This week, S. Lynn introduced us to an (online) Rosary meditation booklet which was written by Venerable Fulton John Sheen (b. 1895- d. 1975). The name of the booklet is Fulton Sheen’s Meditations on the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary. These meditations are short and are an excellent accompaniment to the recitation of the Rosary; they may be read here.
The following is one of the reflections from Archbishop Sheen’s booklet; it delves into the Fifth Joyful Mystery, The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple:
There are two kinds of souls in the world; those who hide from God and those from whom God hides. But when God hides, He hides in order that He might be sought the more, as if to draw out a deeper love.
During the three days when the divine Child was lost, the Blessed Mother became the mother of sinners. The essence of sin is the loss of God, and Mary lost God, not spiritually, but physically. During those three days, she came to know something of the solitariness of the sinner, the loneliness of the guilty, and the aloneness of the frustrated. Her divine Son, 21 years later, would feel it for Himself on the cross, when He would ask why God had abandoned Him.
Let no sinner ever despair of Divine Mercy, because Mary understands the tortures of the heart, but above all, because she knows where to find Christ. She also knows how to bring the sinner to her Divine Son. As the Madonna of the Empty Arms, she awaits your embrace. (source, above)
Let’s share this Rosary booklet with family and friends for who does not need the embrace of the Madonna of the Empty Arms (paraphrase FS, above)?
“Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.” –Saint Francis de Sales
May you have a good day.
~SCF
~Further listening: an edition of the The Modern Lady Podcast on praying the family Rosary, helpful tips included, here.
~Image: Our Lady of Divine Providence.
