The official newsletter of the Salesian Mission Animation FIN Issue No.8 October - November 2007
By His Holiness Pope John Paul II*
Mary, model of contemplation The contemplation of
Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique
way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her
womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human
resemblance, which points to an even
greater spiritual closeness. No one has
ever devoted himself to the contemplation
of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.
Thereafter Mary's gaze, ever filled with
adoration and wonder, would never leave
Him. It would always be a penetrating
gaze, one capable of deeply understanding
Jesus, even to the point of perceiving His
hidden feelings and anticipating His
decisions. At other times it would be a
look of sorrow, especially beneath the
Cross, where her vision would still be that
of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only
shared the passion and death of her Son,
she also received the new son given to her
in the beloved disciple. On the morning of
Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with
the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on
the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the
outpouring of the Spirit.
The Rosary, a contemplative prayer
The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary's own
experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without
.
this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning,
as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: "Without
contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and
its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical
repetition of formulas By its nature
the recitation of the Rosary calls for a
quiet rhythm and a lingering pace,
helping the individual to meditate on
the mysteries of the Lord's life as
seen through the eyes of her who was
closest to the Lord. In this way the
unfathomable riches of these
mysteries are disclosed".
Paul VI, mentions praying the
Rosary as a form of Christocentric
contemplation.
Remembering Christ with Mary
Mary's contemplation is above all a
remembering. The Bible is an account
of saving events culminating in Christ
himself. These events not only belong
to "yesterday"; they are also part of
the "today" of salvation. This making
present comes about above all in the
Liturgy: what God accomplished
centuries ago did not only affect the
direct witnesses of those events; it continues to affect
people in every age with its gift of grace
* Pope John Paul II issued Rosarium Virginis Mariae - Apostolic Letter on Rosary of the Virgin Mary.
My Dear Friends,
September 1, 2007
October is the month in which Mary Most Holy, Queen of the Holy Rosary, is venerated. We invite all individuals, families,
and communities to pray this Marian prayer, possibly every day, for peace, so that the world can be preserved from disasters and
wa rs.
In the face of these events, the Church tries to be faithful to her prophetic charism and remind all men about their duty to
build a future of peace for the human family. Certainly, peace is not separated from justice, but it must be nourished by mercy and
love.
May God allow the Church's faithful to be agents of peace, in the front line of the search for justice and the prohibition of
violence. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede for all humanity and our missionaries and grant them strength as bearers
of peace and hope.
Fr. Augustin Miciano, SDB
Missions Animation Office
