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(from the
November 2002 edition of Catholic Family News)
"When one lives by novelty, there will always have to be a new novelty."
- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II marked the 24th Anniversary of
his papacy with the release of the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis
Mariae, in which he proclaimed a "Year of the Rosary" from October 2002
to October 2003. The document also contained a major innovation from a
Pope whose Pontificate has been marked by a steady stream of novelties.
He announced that he would add five new mysteries to the Rosary.
Word of the new mysteries was reported first on October 14 by various
news agencies claiming that information was leaked from Vatican sources.
Father Richard John Neuhaus from First Things magazine found these
early reports hard to believe, and told The Chicago Tribune that the
Pope was not likely to alter the Rosary. "That he would suggest," said
Neuhaus "or even declare some kind of official change to the Rosary is
totally atypical, totally out of character." Neuhaus then said that the
Pope does not have the authority to mandate changes in such a prayer.1
Father Neuhaus is correct that a Pope cannot mandate such changes, but
he is mistaken to claim that the Pope's change of the Rosary would be
"out of character" for this Pontiff of post-Conciliar aggiornamento.
Even the secular press recognizes John Paul II as a man with a passion
for setting papal precedents.
The New York Times' Frank Bruni wrote on October 15: "Time and again,
Pope John Paul II has boldly gone where other Popes have not: a
synagogue, a ski slope, distant countries with tiny populations.
Tomorrow, he will apparently cross another frontier, making a
significant change in the Rosary, a signature method of Catholic prayer
for many centuries." 2
Bruni failed to mention that John Paul is also the first Pope to kiss
the Koran,3 participate in rock'n'roll liturgies,4
allow Altar Girls, permit "lay ministers" to distribute Communion at
his Papal Mass,5 suggest a "common martyrology" that
contains Catholics and non- Catholics, praise documents that call the
need for non- Catholics to convert to the Catholic Church an "outdated
ecclesiology," 6 take part in "inculturated" ceremonies
that includes pagan ritual,7 and convoke pan-religious
prayer meetings that include Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims,
Hindus and Snake-worshipers.8
On the same theme, Rueters said, "Changing one of Christianity's most
fundamental prayers after nearly a millennium will be a typical way for
the 82- year-old Pope to crown 24 years of a pontificate marked by bold
initiatives sometimes taken against the advice of aides." 9
The "new mysteries" of the Rosary took everyone by surprise. Thus I
have postponed publication of Part III of my World Youth Day series10
in order to comment on this latest "bold initiative".
The Apostolic Letter
Two weeks previously, the pontiff announced he was preparing a document
to stress the value of the Rosary. He urged the faithful to recite the
Rosary, including together as families. John Paul said then that he
wanted people to "rediscover the beauty and depth of this prayer".
The Pope, for a good part of the Apostolic Letter was true to his word.
Much of Rosarium Virginis Mariae is praiseworthy, even edifying. How
can one argue with the promulgation of a "Year of the Rosary" in order
to revitalize practice of this Holy devotion? How can one find fault
with the Pope's call to pray the Rosary for peace? How can one complain
when the Pope laments that families are fragmented, that they often get
together only to watch television, and that they should set some time
aside to pray the Rosary together instead?
Also of interest was the Pope's frequent references to Blessed
Bartholomew Longo (1841-1926) who was baptized Catholic, left the faith
to become a satanic priest, and then repented, converted back to
Catholicism and became an apostle of the Rosary. This is a beautiful
lesson that conversion is possible even in apparently hopeless cases.
It is probable that the Letter will do much good in revitalizing Rosary
devotion. Tens-of-thousands of Catholics who do not follow the details
of Vatican events, will simply learn through the press, or from parish
priests, that the Pope wants a renewed devotion to the Rosary and they
will comply. I have little doubt that this Letter will produce its
desired goal to inspire more Catholics in this holy exercise.
Yet at the same time, countless Catholics are baffled at the
unnecessary addition of five new mysteries. What is this strange
post-conciliar belief among today's Church leaders that Catholics will
not find a traditional devotion interesting unless John Paul updates
it? Why is it thought necessary to disfigure our devotions in order to
capture a Catholic's attention? Why was it requisite for the Pope to
put his personal stamp on the Rosary, rather than simply promote it as
is: as did all the Popes before him, as did countless saints, and as
did the Mother of God at Fatima?
The New Mysteries
The addition proposed by the Pope, called the Five Luminous Mysteries,
also called the "Mysteries of Light," center on the public life of
Christ. They are:
the Baptism of
Christ in Jordan,
the Wedding Feast at Cana,
the Announcement of the Kingdom,
the Transfiguration,
the Institution of the Eucharist as the sacramental
expression of the Paschal Mystery.
These new mysteries, according to John Paul, are to be placed between
the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries.
The Pope says that these additions are not mandatory, and explains his
reason for the change. "I believe" he writes, "that to bring out fully
the Christological depth of the Rosary, it would be suitable to make an
addition to the traditional pattern which, while left to the freedom of
individuals and communities, could broaden it to include the mysteries
of Christ's public ministry between His Baptism and His Passion." 11
Do you know of any Catholic, any saint, any Pope who ever considered
the Rosary "lacking" in Christological depth? Did not the saints and
the Popes constantly speak of the excellence of the Rosary? Did they
ever suggest a radical addition to alter the structure of the Rosary in
order to "improve" what was already excellent?
Reaction to the new mysteries has been predictable: everything from
traditional Catholics who call it an "outrage," to Medjugorje followers
who claim it "bears all the hallmarks of Divine inspiration". Once
again, the much-vaunted "Pope of unity" has launched a novelty that
divides Catholics.
And the question is, why?
Perhaps we should first ask, why not change the Rosary?
The Psalter Assaulted
A constant characteristic of the pre-Vatican II Popes was to abhor
novelty and to safeguard tradition, including traditional devotions.
Thus, if one could go back in time and ask any of the pre-Vatican II
Popes why they never added "new mysteries" to the Rosary, the answer is
easy to presume. "Because," the pre-conciliar Pope would say, "if I add
5 new mysteries, I will have to add 5 new decades. If I add five new
decades, then the Rosary can no longer be called 'Our Lady's Psalter'.
Now Catholic tradition, my holy predecessors and Our Blessed Mother
referred to the Rosary as Her 'Psalter', because the 150 Hail Mary's of
the 15-decade Rosary correspond to the 150 Psalms of David. It would be
audacious of me to add 5 decades. This would be the decimation of the
entire concept of Mary's 'Psalter', a term hallowed by centuries of
usage, a term that explains the origin and essence of the Rosary, a
term used by the Queen of Heaven Herself. Further, if I make this
radical change to the Rosary, then what is to prevent more radical
changes in the future?"
The History of
Mary's Psalter
The entire history of the Rosary is bound up with the 150 Psalms of the
Old Testament, otherwise known as the Psalter of David. From the dawn
of Catholic history, monks and hermits prayed these Psalms as part of
their daily liturgical life.
Saint Benedict, in his Holy Rule, explains that the monks of the desert
recited the 150 Psalms every day. Saint Benedict arranged the Psalms
for his monks so that all 150 would be recited in one week.12
This became the Divine Office (Breviary) that priests and religious
recited every day until the post-conciliar aggiornamento revolutionized
both Breviary and Mass.
The story of "Mary's Psalter" reportedly begins with the Irish monks in
the 7th Century. These monks divided the 150 Psalms of David into a Na
tri coicat format of three groups of fifty. Arranged in such a way, the
"fifties" served both as reflective and corporal/penitential prayer.13
The people of the Middle Ages in their great love of Our Lady set to
fashioning "Rosariums" in Her honor. They composed Psalms in praise of
Mary to match the 150 Psalms of David. St. Anselm of Canterbury (1109)
made such a Rosary. In the 13th Century, St. Bonaventure divided his
150 Marian Psalms into three groups. The first group commenced with the
word Ave, the next with Salve, and the final fifty Psalms each
commented with the word Gaude. Such Rosaries of praise took the name of
Our Lady's Psalter.14
It was not long before the custom of reciting Hail Mary's became the
substitute of reciting the Psalms in praise of Our Lady. "By the 13th
Century" writes the Redemptorist Father James Galvin, "the number of
Aves was set at one hundred and fifty to equal the number of the Psalms
of David." 15
Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that the Psalter of David, composed as it
is of one hundred and fifty Psalms, is divided into three equal parts
of fifty Psalms each. These three equal parts represent figuratively
the three stages in which the faithful find themselves: the state of
penance, the state of justice, the state of glory. Likewise, explains
Father Anthony Fuerst, "the Rosary of Mary is divided into three parts
of fifty Hail Mary's each in order to express fully the phrases of the
life of the faithful: penance, justice and glory." 16
Heaven itself declared the immeasurable value of this Psalter. In 1214,
Our Blessed Mother told Saint Dominic to "preach My Psalter" in order
to rekindle faith, to convert sinners and to crush stubborn heresy.
Saint Louis de Montfort tells the story in his magnificent work, The
Secret of the Rosary.
"Saint Dominic," writes Saint Louis, "seeing that the gravity of the
peoples' sin was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew
to a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days
and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh
penances in order to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his
discipline so much that his body was lacerated, and finally he fell
into a coma."
Our Lady then appeared to him, accompanied by three angels. She said,
"Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to
use to reform the world?"
Saint Dominic asked Her to tell him. Our Lady responded:
"I want you to
know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been
the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament.
Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over
to God, preach My Psalter." 17
Our Lady's words contain two special points of interest:
She uses the language of the Church militant. She does not speak of the
Rosary in a sentimental manner in order to achieve good feelings or
pan-religious unity. No, She refers to it as battering ram against
heresy.
She twice uses the term "Psalter", which is the Rosary designated as
150 Aves that link it to the Psalms of David.
Regarding the Rosary's traditional structure, Msgr. George Shea writes,
"Because its 150 Hail Mary's correspond to the 150 Psalms of the
Psalter, the complete Rosary is sometimes called Our Lady's Psalter. In
fact, the latter was its common designation down to the end of the 15th
Century, while 'Rosary' was reserved for a part, i.e., a third, of Our
Lady's Psalter." 18
As late as the last quarter of the 15th Century, Blessed Alaus de Rupe
protested vigorously against the use of the terms "Rosario," "Chapelet"
or "Corono," and insisted that the title of Our Lady's Psalter be
retained.19 Msgr. Shea points out that the first indication
from a Pope that the Psalter of Mary is commonly called "Rosary" is
found in the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Leo X, Pastor Aeterni dated
October 6, 1520, over three hundred years after Our Lady spoke to Saint
Dominic.
The Constant
Language of the Popes
The term "Psalter" of Mary, as a link to the 150 Psalms of David, is
what we find consistently from the Popes throughout the centuries.
