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The Virgin Mary El Greco [ Web Gallery of Art ] 'The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the  depth of the Gospel message in its entirety , of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial  Magnificat  for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people  sits at the school of Mary  and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.' [St John Paul II,  Rosarium Virginis Mariae , No 1. ]  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

Christ Raises the Daughter of Jairus- Friedrich Overbeck [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Mark 1:29-39 ( NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition ) As soon as they left the synagogue, Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he p

Presentation in the Temple- Gerbrand van de Eeckhout [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Luke 2:22-40 [2:22, 39-40] ( NRSV,Catholic Edition ) When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord[ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Sim

The Virgin of the Grapes, Pierre Mignard [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Matthew 21:33-43 ( NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Ed .) Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let

From  The Gospel of John  (2003)    Directed by Philip Saville. Jesus played by Henry Ian Cusick; narrator, Christopher Plummer. Gospel   John 6:41-51  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada) Then the Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”   They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”   Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves.   No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.   It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.   Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.   Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.   I am the bread of life.   Your ancestors ate the manna in t

First Station: Jesus is condemned to death Christ Before Pilate   Tintoretto,  1566-67,  Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice Around the judgement seat are grouped a motley crowd. Men and women of every rank, the high-born Jewish maiden, the rough Samaritan woman; haughty Scribes and proud Pharisees mingle with the common loafer of the great city. Hatred has united them all for one common object; hatred of One Who ever loves them and to their wild fury has only opposed acts of gentle kindness. A mighty scream goes up, a scream of fierce rage and angry fury, such a sound as only could be drawn from the very depths of hell. “Death to Him! Death to the false prophet!” He has spent His life among you doing good – Let Him die! He has healed your sick, given strength to the palsied, sight to your blind – Let Him die! He has raised your dead – Let death be His fate! Second Station: Jesus takes up His cross Christ Carrying the Cross El Greco, 1600-05, Museo del Prado, Madrid