Walking With The Father: May 2015

May 18, 2015

The Rosary

How to Pray the Rosary

The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer. It begins with the Apostles' Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is from the Gospels. The first part of the Hail Mary is the angel's words announcing Christ's birth and Elizabeth's greeting to Mary. St. Pius V officially added the second part of the Hail Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary center on the events of Christ's life. There are four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and––added by Pope John Paul II in 2002––the Luminous.

The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ's spirit dwells. The Rosary can be said privately or with a group.

The Five Joyful Mysteries are traditionally prayed on the Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays of Advent:
  1. The Annunciation
  2. The Visitation
  3. The Nativity
  4. The Presentation in the Temple
  5. The Finding in the Temple
The Five Sorrowful Mysteries are traditionally prayed on the Tuesday, Friday, and Sundays of Lent:
  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging at the Pillar
  3. The Crowning with Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion and Death
The Five Glorious Mysteries are traditionally prayed on the Wednesday and Sundays outside of Lent and Advent:
  1. The Resurrection
  2. The Ascension
  3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
  4. The Assumption
  5. The Coronation of Mary
The Five Luminous Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Thursdays:
  1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
  2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
  3. Jesus' Proclamation of the Coming of the Kingdom of God
  4. The Transfiguration
  5. The Institution of the Eucharist

Praying the Rosary

Familiarize yourself and/or your group with the prayers of the rosary.
  1. Make the Sign of the Cross.
  2. Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed.
  3. On the first bead, say an Our Father
  4. Say three Hail Marys on each of the next three beads.
  5. Say the Glory Be
  6. For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery, then say the Our Father.
  7. While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be. (After finishing each decade, some say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.")
  8. After saying the five decades, say the "Hail, Holy Queen, followed by this dialogue and prayer:
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: O God, whose Only Begotten Son,by his life, Death, and Resurrection,has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life,grant, we beseech thee,that while meditating on these mysteriesof the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,we may imitate what they containand obtain what they promise,through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.





May 7, 2015

Mense Maio - Encyclical of Pope Paul VI

Madonna and Child,
Giovanni Battista Salvi Da Sassoferrato,
1609-1685
(source)
Mense Maio - Encyclical of Pope Paul VI
on Prayers During May for Preservation of Peace
April 29, 1965

May 4, 2015

The Papal Mass for Seminarians at World Youth Day Madrid

Saturday August 19th 2011 is a day I will never forget. I was blessed to attend a Mass for seminarians with the Holy Father at the Cathedral in Madrid during World Youth Day. The Mass was scheduled to begin at 10 am. The ticket I received said the doors would be open between 6:30-8:00 am. When I arrived at 6:30 am with a brother seminarian from Toronto, we were surprised to see about 400 other young men already there! What an inspiring sight. In the next hour, thousands of men who are in formation to become priests filled the streets surrounding the Cathedral to celebrate the Eucharist with the Vicar of Christ – Pope Benedict XVI.

As I waited for the Pope to arrive, it was inspiring to see so many young men from around the world praying their breviary, the rosary or praying their Holy Hour. The crowd of seminarians packed both the inside and the outside of the Cathedral. There were so many seminarians present that when the Pope’s motorcade arrived, the cheers were deafening: “Viva el Papa! VIVA!” (Long live the Pope), “Benedicto!” (followed by four fast claps), or “Esta es, la juventud del Papa!” (This is the youth of the Pope!)

The celebration of the Mass was absolutely beautiful and a true encounter with the Risen Christ in the Eucharist. I felt so close to the action with a gigantic screen in front of me. It was as if I were sitting with Jesus and the 12 Apostles at the Last Supper. It was a special moment that I will always treasure and think of when at Mass.

While the Mass was in Spanish, I was able to understand and follow most of the celebration thanks to knowing French and studying some Latin at the seminary. The Pope told us to persevere in our vocation and personal prayer life. His Holiness said that to be close to Christ, we must be close to the Eucharist; which is the source and summit of our faith. He stressed how important the sacrament of confession is in the life of a priest. “A good confessor must first be a regular penitent.” He went on to encourage us to grow in our relationship with Mary our mother. For she is the one who will lead us to, and keep us close to, her son Jesus.

At the end of the Mass the enormous crowd of seminarians spontaneously began singing “Tantum Ergo” and “Salve Regina” as the Pope processed out. The Tantum Ergo is sung every time we receive benediction (the blessing of the people by the Blessed Sacrament) after a time of Eucharistic Adoration. The Salve Regina is sung (or recited) by every priest before going to bed each night. It is the Marian prayer said at the end of the rosary (Hail Holy Queen).

Dear friends of Saint Anne, I wish you could see the zeal and joy in the eyes of these young men. I wish you could hear the enthusiasm in their voices when they sang. They cannot wait to go and preach the Gospel giving their lives to serve the Church. I wish you could see the tremendous love these young men have for Christ and for YOU His Church.

The faith is alive and well among the youth my friends. While this is not what we normally see in all the young people in our local parishes back home, there is definitely something special happening here. The Holy Spirit is moving and raising up a generation of young people that are on fire for the Lord. There is great hope for the future of the Church.



Answering the Call


May 1, 2015

Rediscover Catholicism

Author: Matthew Kelly

Every Catholic should read this book. Strong words I know, but true. Kelly has a gift for making the faith approachable and understandable for people of any age group and at any level in their faith practice. But don’t just take my word for it. Kelly has begun a movement called DynamicCatholic.com to share his material with everyone – for FREE! Yes, there is a movement to make this book in particular free to anyone who decides to read it!

I’ve read this book twice, and have used it in a parish book club that I began where we got together after reading the book to discuss it. The reviews and feedback were incredible. In this book, Kelly helps show us that we need to rediscover our faith for what it is and not what we have been told (or think) it is. He creates the term “best-version-of-yourself” as our path to holiness and virtue. Why not read this book and see how you can become the “best-version-of-yourself” by allowing your faith to come alive.

Book Reviews