The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Leo X, Pastor Aeterni October 6,
1520, uses the term "Psalter of Mary" in connection to the Rosary.20
Pope Saint Pius V wrote in Consueverunt Romani of September 17, 1569,
"And so Dominic looked to that simple way of praying and beseeching
God, accessible to all and wholly pious, which is called the Rosary, or
Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which the same most Blessed
Virgin is venerated by the angelic greeting repeated one hundred and
fifty times, that is, according to the number of the Davidic Psalter,
and by the Lord's Prayer with each decade." 21
Pope Leo XIII wrote "Just as by the recitation of the Divine Office,
priests offer a public, constant, and most efficacious supplication; so
the supplication offered by the members of this Sodality in the
recitation of the Rosary, or 'Psalter of Our Lady' ..." 22
Pope Leo XIII later said, "The formula of the Rosary, too, is
excellently adapted to prayer in common, so that it has been styled,
not without reason, the 'Psalter of Mary'." 23
Pope Pius XI wrote in his Encyclical Ingravescentibus Malis. "Among the
various supplications with which we successfully appeal to the Virgin
Mother of God, the Holy Rosary without doubt occupies a special and
distinct place. This prayer, which some call the Psalter of the Virgin
or Breviary of the Gospel and of Christian life, was described and
recommended by Our Predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII ..." 24
Sadly, Pope John Paul II has made the term "Psalter of Mary" with its
rightful connection to the Psalter of David, as obsolete as fund drives
for Pagan Babies. Anyone who accepts the twenty-decade Rosary, and
still refers to the Rosary as Mary's Psalter, will use the term
divested of meaning. Why introduce this destabilization? Would not Pope
John Paul show more respect to the pious sentiments of Catholics
worldwide, to his predecessors and to the Mother of God by leaving Her
Psalter at peace?
Fatima: "Recite a
Third of the Rosary"
At Fatima, the Mother of God did not ask for a radically updated
Rosary. Through the children, she told us to recite daily "a third of
the Rosary," 25 and warned of dire consequences if Her
requests were not fulfilled. Thanks to the latest update, however,
every new book that recounts these words of Our Lady of Fatima will
require a footnote to explain that when She said "a third of the
Rosary," She meant 5 decades, since a third of the new twenty-decade
Rosary is 6.66 decades.
It is puzzling that the post-Vatican II Popes constantly give our Lady
something different from what She requests. Our Lady asked that the
Third Secret be revealed in 1960. Pope John XXIII refused its release,
as did his immediate successor, Pope Paul VI. In 1964, during the
Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul sent a Golden Rose to Fatima,
something other than what She asked. The then-Bishop of Lieria, Bishop
Venancio told Father Caillon that we would have preferred receiving the
Third Secret rather than holding the Golden Rose.26
Our Lady also requested the Collegial Consecration of Russia to Her
Immaculate Heart. Pope John Paul II consecrated the world to Her
Immaculate Heart in 1982 and 1984, something other than what She asked.
Would not the best way to propagate devotion to Our Blessed Mother be
to finally perform the consecration of Russia, which will bring about
its miraculous conversion and the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, and
spark an unprecedented worldwide devotion to Her Heart? Sister Lucy
asked Our Lord why He would not convert Russia without this
consecration. Jesus responded, "Because I want My whole Church to
recognize that consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart, so
that afterwards its veneration may grow and be put alongside devotion
to My Sacred Heart." 27
This consecration remains unfulfilled, and Russia has not converted,
despite the ridiculous attempts of Fatima revisionists to claim
otherwise. The mounting hostility between the Catholic Church and
Russia is clear for all to see.
This past spring, for example, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox
Church publicly called the Pope's televised broadcast into the Russian
Nation "an invasion of Russia." 28 The Financial Times
recently reported "A total of five Catholic priests have been refused
access to Russia so far this year, in a campaign denounced by the
Vatican as 'persecution'." The priests were reportedly refused
residency in Russia "for religious reasons". Father Stefano Caprio was
told by Russian officials that he could only obtain Russian citizenship
by marrying - hardly an option for a Catholic priest.
The Times further reported that in Russia, "Local (Catholic) priests
report periodic harassment by authorities; the construction of a
Catholic cathedral in the northwestern city of Pskov has been held up;
and the Kremlin appears sympathetic to the Orthodox church's persistent
opposition to a visit to Russia by Pope John Paul." 29
Other reports tell of vandalism and desecration of Catholic churches in
Russia.30
Ironically, the week that the Pope issued his Apostolic Letter on the
Rosary marked a new low in Vatican-Russia relations. On October 14, the
same day that information on the "new mysteries" was leaked to the
press, the Vatican voiced outrage that a church property in Moscow was
turned into a brothel. The Vatican said it was part of a long-running
smear campaign against the Roman Catholic Church in Russia.
