From Archbishop Donoghue
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Rosary Rally (Rosary and Benediction) |
Dear Friends in Christ, We have been having some very dramatic weather lately - crisp, cool, and with clear skies on one day, and then suddenly, out of the great north-west, a front will move in, with cold rain, dark skies, and winds that make the air seem far colder than it is. But we are used to such weather at this time of year, for as Fall passes into Winter, dramatic changes are upon the earth - the harvest is through, the fields lie fallow, and whatever seeds have fallen into the earth, it is their lot now to rest quietly until the Spring will awaken them to new life. This is the seasonal cycle, and for many it is a greater presence than any clock or barometer or any other device used to measure the passing of time and conditions. For when the seasons turn, we feel the change in things and in ourselves - we feel the passage from one state to another, and though we may have loved the Summer, we greet the Fall with expectation - and though we may fear the harshness of Winter, we accept its rigor, because we know that Spring will finally come. And there is yet a greater dimension to ponder about these aspects of our created life - our life within a universe, and upon a planet designed by God in all its phases - there is the greater dimension of the human spirit, and how it passes in its own knowledge, its own wisdom, from generation to generation, across the great span of centuries and millennia. Our Lord, as the Gospel relates, was very much in tune with these movements of human nature and human existence, as when He said:
Within these words are to be found all the hope which is needed by men and women to survive, and all the hope that human understanding can bear. We can say nothing truer than that we are born, we live, and we die - but if there is to be a purpose to this great cycle of existence, then it must arise, not from the facts of existence alone, but from our belief in what Christ says - that yes, we die, our influence dies, our energy passes from the scene - away from our families, our friends, our children - but yes, what we have done will bear much good fruit, for in heaven, what we have done becomes a part of what Christ has done - and there, in that everlasting cooperation which is called Heaven, the meaning of life comes home at last, and we will know the rewards, the fulfillment, and the completion of all the hopes we have treasured here below. As the Church now prepares to reenact and to celebrate her own place in this great cycle of life and death and resurrection, it behooves us all to once again cast our own lives upon the framework devised by our Lord and Savior. For soon, we will like the prophets of old, long for the birth of our Redeemer, and soon we will remember the miracle of His birth, and then the days of His ministry on earth, culminating in the celebration of the great mysteries of His Passion, His Death, and His Resurrection. And just as Mary received and guided the salvation of mankind into the inner sanctuary of her very womb, and just as she exercised maternal care and devotion to bring her Son, her Savior, through His life to the fulfillment of His own destiny, now Mary comes to us, as a guide, as a fellow traveler, and yet again, as the beacon of the promise fulfilled, from her throne among the Heavenly Hosts. And so that we may live intimately bound to these deep mysteries of life and redemption, she gives us, from the sweetness of her open hands, the Rosary, the Beads, the Chaplet of life, death, and eternity - the great epic of salvation that we can hold in the tight grasp of our own hand. And she says to us: Pray, with me! - and Remember, with me! - the joys, the sorrows, and the glories of my dear and Divine Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. What better way, dear friends, to begin the new year of our Lord, what better way to greet the change of seasons, and what better way to live through, to understand, and to take unto ourselves the meaning of life and salvation, than to promise here and now, to say the Rosary, and to live again, every day, those same joys, sorrows, and glories of Jesus the Lord, and of His mother Mary, who loves us still, and will love us forever? The proof of this is here before us, and shortly we will fall under the power of its blessing, and the shower of its grace - the proof of this is the Body of our Lord, which lives with us, in repose, and upon the altar where we reenact His great and loving sacrifice. These are not just symbolic acts we participate in today - we are not pagans, blowing horns and crashing cymbals, and whirling in mindless dances before temples that will inevitably crumble to the dust. These are the quickened acts of a people who believe, who hope, and who encourage in one another that love which looks beyond, and towards the miraculous and True Presence of Christ in our midst. For Christ is here, dear friends - in this Sacrament and in our hearts - here for all, for every season, and for every sinner. And here He will be, until the world stops in its orbit and time as we know it comes to an end, and we will see, standing with arms outstretched, Mary, our Mother, at the gates of heaven, with stars in her crown and love upon her face, saying, "Welcome, and enter into the joy of my Son's eternal Kingdom." In the name of the Father. . . + |