We began the Rosary with reflections on the Annunciation, Nativity, and childhood of Christ. We continued our meditation by reflecting on His redemptive suffering and Passion, culminating with His death on the Cross. We now end our meditation by reflecting on the Good News for which the Gospel is named. The Glorious Mysteries are the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Into Heaven, the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Into Heaven, and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. These are prayed on Wednesday and Saturday, and on Sundays from Easter until the First Sunday of Advent.
The Resurrection is the culmination of the Christian faith and the Good News upon which the Gospel is based. If the Crucifixion is the consummation of our redemption, as we said in our previous article, the Resurrection is the fruit of it. Christ, having submitted himself to death, triumphs over the grave and is exalted above all creation. The importance of this mystery cannot be understated. If not for this mystery, "our faith is in vain" (1 Co. 15:14). Christ is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Co. 15:20), and the very reason we are saved is through participation in His mystical Body. We participate in His Death in baptism so that, at the end of time, we may participate in His Resurrection at the Judgement Day (Rm. 6:4). Not only is this the focal point of our faith, but it is also supernatural faith that brings us to this newness of life. For this reason, the fruit of this mystery is an increase in faith.
The Ascension is the definitive end of our Lord's First Coming. After forty days of ministering and teaching His Apostles, Christ gathers them and the other believers upon the Mount of Olives, gives them their final instructions in the Great Commission, and ascends gloriously into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God, where He shall be seated until He comes again in power. The Ascension is so important because makes us look forward: as Christ was raised, we too shall be raised, and as Christ ascended, so shall we meet Him in the clouds (1 Th. 4:17). The Ascension reminds us of the Second coming, as the angel says, "this Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This mystery reminds us of the hope we have of the life of the world to come and the fulfillment of God's promises, and thus the fruit of this mystery is an increase in hope.
The Descent of the Holy Ghost marks the birthday of the Church. Ten days after the Ascension, the Apostles and the Blessed Mary all gather together in the upper room awaiting the promised Comforter and receive His grace. Empowered by this outpouring of God's spirit, St. Peter stands before the Jews gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost and preaches Christ Crucified. His preaching convicts the men in Jerusalem, and they along with their families are baptized into Christ and receive this Gift of the Holy Ghost. With the sacrament of baptism comes a complete washing away of all sin and the perfect indwelling of the Holy Ghost. With this indwelling comes the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, the greatest of which is charity (1 Co. 13:13). This charity, in the opinion of some theologians, is what sanctifying grace is: having charity is what it means to have the Spirit of God dwell within you. For this reason, the fruit of this mystery is an increase in charity.
The Assumption, or the Dormition, is the first of the only two mysteries which are not mentioned explicitly in the Bible. While this mystery is seen implicitly in Scripture (Ps. 132:8, Rv. 12:1-2), it is ultimately more an issue of Apostolic Tradition. In this mystery, the Blessed Virgin Mary ends her earthly career in peace, dying a painless and peaceful death. Tradition has it that, after the Virgin Mary passed away in either Jerusalem or Ephesus, the Apostle St. Thomas returned to her tomb only to find lilies where her body laid. Having been free from all sin from the moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary's body was taken from the earth, free from corruption, to enjoy the fruit of life eternal next to her beloved Son forever and ever. The Assumption is important because, while Christ's Resurrection and Ascension are the meritorious acts of our sanctification, the Assumption shows us what the fruit of those merits looks like. The Virgin Mary's peaceful falling asleep and Assumption show us what a holy and Christian death looks like, and thus the fruit of this mystery is the grace to have a happy death.
The Coronation of the Virgin Mary, the second mystery concerned with Tradition, is the ultimate moment of the Virgin Mary's entire existence. The Blessed Mary, having "finished the race and kept the faith" (2 Tm. 4:7), meets her beloved Son in the glory of the heavenly kingdom and "received her crown of life" (Js. 1:12). Mary's place in heaven is a special one. Our Lord, as Christ, reigns forever and ever on the Throne of David (Ps. 132:12). As such, His Mother is the Queen Mother of the David Kingdom (1 Kg. 2:19-20) and thus is Queen of the Heavenly Court. Mary as the Queen Mother is a powerful intercessor with Christ, and just as Christ did not deny her requests during His earthly ministry (Jn. 2:3-11), He will not refuse Her prayers for Christians now. For this reason, the fruit of this mystery is true devotion to Mary and an ardent trust in her intercession.
And now we come to an end of the Gospel narrative. Having first begun with the Joyful Mysteries, we reflect on the Mystery of the Incarnation: the Word becoming Flesh of the Virgin Mary and dwelling with us, taking on our sinful nature that He might redeem us and unite us to Him. Moving into the Sorrowful Mysteries, we meditate on the Passion of Christ and our Redemption through His sufferings. In doing this, we meditate not only on our sinfulness but on the love which Christ has for us and which He poured out for us on His Cross. We then end on the Glorious Mysteries, seeing the fullness of our redemption and life come to fruition in the Resurrection of our Lord, the consummation of His earthly life, the beginnings of the Church on Earth, and what awaits us who faithfully come unto Christ and remain in Him until the end.
Thus, the Mysteries of the Rosary form the summary of the Gospels. In these Mysteries, we are taken through the central aspects of the mystery of redemption and the climax of salvation history. Through our veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in praying the Rosary, we walk through the entirety of the Life of Christ and are made to meditate on them. We now see why the Rosary is such a powerful weapon: we not only go to the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask for her prayers and assistance, but in praying the Rosary we are taken step by step through the entirety of the Gospel.
We hope that you will pick up this powerful weapon, call upon our Blessed Mother, and spend some time meditating on the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
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