The company we keep matters. People ignore this simple reality most of the time. They hang out with who they want to when they want, and where they want. It’s dangerous. I don’t mean just for your reputation, because that too suffers. Others out there notice who is coming and going from your home and business. I am also not just talking about the legal ramifications, because those are there too. The police aren’t going to simply dismiss you as part of the activities if they are happening in your house, car, and place of work. I am talking spiritually. Our eternal soul matters.
In the first reading for today’s Memorial feast, we see the Apostles turning back to Jerusalem. Jesus has just left them to go up into Heaven and their first response is to the center of worship, the center of their religion. When they get there, returning to the upper room, they are joined by some very important company. Mary, the mother of Jesus. In her person, we see the one disciple who journeyed with Jesus regardless of the cost. From the moment of his conception to his natural death, Mary was there. Even though the sword of anguish pierced her own heart, she stood with Him. As He hung on the cross, he gave her to his beloved disciple, and his beloved disciple to her, as mother and son.
If we then are Jesus’ beloved disciples, then she too is our mother. A person to pray with, to emulate, and to learn from. Today we celebrate a feast in honor of her and in thanksgiving for the victory at Lepanto. It was through her intercession via the prayers of the Rosary that the Christian forces were able to repel those of the invading Ottoman empire. I think the Gospel gives us the true key to understanding the rosary. It is in Mary’s resounding “Yes!” to God’s plan, that we find the key to Marian devotion. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
The Rosary, like Mary, doesn’t point to her. She always points to her Son, Jesus Christ. So does this devotional prayer. Every prayer in it, even the Hail Mary (which is also in today’s Gospel), calls us to meditate deeper on the mystery of the Incarnation. We are supposed to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary as we pray each bead, studying the beauty of the salvific grace of God through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, our Lord. Every mystery points to who Jesus is, even the ones devoted to Mary. If you pray all the mysteries of the rosary (of which there are 20), the first two are about Mary, and the last two. The thing is, they are also about Jesus. They speak of who He is, and what He promises to us as His believers. They also speak of what it means for Him to be of the line of David, the King.
So, on this day of the rosary, I think we should ask ourselves this: Have we fulfilled the scripture in our own lives describing the moment that He hung dying on the cross for us?
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)
Is Mary part of your life? Have you taken her into your home? You don’t have to. It’s not a requirement to get into Heaven. Mary is a gift, a blessing. If you fear her, you can relax. Not only can you not love her anywhere near as much as Jesus did, but you can rest assured that the Saints know what they are talking about when they make bold statements such as this:
Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way of approaching Jesus. – St. Louis Marie de Montfort
So, back to my first line of thought: The company you keep matters. Who is in your upper room praying with you? What kind of company are you keeping?
A reflection on the readings for Tuesday, October 7th, 2019: The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary