resurrection even as you did. Amen.
Seventh Joyous Mystery The Assumption and Coronation of Our Lady Thoughts… In her role as the Divine Mother, Mary through her Assumption becomes accessible to all, pointing the way to Christ. She is the embodiment of unconditional Love, of nurturance, of patience, and of compassion. Her promise is the promise of discovering Christ within ourselves, even as she discovered the Divine Son. Prayer O Heavenly Mother, bring to us the compassion of service, the joy of surrender, and the love of Christ as we seek Him in all things. Amen After the last decade has been said, and the connecting medal has been reached, the following prayer is said: I give myself this day to the strong power of Love To the obedience of Angels, the faith of confessors, the preaching of Apostles, to the purity of simple souls. I give myself this day to the virtues of the starlit heavens, the brightness of the sun, the whiteness of the moon, the flashing of lightening, the restlessness of wind, the stability of earth, and the deepness of the sea. I give unto myself this day the power of God to lead me, His eye to watch over me, His hand to guide me, His Word to give me speech. Christ with me, Christ beside me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ to the right of me, Christ to the left of me, Christ in lying down, Christ in sitting, Christ in rising up, Christ in the heart of every person who may think of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who may speak of me, Christ in the eye of everyone who may look on me, Christ in the ear of everyone who may hear me. I give myself this day to the strong power of Love. Amen. |