In a statement, the Vatican said Franciscan friars in the Russian
capital had rented out one of the apartments to a private individual
who assured them it would be used "for charitable purposes". Instead,
it became a house of ill repute with prostitutes dressed as nuns.
Vatican spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, branded the incident "a
despicable operation designed to discredit the ... brothers ... and
through them, the Catholic Church." The statement said the episode was
part of a campaign "bent on damaging the reputation of the Catholic
community." 31 Anatoly Pchelintsev, a Russian lawyer for
the Franciscans, said the reports of the brothel that appeared in
Russia's news media was "part of a smear campaign" against the Catholic
Church.32
Obviously, Our Lady of Fatima's call for the Consecration of Russia to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary for its conversion is more urgent than
ever.
Despite this urgency, the Pope's 13,500-word Rosarium Virginis Mariae
treats Fatima as practically non-existent. This is one of the most
baffling aspects of his Letter.33 Fatima, along with
Lourdes, is mentioned only once in passing. The Pope took the time to
explain each prayer of the Rosary: the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be,
etc., but he makes no mention of the Fatima aspiration that Our Lady
asked to be included after each decade: "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our
sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those most in need."
In the Apostolic Letter, this modest addition to the Rosary ordered by
Our Lady of Fatima is ignored, only to give center-stage to John Paul's
radical alteration. The Letter also contains no specific mention of Our
Lady's "Immaculate Heart", nor any word of the Five First Saturdays of
Reparation. It's almost as if Fatima never took place.
Lepanto?
Also missing from the Apostolic Letter is any mention of the Battle of
Lepanto.34 It is true that Pope John Paul recounts that
October is the month of the Rosary. But October enjoys this dignity
because of the astonishing victory Our Lady gave to the Catholic
warships against the Muslim fleet on October 7, 1571.
The Fifth Lesson of Matins for the Feast of the Holy Rosary (October
7), which was part of the Church's liturgy up until to Vatican II's
aggiornamento, reads:
"From the salutary practice (of the Rosary) countless fruits have
flowed to Christendom. Among these, we should especially mention the
victory over the powerful tyranny of the Turks won at the battle of
Lepanto by St. Pius V and the Christian princes which he had aroused.
For, as this victory was won on the very day on which the sodalities of
the most holy Rosary had been offering their accustomed supplications
and carrying out the prescribed prayers that was rightly attributed to
these prayers." 35
Pope Leo XIII in Supremi Apostolatus, the first of his many Encyclicals
on the Rosary, boasted of Our Lady's triumph against Islam at Lepanto.
He relates that Pope St. Pius V "after rousing the sentiment of a
common defense among all the Christian princes, strove, above all, with
greatest zeal to obtain for Christendom the favor of the most powerful
Mother of God." Pope Leo continues:
"And thus Christ's faithful warriors ... proceeded undauntedly to meet
their foe near the Gulf of Corinth; while those who were unable to take
part formed a pious band of supplicants who called on Mary and unitedly
saluted Her again and again in the words of the Rosary, imploring Her
to grant the victory to their companions engaged in battle. Our
Sovereign Lady did grant Her aid; for in the naval battle near the
Echinades Island the Christian fleet gained with no great loss to
itself a magnificent victory, in which the enemy was routed with great
slaughter."
