December 11th

The Annunciation

Something I never really noticed, or at least thought about, until this blog, was that the Rosary begins well before Jesus's birth and ends well after his return to Heaven. It begins and ends with Mary. Which makes the Rosary her story. And, until the recently added Mysteries of Light which sideline her in all but one, Mary was present for every single one of the Mysteries (or at least she could have been - she probably wasn't actually at the Garden and I have no idea if we believe she was at Pentecost, etc.).

So I wondered - is the Rosary about Mary? Rather than Jesus?

I suppose the real question is: why would that be?

For all Jesus was a human being, His life isn't really one that we can realistically take for a model of our own. He came to Earth knowing His purpose and the path His life would take. I don't mean to diminish His humanity with that, the line He walked is too baffling for me to judge it.

[Wow, I just spent an hour on a grammar blog, and it's really distracting. Is my grammar awful? Because it's really throwing me to try to make proper sentences. I am a grad student! In Shakespeare!]

But Mary we could imitate. We could hear the call and respond with her love and strength and duty. We could be willing to completely change our plans when He calls and toss the plans we tried to make for ourselves out of the window. Defenestrate our plans, if you will.

The original progression of Mysteries also walks us through a common transformation in a faith journey or a vocation. At first, the experience is joyous as we open our eyes to new truths and deeper realities. Then comes the sacrifices demanded and the pain of loss. On the other side of that, we find the glory of God.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the Mysteries of Light change the fundamental structure and perhaps the primary purpose of the Rosary. That's rough, because I love the Mysteries of Light and the upgrading of those stories that, at least for me, their designation as a Mystery gave them. However, if the story of the full rosary is supposed to be a journey through faith, then the Mysteries of Light are a bit out of place.

If we are supposed to use Mary as a our model to move through the promise to the carrying of the cross to the revelation of the divine, then the Mysteries of Light seem a bit like the preachy interlude. Or perhaps it's an acknowledgment of the Formal Initiation, the Formal Worship, part of a religious journey. Here, I think, we have a very good reason for the inclusion of the new Mysteries. You hear a lot these days about faith as a private matter - not just in the sense that people shouldn't vote faith or mix it up with government or bother someone about what they believe in - but as something that doesn't depend on the community or any formal ceremony.

I am not a very active sponsor, in all honesty. When we both return after the new year, I am going to attend the classes with him, but I have recently felt a bit lax. Am I supposed to be his friend or a spiritual resource or straddle the line? I don't know how well I am prepared to negotiate those two things. On Wednesday, for example, upon suddenly remembering that it was a Holy Day of Obligation, I called his girlfriend to ask if she wanted a ride and a reminder but not him. I felt less close to him and worried he would resent me for, on five minutes notice, demanding essentially an hour and forty minutes of his time from whatever he was doing on finals week.

But what I have learned from this experience is that the formal ceremonies do change things. Dan may occasionally resent the "hoops" he has to jump through (and early in the process I did feel his complaints were very justified), but the formal process has changed a lot of how he thinks about faith and the place of religion in his life.

So the extra step to the rosary as a journey of faith is one that I like, in the end.

Now that I have worked that out with myself, I suppose I should return to the first step in any faith journey: the ability to throw your entire plan for your life out the window and trust in a rather crazy-sounding alternative out of the love for and trust of God.

Her response is looking more remarkable all the time, isn't it?

Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you have said.

The first step is supposed to be terrifying. If it isn't, you're not looking at it right.

Jump.