The Rosary and its Biblical roots

                                    Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!

The Rosary came from the Latin word, "rosarium" which means, "crown of roses". This has been one of the popular devotions dedicated to our Blessed Mother. It also has its roots from Sacred Scripture itself. This is one of the methods that Catholics use to meditate and contemplate on the life of Christ as seen in the Mother's eyes.

The prayers used in the Rosary:

The Apostles' Creed

The prayer was attributed to the Apostles since it declares what they themselves believed in for over 2000 years. The prayer goes like this in the Rosary:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead, on the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Protestants also recite this creed, only that, they make, "the holy catholic church" small cased letters because they have a different understanding of these terminologies. When they say these, they mean an invisible unity/body of believers while we believe in a visible body of believers.

The Our Father

Catholics and most Protestants alike pray this prayer because first of all, the Lord Jesus taught this to His Apostles. In the Gospels, there are 2 versions of the Our Father, one is found in St. Luke and the other in St. Matthew. We use the Matthean version of the Our Father. For those who do not know the prayer, here goes:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

(Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4)

                                            "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28)

               "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:42)

The Hail Mary

This has become a center of the Rosary. Some Protestants object to this since it has no roots in Scripture. But let us take a closer look at the prayer itself shall we?

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you- This is the greeting of the archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Luke 1:28.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus- This is taken from Elizabeth's greeting to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember, she was filled with the Holy Spirit at that time in Luke 1:41-42.

Holy Mary- There's nothing harm in calling Mary as holy. If Protestants argue that only God is holy, they must know that God is holy by nature (Isaiah 6:3), while Mary is holy by the grace of God. It is also God's command for us to be holy in Leviticus 11:44, "Be holy therefore, for I am holy". If the Apostles and prophets can be called, "holy" in Ephesians 3:5, shouldn't Mary be called such for being the first Christian to obey God's will and accepting the responsibility of being the Mother of the Messiah? In fact, the angel called her, "full of grace".

Mother of God- Protestants often object to this because of thinking that Mary was before God, but such is not the case. It just so happen that Jesus is God, one Divine Person (John 1:1) who took flesh in the womb of Mary through her obedience (cf. Luke 1:38, John 1:14). That is why Mary is "The Mother of the Lord" (Luke 1:43) and only the Lord is God (Psalm 100:3). So it must have been Elizabeth who acknowledged the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Mother first (by saying Divine Maternity, I mean her being Mother of God).

                              "Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43)

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death- The prayers of Mary to Jesus are very effective. She was a very righteous person whose prayers, "are of powerful effect" (James 5:16). So many lives have changed through the power of the Rosary since the Blessed Mother brings back a sinner from the error of his ways to the light of Jesus Christ (John 8:12) and, "covered a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20).


ANOTHER MEDIATOR NEXT TO JESUS?

Protestants are having a problem here. They often use 1 Timothy 2:5 (KJV), "For there is one God and only one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus" to debunk Marian intercession. It is true that Jesus alone is the sole Mediator between God the Father and humanity. However, in the preceding verses, St. Paul exhorts Christians that, "prayers, supplications and intercessions be offered for all people" (v.1). Why is that? St. Paul gives the answer, ".......this is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and come to know the truth" (v.3-4). (refer also to the "pray for us sinners" above). Also, in the wedding at Cana, Mary interceded to Christ on behalf of the guests. Jesus doesn't rebuke her, but said, "My time has not yet come" (John 2:4), and Mary said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5).

                                                      "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5)
                       
THE GLORY BE

This is one of the doxology to the Blessed Trinity. The Latin version of this is, "Gloria Patri". It was used in the 4th century and it is still used today. The prayer goes like this:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

THE FATIMA PRAYER

During the appearance of Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917,  she has asked the three children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta to include this prayer before the announcement of the next mystery and after the previous mystery:

"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy"

Thou art all beautiful and fair O Mary!

THE SALVE REGINA

All the prayers have been tackled except this one. The Salve Regina or Hail, Holy Queen in English is a most commonly recited prayer to Mary according to Catholic Answers and the Rosary Answers. It was composed at the end of the 11th century and here goes:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you do we cry poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary

The meat of the Rosary are the decades. The decades are 50 in number comprising of one mystery in the life of Christ and that of Mary, His Mother and ours as well.

