He will return with his immense heart, with his heart of fire, his poor man's soul
and his smile. He will return! And the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph!

THE LIGHT IN THE NIGHT (12)

THE HOLY ROSARY

Sister Lucy’s book, revised by the Vatican authorities, ends with a fourth section which deals with the “Rosary”. In Sister Lucy’s original manuscript, the following considerations were placed after Chapter 12, entitled “The Call to Daily Recitation of the Rosary”, after the account of the apparition of 13 May 1917 (He is Risen, no 14, September 2003, pp. 3-7)

A REMARKABLE AND POWERFUL PRAYER

(Ch. 34, pp. 263-272)

« We have seen already how God, knowing the great need we have to pray and that the opportunities and conditions of each person’s life are very different, wished nevertheless to address to everyone the same call for the daily recitation of the Rosary, thus condescending to the simple level which is common to all of us. During the apparition on 13 May 1917, Our Lady asked: “Pray the Rosary every day”; and this request was to be repeated by Her every month until October.

This rather insipid introduction must not be from Sister Lucy’s pen, but from that of the scribe who changed its original order. Even if we put it back at the end of Chapter 12, it is a colourless résumé of the conclusion of this chapter. On the other hand, we once again recognise Sister Lucy in the following lines:

A BIBLICAL AND LITURGICAL PRAYER

« So, calling to mind the insistence with which God, by means of the Fatima Message, recommends the prayer of the Rosary, and also all that the Church’s Magisterium has said about it over the years, we can conclude that the Rosary is the form of vocal prayer which, in general, best suits all of us, and for which we should have the highest regard. Thus we should make the greatest effort never to abandon it.

« Unfortunately, in these times of “disorientation”, there is no shortage of people who venture to criticise the Rosary, saying, for example, that it is not a liturgical prayer. »

This is the case for the Dominican, Fr. Cerbelaud, who published last year a 360 page book on the Blessed Virgin in which he explains, in a short paragraph, that « the Chaplet, the Rosary, the Angelus » belong to the « paraliturgy » (Marie, un parcours dogmatique, Cerf, 2003, p. 132)

Cerbelaud, however, is not the first:

« A long time ago, continues Sister Lucy, who was writing before 1974, I heard about an article of this nature and was greatly saddened by it. Someone asked the author of it how he had dared to write and publish such nonsense, to which he replied: “I was forced to do it!” »

I had the same experience with the Abbé Laurentin twenty years ago. I asked him why he claimed that the Annunciation was an event which took place inside Mary’s soul, when St. Luke writes in black and white of the Angel Gabriel that: « He came into her presence? » (Lk 1.28) He replied to me saying that he was not free to do so, for fear that he would be considered a “fundamentalist”.

« Did he not know, then, that there is no authority in the world which can force us to go against our own conscience? It is the mystery of human weakness, which, in many cases, in order to please creatures, or perhaps for earthly reasons, does not fear incurring God’s anger and the penalties with which He punishes sin. Contrary to what this person, and others of the same mind, have written, I assure you that the Rosary is a biblical prayer and that it is part of the sacred Liturgy. »

The Rosary is a liturgical prayer because it is biblical. Sister Lucy does not limit herself to making this affirmation; she follows it up with a demonstration that leaves nothing standing of Fr. Cerbelaud’s thesis.

Firs, in Portugal, « We begin the Rosary with the words: "Deus in adjutorium meum intende, Domine ad adjuvandum me festina" that is: “O God come to our aid Lord, make haste to help us”. This is the prayer we say to God at the beginning of the each office of the Liturgy of the Hours. »

The remainder of the demonstration is flawless: there is nothing more “liturgical” than the Rosary! This is so whether it is recognised as such or not:

« Then we say this prayer: “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saculorum, Amen.” That is: “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.” This prayer of praise, which we address to God at the end of each decade of the Rosary, is the same as that with which we end the psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, and it is also used at Mass, whether in the Gospel Acclamation on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, or in the longer form of the sacred hymn: “Glory to God in the highest”, begun by the Angels in Bethlehem.

