Dr. Wojciech Kosek
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Meditations led by seven people:
B, D, G, M – women; J, P, W, Z – men.
This translation was published here on 17 Oct 2023.
To see the original Polish text ← click, please!
(Duration of meditations with songs: about 55 min.)
(Duration with praying the Holy Rosary: about 85 min.)
Introduction
(Duration of meditations with songs: about 13 min.)
G Dear Lord Jesus! On the first Saturday of February 2017, we came to You, obeying the call that Immaculate Mary, Your and our Mother, addressed to us through the three shepherds in June 1917 at Fatima. We wish, together with Mary, to direct our encounter with You to doing good to Yourself. We believe that the deepest desire of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is to console You, O Jesus, Son of Mary, to console You, our beloved Creator and Savior! To You, together with Mary, I sing a song of love. (0:58)
G Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 1st stanza (0:28)
P Dearest Savior! At the just-concluded Eucharist, we received You in Holy Communion. We received You with love…. we received You, aware of the greatness of the gift of an incomprehensibly deep relationship with You. The Sacrament of Holy Communion makes us capable of loving You… By Your grace, we can read in a concentration of the heart what You desire from each of us today… You are Love, and You desire love… Only love can unite persons into one… only Love can divinize a person… To You and Mary, I sing the song of love. (1:03)
P Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 2nd stanza (0:28)
M Mary! How shall we love Jesus so that this love could be a consolation to Your Immaculate Heart, aching for the wrongs done to Your Son? How can we console this Divine Heart of Jesus so that the Immaculate Heart of the Mother could be consoled? In what direction should our thoughts, desires, and actions run in order to relieve the Heart of Jesus and the Heart of the Mother – Hearts so loving and yet so painfully wounded by the thorns of ingratitude, indifference, coldness?… (0:51)
M Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 3rd stanza (0:28)
W Mary! How should we love Jesus to imitate you in this love, O Handmaid of the Lord? Looking at the saints distinguished by their special love for you, O Mother, we discover that, first of all, it is necessary to strive earnestly to cooperate with Jesus in His plan for the salvation of humankind. Your “Yes” gave birth to a new epoch of history… Your “Yes” was constantly renewed in the days, months, and years that followed in the face of God and His calls for cooperation… Your “Yes,” O immaculate Mary, may it also be for us a model and a source of power to always prioritize God, even when we must give up our personal plans. (1:11)
W Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 4th stanza (0:28)
E Jesus! We ask Mary today how we should love You so that in this love we may imitate Your and our Mother… to love You as she loves You… The great devotee of the Immaculate Mary, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, gives such advice in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (No. 110), [1] “True devotion to Mary is disinterested. It inspires us to seek God alone in his Blessed Mother and not ourselves. The true subject of Mary does not serve his illustrious Queen for selfish gain. He does not serve her for temporal or eternal well-being but simply and solely because she has the right to be served and God alone in her.” (1:19)
E Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 5th stanza (0:28)
Z Saint Louis goes on to teach, “He loves her not so much because she is good to him or because he expects something from her, but simply because she is lovable. That is why he loves and serves her just as faithfully in weariness and dryness of soul as in sweet and sensible fervour. He loves her as much on Calvary as at Cana. How pleasing and precious in the sight of God and his holy Mother must these servants of Mary be, who serve her without any self-seeking. How rare they are nowadays! It is to increase their number that I have taken up my pen to write down what I have been teaching with success both publicly and in private in my missions for many years. (1:08)
Z Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 6th stanza (0:28)
B Dearest Jesus! Beloved Mary! St. Louis teaches us that “pleasing and precious in the sight of God and his holy Mother must these servants of Mary be, who serve her without any self-seeking.” To love selflessly – is to love genuinely. It is the kind of love we want to seek in the depths of our hearts… Such selfless love, we want to learn from You, Jesus… Such selfless love, we want to learn from you, Mary… Love must be selfless; love must be focused on the loved person… Otherwise, it cannot survive life’s storms… – it will atrophy in a situation that requires giving up its own profit. Only selfless love deserves the name “love.” A MOMENT OF SILENCE In this hour of grace, we humbly ask for such mature love for our hearts. (1:27)
B Song: Be Hail, Living Host – 7th stanza (0:28)
P Dear Jesus! Obedient to the exhortations of Your Mother Mary, we now wish to pray the Holy Rosary in reparation for the injustices You suffer from ungrateful people. We will pray the Mysteries of Light, meditating on them with St. John Paul II. Jesus, guide us toward the fullness of light – the light of Your teaching. Amen. (0:35)
P Song: Welcome, Mother of the Holy Rosary – 1-2 stanza (1:18)
Meditations for the Mysteries of Light of the Rosary
(Duration of these meditations: about 19 min.)
