Dr. Wojciech Kosek
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Meditations led by eight people:
B, D, G, M – women; J, P, W, Z – men.
This translation was published here on 16 Oct 2023.
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(Duration of meditations with songs: about 60 min.)
(Duration with praying the Holy Rosary: about 90 min.)
Introduction
(Duration of meditations with songs: about 14 min.)
M Dearest Jesus! Behold, the hour has struck for our First Saturday Devotion aimed at the love which we, with Mary, wish to direct towards You. We received You in Holy Communion a moment ago because You wanted very much to come to each of us… You came, and You are…, thirsting for our mutual being and looking into each other’s eyes… thirsting for reading the longing to love… The first Saturday in January, the first Saturday of the Year of Our Lord 2017, the first Saturday five months before the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Immaculate Mary to the three shepherd children at Fatima: Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia… A time to prepare hearts, a time to make decisions, a time to open hearts and minds to the gift from the High… A time of grace… Together with Mary, we sing a carol to you. (1:19)
Z Song: When Beautiful Maiden – 1st stanza (0:51)
Z Jesus hidden under the whiteness of the Most Holy Host! In five months, it will be one hundred years since the first apparition of Mary at Fatima… On 13 May 1917, Your Mother appeared to them as beautiful but saddened by the sins with which humankind offends God in the Holy Trinity… As this first encounter ended, the shepherds … yes, yes… the shepherds worshipped You, O Christ, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. Servant of God Lucia, the oldest of the visionaries, describes this extraordinary experience and its circumstances. Together with the shepherds, let us now experience it through Lucia’s description. [1] (1:04)
B Lucia reports that Mary asked at the end of the meeting, “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” A MOMENT OF SILENCE The children replied: “Yes, we are willing.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “Yes, we are willing.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE Mary, in response to their agreement, said: “Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.” (1:22)
W Sister Lucia then writes, [2] “As she pronounced these last words ‘…the grace of God will be your comfort’, Our Lady opened her hands for the first time, communicating to us a light so intense that, as it streamed from her hands, its rays penetrated our hearts and the innermost depths of our souls, making us see ourselves in God, Who was that light, more clearly than we see ourselves in the best of mirrors. Then, moved by an interior impulse that was also communicated to us, we fell on our knees, repeating in our hearts: ‘O most Holy Trinity, I adore You! My God, my God, I love You in the most Blessed Sacrament!’” (1:03)
G “As she pronounced these last words “…the grace of God will be your comfort”, Our Lady opened her hands for the first time, communicating to us a light so intense that, as it streamed from her hands, its rays penetrated our hearts and the innermost depths of our souls, making us see ourselves in God, Who was that light, more clearly than we see ourselves in the best of mirrors. Then, moved by an interior impulse that was also communicated to us, we fell on our knees, repeating in our hearts: “O most Holy Trinity, I adore You! My God, my God, I love You in the most Blessed Sacrament!” (0:59)
G Song: When Beautiful Maiden – 2nd stanza (0:51)
P Jesus! Mary! I look at the radiance beaming from the Sacred Host; I gaze at the light coming down from the altar; I look at the dawn of a new day being born in the manger of the Bethlehem grotto… I look and ask: What light reaches the depths of my soul? What power dispels the darkness of my heart? What love stirs my depths? With the eyes of faith, do I see myself in God? Do I see the love with which You, O beloved God, penetrate me to the most secret depths of my “I”? Do I feel, O Immaculate Mary, the friendly warmth of Your maternal love? (0:58)
P Song: When Beautiful Maiden – 3rd stanza (0:51)
D Jesus, our Jesus! Looking at the connection between the Fatima event and the Eucharist, we can note that in her Memoirs, Sister Lucia recorded very profound words spoken by her parish priest shortly after the end of the apparitions in 1917. Lucia writes, [3] “The parish priest questioned me for the last time. The events had duly come to an end at the appointed time, and still His Reverence did not know what to say about the whole affair. He was also beginning to show his displeasure. (0:50)
J “Why are all those people going to prostrate themselves in prayer in a deserted spot like that, while here the Living God of our altars, in the Blessed Sacrament, is left all alone, abandoned, in the tabernacle? What’s all that money for, the money they leave for no purpose whatsoever under that holm oak, while the church, which is under repairs, cannot be completed for lack of funds?” (0:33)
D “I understood perfectly why he spoke like that, but what could I do! If I had been given authority over the hearts of those people, I would certainly have led them to the parish church, but as I had not, I offered to God yet another sacrifice.” (0:22)
D Song: When Beautiful Maiden – 4th stanza (0:51)
Z Beloved Jesus! The question of the parish priest remains valid even though where there were wild bushes, a magnificent shrine – the Fatima shrine – has grown… We should ask ourselves, together with him – the parish priest of Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco: are we able, amid various experiences, events, and religious encounters, to perceive You, O Jesus, hidden in the Mystery of mysteries, in the Blessed Sacrament? Or, unfortunately, do we still demand new revelations that could lead us to the church, in front of the tabernacle, and even deeper – to abiding in loving gazing at You after Holy Communion? In our daily relationships with You, O Christ, can we trust the Church’s teaching about Your privileged presence here in the Blessed Sacrament, [4] especially in the moments of our close union with You after Holy Communion? A LONG MOMENT OF SILENCE (1:34)
Z Song: Welcome, Mother of the Holy Rosary – 1st stanza (0:39)
Meditations for the Holy Rosary
(Duration of meditations: about 19 min.)
The First Mystery:
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
B Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 1st stanza (0:58)
B In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26–38) (2:12)
W Mary and the Angel… Mary in poor Nazareth on earth, while the Angel – sent by God from the heights of heaven… Oh, what a wonderful encounter between the Divine messenger and man… Mary is focused on God… Mary has the spiritual power to take her eyes off the affairs of this earth… Mary is maturely responding to the Gift from High… Have I a spiritual power to find time for prayer during my daily busyness?… Have I a spiritual power to take a break from work, even for a few minutes, to give myself to Him, His desire to meet me? Have I a spiritual power to gain spontaneity in my relationship with Jesus, my Savior? Have I a spiritual power? … Do I want to imitate Mary in my love for God? (1:10)
The Second Mystery:
The Visitation of St. Elizabeth by the Blessed Virgin Mary
G Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 2nd stanza (0:58)
G During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. (Luke 1:39–49) (1:36)
P Mary and Elizabeth… The meeting of two women, how close not only in the familial dimension but also in matters not of this world. Mary – the woman hiding Jesus-Messiah in her womb. Elizabeth – the woman hiding John, the forerunner of the Messiah, in her womb… About whom and about what are these women talking? Are they talking about trivial, mundane matters?…. No, no, these women are talking about great things – about those things that are accomplished by the power of God and man entrusting his plans to Him…Yes, they are talking about God and His extraordinary salvation plans… Yes, they are praising God, the unfailing protector of those who obey Him and have an inner power to cooperate with Him according to His requirements… (1:09)
The Third Mystery:
The Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem
D Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 3rd stanza (0:58)
D “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:1–7) (1:04)
J Mary, Joseph, and the born Jesus… The three persons relying on each other… The three persons remaining in what great intimacy… Mary and Joseph are enchanted by the tiny child, illuminated by the Mystery hidden under the tininess of the Almighty… Oh, how extraordinary is their intimacy with each other… Their Divine Love now also grants itself to us gazing at the Sacred Host placed on the altar over the Bethlehem crib of our temple… Their fascinating love can grant itself to us, too, for it is the Divine power capable of uniting people into a magnificent temple of the Divine presence… Their love now becomes ours as well… (1:06)
The Fourth Mystery:
the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem
by the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph
M Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 4th stanza (0:58)
M When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. (Luke 2:21–24) (0:53)
Z Jesus, carried by Mary and Joseph, … and the old man Simeon… They met, yes, they met in the temple of Jerusalem… The meeting… how long and longingly awaited by him… how longingly awaited by Jesus as well… He, an old man serving the Lord in His temple, knows what it means to ask God for a miracle earnestly… He lived to see it, yes, yes… God did not fail him, no, no… God loves and listens… God loves with the heart of a father who penetrates the desires of the hearts of his children… What about me? … Do I treasure being with Him who comes as the Gift from High… Do I wait longingly for Him? Do I cry out to Heaven for such a great gift? O Jesus carried by the hands of the priest toward my mouth, save me from not waiting for this meeting… (1:16)
The Fifth Mystery:
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem
by the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph
B Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 5th stanza (0:58)
B “Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.” (Luke 2:41–47) (1:08)
W Jesus as a young man and many elders, scholars – those who take the time to meet God through the gift of His written Word… The meeting of the One about whom the prophets of Holy Israel wrote… The meeting with those who read the meaning of these Divine prophecies with the help of grace… Questions of the scholars and answers of Jesus… Difficult questions of man and astute answers of God… What about me?… Do I have the ability to ask God? … Do I have time to ask God? Am I able to listen to His answers? Do I gain myself to focus my heart when I am with Jesus in the reality of His Eucharistic mystery? (1:08)
W Song: Hush, Little Jesus – 6th stanza (0:58)
Meditation on the mystery
of the coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(Duration of meditations: about 26 min.)