« The “Our Father”, which we recite at the beginning of each decade, was taught to us by Jesus Christ when His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray: “Pray then like this: "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.” (Mt 6.9-13) This prayer, which we address to God in every decade of the Rosary, is a biblical prayer and is part of the Liturgy; it is recited daily in the Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours. »

As for the Ave Maria, it is a “biblical” prayer, coming from the very lips of God:

« The next prayer is the Hail Mary, which we repeat ten times, thus forming a decade of our Rosary. It, too, is a biblical prayer. It begins with the words that the Angel Gabriel addressed to Mary when he was sent by God to announce to Her the Incarnation of the Word: “The angel Gabriel was sent from God (...) to a Virgin (...) and the Virgin’s name was Mary. He came to Her and said: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1.26-28) I think that when He was sending the Angel, God must have suggested to him the words with which he was to greet Mary, announcing to Her, on the part of God, the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word.

« St. Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Spirit, said: “Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb!” (Lk 1.42)

« Thus, the Hail Mary was formed under God’s inspiration: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee; blessed art Thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.”

« We must regard this salutation as having been addressed to the Virgin Mary by God Himself, naturally, insofar as the words of the heavenly messenger are concerned, and supernaturally in the case of the words which were spoken by St. Elizabeth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary (…) she was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry: Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb!" (Lk 1.41-42) If St. Elizabeth was inspired by the Holy Spirit when she uttered these words, as Sacred Scripture tells us, then this praise comes from the Holy Spirit. »

Let us note the distinction that Sister Lucy makes, with the precision of a theologian, between “natural” and “supernatural”: there is nothing more “natural” than for an angel to praise the Virgin Mary. For Elizabeth, however, a “supernatural” inspiration is required, coming from the heavenly world to which God and the angel belong… and the Queen of angels! Elizabeth knows, through an inspiration of the Holy Spirit that came to her at the moment when she heard the Blessed Virgin greet her upon entering her house on the day of the Visitation, that God dwells in Mary as formerly He dwelt in the Ark of the Covenant.

Sister Lucy then points out how the Blessed Virgin returns all the glory that Elizabeth recognises in Her back to the “Almighty” when She sings Her “Magnificat”. Glorified by Elizabeth, Mary, full of the Holy Spirit, only accepts this glory in order to give it back to God alone. This is enough to disarm the eternal accusation of “mariolatry”.

« This praise is intended more for God than for Mary: You are blessed because the fruit of Your womb is blessed; and it is in this fruit, and by this fruit, that the blessing of God has come to You and that You are blessed among all women. And this was how the Virgin Mary understood it when She sang:

« “My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God My Saviour, for He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call Me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for Me, and holy is His Name. His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” (Lk 1.46-50)

« As we see, all praise of Mary rises up to God; He looked with mercy on His lowly handmaid. »

Let it not be said either that the Ave Maria is a biblical prayer but not a liturgical one:

« In short, the Ave Maria is a biblical prayer. It is also part of the Liturgy, being recited on various feasts of the year, both in the Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours. » At Christmas, and at the feasts of the Annunciation and the Visitation, for example.

FATHER CRUZ AND THE ROSARY Father Cruz (1859-1948) This Jesuit, with a great reputation for holiness, was the first confessor and director of Lucy, as well as one of the first apostles of Our Lady of Fatima. His informative process in view of his beatification was opened in Lisbon in 1951. « Around 1923, I had the honour of accompanying the late lamented Patriarch Mendes Belo on his pastoral visit to the parish of San Domingos de Carmoes. In the evening, when it was already growing dark, His Eminence, visibly fatigued, got into his motorcar to return to the bishop’s house in Lisbon. As he was leaving the locality, the car suddenly stopped. Father Cruz then appeared and asked, in humble terms, for a seat as far as Lisbon, which the venerable Cardinal willingly granted him, inviting him to sit alongside him. « The car had only travelled about thirty metres when Father Cruz broke the silence, saying in a loud voice: “Do you know, Eminence, I have not said my Rosary today yet. If you will allow me, I will say it in private, because I know that Your Eminence is tired, as are your priests.” « Having received words of approval, Father Cruz began in a loud voice: “O God, come to my aid.” Here, he made a pause, as though he wanted to be accompanied. Then he continued the prayer, alternating with His Eminence and the priests. But “his Rosary” was not over yet! There would be one Rosary after another, while the car progressed at a crawl because the road was full of holes. One would have said there was a contest between the piety and indefatigable ardour of the holy priest and the regular whirring of the vehicle’s engine. Neither one nor the other wanted to admit defeat… His Eminence continued to join in this litany of chaplets. « After a two-hour journey, the car stopped at the door of the bishop’s house. At that precise moment Father Cruz was saying the fifth mystery of the ninth chaplet. » (The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. 4, http://www.crc-internet.org/JP1/Fatima4.htm)

