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Madonna of the Rosary Lorenzo Lotto [ Web Gallery of Art ] ' The Rosary belongs among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation. Developed in the West, it is a typically meditative prayer, corresponding in some way to the “prayer of the heart” or “Jesus prayer” which took root in the soil of the Christian East.' [St John Paul II,  Rosarium Virginis Mariae , No 5.] The Rosary here is the formula prayed by members of the  Legion of Mary , the way I prefer. There are various ways of beginning and ending the Rosary but the Five Mysteries are the heart of the prayer.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. v. Send forth Your Spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created. R. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Let us pray. God our Father, pour out the gifts of Your Holy Spirit on the worl

Year A The Apostle St Thomas, El Greco  Readings (New American Bible)  Readings (Jerusalem Bible) Gospel John 20:19-31( NRSV, Catholic Ed .) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my fin

St Thomas the Apostle Jusepe Martínez, c.1630,  Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest [ Web Gallery of Art ] Second Sunday of Easter ( or  of Divine Mercy) Year A Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   John 20:19-31  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)      When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”   After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.   Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”   When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.   If you fo