Pope Leo explains that Pope St. Pius V then instituted the Feast of Our
Lady of Victory for October 7, which was changed to the Feast of the
Holy Rosary by Pope Gregory XIII. Leo goes on to boast of other
victories that Our Lady of the Rosary has secured against the "Turks".36
Likewise Pope Pius XI in his 1937 Rosary Encyclical Ingravescentibus
Malis spoke of Our Lady's victory at Lepanto in a manner guaranteed to
send ecumenists shrieking into the snow banks:
"When the impious Mohammedan power, trusting in its powerful fleet and
war-hardened armies, threatened the peoples of Europe with ruin and
slavery, then - upon the suggestion of the Sovereign Pontiff - the
protection of the heavenly Mother was fervently implored and the enemy
was defeated and his ships sunk. Thus the Faithful of every age, both
in public misfortune and in private need, turn in supplication to Mary,
the benignant, so that She may come to their aid and grant help and
remedy against sorrows of body and soul. And never was Her most
powerful aid hoped for in vain by those who besought it with pious and
trustful prayer." 37
This omission of Lepanto occurred, no doubt, for ecumenical reasons.
Pope John Paul II continually sends Vatican delegates to celebrate the
laying of cornerstones in new mosques, he kisses the Koran. He praises
Islam as one of the world's great monolithic religions. Once more, in
the name of ecumenism, a major Catholic event, a turning point in
history, is deemed too embarrassing to mention in a Vatican document.
Then again, perhaps the omission is no big deal. After all, does anyone
today actually regard Islam as a threat to world peace?
Door Opened to a
Jazzed-up Rosary?
The dramatic announcement of "new mysteries" eclipsed notice of another
major innovation to the Rosary proposed at the document's end. In
Section 42, Pope John Paul II opens the door for children and young
people to take a "creative" approach to the Rosary. This is a means of
subjecting the Rosary to the precepts of the "New Evangelization" that
is "new in its ardor, new in its method, and new in its expression." 38
He writes: "To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with
children, training them from their earliest years to experience this
daily 'pause for prayer' with the family, is admittedly not the
solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not
be underestimated." So far so good. But then we read:
"It could be objected that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste
of children and young people of today. But perhaps the objection is
directed to an impoverished method of praying it."
An impoverished
method of praying it?
What does this mean? The traditional method of silence and reverence?
Is this suddenly considered "too much" for children and young people?
If so, what was the point of beatifying Jacinta and Francisco of Fatima
if we do not look to them as a model for how children and young adults
should pray the Rosary. They are an example to us all.
Yet Jacinta and Francisco are not held up as a model for today's youth
on how to pray the Rosary. No, the new model is the "pastoral" and
"creative" approach to prayer as is found at World Youth Days!
The Letter reads:
"Furthermore,
without prejudice to the Rosary's basic structure, there is nothing to
stop children and young people from praying it - either within the
family or in groups - with appropriate symbolic and practical aids to
understanding and appreciation. Why not try it? With God's help, a
pastoral approach to youth which is positive, impassioned and creative
- as shown by the World Youth Days! - is capable of achieving quite
remarkable results. If the Rosary is well presented, I am sure that
young people will once more surprise adults by the way they make this
prayer their own and recite it with the enthusiasm typical of their age
group."
As CFN readers know, I've been to World Youth Day and reported
extensively on its radical notion of jazzed-up prayer. I've said
repeatedly that the dominant atmosphere of World Youth Day is not
Catholicism but the rock 'n roll culture. World Youth Day is built on
the falsehood that young Catholics find Catholicism boring
(impoverished) unless we make it bouncy and fun, unless we shuck it of
reverence, unless we enliven it with rock 'n roll rhythms.
At World Youth Day, the Papal Mass was "livened up" with rock 'n roll
music and hokey gimmicks. The Papal Vespers, presided over by John
Paul, was "livened up" with rock music, pop-rhythms, liturgical
dancers, and a Magnificat sung in folk style by a young man with a
guitar who sounded like Gordon Lightfoot on a bad day. The World Youth
Day Stations of the Cross contained the "creative" approach of "hymns"
with funky beats.
The Pope sees the acres of young people grooving to the music during
his papal mass and he praises it as "remarkable results". Within this
context, how can the Pope's proposal for a "pastoral approach" to the
Rosary that is "positive, creative and impassioned ... as shown by
World Youth Days", be seen as anything but a nod to invest the Rosary
with pop-culture, modern music and endless "creative" innovations? The
Youth Ministers will have a field day.