UNIVERSAL MEDIATRIX

« Later on, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit Who enlightens and helps it, concluded the Ave Maria with the humble supplication: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” »

Now, once again, here is something to appease all conciliar, postconciliar and “ecumenical” touchiness:

« This prayer, in which we ask Mary to intercede for us with the Lord, does not contradict in any way the truth taught by St. Paul: “There is only one mediator between God and men, Himself man, Christ Jesus.” (1 Tm 2.5). There is only one Mediator endowed with the divine nature that allows Him free and natural access to God, namely Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, “an intermediary implies more than one; but God is one,” (Ga 3.20) which means that there is a second party to be served and represented by the Mediator, namely humanity. And “Jesus Christ, Himself Man” is our Mediator by His nature – the human nature which He assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ, however, did not become man to be the one and only survivor of humanity, but to be “the First-born among many brethren” (Rm 8.29) whom He saved, when restoring to us the access to the presence of God and intimacy with Him which we had enjoyed in the earthly paradise. In fact He did more: He embraced us and bound us to Himself as members of His Mystical Body which is the Church, the saving presence of Jesus until the end of time and to the ends of the earth. He apportioned to us, according to the grace and vocation of each,, His threefold mission as Saviour – that of prophet, priest and king.

This being so, the Virgin Mary and the saints are nevertheless our intercessors, whether the Protestants like it or not:

« There is, thus, only one divine Mediator: Jesus Christ; but as suppliant intercessors we have Mary, the Saints, and each one of us, if we so wish. St. Paul himself, in various passages in his letters, asks people to pray both for him and for one another. “To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints., Pray also for me, that it may be given to me to announce courageously and boldly the mystery of the Gospel, for which l am an ambassador in chains; obtain for me the boldness to speak of it as I ought.” (Ep 6.18-20) »

Sister Lucy does not neglect to set apart the intercession of the Virgin Mary, whose universal mediation establishes Her as « co-Redemptrix » with Christ.

« Now, if the Apostle tells us to pray for one another, we have much more reason to ask Mary to pray for us, because Her prayer will be much more pleasing to the Lord in view of Her dignity as Mother of God and Her closer union with Christ, true God and true Man, by reason of Her mission of co-Redemptrix with Christ as well as of Her great sanctity. »

THE MASS OF THE VIRGIN MARY

« Returning, now, to the biblical and liturgical dimension of the Rosary, let us consider the prayer which the Message taught us to pray at the end of each decade. A similar request occurs in the Mass, since the liturgical rubrics order us to begin the Holy Sacrifice by confessing our own sins, and the prayer taught us by Our Lady has us ask pardon for these same sins: “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need of Thy mercy.” (Apparition of 13 July 1917)

« “Those who are most in need”: I think this refers to those who are in the greatest danger of damnation. With this prayer, we ask God to apply to us the fruit of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that is, the salvation of souls, together with forgiveness for our own sins. »

We have seen that Sister Lucy developed this Eucharistic aspect of the Rosary in Chapter 12 when replying to a question that she has often been asked: « Why did Our Lady order us to recite the Rosary every day instead of telling us to attend Mass every day? »

The response was that not everyone can attend Holy Mass every day, « while to pray the Rosary is something everyone can do, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, great and small » (He is Risen, no 13, Sept. 2003, p. 6).

