FEAST
OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER
It is customary with
men of the world to balance their accounts at the end of the year and determine
their profits. The Church is now preparing to do this as she comes to the Feast
of Christ the King, and that of All Saints and All Souls and the end of the
Liturgical Year.
But today’s feast is
a reckoning even more solemn, the profits even bigger: the Church opens her
balance-sheet with the gain accruing to Our Lady from the mysteries, which
compose the entire liturgical cycle.
Christmas, the cross,
the triumph of Jesus, these produce the holiness of us all; but before and
above all, the holiness of Mary.
The crown, which the
Church thus offers today to the Queen of heaven and earth, is made up of the
triple crown of those sanctifying mysteries; joyful, sorrowful and glorious.
These were the cause of her joy, the cause of her sorrow and of her glory.
The Joyful Mysteries,
the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries in the life of Jesus her
Divine Son. They are an integral part of her life as well.
Such is Mary’s
Rosary; a new and fruitful vine, which began to blossom at Gabriel’s
salutation, and whose fragrant garlands form a link between earth and heaven.
In its present form,
St. Dominic made the rosary known to the world at the time of the struggles
with the Albigensians, that social war of such ill-omen for the Church. The
rosary was then of more help than armed forces against the power of Satan; it
is now the Church’s last resource.
It would seem that,
the ancient forms of social prayer being no longer loved by the people, the
Holy Spirit has willed by this easy and ready summary of the liturgy to
maintain, in the isolated devotion of these unhappy times, the essential of
that life of prayer, faith, and Christian virtue, which the public celebration
of the Divine Office formerly kept up among the nations.
This simple weapon
given by the Mother of God and conceived by the eternal Wisdom of God is
far-reaching in its effects. It leads wandering man to the Queen of Mercy, it
destroys ignorance of the fundamentals of the Faith, ignorance which is the
food of heresy, and it teaches him to find once more ‘the paths consecrated by
the Blood of the Man-God, and by the tears of His Mother.’ (Pope Leo XIII,
Sept. 8, 1892 Encyc. On the Rosary)
Pope Leo XIII and
every Pontiff of modern times has pointed out, over and over again, that the
Holy Rosary is the means of salvation more than once experienced by our
fathers.
In fact, Pope Leo
consecrated the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary, this devotion that
is so dear to heaven.
Pope Leo honored Our
Lady in her litanies with a new title, Queen of the most holy rosary; and
raised this day to the honor of a second class feast with a proper Office. This
feast is also a memorial of glorious victories, which do honor to Our Lady of
the Rosary.
Heaven itself
corroborated these honors given to Our Lady. Only a short time after this, Our
Lady of Fatima appeared in 1917, and in October of that year, the very month
dedicated to the Holy Rosary, She announced to the world: "I am the Lady
of the Rosary."
On this Feast of the
Holy Rosary, the joys experienced on the other feasts of the Mother of God, are
all gathered up and resumed in this one, for us, for the angels, and for Our
Lady herself.
Like the angles then,
let us offer, together with Mary, the homage of our just delight to the Son of
God, her Son, her King and ours. The
mysteries of Jesus and Mary are our instruction and our hope. The Church prays
today that they may also be our rule of life and our pledge of eternal
salvation. That is the power of the Holy Rosary.
Our Lady’s mysteries
are before all time in God’s sight, like those of Her Divine Son; like these
they will endure for all eternity; like them they rule the ages, which circle
round the Word and Mary, preparing for both in the Old Testament and
perpetuating their presence by the ceaseless praise of the most holy Trinity,
in whose name all Christians are baptized.
The Rosary honors all
these mysteries. Today’s feast is a glance back upon the cycle of Redemption as
it draws to a close.
From these mysteries and today’s view of them all, we
learn from Our Lady herself in this passage from Proverbs, which the Church
applies to Mary:
"Now therefore,
my children, consider my ways; imitate me, that you may find happiness."
‘Blessed is he that watches at her gates.’
Let us pray to Mary,
rosary in hand, thinking of her at the same time, meditating on her life and
her greatness, and watching, for even just 15 minutes each day, at the entrance
to the palace of this incomparable Queen. The more faithful we are to the
Rosary, the more assured will be our salvation and our progress in true life.
