Our People

Homily for Mass and Blessing of the Sick

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
for the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes, Earlwood

By Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP
Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney
7/10/2007

The origins of the Rosary are clouded in history and Dominican legend – perhaps that was why you asked a Dominican to preach on its Feast. It clearly derives from a simplified version of the Divine Office, with its 150 Paters or Aves in place of the 150 Psalms. In one form or another it has been part of Western Catholicism for at least 700 years. You might say it begun even earlier, that day the Archangel Gabriel in our Gospel passage (Lk 1:26-38) knelt before the Virgin of Nazareth and first spoke the Hail Mary. It developed only gradually, with the Dominican pope St Pius V settling upon fifteen mysteries out of the hundreds competing for attention, and in our own time our late great Pope John Paul II adding five more. It has been prayed by Christians especially in difficult times such as war, at the hour of death, at funerals and vigils, or when they do not know what to pray. Some part or all of it has been prayed as a daily devotion by many others. It is very much a prayer for peace, a prayer for families, and a prayer for the sick for whom we particularly pray today.

Many popes between Pius V and John Paul II were amongst its ardent promoters, both in their writings and by their personal example, and our now-Pope Benedict XVI is no exception. Yet something decidedly odd happened in the twentieth century. In the first half of that century, there was a huge public and private devotion to the Rosary, including pilgrimages especially to the sites of Our Lady’s apparitions at Lourdes, and later to Fatima and elsewhere; there were rallies and family rosary crusades, novenas and Fulton Sheen! Yet in the second half of that same century, the Mass seemed to replace all public devotions of the Church, as if Catholics had forgotten how to pray in any other way. The Rosary was written off by some gurus as benighted, superstitious, self-centred, pre-Vatican II.

This was strange, since the Second Vatican Council had recommended integrating popular devotions and the sacred liturgy better, rather than replacing one with the other. The idea was that devotions should lead us to and from the Liturgy, as a preparation or extension. It is strange, also, since the great theologian of the Council, Karl Rahner, was such an enthusiast for the Rosary himself, as was Paul VI, the pope whose task it was first to implement Vatican II.

Despite Pope Paul’s efforts the Rosary went underground in many places. But then, that’s where its often been. Think of the Catholics throughout the Asia-Pacific region, in Vietnam or Burma today, or in early Australia. When they were persecuted, lay people held on to their faith, often without the consolation of priests to lead them or the Blessed Eucharist to feed them, through learning the Catechism and praying the Rosary together. In one of his last teaching works, Pope John Paul II gave us his wonderful apostolic letter on the Rosary to propose it anew to us as a devotion for our time and he proclaimed a Year of the Rosary to celebrate the silver anniversary of his pontificate and fortieth year since the opening of the Council. He suggested that we need to rediscover this prayer and look again at how we pray it. He suggested renewing it by adding his five new Mysteries of Light; by using religious art, especially icons; by reading passages of Scripture and short commentaries; by reconsidering the rôle of rhythm, breathing, silences and beads in the recitation of the Rosary; by appropriate adaptations for children, young people and cultures; by re-examining the rich doctrinal content of the mysteries and of the Pater, Ave and Gloria prayers; and by re-exploring it as a meditative technique and as a motor to charitable works and social action in the world.

In ten months from now something extraordinary will happen to our country. 125,000 or so young people from all over the world will join a similar number of young Australians here in Sydney to celebrate World Youth Day. After a week of catechesis and prayer, liturgy and culture, as many as half a million or more will join Pope Benedict for the final events, especially the Mass at Randwick. Like the Apostles gathered with Our Lady in our First Reading (Acts 1:12-14) they will be praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit – for a new Pentecost for our nation, our world, our youth. In the backpack of every one we plan to include a set of rosary beads and instructions on how to use it. At sites all over the city there will be opportunities and encouragement to pray it. Imagine our nation, invaded by young people full of faith and hope and love, singing and dancing and laughing, sharing their ideals and hopes for the future! Imagine our city, awash with prayer, as a quarter million young people lead the rest of us in praying the Rosary and adoring Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament and offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! What great times there are ahead for us! What cause for hope for those here who are weary or in pain or sickness or even facing death. Let us pray with the John Paul II generation, and now Gen-B16, that last prayer in Pope John Paul’s letter on the Rosary:

O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God,
bond of love which unites us to the angels,
tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell,
safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you!

You will be our comfort in the hour of death,
yours our final kiss as life ebbs away,
your sweet name the last word from our lips:

O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest Mother,
O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted.
May you be everywhere blessed, today and always,
on earth and in heaven!