Yet this is not yet sufficient, and here is what places the Rosary above all other prayers:

« In the final analysis, I believe that, after the liturgical prayer of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the prayer of the holy Rosary or of the Chaplet, because of its origin and the sublime nature of the prayers which compose it and also on account of the mysteries of our Redemption which we recall and contemplate in each decade, is the most pleasing prayer we can offer to God, and the one most beneficial to our own souls. If this were not so, Our Lady would not have recommended it to us with such insistence. »

Throughout her life, Sister Lucy has put the same emphasis on it. On 4 April 1970 she wrote to a nephew who is a priest:

« We must recite the Rosary every day. It is the prayer that Our Lady recommended the most, as though to put us on our guard, in anticipation of these days of diabolical onslaught! The Devil knows that we save ourselves through prayer. This is why he wages his campaign against it so as to damn us. Now that the month of May is about to begin, recite the Rosary daily. Do not fear to expose the Blessed Sacrament and to say the Rosary in Its presence.

« It is false to say that this is not liturgical, for the prayers of the Rosary are all part of the holy liturgy; if they are not displeasing to God when we recite them when celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, then likewise, they do not displease Him if we recite them in His presence when He is exposed for our adoration. On the contrary, it is the prayer that is the most pleasing to Him, for we praise Him the best through it. »

APPEAL TO THE MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH

St. Bernadette admired the condescension of the Blessed Virgin in coming to confirm the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception at Lourdes on 25 March 1858, by these simple words: « I am the Immaculate Conception. » The Abbé de Nantes points out that the Blessed Virgin did not go through the hierarchical Church to give us Her command: « I want you to continue to say the Rosary every day. » Nevertheless, Sister Lucy, in obedience to an order from superior Authority, seeks a basis in the documents of the Magisterium in order to justify the Blessed Virgin:

« The saying of the Rosary or of the Chaplet is the form of prayer which has been most recommended by all the Popes who have served the Church in recent centuries, beginning with Gregory XIII who, in the Bull “Monete Apostolos”, calls it “the Psalter of the Most Holy Virgin, which we recite in order to appease God’s anger and implore the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.” (1 April 1573).

« Sixtus V also, in the Bull “Dum ineffabilis” of 30 January 1586, calls the Rosary the “Psalter of the glorious and ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, instituted by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”

« Before these two Popes, St. Pius V governed the Church. He attributed the victory obtained by the Christians against the Turks at Lepanto on 7 October 1571, to the praying of the Rosary. In thanksgiving, he ordered the Feast of Our Lady of Victories to be celebrated annually on that day, a feast which his successor changed to that of Our Lady of the Rosary.

« About three hundred years after that war, Pope Pius IX was serving the Church. On his death-bed, he said to those around him: “The Rosary is a compendium of the Gospel, and gives to those who pray it those rivers of peace of which the Scriptures speak; it is the most beautiful devotion, the most abundant in graces, and the most pleasing to the Heart of Mary. Such is my testimony, my children, so that you may remember me on earth.” (February 1878) It is marvellous to see how this great Pope linked the prayer of the Rosary to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Was he not the Pope of Mary Immaculate, the one who proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary by the Bull “Ineffabilis Deus” in 1854?

« Leo XIII, in the Encyclical “Fidentem piumque”, of 20 September 1896, said: “In the devotion of the Rosary, Christ occupies the first place (...). By means of the vocal prayers of which it is formed, we can express our faith in God, our most provident Father, in eternal life, in the remission of sins, and also in the mysteries of the Most Holy Trinity, the Incarnate Word, the divine Maternity, and others. Certainly, no one is ignorant of the great value and merit of faith. Faith, in fact, is nothing else than the chosen seed which, in the present, produces the flowers of all the virtues which render us pleasing to God, and from which eternal fruits will later grow: since To know You is indeed perfect justice and to know Your justice and Your power is the root of immortality (Ws I5.3)”

« This affirmation of Pope Leo XIII is admirable. He is telling us that the Most Holy Trinity and the saving work of Christ are at the centre of this great prayer, the Rosary or the Chaplet, making it a profession of faith in these central mysteries of Catholic doctrine. The faith that we profess and exercise in this prayer is of great spiritual value. Hence, the same Sovereign Pontiff, using the words of the Apostle St. Paul, says: “In order for faith to be worthy and perfect it must necessarily be confessed externally, for man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and is saved (Rm 10.10). Therefore, the Rosary provides us with the opportunity for this external profession of faith.” »

From Leo XIII, Sister Lucy goes on to Pius XI. What about Pius X? Either Sister Lucy is unaware of his very existence or the ecclesiastical censor has cut him out of the original text. For there would be much to say on the subject of the devotion of St. Pius X to the holy Rosary, which in his own way he promoted to the rank of a major prayer, better than Leo XIII had done with his encyclicals, giving the good example by the recitation of the Rosary in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Camille Bellaigue relates:

« In this evening of 1908, the vigil of feast of the holy Apostles, followed by a procession of twenty of his retinue , the Pope descended to the Confession to pray. First of all, he recited the Rosary. His musical voice, with an admirable fullness and depth, recalled before each decade a mystery of glory or suffering. Then the Hail Mary fell and fell again unceasingly, only to be immediately taken or picked up by the voices of those who responded. » (quoted by Fernessole, Pius X, Vol. II, p. 88)

From his first encyclical on 4 October 1903, the Pope invoked the mediation of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary to implement the programme he laid down of « restoring all things in Christ »

« To obtain which We, addressing to you this Letter of Ours on the day appointed especially for commemorating the Holy Rosary, ordain and confirm all Our Predecessor's prescriptions with regard to the dedication of the present month to the august Virgin, by the public recitation of the Rosary in all churches. »

On 2 February 1904, Pius X published the encyclical Ad diem illum, addressed to Catholics throughout the world, in order to announce and prepare the solemnity of the fiftieth anniversary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX on 8 December 1854. The Pope established therein, in sovereignly precise and clear terms, the doctrine of the universal Mediation of Mary, by virtue of an « uninterrupted community of life and suffering » between Mary and Jesus, whereby « Mary merited to become most worthily the Reparatrix of fallen humanity and consequently Dispensatrix of all the treasures that Jesus acquired for us by His Death and by His Blood. »

Since this doctrine was resolutely set aside by the Second Vatican Council, it is understandable that the censors of Sister Lucy considered it preferable purely and simply to omit it, and to pass directly to Pius XI:

« In his Encyclical “Ingravescentibus malis” of 29 September 1937, His Holiness Pope Pius XI tells us: “The Holy Rosary not only serves powerfully to triumph over the blasphemers of God and the enemies of Religion, but it is also a stimulus and spur to the practice of evangelic virtues, which it procures for our souls. Above all, it nourishes the Catholic Faith, which flourishes through appropriate meditation on the sacred mysteries, and raises minds to the truths revealed to us by God.” And this Pope granted a plenary indulgence for the recitation of the Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

« On 16 October 1940, His Holiness Pius XII said: “The Rosary is, as its name signifies, a necklace of roses; not those roses with which the ungodly adorn themselves boisterously, according to the words of Scripture: “Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither!" (Ws 2.8), for the freshness of these roses is ceaselessly renewed in the hands of those devoted to Mary.”

« Pope John XXIII, in his Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, dated 29 September 1961, says: “This is a characteristic of the liturgical prayer of the Missal and the Breviary: each one of its parts is introduced by Oremus which supposes plurality and multitude, those who are praying, those who are hoping to be heard, and those who are being prayed for. It is the assembly that prays, uniting its supplication to that of others of the faithful for the whole human family, religious and civil. The Rosary of Mary is raised to the dignity of a great prayer, public and universal, for the ordinary and extraordinary needs of Holy Church, of nations and of the whole world. "

« Here the Holy Father recognises, in the prayer of the Rosary, that dimension of plurality and universality characteristic of the liturgical prayer of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours: “Moreover, this is a characteristic of the liturgical prayer of the Missal and the Breviary.” He says that the Rosary is the supplication of the multitude praying for the ordinary and extraordinary needs of Holy Church, of nations and of the world. “It is the crowd that prays, united in supplication for the whole human family, religious and civil.” »

This allusion to John XXIII is quite laboured and not in Sister Lucy’s ordinary style. It cannot make us forget this remark of the Abbé Laurentin: « John XXIII several times used the title “Mother of the Church”, following in this Leo XIII, but never used those of Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix. »