The First Mystery.
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan.
G St. John recorded in the Gospel (John 1:28, 32–34): This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” (0:54)
W O Lord Jesus! Extraordinary is this discovery that John makes at the Jordan River: he states with absolute certainty that the man approaching the waters of the Jordan – is the expected Messiah… Yes, John at the Jordan River is sure that seeing You as a man, one of many, he has the grace to meet the centuries-awaited Messiah! We know from the gospel that he discovered this truth about You through the Holy Spirit: he saw the Spirit descending and remaining upon You. What wonderful eyes the holy prophet John has! John sees a sign given by God, a sign announced and just now given!… (1:03)
M A MOMENT OF SILENCE And me, can I see? Do I have good eyesight? Can I perceive You, O Lord, when I hear the words spoken by the priest during Mass: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”? Do I have the gift of seeing the supernatural reality, the reality coming under the cover of the natural, the ordinary? Do I have the gift of contemplation, the gift of seeing the supernatural? Am I like Mary, my Mother, whose ability to see is perfect, and what St. John Paul II described it in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. On the Most Holy Rosary, No. 10. (1:04)
Z The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). (1:17)
E Praying the First Mystery of Light – the Baptism of the Lord Jesus in the Jordan – together with the Immaculate Mary, we adore You, O Jesus, hidden under the species of the Most Holy Host. (0:19)
The Second Mystery.
The Wedding Feast of Cana.
P John Paul II wrote in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. On the Most Holy Rosary, No. 21, “The mystery of light is the first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. John 2:1–12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.” O Lord Jesus! We will now listen carefully to the description of St. John, who revealed in the Gospel (John 2:1–8) facts that led the disciples to believe in You – in Your messianic mission, in Your extraordinary identity. (0:54)
B “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servers, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.’ So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.” (John 2:1–12) (1:55)
W Dearest Jesus, hidden under the whiteness of the Most Holy Host! Having listened to the record of St. John, we seek to fully believe that the One of whom we hear these extraordinary things is now with us as a true Man, though hidden under the species of Bread. A LONG MOMENT OF SILENCE We believe, O Jesus, we believe that You, who transformed water into wine, are able to transform bread into Your Body and wine into Your Blood. We believe, and at the same time, we cry out to You in this hour of grace: O Lord, multiply our faith! Lord, transform our hearts as well, transform them to resemble the Immaculate Heart of Mary, transform them with Your divine love so that they can respond with love to Your love. Amen. (1:13)
G Praying the Second Mystery of Light – the Lord Jesus turns water into wine at Cana – together with Immaculate Mary, we adore You, O Jesus, hidden under the species of the Most Holy Host. (0:22)
The Third Mystery.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Z John Paul II wrote in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. On the Most Holy Rosary, No. 21, as follows, “Another mystery of light is the preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him in humble trust (cf. Mk 2:3–13; Lk 7:47–48): the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church (cf. Jn 20:22–23).” (0:55)
M Beloved Jesus! Abiding in the Rosary prayer on this first Saturday of the month, we remember to strive for the conversion of sinners. We want many of our sisters and brothers to stop grieving You, hurting You with their sins… We, O Beloved Jesus, together with Immaculate Mary, now strenuously strive in faith for sinners to abandon the state of sin so that, thanks to Your grace, they may begin to live in friendship with You. O Beloved Jesus! We will now listen attentively to the fragment from the Gospel of St. Matthew (9:2-8), where You teach about the great importance of faith for anyone who wishes to bring others to reconciliation with God. (1:07)
P And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings. (Matt 9:2–8) (1:12)
E Praying the Third Mystery of Light – the Lord Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God and calls for conversion – together with Immaculate Mary, we adore You, O Jesus, hidden under the species of the Most Holy Host. (0:22)
The Fourth Mystery.
The Transfiguration of Jesus.
W John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. On the Most Holy Rosary, No. 21, wrote thus: “The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to ‘listen to him’ (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit.” (0:58)
B We will now listen carefully to the description of the event at Tabor. St. Mark writes, “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, ‘Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.’ Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.” (Mk 9:2-8) (1:28)
Z Praying the Fourth Mystery of Light – the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus on Mount Tabor – together with Immaculate Mary, we adore You, O Jesus, hidden under the species of the Most Holy Host, and we address from our hearts these poignant words: “Rabbi, it is good that we are here” – “How good that we are here, O Jesus.” (0:33)
The Fifth Mystery.
The institution of the Eucharist.
G John Paul II wrote in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. On the Most Holy Rosary, No. 21, “A final mystery of light is the institution of the Eucharist, in which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies “to the end” his love for humanity (Jn 13:1), for whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice. In these mysteries, apart from the miracle at Cana, the presence of Mary remains in the background. The Gospels make only the briefest reference to her occasional presence at one moment or other during the preaching of Jesus (cf. Mk 3:31–5; Jn 2:12), and they give no indication that she was present at the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist.” (1:12)
P Next, St. John Paul II writes about Mary this way: “Yet the role she assumed at Cana in some way accompanies Christ throughout his ministry. The revelation made directly by the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan and echoed by John the Baptist is placed upon Mary’s lips at Cana, and it becomes the great maternal counsel which Mary addresses to the Church of every age: ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5). This counsel is a fitting introduction to the words and signs of Christ’s public ministry and it forms the Marian foundation of all the ‘mysteries of light’”. (1:06)
M Praying the Fifth Mystery of Light – the Lord Jesus institutes the Sacrament of the Eucharist – together with Immaculate Mary, we adore You, O Jesus, hidden under the species of the Most Holy Host… We adore You… we look at You, loving You in this way with a firm resolve in our hearts to do all You now command us to fulfill. Amen. (0:37)
Meditation on the Mystery
of the Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary
as the Queen of Heaven and Earth
(Duration of meditations with songs: about 23 min.)
W Divine Savior! The time for contemplating Your Face through meditation on the consecutive Mysteries of Light of the Holy Rosary has ended. We now wish to consider one Rosary mystery in a special way: The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Let the words of the Jubilee Prayer, composed on the occasion of the three-hundredth anniversary of the Coronation of the Miraculous Picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa, a prayer recited in that jubilee year daily at Jasna Góra at the end of the Jasna Góra Appeal, be a help for this consideration. (0:58)
E Holy Virgin Mary, our Mother, and Queen, exalted to the heights of heaven. You continually surround the Polish nation with care and love. We ask that the jubilee of the three-hundredth anniversary of the coronation of your Jasna Góra image renew our reverence and trust in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You, Mother, are our model of trust and submissive surrender to Him in all things. May our transformed life become a living diadem of Your crown of exaltation and glory. We want to stand with our spiritual gifts close to God and become witnesses of His great mercy. We desire – renewed in faith, hope, and love, living according to the principles of the Gospel – to glorify the Most Holy Trinity together with You. Amen. (1:18)
E Song: Honor Mary, Honor and Glory – 1-2 stanza (0:18)
Z O Jesus! The words of the Jubilee prayer show us Mary as a model to follow. We remember from papal teaching that the fundamental way to honor Mary is not to sing songs in her honor but to imitate her in loving Jesus. In the same way, the fundamental way to console Mary is to abandon sinful predilections and commit one’s whole heart to the effort of conquering oneself to conform to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God. Mary wants her children to be like her as their Mother… O Jesus! In this time of grace for such a transformation of our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones, we earnestly ask through the intercession of our Dear Mother. (1:11)
Z Song: Honor Mary, Honor and Glory – 3-4 stanza (0:18)
B In the prayer of the three-hundredth anniversary of the coronation of the Jasna Góra Image were words essential for true devotion to Mary: “May our transformed life become a living diadem of Your crown of exaltation and glory. ” Oh, how we desire that “our transformed life become a living diadem of Your crown of exaltation and glory,” O Mary! O Jesus, in this part of the prayer, we express our desire to honor You in Mary, to honor You not through new crowns or dresses with which we could adorn Her Image, but through treasures incomparably more precious – the true holiness of our life transformed according to Her example. For this miraculous transformation, we ask in this hour of grace for us and our entire parish. (1:20)
B Song: Honor Mary, Honor and Glory – 5-6 stanza (0:18)
P Beloved Jesus! In the prayer of the three-hundredth anniversary of the coronation of the Jasna Góra Image are contained words essential for true devotion to Mary: “May our transformed life become a living diadem of Your crown of exaltation and glory. We want to stand with our spiritual gifts close to God and become witnesses of His great mercy.” These words reveal that the source of the transformation of our hearts is God’s unfathomable mercy – the power of God’s love, which not only forgives a repentant person but lifts him out of the misery into which he has fallen through his fault. For this great transformation of our hearts and the hearts of the believers of our parish, we humbly ask You, O Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Divine Mercy. (1:21)
P Song: Honor Mary, Honor and Glory – 5-6 stanza (0:18)