G O Jesus Christ, O Mystery of the Divine Presence, which flows from the immeasurable depths of the Divine Trinity, we adore You! We adore You with Immaculate Mary… we adore with all the angels and saints… we adore during the Eucharistic union with You… Obedient to the call of the Church, we wish on the first Saturday of January 2017 to unite deeply with Your Paschal Sacrifice, O Christ, to unite deeply in imitation of Mary. Immaculate Mary, being for us a teacher of Eucharistic union with You, simultaneously points to the necessity of imitating Her virtues in daily life. (1:05)
G Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 1st stanza (0:43)
P Looking with Mary at You, O Hidden Jesus, we will meditate on Mary’s chosen virtues, which constitute the crown of her extraordinary glory. In doing so, we also want to look intently at our hearts to discover what makes us unlike our Mother. Being before Your Face, O Lord, we wish to implore You to transform everything in us that is an affliction to Your Heart and the Heart of Mary. May the miracle of transformation that we experience during this adoration constitute the true consolation and reparation that we owe to You in homage, O our King, and that we owe to the Immaculate Queen. Amen. A MOMENT OF SILENCE To You, together with Mary, we sing a song (1:11)
P Song: Little Jesus – 1st stanza (0:29)
D St. Louis Marie Grignion wrote this about Mary’s humility and obedience in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (No. 53) [5]: “What Lucifer lost by pride Mary won by humility. What Eve ruined and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience. By obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them up to him. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God saved her children with herself and consecrated them to his divine majesty.” (0:57)
D Song: Little Jesus – 2nd stanza (0:29)
J God said to the serpent in paradise, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel” (Gen 3:15). St. Louis comments on this fact (No. 54), “God has established not just one enmity but “enmities”, and not only between Mary and Satan but between her race and his race. That is, God has put enmities, antipathies and hatreds between the true children and servants of the Blessed Virgin and the children and slaves of the devil.” (1:00)
M “They have no love and no sympathy for each other. … But the humble Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, and so great will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his pride. She will unmask his serpent’s cunning and expose his wicked plots. She will scatter to the winds his devilish plans and to the end of time will keep her faithful servants safe from his cruel claws.” (0:47)
Z Song: Little Jesus – 3rd stanza (0:29)
Z “But Mary’s power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for this they will be rich in God’s graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ.” (1:17)
Z Song: Little Jesus – 4th stanza (0:29)
B (No. 200) [6] “Finally, chosen souls keep to the ways of the Blessed Virgin, their loving Mother – that is, they imitate her and so are sincerely happy and devout and bear the infallible sign of God’s chosen ones. This loving Mother says to them ‘Happy are those who keep my ways’, which means, happy are those who practise my virtues and who, with the help of God’s grace, follow the path of my life.” (0:43)
B Song: Little Jesus – 5th stanza (0:29)
W “They are happy in this world because of the abundance of grace and sweetness I impart to them out of my fullness, and which they receive more abundantly than others who do not imitate me so closely. They are happy at the hour of death, which is sweet and peaceful for I am usually there myself to lead them home to everlasting joy. Finally, they will be happy for all eternity, because no servant of mine who imitated my virtues during life has ever been lost.” (0:48)
W Song: Little Jesus – 6th stanza (0:29)
G “On the other hand, sinners are unhappy during their life, at their death, and throughout eternity, because they do not imitate the virtues of our Lady. They are satisfied with going no further than joining her confraternities, reciting a few prayers in her honour, or performing other exterior devotional exercises.” A LONG MOMENT OF SILENCE “On the other hand, sinners are unhappy during their life, at their death, and throughout eternity, because they do not imitate the virtues of our Lady. They are satisfied with going no further than joining her confraternities, reciting a few prayers in her honour, or performing other exterior devotional exercises.”(1:06)
