[stephenkhoo]

ACQUIRING THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST BY CONTEMPLATING WITH MARY IN THE ROSARY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 1:12-14; LK 1:26-38
http://www.universalis.com/20131007/mass.htm

After Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and ascension, the apostles were told to wait for the Holy Spirit. This is necessary for mission. They were specifically reminded not to go out until they were formed in the Holy Spirit. Indeed, “when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying … joined in continuous prayer.”

But what did they do when they gathered in continuous prayer? Surely they were not simply engaged in intercessory prayer, asking for the Holy Spirit to come down upon them. For how could the Holy Spirit come into their lives unless they were led to a deeper understanding of Jesus? Hence, contemplating on the life of Jesus in the light of His resurrection was critical for the apostles, for that was the only way to acquire the Spirit of Christ. For in contemplation, we grow in understanding, in interior knowledge of the mind and heart of Christ. In other words, knowledge of Jesus is necessary to prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus concretely in our lives.

Not surprisingly, in His apostolic letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II spoke of holiness as the pastoral urgency before any pastoral planning. Christ is the program for all times. He is the key to mission and the answer to the challenges in the third millennium. Necessarily, to grow in holiness requires that we contemplate on the face of Christ. This requires us to meditate on His incarnation, ministry, passion, death and resurrection.

But whilst this is true for all Christians, we have an added advantage as Catholics. At the school of Mary, we learn to contemplate Christ through the eyes of Mary. How best can we know the mind and heart of Jesus except through Mary? She has privileged access to Jesus for only she knew interiorly what happened at the incarnation and at the passion. No one other than Mary who is the Mother of Jesus, could associate so intimately with the interior life of Christ and most of all in His passion and death. Hence, the rosary is our access into the person and life of Christ and His mother. It is significant that Mary should be there at the beginning of the primitive Church to help the apostles to have a deeper insight into the life, message and work of her Son. She was with them at prayer, not simply engaging in intercessory prayer but reflective and contemplative prayer on the life and implications of His death and resurrection.

Indeed, Mary has her own understanding of her Son, which we can learn by praying the rosary. Like all mothers, she sees things in her Son that others often do not see. Praying with Mary, asking her companionship as we pray, opens up knowledge of Jesus we can have only through her and with her. She knows Jesus profoundly, not only as her Savior but also as her Son. Indeed, she has more insights into the profound intentions of Jesus than anyone else. As mother, she understands the aspirations and character of her Son, His attitudes and His deep love for His Heavenly Father.

Accordingly, Pope John Paul II invites us to look at Jesus; contemplate the mysteries of His life, death and resurrection by attending Mary’s school of prayer. He wrote, “Is there, perhaps, a better instrument than the prayer of the rosary for the demanding but extraordinarily rich endeavor to contemplate the face of Christ together with Mary?” St Augustine tells us that Mary conceived Jesus in her heart before she conceived Jesus in the flesh. So the rosary is perhaps the deepest contemplation we can arrive at because it is contemplation through the eyes of Mary, His mother.

By praying with Mary, we are brought closer to her Son. We learn from Mary the heart of the gospel. Truly, the genius of the rosary is that it enables us to enter into the mystery of the Incarnation and understand Mary’s role in it. Through the rosary, we situate ourselves in the fundamental mystery of Christianity, namely, the incarnation. For this reason the rosary has been proven to be a unique means of contemplation of Christ. It is truly a contemplative prayer. It helps us get in touch with the heart and mind of Jesus. The rosary, which sums up the whole life of Jesus and Mary and with the addition of the luminous mysteries, deepens our reflection on the public ministry of Jesus and offers a deeper penetration into the profundity of the paschal mystery, leading us into a deeper life of faith.

Most of all, the rosary itself leads to a real participation in the Eucharist, which is the celebration of the paschal mystery. For in the encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, spoke of the profound relationship that Mary has with the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the “Mysterium Fidei,” the mystery of faith. As the Holy Father taught us, “Just as Abraham our father in the faith stands at the opening of the Old Testament, Mary the great woman of faith stands at the opening of the New Testament. It is because Mary is the woman of faith that the History of Salvation can go forward. Certainly the Eucharistic moment in Mary’s life comes at the annunciation when Mary says yes to God and God’s plan is advanced.” Indeed, Mary’s consent was one of the most important moments in the history of salvation, particularly in the unfolding of the Eucharistic mystery. Her fiat made it possible for the Word to become flesh. On Calvary, Mary stood there in silence repeating her “yes” to God, and the Church was born from the pierced heart of our Savior.

In the light of what we have contemplated, it is not an exaggeration to claim that devotion to Mary, especially through the prayer of the rosary, although not absolutely essential, is highly recommended. It would be a great loss on our part to neglect such a devotion given to us by the Church, tested in time for its efficacy and prayed by great saints, theologians and popes alike. If we want to be holy and zealous for mission, we must pray the rosary devoutly. By praying the rosary with devotion as a meditation on the mysteries of the life and work of Christ, reflecting on the essential events of the mission of the Son of God, we would be imbued with the gospel spirit.

Following Mary in that contemplative spirit, we too will also share her spirit of prayer, intimacy, discernment, faith and zeal for mission as expressed in the gospel. She was certainly always prayerful and attentive to the will of the Lord. She was courageous in accepting to be the mother of the Saviour and to cooperate with Him in His salvific work. Mary was able to be a servant of the gospel and cooperate with His salvific plan because she knew the Lord. Hence, contemplation of Christ in the rosary not only helps us to acquire the missionary spirit of Mary, but also empowers us to share in the salvific work of Christ.