AN EMBARRASSING SILENCE

« His Holiness Paul VI, after the last voting session of the Council Fathers on 21 November 1964, promulgated the dogmatic constitution “Lumen Gentium” on the Church. In it we read: “The holy Council formally teaches this Catholic doctrine [the special devotion offered by the Church to Mary.] At the same time it admonishes all the sons of the Church that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, addressed to the Most Blessed Virgin, be generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of piety toward her, recommended by the Magisterium of the Church in the course of centuries, be made of great moment, and that those decrees that were given in the past regarding the cult of images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, be religiously observed.” (Lumen Gentium, 67).

« Reading this document of the Second Vatican Council, I believe that no well-disposed person could deny that the prayer of the Rosary is one of the principal “practices and exercises of Marian piety” which, just then, were in the mind and the thoughts of the Council Fathers, just as it cannot be denied that this prayer is one of the “practices and exercises” of piety which have been most recommended and approved by the Church’s Magisterium. »

Sister Lucy could not be more specific: the Rosary was directly alluded to …by the very omission of any explicit mention of it! Brother Francis relates how the Rosary raised a bitter opposition, and reveals by Whom this opposition carried the day:

During the Council’s preparation period, the universal Mediation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, the dogmatic definition of which had been expressly desired by three hundred bishops, had had a fierce adversary in Cardinal Montini. On 20 June 1962, when the draft schema on the Virgin Mary, elaborated by the theological commission, was discussed by the central commission, this prelate actually made the following declaration: « The proposal for a new title, especially that of Mediatrix, to be given to Mary Most Holy, would appear to me inopportune and even damnable (damnosa). »

This is a frightening, a terrible word, expressing a reprobation that turns against the one who pronounced it and who never repented of it, and that was the future Paul VI!

« And he went on to make his own the old Protestant refrain a hundred times refuted: « The term Mediator must be attributed uniquely and exclusively to none but Christ alone, as the Apostle says: Unus est Mediator. » The future Pope Paul VI continued with this patent falsehood: « The extension of this title does not appear to favour true piety […]. It is much better to speak of the universal spiritual motherhood of Mary Most Holy, of Her queenship and of Her marvellous and truly benign intercession, but not of Her mediation (non vero de mediatione). (The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. IV, www.crc-internet.org/JP1/Fatima4.htm)

As a result, the Council neglected the cult of the Virgin Mary to such an extent that several bishops became alarmed: « We know from an authorised source, writes Fr Luis Cerdeira O.P. that, when number 67 of Lumen Gentium was being written, experts and Council Fathers insisted that any ex professo reference to devotion to the Rosary must use one of these expressions or their equivalents: Utpote Rosarium, like the Rosary; verbi gratia Rosarium, for example the Rosary. » During the second session, Mgr Rendeiro expressed « the desire that the Sacred Council should see fit to enlighten the intelligence of the Church by exalting and recommending to both priests and faithful this form of devotion expressed by the Marian Rosary ». Yes, this seemed indispensable to him as there could be heard « in the choir of theologians and liturgists some discordant voices. Certain of these, falling into the excess of a sort of “hyper-liturgism”, declare that the recitation of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary should be discarded, particularly in public prayers, and that a truly liturgical cult is sufficient. » At the third session, Cardinal Cerejeira, in the name of one hundred thirteen bishops, made a written request for the following amendment: « To the words “the practices and exercises of piety” (in n^o 67 of Lumen Gentium), let there be added: “among which the Rosary holds a place of distinction”, so that it reads: “the practices and exercises of piety, among which the Rosary holds a place of distinction”. » In support of his request, Cardinal Cerejeira advanced five reasons of both a theological and pastoral nature. It is notable however – and how regrettable! – that neither Mgr Rendeiro, the Portuguese Bishop of Faro, nor the Patriarch of Lisbon made any reference to the revelations of Fatima to justify their request. Finally, the commission drawing up the chapter on the Virgin Mary ruled that « the Council ought not to designate any devotion in particular ». As a result, the Rosary is not mentioned in the Acts of Vatican II. (ibid., pp. 135-136).