G Song: God Is Born – 1st stanza (0:43)
P “O Blessed Virgin, my dear Mother, how happy are those” – I repeat it in the exultation of my heart – “how happy are those who faithfully keep your ways, your counsels and your commands; who never allow themselves to be led astray by a false devotion to you! But how unhappy and accursed are those who abuse devotion to you by not keeping the commandments of your Son! ‘They are accursed who stray from your commandments.’ (Psa 119:21)” (0:48)
D Lord Jesus! St. Louis, a great venerator of Mary, through the words of Psalm 119, warns us against illusory Marian devotion – illusory because it is not connected with making an effort to keep Your commandments, Your Law. We will now read some passages from this psalm (verses 21–48): (0:29)
J “With a curse you rebuke the proud who stray from your commands. Free me from disgrace and contempt, for I observe your decrees. Though princes meet and talk against me, your servant studies your laws. Your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors. I lie prostrate in the dust; give me life in accord with your word. I disclosed my ways and you answered me; teach me your laws.” (Psa 119:21–26) (0:48)
J Song: God Is Born – 2nd stanza (0:43)
M “Make me understand the way of your precepts; I will ponder your wondrous deeds. I weep in bitter pain; in accord with your word to strengthen me. Lead me from the way of deceit; favor me with your teaching. The way of loyalty I have chosen; I have set your edicts before me. I cling to your decrees, Lord; do not let me come to shame. I will run the way of your commands, for you open my docile heart. Lord, teach me the way of your laws; I shall observe them with care.” (Psa 119:27–33) (0:50)
Z Song: God Is Born – 3rd stanza (0:43)
Z “Give me insight to observe your teaching, to keep it with all my heart. Lead me in the path of your commands, for that is my delight. Direct my heart toward your decrees and away from unjust gain. Avert my eyes from what is worthless; by your way give me life. For your servant fulfill your promise made to those who fear you. Turn away from me the taunts I dread, for your edicts bring good. See how I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life.” (Psa 119:34–40) (0:53)
Z Song: God Is Born – 4th stanza (0:43)
B “Let your love come to me, Lord, salvation in accord with your promise. Let me answer my taunters with a word, for I trust in your word. Do not take the word of truth from my mouth, for in your edicts is my hope. I will keep your teachings always, for all time and forever. I will walk freely in an open space because I cherish your precepts. I will speak openly of your decrees without fear even before kings. I delight in your commands, which I dearly love. I lift up my hands to your commands; I study your laws, which I love.” (Psa 119:41–48) (1:00)
B Song: God Is Born – 5th stanza (0:43)
W To conclude our consideration of the selected virtues from Mary’s crown of glory, let us consider some instruction from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2478) [7]. It will allow us not to hurt our neighbors with rash judgment and thus ensure true peace among Mary’s children. The Catechism teaches thus: “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way.” (1:14)
G “Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE “If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.”(1:13)
P “To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way: Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another’s statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. and if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.” (0:59)
P Song: Silent Night – 1st stanza (0:58)
D O Beloved Jesus! Here we come to the end of today’s meditation on the first Saturday. How good it is to be with You and Mary, how good it is to abide with You, our Lover… Through a moment of silence that remains until the Jasna Góra Appeal, we wish to open our hearts to all that You want to say to each of us personally… Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening… Amen. (0:39)