For this October, we are releasing reflections on the mysteries of the rosary. This week we will be reflecting on the sorrowful mysteries.
I would also like to one again thank Fr. Thomas Crean for looking over and giving feedback on these reflections.
1 – The Resurrection
When Adam sinned, his sin caused him to go down into death. This condemned the whole human race to death. When Christ rose from the dead, he rescued Adam and the human race from the grave. In this mystery, let us meditate on how, through his resurrection, Christ defeated the death that Adam brought into the world through sin and ask Our Lord to rescue us from the deathly state of our own sinfulness.
2 – The Ascension
When God created Adam, He placed him in His presence in the garden. Through his sin though, Adam became exiled from God’s presence. In His ascension, Christ the new Adam ascended back into the presence of God in Heaven. In this mystery, let us meditate on how Christ brought the human race back into God’s presence and ask Him to bring us to Heaven.
3 – The Sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
God always sends forth His Spirit to renew the face of the Earth. At creation, the Spirit hovered over the water to shape the world. When God wished to renew the world through the mission of the Church, He gave her the Holy Spirit to guide her to all truth. In this mystery, let us meditate on the work of the Holy Spirit in renewing the work of the Church and ask Him to come and renew our own hearts.
4 – The Assumption
When God placed Adam in the garden, he was alone at first. Shortly after therefore, God created Eve as a helpmate for him. Likewise, shortly after Christ, the new Adam, ascended into Heaven, God brought Mary, the new Eve, up to Heaven to cooperate with Him in His work of intercession. In this mystery, let us meditate on Our Lady’s intercessory work in Heaven and ask her to intercede for all our needs.
5 – The Coronation of Mary
St. Paul tells us that “woman is the glory of man.” Eve was created to show forth the glory of Adam. Likewise, Mary, the new Eve, was crowned in Heaven to show forth the glory of her son, the new Adam. In this mystery, let us meditate on how Our Lady helps us to understand the glory of Our Lord and ask her to help us be glorified by her son just as she was.
