Spiritual Fitness

Praying in the style of Mary – reflecting on God’s Word: Lectio Divina
Christmas is almost here. Most of us are very tempted to get caught up in the rush of it all.
We are very blessed that mother church gives us Mary in the season of Advent as a model to help us be open and prepared for Jesus’ birth.
Mary, in Luke’s Gospel, experienced the powerful presence of the angel Gabriel that announced her own motherhood of the Messiah, God’s Son. She experienced the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. And, following the birth of Jesus, Scripture says that Mary and her child were visited by shepherds who told her about the wonderful vision of angels and the words that were spoken about her new born Son.
For our spiritual fitness in preparing for Christmas, what Mary did next is very important. Scripture says that she kept these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
This month let us walk with Mary and pray as she did. When we ponder God’s word, meditating on it slowly with thought and prayer in our hearts, we are practicing the spiritual exercise known as Lectio Divina (pronounced lex-ee-oo div-ee-nah).
Lectio Divina literally means “sacred reading.” Christians and our Hebrew ancestors have been practicing this kind of prayer for thousands of years. To practice this, we read sacred Scripture, either the Old or New Testaments, in a slow, prayerful way. We read it slowly with self awareness. What words, phrases, or images touch our hearts as we read? We think about how the sacred text connects to what is going on in our life.
The important part of this exercise is not in how much we read, but in how we savor the word we are reading. This exercise is not about gaining information about the text, but about meeting God. “It is undertaken not with the intention of gaining information, but of using the texts as an aide to contact the living God. Basic to this practice is the eventual union with God in faith which, in turn, finds continued nourishment and development in further reading.” (Taken from the Lectio Divina Web site at: www.sp.uconn.edu/~salomon/ld/lectio.html)

spiritual exercise

For this exercise, let’s begin by asking for Mary’s intercession:
Dear Mary, my mother and Mother of Jesus, your divine Son, help me now to meditate and ponder on God’s word with a loving heart. May I take in God’s word so much that I, too, like you may give Jesus birth in our world. May I be transformed by God’s word into the image of the eternal word through whom I have been created.

1 Suggested Readings: Genesis 1 (created by God’s word in God’s image and likeness)
John 1:1-18
Isaiah 11:1-9
Isaiah 12
Isaiah 7:10-16
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1 :46-56
Luke 1:68-80
Luke 2:1-14
Luke 2:15-20
You may have other favorite Scriptures. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!”
2 As you read whatever passage you have chosen, reflect on how the words of sacred Scripture are touching your heart. You may need to read the passage a number of times. We are trained at reading the text to gain information, but the goal in this exercise is to meet God in faith in the depths of our heart and soul. How am I encountering God now? What is God saying to me? “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
(1 Samuel 3:10)
3 Keep whatever word God has spoken to you in your heart. Let yourself ponder it ... treasure it like Mary. God has spoken to you. Believe it! Savor it! Let it linger like honey on your lips. “When I found your words,
I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, because I bore your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
4 Live the word that is within you. When we eat food, we digest and assimilate it, and it literally becomes a part of our body. When we eat God’s word, we also must savor it, digest it, and assimilate it into our lives. To do so, we must live it. Then we too, like Mary, will be giving birth to Jesus. His living word will have become flesh in us.

The Rosary: A Prayer Centered on Christ
On Oct. 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. In it,
he reminds us that the rosary is a compendium of the Gospel message. While clearly Marian in character it has the life of Jesus at heart.
The Year of the Rosary: Prompted by the 120th anniversary of an encyclical by Leo XIII, Pope John Paul II declared October 2002 - October 2003 to be “The Year of the Rosary.” During this time the rosary should be emphasized and promoted, especially as a prayer for peace and a prayer for the family. He notes, too, that it might be prayed “also in joyful remembrance of the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council on Oct. 11, 1962” (2-3).
– Office of Worship, Diocese of Lansing

Brief History of the Rosary:
6th-10th centuries - Monks recite psalms daily. Peasants mimic this by saying the Lord’s Prayer 150 times; use pebbles, later ropes with knots.
11th century - St. Peter Damian notes use of angelic salutation “Hail Mary.”
12th century - Marian psalters developed; 50 devotional texts called a rosarium – a bouquet or a rose garden. Some beads carved as a rose.
14th century - Hail Marys grouped into sets of 10, Our Father put before each set
15th century - Meditations added to each Hail Mary; then simplified to one meditation or “mystery”.

How to Pray the Rosary:
1 Make the Sign of the Cross
2 Pray the Apostles’ Creed
3 Pray the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), three Hail Marys (for faith, hope and charity) and then one Gloria Patri (Glory Be)
4 After the announcement of
each mystery, pray the Lord’s
Prayer, 10 Hail Marys and one Glory Be. This makes up one decade.
• One may choose to follow the announcement of the mystery with a proclamation from a related Biblical passage and silent meditation.
• There may be a variety of legitimate concluding prayers after each mystery, varying with local customs. For instance, a decade might conclude with a prayer for the fruits of that particular mystery or the Fatima Prayer (O my Jesus).
• The Rosary usually ends with a prayer for the intentions of the pope, as if to expand the prayer to embrace the needs of the whole church. After praying the rosary, the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) is traditionally said.
weekly pattern:
Sunday Glorious Mysteries
Monday Joyful Mysteries
Tuesday Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesday Glorious Mysteries
Thursday Mysteries of Light
Friday Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturday Joyful Mysteries

The New Mysteries of Light:
“Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries which may be called in a special way ‘mysteries of light.’ Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12). ... In proposing to the Christian community five significant moments – “luminous” mysteries – during this phase of Christ’s life, I think that the following can be fittingly singled out:” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 21)

• His Baptism in the Jordan
“Here, as Christ descends into the waters, the innocent one who became ‘sin’ for our sake (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the beloved son (cf. Mt 3:17 and parallels), while the Spirit descends on him to invest him with the mission which he is to carry out.”

• His self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana
“Another mystery of light is the first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1-12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.”

• His proclamation of the kingdom of God, with his call to conversion
“Another mystery of light is the preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the kingdom of God, calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to Him in humble trust (cf. Mk 2:3-13; Lk 7: 47-48) ... ”

• His transfiguration
“The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished apostles to ‘listen to Him’ (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) ... ”

• His institution of the Eucharist
“A final mystery of light ... in which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies ‘to the end’ his love for humanity (Jn 13:1), for those whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice.”

By: Fr. Bill Ashbaugh is pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Howell
Originally Published: December 2002