WITH MARY, WE ALWAYS GO FORWARD

In this month of the missions, also called the month of the Rosary, we are invited to meditate deeply on the mysteries of the Incarnation.  It is an eminently popular devotion, which is why the prayer of the Rosary is called “the gospel of the poor”, because normally people learned it by heart either because of illiteracy or because restrictions were imposed on access to written texts.

We know that for a long time it was this simple and profound prayer that sustained the life of faith of our peoples. Today, this ancient practice nourishes contemplative prayer and the life of our peoples. In this perspective, the Rosary becomes fundamental. It builds peace because it appeals to the grace of God, it sows the good, from which we can expect the fruit of justice and solidarity for the community and for personal life.

Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation on Mary (Marialis cultus), reminds us of the importance of the contemplation of the mysteries during the recitation of the Rosary (Cfr. 47). In this sense, Paul VI and the Church want to affirm the authentic and genuine meaning of this Marian prayer, which is nothing less than a meditation on the mysteries of the Lord’s life. Thus our Christian life becomes more prayerful, more contemplative, and invites us to be more of God.

If we dare to bring to life what we contemplate in the prayer of the Rosary, the whole life of Christ should be assimilated in our hearts and we would banish all violence, injustice and inequality. We enter into the communion of feeling that we are sons and daughters of the same Father and the same Mother, Mary. Let us pray that through the prayer of the Rosary and deepening in the teachings of Jesus, we can convert our lives and that our relationship with God, with our brothers and sisters and with the Common Home may be authentic from their love.

With the contemplation of the mysteries of the Rosary we are called as Jesus did with the apostles, to look at the world with the same feelings, which is certainly a divine gaze on the world and its reality; that is, to look at man and the reality that surrounds him, and what is in agreement or disagreement with the will of the Lord.

The Rosary brings us the gaze of a Mother, who only wants the good of her sons and daughters, their growth, their inner development and the common good for all.  Therefore, we should meditate on it in a special way from the reality in which the Church of today is immersed, the world and the social, political and economic reality that surrounds us.

Let us seek in Mary, the constant grace of contemplation to help us on our path of commitment to make possible the Kingdom of God and to remain faithful to our identity and missionary charism, inspiration of the Spirit in our Founding Fathers and first sisters. May the contemplation of the mysteries of the Lord be an instrument of his grace upon us and upon all the men and women of our time.

Ascension Community Nicol Angola (Luanda).