Growing with the rosary

My early encounter with the rosary must have been in the Flores de Mayo. At that time, mostly young girls came to church with baskets of flowers which were to be offered to the Blessed Virgin. Like these days before the actual offering of flowers, the letters of the Ave Maria were brought to the altar with the bearer accompanied by angels. We looked forward to the summer for this ritual. Early in the afternoon, we were in the garden picking flowers: gummamelas, calachuchi, rosal, adelfa, African daisies. We went to church in white dresses and had “garnaldas” (little crowns of flowers). There were also times when we were angels. We made those angels’ wings in the house. In Mabolo’s St. Joseph Parish, members of the Hijas de Maria took turns presenting a tableau of the mysteries of the rosary which would be on the altar just before the children offered their flowers.

Then there were always the living rosary with young girls standing as rosary beads usually done on feasts of Our Lady, like the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima. At home, there was praying of the rosary with our maternal grandmother. She was quite strict about taking the whole process seriously. She cautioned us that if we joked or laughed, our faces would have permanent distortions!

In college, as members of the Sodality of Mary, we looked forward to October because of the Block Rosary. Each day of the month, the members visited the home of a member to pray the rosary and interact with the family. Of course, merienda would always be a part of this activity.

In the Alay Kapwa-Gagmayng Kristohanong Katilingban where the main activity has been Bible sharing of the adult and youth groups, we have come to precede the sharing with the praying of the rosary.

Sr. Mary Vincent Borromeo and my sister Delia have been the rosary advocates who have been regularly motivating us to remember to always pray the rosary. Manang Del gave those close to her “The Missionary Rosary.” This pamphlet prepared by the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus is accompanied with rosary beads in many colors. The colors are to remind us to pray for the various continents: the green decade is for Africa; the red decade is for the Americas; the white decade is for Europe; the blue decade is for Australia and the other islands in the Pacific; the yellow decade is for Asia.

On the other hand, the pamphlet informs us about the situation of the Comboni missions in the different continents. I like their idea of praying for the different parts of the world. The pamphlet and the rosary beads have gotten me used to praying for these areas as I pray the rosary. So with the European decade, I pray for the Holy Father, Angela Merkel and the challenge of the migrants. For on each first mystery, I recall the current problems of Africa: famine, war or the Boko Haram. On the second mystery, I pray for the Zika epidemic, which started in South America, and the terrorism in the US. For the islands in the Pacific, I pray for the threat of global warming. Of course, on the last decade I pray for the many problems of Asia especially the war in Syria and the challenge of ISIS. It was such a blessing that Manang Del provided me with this missionary rosary. It actually joins together a devotion to Mary with a concern for current issues.

Being always on the lookout for materials to enhance our spiritual life, Manang Del found “Praying the Rosary with Pope Francis.” And so I have this wonderful booklet to enrich further this rosary month’s daily ritual with the beads. This wonderful Claretian publication is very complete: preliminary, post rosary prayers and the major section, the various mysteries. Each mystery has the Bible reading and Pope Francis’ reflection. These quotes from Pope Francis are from his homilies, encyclicals or other statements. Let me quote some of my favorite points. From the Joyful Mysteries, the heading for the quote for the Annunciation: “Let ourselves be surprised by God”; for the Visitation (one of my cherished mysteries): the title “Everything is God’s Gift”; for the Presentation of Jesus at the temple we have very reassuring words: “As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love…. As she did with Juan Diego, Mary offers (us) maternal comfort and love, and whispers in (our) ears: ‘Let your heart not be troubled… Am I not here, who am your Mother?’”

Other favorites: From the Sorrowful Mysteries, The Agony in the Garden, “To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.” The Carrying of the Cross, “Entering into the logic of the Cross Following Jesus means learning to come out of ourselves…in order to go to meet others, to go toward the outskirts of existence, to be the first to take a step toward the most distant, those most forgotten, those who are most in need of understanding, comfort and help. From the last Glorious Mystery, “The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin as Queen of Heaven and Earth To Be Transformed by the Beauty of God By contemplating our beautiful Immaculate Mother, let us also recognize our truest destiny, our deepest vocation to be loved, to be transformed by love, to be transformed by the beauty of God.”