What consolation the Rosary brings, remembering the mysteries of Christ's life and recalling the joys and sorrows of our own lives, as we repeat Hail Mary after Hail Mary.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens
to him, rejoices with great joy hearing
the bridegroom’s voice (John 3:29). Surely I should repeat
these words, my God, my Lord Jesus, every time I hear an inspired text like the
Psalms, the Gospel especially, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, or any other
words from the Scriptures. It is then the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks
every time that I hear or read such words. So, when I read these words of St.
John, I should add with him, “And so, at this moment, my happiness is perfect…”
This is the joy that should take hold of me every time I hear or read or recite
any passage, however short, that contains the words of God, the words of the
Beloved, of the Spouse I so passionately cherish. The voice of my Beloved ought to fling me precisely
into such joy, such a transport of love, and it is in such jubilation that I
should pray the Divine Office, or the Rosary, or read the Sacred Scriptures.
With what love, devotion, admiration, adoration we treat the words of a loved
one, whether written or spoken! Let us
then kiss, cherish and worship every
word of the Beloved of our hearts!
St Dominic Instituting the Rosary, Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), fresco, Church of the Jesuits, Venice, Italy. Reading from the Meditations
on the Gospel by Blessed Charles of Jesus, (Écrits spirituels de
Charles de Foucauld, Ermite du Sahara, Apôtre des Touaregs, ed. René Bazin )Paris, J. de Gigord, 1925], pp. 28-30.
