Introduction
From the Rosary Book
The Rosary mysteries are recounted by the Gospel writers Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. These events in the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary teach us about God’s love for us and how we are to love each other. My pastor Fr. Timothy Hickey, C.S.Sp. always reminds us that “you are deeply and passionately loved by God just as you are” and that our discipleship calls us to “embrace and welcome the differences of others.”
Saint Louis de Montfort in The Secret of the Rosary explains that “the works of Our Lord and of his Blessed Mother can be rightly called mysteries because they are so full of wonders and all kinds of perfections and deep and sublime truths which the Holy Spirit reveals to the humble and simple souls… their perfume and beauty can only be understood by those who study them carefully…” (Twenty-first Rose).
This Scriptural Meditation on the Rosary features:
1) Selected Scripture
In this book, each mystery is explained through ten carefully
chosen scriptures drawn from a variety of books in the Bible. The first scripture for a mystery is often from the Old Testament. The next eight scriptures are primarily from the Gospels. The tenth scripture offers a teaching from or summary of that mystery. Step by step, these ten scriptures explain and develop what is happening in each mystery.
Praying the Rosary with Scripture verses has a long history dating back to Saint Dominic of Prussia, a Carthusian hermit. During the period 1410 – 1439, he proposed to the faithful the practice of using Scripture verses to enhance the meditation of the Rosary mysteries.
2) Sacred Art from Around the World
In 1521, a lavishly illustrated Rosary book appeared in Italy, Rosario della Glorious Vergine Maria edited by Dominican friar Alberto Da Castello. The book (shown on the following page) enjoyed great success and approximately 40 editions were printed during the century.
Five hundred years later, sacred art in the Rosary books continues to be represented overwhelmingly by art from Italy and Western Europe. This tradition endures despite the fact that the Church of the 21st century is a universal church with members on all continents, as shown below.
In this book, we present a wide variety of art from the various continents to illustrate each group of Mysteries:
Joyful Mysteries (Childhood of Jesus):
Museum Paintings that strive to be historically accurate;
Luminous Mysteries (Public ministry of Jesus)
Stained glass windows from different Catholic Churches;
Sorrowful Mysteries (Passion and Death of Jesus):
Paintings from around the world; and
Glorious Mysteries (Resurrection and Divine Life):
Various media such as wood, parchment, ivory, and oil on copper.
In order to provide a contemplative space around each image, we have limited the captions in the main text to the bare essentials. To learn more about an image, please refer to the detailed Notes on the Sacred Art and the Rosary at the back of the book. Consider this book as a guide to accompany you through many seasons of praying the Rosary.
3) Broader Content and Context Than Typically Seen
Just as this book uses a flexible spine for greater ease in praying, I have added certain “Visio Divina” or Sacred Contemplation pages before each group of Mysteries (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious) to enhance the contemplation of the five mysteries in that group. For example, in the Sorrowful Mysteries, we highlight a selection of martyrs from various continents. For the Glorious Mysteries, we highlight the communion of saints from around the world.
As an additional aid for prayer and reflection, the four sets of Mysteries are accompanied by a traditional poem (“Sequence”) pertinent to that Mystery. As a complement to the Sequences, we offer Priya L. Quinn-Suku’s contemporary poems, which were commissioned for this book.
The very last section of the prayer book entitled “Mary and the World Religions” showcases the connection that Mary has with the world religions. In addition, no matter the place, all faiths recognize that the human family is bound together by ties of love.