Thy word is a Lamp to my Feet and a Light unto my Path (Psalm 119)
Praying the Rosary with the Gospel Mystery of the Day
… Pray without ceasing … (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
For the last few years I have prayed the “Gospel Mystery of the day”. Then in 2011, in the course of sharing this prayer discipline in a workshop at the Women’s Fall Retreat (Kingston Archdiocese), some women asked me to share these mysteries. A small reflection and a verse of scripture, usually from the Psalm for the day) was added. These small reflections have been sent out fairly regularly basis, Monday- Saturday by blind copy email, and are posted by a friend on the Gospel Mystery of the Day Facebook page. In November, 2014 a website, www.GMDwithBeverly.weebly.com was set up, to share these GMD’s with a broader audience.
I share the following not as a prescription for prayer, nor even as a prayer model, but simply as a description of my deeper experience of prayer that has allowed me to delve into the ‘treasure in the field’ of Faith for a clearer understanding of the Kingdom of the Living God and his Unconditional Love. I offer this simply as ‘one beggar telling another beggar where I’m finding bread these days’…
The Joyful Mysteries, the Luminous Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary : these are all very wonderful but too rich at times to accommodate. Believing very much in the Keep It Simple principle, I decided to focus each day’s recitation of the five decades of the Rosary to one line of scripture, one “Mystery” for the day. Later, as the GMD’s began to be published, a 3-5 sentence reflection was added, as well as a Psalm prayer for the day.
The Gospel reading for the day has become the source of each day’s mystery. In the familiar stories and texts, by looking for the ‘mystery of the day’ , and focusing my attention simply on the words of Jesus manifested in the Gospels, I realized that indeed there were layers and levels of deeper involvement with the Holy Spirit that I had never touched. It is the words of Jesus that are the basis of the “Gospel Mystery” of each day as I pray with the Spirit, to Jesus and God our Father; and very aware of Mary as a Mother and friend walking and praying with me through the garden of the Rosary.
These days I can’t wait to find the riches waiting in the readings and in particular, the Gospel Mystery for the day . Everyday, all readings and especially the Gospel Mystery of the Day are perfect for the on going circumstances and the new challenges (intentions) of the day. Often when I look back, I can ‘Trace the Grace’ of how the particular mystery of a given day has been specifically appropriate, touching and shifting the current issues in my own life, and in the life journeys of others with/for whom I am praying.
To arrive at the Gospel Mystery of the Day, I first pray with all the readings ( Catholic Lectionary) of the day and then look for the words of Jesus in the Gospel. Often I will hold the Gospel in mind and heart for a time, forming and revising the phrase that will become the day’s Gospel Mystery, In the end, the phrase becomes a stepping stone into a closer presence of God and an on-going healing work in my life, and my relationships with those I am praying for.
Using the Rosary with the Gospel Mystery of the Day
Recognizing that not everyone is comfortable using the Rosary, and that those who use the Rosary prefer to use the traditional format, I offer the following details from my Rosary experiences cautiously, again, simply as description. This is in no way meant to be a model for anyone else, but perhaps some aspects of it will be of use –
I have divided my deliberate prayer intentions for each day into six ‘decades’ which I pray with the Rosary.
I Personal nurture
II Nurture of my own family
III Family of Origin and relatives
IV The Church Parish Community
V Individuals I am praying for
VI Situations and organizations in the world
EXAMPLE:
With the Gospel Mystery : Help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
The first decade encompasses intentions for my own nurture in the Holy Spirit. Years ago, a priest who was leading me through a back log of Reconciliation assigned this as a penance; I have found it so fruitful, that I still maintain this practice. The Gospel Mystery of the Day always ministers directly to what I am dealing with in my various roles and relationship, often untangling wishful or sinful thinking and focusing me back to the face of Jesus.
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you,
blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus,
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Be with [me] …
i. As your Beloved daughter … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
ii. As the beloved daughter of [Names of my parents] … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
iii. As a Mother … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
Etc. & etc.
iv. As a whole, unique and complete individual…
v. As a spouse…
vi. As a woman healing from …
vii. As a servant of Christ, of humanity….
viii. As a woman with a Vocation …
ix. As a Woman ….
x. As a Disciple … …. ( Today) Help me [ for example : to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life … ]
At the end of the decade: 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.
For each of the other decades…
II Our Father….
Hail Mary … 10 times, one for individual, or family … “Help [N________________] to put away from [her/him] anything that supports death, and see Jesus raise [N…] to life …
Glory be…
Decades III, IV & V – pray similarly, with meditation.
What has this meant to me? Today for example, For each of the fifty deliberate ‘Rosary prayers’ I have uttered, I have noticed a shift in my own perception of ‘reality’, gently moving away from despair into a lighter place of hope. Details of each of these shifts would trace the Grace of God working gently through my life.
And so the Gospel Mystery of the Day, through the prayers of my heart, with the format of the Rosary as a catalyst, works its way through life, bringing the Kingdom of God closer prayer by prayer, breath by breath. The Word of God never returns empty. Every Word uttered, I believe, allows God’s will to permeate a little more of the fabric of life as we know it, leading to His Kingdom, His will being done ‘on earth as it is in heaven’, in me, in those I pray for, in ‘my Reality’ , as His will was/is done through the presence of Christ incarnate.