Is it any surprise then that this « fatal Council », as the Abbé de Nantes dared to call it in August 1965, bore fruits of death? It is in the light of these historical reminders that the quotation of Paul VI with which Sister Lucy continues may be judged:

« Then, on 2 February 1974, Pope Paul VI published the Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis cultus”, in which he dedicated paragraphs 42 to 55 to the prayer of the Rosary or the Chaplet, confessing: “We, too, from the first General Audience of our Pontificate on 13 July 1963 onwards, have shown our great esteem for the pious practice of the Rosary.” (n° 42) »

We would have to wait ten years for Pope Paul VI to give new evidence of this « great esteem » by the Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis cultus”. Yet in 1967, he went to Fatima. However, he displayed so little esteem for « the pious practice of the Rosary » that he did not even recite a single Ave in public.

« He also declares that he has followed very attentively the numerous meetings and researches that have taken place on the subject of this Marian devotion. »

We have just recalled in what spirit… Sister Lucy is not aware of this though. It is not part of her vocation to know about it. She continues by quoting the Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis cultus”. Let us read along with her:

« “As a result of modern reflection, writes Paul VI, the relationships between the Liturgy and the Rosary have been more clearly understood (…). If, in recent years, some desire to see the Rosary included among the liturgical expressions , others, anxious to avoid a repetition of former pastoral mistakes, unjustifiably disregarded the Rosary. Today the problem can easily be solved in the light of the principles of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. Liturgical celebrations and the pious practice of the Rosary must neither be set in opposition to one another nor considered as being identical. »

Sister Lucy has surely not willingly quoted this passage, for it negates the entire « comparison » that she has been endeavouring to make!

« “The more an expression of prayer preserves its own true nature and individual character, the more fruitful it becomes. Once the pre-eminent value of liturgical acts has been reaffirmed, it will not be difficult to appreciate the fact that the Rosary is a practice of piety that easily harmonises with the liturgy. In fact, like the liturgy, it is communal in nature, draws its inspiration from Sacred Scripture and is oriented towards the mystery of Christ. The commemoration in the liturgy and the contemplative remembrance proper to the Rosary, although existing on essentially different levels, have as their object the greatest salvific events wrought by Christ. The former presents anew, under the veil of signs and operative in a hidden way, the greatest mysteries of our Redemption. The latter, by means of the pious affection born of contemplation, recalls these same mysteries to the mind of the person praying, and stimulates his will to draw from them the norms of living. » This poisonous praise omits what is most important: the recitation of the Rosary obtains grace and mercy from the hands of our Mediatrix.

« Once this substantial difference has been established, one cannot fail to understand that the Rosary is a pious exercise that draws its motivating force from the liturgy and leads naturally back to it without, however, crossing the threshold [sic!], if practised according to its original inspiration. In fact, meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, by familiarising the hearts and minds of the faithful with the mysteries of Christ, can be an excellent preparation for the celebration of those same mysteries in the liturgical action, and can also become a continuing echo thereof. However, it is a mistake (...) to recite the Rosary during the celebration of the liturgy.” (n° 48) »

This last proposition is condemned by a decision of Pius XII, censuring the priests who prevented the faithful from saying the Rosary during Mass. The Abbé de Nantes, on the other hand, recommends this practice as an attention paid to the action of the Blessed Virgin, closely united to that of Her Divine Son during the Mass: « The Rosary introduces us into the Action of Jesus, our Saviour, by the commemoration of the compassion of the Virgin Mary. »

The following paragraph has most certainly been interpolated by the Secretariat of State, since Sister Lucy finished her book on 25 March 1974:

« His Holiness John Paul II expressed his intimate feelings, and his experience of the prayer of the Holy Rosary, in these words of 29 October 1978: “A prayer marvellous in its simplicity and in its depth! In this prayer, we repeat very often the words that the Virgin Mary heard from the Archangel and from her cousin Elizabeth. The whole Church joins in these words (...). At the same time, our hearts can include in these decades of the Rosary all the events that go to make up the life of the individual, the family, the nation, the Church, and the whole of humanity. Incidents which affect us personally or those that touch our neighbour and, in a special way, those who are closest to us, whom we keep in our hearts. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life (...). A prayer which is so simple and so rich! I cordially exhort all to pray it.” »