VAIN REPETITIONS?

Protestants often say that the Rosary is of vain repetition and therefore, it has to be rejected. They always appeal to Matthew 6:7 (KJV) to refute it, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetition as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking". What Protestants fail to see in the text is the word, "vain". Not all repetitions are condemned in Scripture, for instance, our Lord prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:42-44. Even St. Paul tells us to, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

                         The Lord Jesus is a man of prayer. He often prays to His Father in heaven

The Apostle St. Paul exhorts us, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

What matters when we pray is not whether it is repetitious, but how we mean what we say. Otherwise, we would receive this rebuke from our Lord for only paying Him lip service, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for themselves the commandments of men" (Isaiah 29:13, cf. Mark 7:6-7). In David's Psalter, the sentence, "His mercy endures forever" is often repeated in Psalm 136 and also in Deuteronomy 27, the people of Israel say, "Amen" to the consequences awaiting them should they disobey God. But these prayers according to Catholic Answers are under the inspiration of God. Meditation is what makes Rosary a meaningful prayer.  Now, let us go to the Biblical roots of the Mysteries of the Rosary:

Catholic Answers and Rosary Answers gives us the Biblical foundations of the 15 mysteries while I will give the Biblical foundation of the Luminous Mysteries which was added by Blessed John Paul II:

The Joyful Mysteries are these: the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38), the Visitation (Luke 1:40-56), the Nativity (Luke 2:6-20), the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:21-39), and the Finding of the child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51).

Then come the Sorrowful Mysteries: the Agony in the Garden (Matt. 26:36-46), the Scourging (Matt. 27:26), the Crowing with Thorns (Matt. 27:29), the Carrying of the Cross (Luke 23:26-32), and the Crucifixion (Luke 23:33-46).

The final Mysteries are the Glorious: the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12), the Ascension (Luke 24:50-51), the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the Assumption of Mary into heaven (cf. Psalm 132:8, Rev. 11:19, 12), and her Coronation (cf. Psalm 45:6-9, Rev. 12:1).

Then comes the Luminous Mysteries: The Baptism of our Lord in the Jordan (Matthew 3:16-17), the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15, cf. Matthew 5:1-12), the Transfiguration of our Lord (Luke 9:28-36), and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26:26-28, cf. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

           Blessed John Paul II: "Totus Tuus Maria" (I am all yours, Mary) added the Luminous Mysteries


The assumption and coronation of Mary are explicitly not in Scripture but there's no reason to reject them out of hand since they are nor contrary to Scripture. If Protestants would just see the Biblical roots of the Rosary, they would enjoy praying it as a devotion and meditation on the life of Christ and Mary. Meditation is written in Scripture, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14, NKJV)

Now we have looked at its Biblical roots, let's trace its historical roots:

                                             St. Dominic who founded the Order of Preachers

HISTORY OF THE ROSARY

Before the Rosary, there was, "The Davidic Psalter". The monks often recite these 150 Psalms from the Old Testament of the Bible on a regular basis. But there are some lay brothers called the conversi who could not follow the monks in recitation of the 150 Psalms since during that time, most people are illiterate. So they need a prayer that they can easily remember. So, the 150 Psalms became the 150 Pater Nosters or Our Father. When St. Dominic propagated the Holy Rosary, the Our Fathers became, "The Psalter of Mary", but the Rosary wasn't fully developed. For example, when people pray the Rosary at that time, they say, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb". But no, "Jesus" yet as we have today. It was the followers of St. Dominic who continued developing this devotion like Blessed Alan de Rupe who added the 15 Mysteries and the Jesuits who added the Apostles' Creed, the Our Father and three Hail Mary's and the Glory Be. In 1917, when the Blessed Mother appeared in Fatima, she herself said that the Fatima prayer be added (refer above for the prayer).


Now that we all know the Biblical roots of the Rosary, remember, reading the Bible and the Rosary is the best thing to do! The Rosary, when recited properly with meditation, leads us to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother.