… I hope that this article will be of some use to someone along the way….
“Pick the meat off the bones…”
Bhi. July 2008 & revised December, 2014
I share the following not as a prescription for prayer, nor even as a prayer model, but simply as a description of my deeper experience of prayer that has allowed me to delve into the ‘treasure in the field’ of Faith for a clearer understanding of the Kingdom of the Living God and his Unconditional Love. I offer this simply as ‘one beggar telling another beggar where I’m finding bread these days’…
The Joyful Mysteries, the Luminous Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary : these are all very wonderful but too rich at times to accommodate. Believing very much in the Keep It Simple principle, I decided to focus each day’s recitation of the five decades of the Rosary to one line of scripture, one “Mystery” for the day. Later, as the GMD’s began to be published, a 3-5 sentence reflection was added, as well as a Psalm prayer for the day.
The Gospel reading for the day has become the source of each day’s mystery. In the familiar stories and texts, by looking for the ‘mystery of the day’ , and focusing my attention simply on the words of Jesus manifested in the Gospels, I realized that indeed there were layers and levels of deeper involvement with the Holy Spirit that I had never touched. It is the words of Jesus that are the basis of the “Gospel Mystery” of each day as I pray with the Spirit, to Jesus and God our Father; and very aware of Mary as a Mother and friend walking and praying with me through the garden of the Rosary.
These days I can’t wait to find the riches waiting in the readings and in particular, the Gospel Mystery for the day . Everyday, all readings and especially the Gospel Mystery of the Day are perfect for the on going circumstances and the new challenges (intentions) of the day. Often when I look back, I can ‘Trace the Grace’ of how the particular mystery of a given day has been specifically appropriate, touching and shifting the current issues in my own life, and in the life journeys of others with/for whom I am praying.
To arrive at the Gospel Mystery of the Day, I first pray with all the readings ( Catholic Lectionary) of the day and then look for the words of Jesus in the Gospel. Often I will hold the Gospel in mind and heart for a time, forming and revising the phrase that will become the day’s Gospel Mystery, In the end, the phrase becomes a stepping stone into a closer presence of God and an on-going healing work in my life, and my relationships with those I am praying for.
Using the Rosary with the Gospel Mystery of the Day
Recognizing that not everyone is comfortable using the Rosary, and that those who use the Rosary prefer to use the traditional format, I offer the following details from my Rosary experiences cautiously, again, simply as description. This is in no way meant to be a model for anyone else, but perhaps some aspects of it will be of use –
I have divided my deliberate prayer intentions for each day into six ‘decades’ which I pray with the Rosary.
I Personal nurture
II Nurture of my own family
III Family of Origin and relatives
IV The Church Parish Community
V Individuals I am praying for
VI Situations and organizations in the world
EXAMPLE:
With the Gospel Mystery : Help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
The first decade encompasses intentions for my own nurture in the Holy Spirit. Years ago, a priest who was leading me through a back log of Reconciliation assigned this as a penance; I have found it so fruitful, that I still maintain this practice. The Gospel Mystery of the Day always ministers directly to what I am dealing with in my various roles and relationship, often untangling wishful or sinful thinking and focusing me back to the face of Jesus.
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you,
blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus,
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Be with [me] …
i. As your Beloved daughter … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
ii. As the beloved daughter of [Names of my parents] … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
iii. As a Mother … Christ Jesus, Holy Spirit or Father God] , help me to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life …
Etc. & etc.
iv. As a whole, unique and complete individual…
v. As a spouse…
vi. As a woman healing from …
vii. As a servant of Christ, of humanity….
viii. As a woman with a Vocation …
ix. As a Woman ….
x. As a Disciple … …. ( Today) Help me [ for example : to put away from me all that supports death and see Jesus raise [me] to life … ]
At the end of the decade: 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.
For each of the other decades…
II Our Father….
Hail Mary … 10 times, one for individual, or family … “Help [N________________] to put away from [her/him] anything that supports death, and see Jesus raise [N…] to life …
Glory be…
Decades III, IV & V – pray similarly, with meditation.
What has this meant to me? Today for example, For each of the fifty deliberate ‘Rosary prayers’ I have uttered, I have noticed a shift in my own perception of ‘reality’, gently moving away from despair into a lighter place of hope. Details of each of these shifts would trace the Grace of God working gently through my life.
And so the Gospel Mystery of the Day, through the prayers of my heart, with the format of the Rosary as a catalyst, works its way through life, bringing the Kingdom of God closer prayer by prayer, breath by breath. The Word of God never returns empty. Every Word uttered, I believe, allows God’s will to permeate a little more of the fabric of life as we know it, leading to His Kingdom, His will being done ‘on earth as it is in heaven’, in me, in those I pray for, in ‘my Reality’ , as His will was/is done through the presence of Christ incarnate.
… I hope that this article will be of some use to someone along the way….
“Pick the meat off the bones…”
Bhi. July 2008 & revised December, 2014