The chapter’s conclusion was surely written by Sister Lucy. She cites an episode which takes us back to the time of Paul VI, quite precisely to the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, which does not present the Holy Father but a cardinal whose words and deeds will make up somewhat for Paul VI’s scandalous “pilgrimage” to Fatima on 13 May of that same year:

« To conclude this list of recommendations and appreciations of the holy Rosary, I leave you the testimony of a cleric. In the homily which the Archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka), His Eminence Cardinal Cooray, gave in Fatima on 12 August 1967, he spoke of the religious life being lived at that time in the Sri Lankan Shrine in honour of Our Lady of Fatima: “Our ideal is to make the devotion in our Shrine a continual response to the Message of Fatima, that is, penance and prayer. For this purpose, two institutions were founded. On one side of the shrine is the Convent of the Poor Clares whose life is made up of penance and prayer. On the other side there is the Convent of a Diocesan Congregation of native Sisters called Sisters of the Rosary: daily fast and abstinence together with hard manual work are part of their life of penance. Their special prayer is the Rosary, which is recited day and night except during Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. The Sisters take it in turns, two by two, with arms outstretched, to recite the meditated Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament. Their rule of life is to conform themselves truly to the Message of Fatima, that is, penance and prayer, especially the Rosary".

« There are those who say that the Rosary is an antiquated and monotonous prayer, because of the constant repetition of the prayers which compose it. I ask them: Do you know of anything that can live without continually repeating the same actions?

« God created everything that exists in such a way that it subsists by the continual and uninterrupted repetition of the same actions. Thus, in order to preserve our life, we breathe in and breathe out always in the same way; our heart beats all the time according to the same rhythm. The stars, the sun, the moon, the planets, the earth follow always the same course, which God has laid down for them. Day follows night, year after year, always in the same way. Likewise the sun gives us light and warmth. In many plants the leaves appear in the Spring, then they are clothed with flowers, next they yield fruit and, in autumn or winter, they lose their leaves.

« Thus, everything follows the law which God has laid down for it, and yet it never occurs to anyone to say that it is monotonous and therefore we can do without it; the fact is that we need all this in order to live!

« Well then! In the spiritual life we experience the same need to repeat continually the same prayers, the same acts of faith, hope and charity, in order to live, since our life is a continual participation in the life of God.

« As we have already seen, when the disciples asked Jesus Christ to teach them to pray, He taught them the beautiful formula of the Our Father, saying: “When you pray say: Father...” (Lk 11.4). The Lord ordered us to pray thus, and did not say that, after a certain number of years, we were to look for a new formula of prayer, since that one had become old-fashioned and monotonous.

« When lovers are together, they spend hours and hours repeating the same thing: “I love you!” »

This remark opportunely brings to mind Pope John Paul I… forgotten as was Pius X by those who “completed”, censored, revised Sister Lucy’s text. On Sunday, 7 October 1973, he who was still only the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, was preaching on the fourth centenary of the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary:

« Is the Rosary a prayer of repetition? Father de Foucauld said: “Love is expressed in few words, always the same and often repeated.” I once saw a woman on a train who had put her child to sleep in the luggage rack nets. When the little one woke up, he saw from high up in his net his mama sitting opposite him, watching over him. “Mama”, he said. “My treasure!” she replied. And for a long part of the journey the dialogue between the two was the same. From on top, “Mama!” And from below: “My treasure!” There was no need to say any more. » (The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. IV, http://www.crc-internet.org/JP1/Fatima4.htm)

« What is missing in the people who think the Rosary monotonous is Love; and everything that is not done with love is worthless. Hence, the Catechism tells us that the Ten Commandments of God can be summed up in one: to love God above all things and our neighbour as ourselves.

« Those who say the Rosary daily are like children who, every day, manage to find a few moments just to be with their father, to keep him company, to show him their gratitude, to do some service for him, to receive his advice and his blessing. It is the exchange and reciprocity of love, the love of the father for the child and the child for the father; it is a mutual giving.

« Ave Maria! »

Brother Bruno of Jesus