Rearranging the Rosary: The Fourth Mysteries (Pilgrimage)

Previously:
Rearranging the Rosary: An Introduction
The First Mysteries (In the Beginning)
The Second Mysteries (Discipleship)
The Third Mysteries (Kingdom of God)

So far, we have seen that as we go through each set of Mysteries in the Rosary, we see the Christian life cyclically reflected in the specific part of salvation history pertaining to Christ's life. (Of course it is also reflected this way throughout all of salvation history.)

Today we're gonna take a squiz at the Fourth Mysteries, which suggest the idea of pilgrimage.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery: The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple

• the Holy Family's journey to the Temple in Jerusalem is a pilgrimage. Further to this, when we consider that the Temple is essentially modelled on God's heavenly court, and is a microcosm of the New Eden, travelling to Jerusalem is like both the Jewish exodus to the Promised Land, and our journey to our true Promised Land, Heaven

The Fourth Luminous Mystery: The Transfiguration of Our Lord

• In the account of the Transfiguration in Luke, we read:

"And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli'jah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem." (Lk. 9:30-31)

The greek word used for departure here is actually exodos. Jesus is depicted as the New Moses, and so when we put all this together, in the redemption He accomplished at Jerusalem, Christ, the New Moses, instituted the New Exodus of the New People of God, the Church, as they journey to the New Promised Land (as we'll see tomorrow, there's a New Manna too! Also New Law, New Covenant, etc, you get the idea)

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross

• Jesus instructs those who would be His disciples that they must "take up their cross daily, and follow Him."

The Fourth Glorious Mystery: The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven

The Assumption

• Our Lady completes the last leg of her pilgrimage to Heaven (and this is tomorrow's feast day, incidentally! And a holy day of obligation, don't forget.)

Putting it all together: we begin our lives as disciples of Christ, becoming a part of and working towards the complete fulfilment of the Kingdom of God whilst on our pilgrimage to Heaven.

Next up: The Fifth Mysteries (Consummation)

+AMDG

Novenas and Bacon

For some time I've been working my way through a 54 day Rosary Novena. Frankly, it's one of the toughest things I've ever done, but I always feel comforted in my poor attempts at concentration and perseverance by the following from Bad Catholic (specifically, the bit in bold):

We’ve all been there, when our prayer curls up and dies like spiders on our lips, when the faith that surrounds us bores, when Mass is a chore, fasting a pain, and obedience to The Church frightfully difficult. There are times when I do get tired of it all, dammit. (I am usually made aware of this sad fact when praying my Rosary, and halfway through the third mystery I realize I’ve spent 35 Hail Marys thinking about bacon. And not even the Father-of-the-English-Renaissance-variety.))

     

The First Joyful Mystery... The Annuncia-

DUDE. I can soooo relate. And thank goodness I'm not the only one!! Reminders that everyone struggles are always a massive help. Which ought perhaps to remind us not to hide our struggles so much, as an act of charity.

Anyway, it's taken about 45 days, but I had a bit of an epiphany moment regarding some thematic awesomeness within the Mysteries of the Rosary!! I'm going to leave you in suspense now... muahaha.

PS. For some bacon hilarity, see Jim Gaffifan.

BACON!!!!

Praying the Rosary with Scripture

In a post a while back, I talked about ways Catholics can become more familiar with Sacred Scripture. One of the ones I mentioned was to pray the Rosary with Scripture, by using a relevant passage to help you reflect on the mystery at hand. I was asked about a source for Old and New Testament passages other than the obvious gospel ones, and, as I can't find one, I'm going to make one myself.

Epic Combo

I will keep coming back to this and updating as I think of more.

