Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish hosts a Rosary Prayer Meeting every first Saturday of the month. Our next meeting is Saturday September 2nd at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome, even if you’ve never prayed the Rosary before! Prayer is followed by discussion about the Mysteries of the life of Christ, and the power of prayer in our lives. Prayer intentions can be sent to HolyRosaryEvents@hotmail.com, we will pray for you at our next meeting!
The Rosary is also prayed at the St Henri Church (3000 chemin Ste. Marie) after the 8:15 a.m. Mass every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
While we pray the Rosary, we meditate on scripture passages outlining important events in the life of Christ, called Mysteries. There are four sets of five Mysteries:
- The Joyful Mysteries outline the Annunciation, birth, and youth of our Lord.
- The Luminous Mysteries outline his Ministry.
- The Sorrowful Mysteries outline his Passion and Death.
- The Glorious Mysteries outline His Resurrection and the miracles that followed.
The second Joyful Mystery is The Visitation, as found in the Gospel of Luke 1:39-45 , where, after the Angel Gabriel had departed from her, the Blessed Virgin Mary rushed to visit her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month of pregnancy.
Scripture does not tell us if Mary had doubts or worries. She had trusted God’s plan so far, had said yes to God, but did she have doubts? Maybe. Probably. It’s not like she could have just gone to the pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test. Having doubts doesn’t diminish your trust in God. God gives us space to doubt (just ask St. Thomas the apostle!). We can trust He’ll get us to our destination, and still wonder how.
So how would have Mary settled her doubts about whether what the Angel had told her was true? One has to think that the Angel didn’t tell her about her cousin being in her sixth month conversationally. If Mary wanted to settle her doubts, seeing her cousin, who was elderly, and had been called barren, in her sixth month, would be all the proof she needed. And so she traveled in haste to see her cousin.
Another interesting aspect of this Gospel is that the first thing Mary did after receiving Jesus in her womb, was an act of service. And she didn’t go alone, she brought Jesus with her (obviously). In the first Joyful Mystery we are reminded that we are called to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary, by saying yes to God, and trusting His plan for us. In this second Mystery, we can imitate her, not only through rushing to be of service to those in need, but by bringing Jesus with us. When we recieve the Eucharist, Jesus’ own body, at Mass, we bring him with us when we leave. Following Mary’s example, we too should be rushing to be of service to our family, our friends, our Parish community, charity organisations; the occasions are endless.
Lastly, as a side note, let us be reminded that, upon hearing the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Child in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy. The first person to rejoice at the Good News of the imminent birth of our Savior Jesus Christ… was an unborn child.
So with this second Joyful Mystery, let us trust God, and be open to the receiving the signs he sends us to assuage our doubts. Let us go forth from the Mass with the body of Christ, and rush to be of service. And let us always remember that even the smallest among us must be protected, for they are filled with the Joy of Christ.
See Also:
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish 
Leave a comment