 "Whoever does not receive Mary as his Mother will not have Christ for his Brother"- St. Maximilian Kolbe

The Holy Trinity in the Bible

                                                          The Holy Trinity (The Godhead)

One of the things that some Christians find it difficult to accept is the doctrine of the Trinity. This has long been debated by some Christians (e.g., Catholics and Iglesia ni Cristo). The logical way of explaining the doctrine of the Trinity is the water in matter. Water is liquid. When it becomes solid, it becomes ice and in gas, it becomes a water vapor. But they are from one source. That's how Trinitarians explain it. Or another example would be, the human person. The person is composed of body, soul, and spirit which comprises the entire person.

JESUS ONLY?

This has been an ancient heresy which is Sabbelianism. It teaches that God manifests Himself in Three modes of existence. Jesus is the Father of the Old Testament, He is the Son and the Spirit as well. They often use 1 Timothy 3:16 to support this:

1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV), "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

However, there's been loopholes to the Jesus Only or the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine. You see, if we are to accept this, it would imply that Jesus was talking simply to Himself when He was praying on different occasions to the Father (e.g., Luke 22:32, John 17).

                                                    Our Lord God and Savior, Jesus Christ 

                    

IS JESUS GOD?

This is one of the teachings that are usually attacked in Christianity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ which was attacked first by Arius and then recycled by the Iglesia ni Cristo of Felix Manalo and the Jehovah's Witnesses. In the Gospel of John alone, we can see that Jesus was co-existent with His Father, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). All things were created by the Father through the Son (Colossians 1:16, cf. John 1:3) and eventually took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Mother. In the Gospels, we can see that Christ is making claims which is for God alone for example, "One greater than the Temple is here", "One greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:6, 42). In the Temple, Jesus claimed the Tetragammaton to Himself when He said, "Before Abraham was born, I AM" (John 8:58, cf. Exodus 3:14). That is why the Jews wanted Him dead several times. In the festival of Hanukkah, He said this statement, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The Jews already said their reasons for wanting Jesus dead, "not for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10:33). The Jews sought His death not only for Sabbath breaking, but for calling God His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). In His prayer to the Father, Jesus asked the Father to glorify Him (John 17:1, 5).

The Apostles also taught from the very beginning that Jesus Christ was God. For example, in the Resurrection scenario, Thomas made an act of faith to Jesus when he said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). St. Paul also said that Christians ought to wait for the coming of, "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). In Philippians 2:6-11, St. Paul writes this Christological hymn about our Lord Jesus Christ, "who, being in the form of God, did not think that He should be equal with God". In Acts 20:28, we hear of, "the church of God redeemed by His blood". The God in this verse is none other than Jesus who redeemed the Church with His blood. 

If Jesus was only a man like what some other sects are claiming (e.g., Iglesia ni Cristo), then He must either be a liar or a lunatic. If Jesus was only a mere creature, His death cannot atone for the sins of the world since it requires a sacrifice without blemish to take away the sins of the world. It is clear in the book of Psalms, "No man can redeem a man" (Psalm 49:9). The Early Fathers have taught Christians that Jesus was indeed God and in the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., the Church made the Nicene Creed which goes originally like this:

"We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through Him all things were made".

                                                The Holy Spirit: The Lord, the Giver of Life

IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD?

This has also been questionable among Christadelphians, the Iglesia ni Cristo and other ranks who deny the Holy Spirit. For them, the Spirit is only a mere force and was created by the Father and the Son. It derived from Macedonianism. But what does the Bible have to say about the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit first of all, is present at creation. He is the "ruach" (Hebrew word for Spirit) of God. In the book of Genesis it says, "And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2, KJV). He is the Creator at the same time as the book of Job says, "The Spirit of the LORD hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:4, KJV). In the New Testament, Jesus revealed the Spirit and who He really was. 

                                THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS NOT A FORCE LIKE IN STAR WARS

In the Last Supper discourse, Jesus said that, "The Spirit of God will guide them to all truth" (John 16:13). He will teach us all things (John 14:26). Our Lord called Him, "The finger of God" (Luke 11:20) and the angel Gabriel called Him, "The Power of the Most High" (Luke 1:35). In the book of Acts, lying to the Holy Spirit can mean lying to God like in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:3-5). He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), He can convict (John 16:8-10), and He can also be blasphemed as the Father and the Son does (Matthew 12:32). 