Let us congratulate
the Queen of the Holy Rosary on her perfect life, all truth, and justice, and
meekness, which won her the love of the supreme King. Let us proclaim the
nobility of her race, unequalled in the whole world.
All grace, all light,
all life, are to be found in our Lady; by her holy rosary she has multiplied
flowers and fruits in the garden of the Church. Every offering acceptable to
God comes from Mary, with and by Jesus.
The Rosary, piously
meditated, prepares us for the Sacrifice of the altar, that august memorial of
the mysteries which it imprints in the heart and mind of the Christian. Why not
then, pray the holy rosary in the car as one drives to holy Mass. Pray it in
thanksgiving on the way home.
Of Our Lady, the
Offertory of today’s Mass says: "In me is all grace of the way and of
truth: in me is all hope of life and of virtue: I have flowered forth like a
rose planted by the brooks of water."
October 7 - Mass Propers
FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Commemoration for St. Mark, Confessor ( at Low Masses)
Wednesday in the Nineteenth Week after Pentecost
Double of the Second Class / White Vestments
Missa –
‘Gaudeámus ómnes’
INTROIT
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a feast in
honour of the Queenship
of the Blessed Virgin Mary: at whose solemnity the
angels rejoice and join
in praising the Son of God.
Ps. My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak my
works to the King.
V. Glory be to the Father.
Gaudeámus ómnes in Dómino, diem festum celebrántes sub
honóre beátæ Mariæ Vírginis Regínæ: de cujus solemnitáte gaudent Angeli, et
collaudant Fílium Dei.
Ps. 44: 2 Effundit cor meum verbum bonum: dico
ego opera mea Regi.
V. Gloria Patri.
COLLECT
O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death,
and resurrection hath purchased for us the rewards of eternal life: grant, we
beseech Thee, that, meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they
promise. Through the same our Lord.
EPISTLE
Proverbs 8: 22, 24, 32, 35
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways,
before He made anything, from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of
old, before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already
conceived Now, therefore, ye children, hear me: blessed are they that keep my
ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that
heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates; and waiteth at the posts of my
doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from
the Lord.
GRADUAL
Psalm 44: 10
Because of truth, and meekness, and justice: and thy
right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully. V. Hear, O daughter, and see, and
incline thine ear; for the King hath desired thy beauty.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia, alleluia. V. The solemnity of the
glorious Virgin Mary, of the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda, of
the noble line of David. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 1: 26-38
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into
a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to virgin espoused to man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and
thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou
shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call his
name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father: and He shall
reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be done, because I know not man? And
the angel answering said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin
Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth
month with her that is called barren; because no word shall be impossible with
God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according
to thy word.
 |
| Baroque altar of the Rosary - St.Peter and Paul parish church in Söll ( Tyrol ). |
OFFERTORY
Wisdom. 24: 25, 39, 17
In me is all grace of the way and of the truth; in me
is all hope of life and of virtue. Like a rose planted on the rivers I have
borne fruit.
SECRET
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to be fittingly
prepared for the offering of these gifts, and, through the mysteries of the
most holy Rosary, so to meditate upon the life, passion, and glory of Thine
onlybegotten Son that we may become worthy of His promises. Who with Thee
livest and reignest.
PREFACE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto
salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee,
O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. That on the Festival of the
blessed Virgin Mary, we should praise, bless and proclaim Thee. For she
conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the over-shadowing of the Holy Ghost; and
losing not the glory of her virginity, gave forth to the world the everlasting
light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the
Dominations worship it, and the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the
heavenly Hosts, and the blessed Seraphim join together in celebrating their
joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly
praise:
COMMUNION
Wisdom. 39: 19
Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell,
and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord
in His works.
POSTCOMMUNION
May we be assisted, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the
prayers of Thy most holy Mother, whose Rosary we celebrate, that the virtue of
the mysteries we adore may be shared and the effect of the sacraments we have
received may be obtained. Who livest and reignest.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis!
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