OCTOBER IS THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY
The word Rosary comes from the Latin rosarium, meaning crown or garland of roses and refers to a sequence of prayers traditionally used in the Catholic Church as a way of entering into the life of Mary, whose continual focus was on Christ. It therefore helps us to understand something more of the life of Jesus by participating in the events of his life through the eyes of one of the people closest to him.
MYSTERY TWO - Mary visits her relative, Elizabeth
The Gospel leaves so much detail out. For example, it is extremely unlikely that a teenage woman like Mary would have made the dangerous journey from Nazareth to Judea of many days walk alone. Was Mary sent by her family to help the older woman in the later stages of her pregnancy or was she acting out of curiosity after the message of the angel? Taking into account the message of the angel that Elizabeth was six months pregnant, then Mary must have stayed until just after the birth of John.
The Visitation – Love of Neighbour
"Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing,"
Dorothy Day said, quoting Dostoyevsky.
In the Visitation, the active nonviolence, loving kindness,
and selfless service of the holy women
leads them to consolation and joy.
This text summons us to reach out to the poor,
to serve the poor,
to accompany the poor,
to walk with the poor,
to befriend the poor,
to stand with the poor,
and ultimately to defend the poor,
to give our lives for the poor,
and become, like Mary and Jesus, one with the poor.
Get involved in God's work of love and peace,
and trust like Mary and Elizabeth
that each one of us can make a difference,
each one of us is needed to share God's work
of welcoming the Prince of Peace
and preparing for peace on earth.
O God our deliverer, you cast down the mighty, and lift up those of no account: as Elizabeth and Mary embraced with songs of liberation, so may we also be pregnant with your Spirit, and affirm one another in hope for the world, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Janet Morley
THE MAGNIFICAT Olga Warnke IBVM
My soul glorifies the Lord,
My Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
For he has blessed me lavishly,
and makes me ready to respond.
He shatters my little world
and lets me be poor before him.
He takes from me all my plans
and gives me more than I can hope for or ask.
He gives me opportunities, and the ability
to become free, and burst through my boundaries.
He gives the strength to be daring,
to build on him alone,
for he shows himself as the ever-greater one in my life.
He has made this known to me:
it is in my being servant that it becomes possible
for God’s Kingdom to break through, here and now.
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