G Jesus! Mary! With the events preceding the apparitions of Fatima in 1917 in mind, we wish to say a prayer of reparation to You, O Jesus, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. We remember that the three shepherds were introduced to this prayer by the Angel of Peace, who appeared to them thrice in 1916. It was he who, in the third apparition, gave the children Holy Communion and taught them reverence to the Blessed Sacrament. (0:46)
G Song: O the Silent White Host – 1st stanza (1:06)
W O Jesus! O Mary! We believe that the fundamental source of the transformation of hearts is the Eucharistic Mystery of the Presence of the Lord Jesus in our midst. We believe that the fundamental source of failure in acquiring holiness is any neglect, going so far as to become frigid, in relation to this Great Mystery of Love. We believe that we must conquer ourselves, with the help of our Mother, to love the Lord Jesus, so closely present in this great mystery. Therefore, we will now sing a song, and after it, we will recite this Fatima prayer with a great commitment of heart, humbly asking You to accept our propitiation in this hour of grace. (1:06)
W Song: O the Silent White Host – 1st stanza (1:06)
M “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended.” Amen. A LONG MOMENT OF SILENCE “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended.” Amen. (1:04)
M Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 1st stanza (0:26)
Z The great devotee of the Immaculate Mary, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, gives such advice regarding prayer after Communion in Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary (No. 270), [2] “After Holy Communion, close your eyes and recollect yourself. Then usher Jesus into the heart of Mary: you are giving him to his Mother who will receive him with great love and give him the place of honour, adore him profoundly, show him perfect love, embrace him intimately in spirit and in truth, and perform many offices for him of which we, in our ignorance, would know nothing.” (1:03)
Z Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 2nd stanza (0:26)
E St. Louis also gives another thought, reflecting the depth of man’s humility in the face of those great mysteries into which God introduces him (No. 271), “Or, maintain a profoundly humble heart in the presence of Jesus dwelling in Mary. Or be in attendance like a slave at the gate of the royal palace, where the King is speaking with the Queen. While they are talking to each other, with no need of you, go in spirit to heaven and to the whole world, and call upon all creatures to thank, adore and love Jesus and Mary for you. ‘Come, let us adore.’” (1:04)
E Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 3rd stanza (0:26)
P St. Louis also gives another thought (No. 272), “Or, ask Jesus living in Mary that his kingdom may come upon earth through his holy Mother. Ask for divine Wisdom, divine love, the forgiveness of your sins, or any other grace, but always through Mary and in Mary. Cast a look of reproach upon yourself and say, ‘Lord, do not look at my sins, let your eyes see nothing in me but the virtues and merits of Mary.’ Remembering your sins, you may add, ‘I am my own worst enemy and I am guilty of all these sins.’ Or, ‘Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.’ Or again, ‘Dear Jesus, you must increase in my soul and I must decrease.’ ‘Mary, you must increase in me and I must always go on decreasing.’ ‘O Jesus and Mary, increase in me and increase in others around me.’” (1:25)
P Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 1st stanza (0:48)
B St. Louis also gives such a thought, concluding his teaching on the believer’s engagement in the Eucharistic mystery (No. 272), “There are innumerable other thoughts with which the Holy Spirit will inspire you, which he will make yours if you are thoroughly recollected and mortified, and constantly faithful to the great and sublime devotion which I have been teaching you. But remember, the more you let Mary act in your Communion the more Jesus will be glorified. The more you humble yourself and listen to Jesus and Mary in peace and silence – with no desire to see, taste or feel – then the more freedom you will give to Mary to act in Jesus’ name and the more Jesus will act in Mary. For the just man lives everywhere by faith, but especially in Holy Communion, which is an action of faith.” (1:27)
B Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 2nd stanza (0:48)
W O Jesus! Mary! We desire to become more and more people of faith – people who abide in the faith of the Church after receiving the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion, in the presence of such an extraordinary Guest, “with no desire to see, taste or feel.” We desire to become people of genuine love for the Invisible God, people with good spiritual sight who do not build a relationship with God on images or feelings but on the truths of faith that the Church of Christ proclaims. In this hour of grace, we humbly ask for ourselves and all of God’s people for such spiritual maturity. Amen. (1:03)
W Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 3rd stanza (0:48)
G Jesus! Mary! The 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary at Fatima is getting closer and closer. Our present meeting on the first Saturday of February 2017 is also slowly ending. With the hope that our inept words of prayer have found favor with God and Mary, we remain hopeful for the next such vigil… Now, until the appeal of Jasna Góra, we will abide in silence, opening our hearts to the inspirations that God and Mary wish to give us. Amen. (0:48)
[1] St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Chapter Two. In what Devotion to Mary Consists → See on the Internet ← click, please!
[2] St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Supplement, This Devotion at Holy Communion → See on the Internet ← click, please!