The Joyful Mysteries:

1. The Annunciation:
• Lk 1:26-38
• Mt 1
• Gen 3:15- The so-called "protoevangelium", or "first gospel". More on Adam and Eve/ Jesus and Mary here.
• Is 7:10-17
• 2 Sam 7:12-16- parallels with what the angel Gabriel says to Mary, also various psalms.
2. The Visitation:
• Lk 1:39-56
• Parallels between 2 Sam 6:2-14 and Lk 1:39-46,56, revealing Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant.
• Parallels between the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), Mary's great song of praise, and Hannah's song in 1 Sam 2:1-10
3. The Birth of Our Lord:
• Lk 2:1-21
• Mt 1-2, parallels with the birth of Moses (Ex 1-2)- Jesus as the new Moses.
• Many prophecies of Jesus' birth.
4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple:
• Lk 2:21-40
• Lev 12 for the details of purification of the mother, which Mary performed
• Ex 13:2- all first-borns belong to the Lord
• 1 Sam 1
• Lk 1:67-75- the naming of John is followed by Zechariah's prophecy, as the prophecy of Simeon is followed by the presentation of Jesus in Lk 2:21-40
• The full significance of this mystery is often not well understood, follow the link for a good explanation.
5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple:
• Lk 2:41-52
• I can't think of other verses, but the significance of this mystery is also not always obvious. Read a good reflection here on the foreshadowing of the Passion in the Joyful Mysteries.

If you think of any more, or find this helpful, let me know!


The Luminous Mysteries:

1. The Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan:
• 
  
2. The Wedding at Cana:
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heave/ Sermon on the Mount:
4. The Transfiguration of Our Lord:
5. The Institution of the Blessed Eucharist:

The Sorrowful Mysteries:

1. The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden:
2. The Scourging of Our Lord at the Pillar:
3. The Crowning of Thorns:
4. The Carrying of the Cross:
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord:

The Glorious Mysteries:

1. The Resurrection of Our Lord:
• Very detailed Resurrection stuff here.
2. The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven:
• Psalm 68:18 - He will ascend into heaven - Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; John 20:17; Acts 1:9
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles:
4. The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven:
5. The Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven:

Reflecting on my daily routine for 2013

Something that I've been interested in for a while is the idea of having a routine to my work and prayer, such that I don't feel rushed and stressed, and that everything gets done, and my relationships with God, family and friends don't suffer.

Here are some great articles that have influenced my thinking.

On getting up early:

This is going to be a big one this year. I'd really like to start getting up at 5 or 5:30, and using that time for prayer and/or study, so that I can relax with my family in the evenings, and actually contribute to family life, by cooking dinner, chilling with everyone, etc.

Five reasons you should wake up early: http://brandonvogt.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-wake-up-early/

A night owl asks if it is objectively better to get up early: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jennifer-fulwiler/a-night-owl-asks-is-it-objectively-better-to-get-up-early/

Admitting that I can't do everything:

I'm going to have to take stock of all the things I need to get done, prioritise them, and make sure I don't underestimate how long it takes to get stuff done. I really like the idea of scheduling in extra time for a leisurely breakfast outside on the veranda in the crisp morning air!

http://www.conversiondiary.com/2008/01/admitting-that-i-cant-do-it-allor-even.html

Making God the focus of my day:

I obviously won't be able to incorporate all these ideas, but it's great food for thought.

http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com.au/2006/01/daily-schedule-for-living-christ.html

The Domestic Monastery: http://www.conversiondiary.com/2012/11/the-secret-of-the-domestic-monastery.html

Prioritising the Liturgy of the Hours: http://www.conversiondiary.com/category/special-series/liturgy-of-the-hours

The last link is actually a series of posts, so if you keep scrolling down you will find there are quite a number of articles on this topic.

(Lots of these come from Jen Fulwiler's Conversion Diary, if you hadn't noticed. Her thoughts on deliberate, intentional change of lifestyle from a Catholic perspective are ones I really identify with.)

When I've decided on a definite plan, I'll let y'all know! One things holding me back is that I haven't found a job yet, and uni hasn't started, so I can't completely plan my week out.