THOSE WHO REDUCE THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO A MERE FORCE, BE CAREFUL OF COMMITTING THE UNPARDONABLE SIN.

In the Nicene Creed, here's how the Church described the Holy Spirit:

"We believe in the Holy Spirit: The Lord, the Giver of Life who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets"

IS THE FATHER THE SON AND THE SON THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT THE FATHER AND THE SON?

Some Christians often make this mistake that they are One Person. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are different Persons that are distinct from each other and yet God at the same time. In the Johannine Comma which was included in the Douay Rheims Version prior to the KJV of 1611 it says, "For there are Three that bear record in heaven: The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are one" (1 John 5:7). In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". He does not say, "In the Names". Even in the Apostolic Doxology, the Godhead are mentioned distinctively, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:13). 

By the way, the SHEMA in Deuteronomy 6:4 gives us an idea of the Trinity:

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV), "Hear O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!"

The Hebrew word used for, "one" is, "echad" which means, "compound unity" and not, "yachid" which means, "numeric one". It means, the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one.

To conclude, let us read from Genesis 1:26 and Isaiah 6:8 of the Douay Rheims Version:

Genesis 1:26 (Douay Rheims), "And he (God) said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth."

Isaiah 6:8 (Douay Rheims), "And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me."

This is what the Church has been teaching for over 2000 years!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!

HAPPY TRINITY SUNDAY EVERYONE! MAY THE BLESSINGS OF ALMIGHTY GOD: THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, BE WITH US AND REMAIN WITH US ALWAYS. AMEN!!!

Overcoming laziness Scripturally

                   "He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes a man rich" (Proverbs 10:4)

Many people, including some Christians are having problems with laziness. Some of us are having this problem. We seem to think we are better off than others. The truth is, we can't achieve anything by laziness. The Bible has something to say against this sin. It says, "A lazy person will think he is wiser than seven men who can give good answers to their opinions" (Proverbs 26:16, Good News-CE). The book of Proverbs is very rich in Scriptural passages about laziness. It alone says, "Go to the ant and watch her ways and be wise" (Proverbs 6:6). The effect of laziness would not just be just poverty, but it would result in an idle mind. The idle mind is indeed the devil's workshop and through an idle mind, Satan tries to concoct evil thoughts. The way to overcome laziness is to start being diligent and begin at home. Only in doing so will we be overcoming laziness.

"For while we were with you, we used to tell you, whoever does not work is not allowed to eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

The Apostle St. Paul was rebuking the Christians in Thessalonica for thinking that Jesus will return anyway and therefore, there's no need to work. But Paul says otherwise. He says to, "mind your own business and work with your hands just like we told you to" (1 Thessalonians 4:11, Good News-CE). Slack Christians and even Catholics should not give in to presumptions that Christ will return at this day or next month and therefore, there's no need to work. While we are waiting for Christ's return in glory, we, in turn, should do our part in working for our living. But what work should we do? The Apostle St. Paul gives the answer in Galatians 6:9, and here's what it says:

Galatians 6:9 (Good News-CE), "So then, let us not stop doing good, for the time will come when we will reap the harvest"

We should work yes, but it should be a GOOD WORK, and not a work that will cause someone to sin (e.g., prostitution, drug business). Some good works include helping in the household chores, fixing the bedroom, and respecting our parents. A little good work is already big deal to our Lord Jesus Christ. The sacrifices we do as we work, we can offer this for our neighbor's conversion or for the souls in Purgatory. Laziness is one of the seven deadly sins we should overcome. If we are already lazy, we should do something against it. We should make Jesus our Lord and obey His commandments, starting at our home and then we will reap the good works of our diligence as Scripture says, "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on., Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their good works go with them" (Revelation 14:13, NKJV). For the record, I will be quoting Sirach 22:1-2 of the Good News Bible- Catholic Edition:

Sirach 22:1-2 (Good News-CE), "Lazy people are no better than dung; they are repulsive, and no one wants to get near them."

St. Isidore, patron of workers, pray for us!

St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!