Everything Must
Change?
Until October 2002, the Rosary was the only major Catholic institution
to escape renovation. The Mass was changed to accommodate Vatican II's
new ecumenical religion, we now have a "new theology," a "new
evangelization," a new catechism, a new Code of Canon Law, Religious
Orders liberalized their Rules and Constitutions, seminaries "loosened
up," church interiors were gutted, the Breviary was revolutionized,
Pope John Paul II changed the traditional Way of the Cross in 1991,
adding a fifteenth Station.39
Now the Rosary will never be the same. The insatiable lust for change
and novelty, a defining element of post-Conciliar pontificates,
increasingly takes the form of an in-the-flesh manifestation of one of
Modernism's chief precepts.
Speaking of the Modernists, St. Pius X warned, "First of all they
(modernists) lay down the general principle that in a living religion
everything is subject to change, and must change, and in this way they
pass to what may be said to be, among the chief of their doctrines,
that of evolution. To the laws of evolution everything is subject -
dogma, Church, worship, the Books we revere as sacred, even faith
itself." 40
Here Saint Pius X refers not only to the falsehood of
Darwinian/biological evolution, but also to the belief that in a
"living religion" everything must always be in a state of movement and
flux. This shows that the religion is alive!
Today, the modernist notion that "everything must change" is called the
continuous aggiornamento of the Council.41 The Holy Rosary,
once thought beyond the reach of man's tinkering, has now fallen victim
to Vatican II's evolutionary rage.
This is one of the many reasons that my family and I will adhere to the
15-decade Rosary of Saint Dominic, and not adopt the new 20-decade
novelty. Nor will I teach the Rosary to my children through the
pathetic medium of World Youth Day antics. Our Blessed Mother at Fatima
taught the children to pray the Rosary as is, and to pray it with
maturity, reverence and attention. I will teach my children to do the
same.
Dear Holy Father, we are happy that you wish to revitalize the Holy
Rosary. But by downplaying Fatima, and by needlessly subjecting the
Rosary to the continuous aggiornamento, you tear our hearts again.
FOOTNOTES:
1 "John Paul is Expected to Alter Rosary, Prayer May Gain Five New
Mysteries," Julia Lieblich, Chicago Tribune, October 15, 2002.
2 "Changes to Rosary: Pope to Increase Mysteries of Jesus," Frank
Bruni, New York Times, October 15, 2002.
3 Reported on June 4, 1999 by Fides news service in the article, "We
hope for Peace and a Papal Visit: Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon". It
was an interview with Raphael I. Bidawid, Patriarch of Babylon of the
Chaldeans (Iraq). The Patriarch said, "At the end of the audience the
Pope bowed to the Muslim holy book, the Koran, presented to him by the
delegation and he kissed it as a sign of respect. The photo of that
gesture has been shown repeatedly on Iraqi television ..." Fides is
Vatican news service under the auspices of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples. (www.fides.org).
4 See first two installments of the World Youth Day series, J. Vennari,
Catholic Family News, September and October, 2002.
5 Ibid.
6 In the 1996 Encyclical, Ut Unum Sint, Pope John Paul II calls for the
creation of a "common martyrology" containing "saints" from Catholic,
Orthodox and Protestant religions. [#84], which defies the de fide
Catholic teaching that there is no salvation outside the Catholic
Church. Regarding the so-called outdated ecclesiology, the pre-
conciliar Popes taught that the schismatic Orthodox must return to the
Catholic Church, but the 1993 Balamand Statement states that thanks to
"radically altered perspectives and thus attitudes" engendered by
Vatican II, the Catholic Church will train new priests "to pave the way
for future relations between the two Churches, passing beyond the
outdated ecclesiology of return to the Catholic Church." (Balamand
Statement, nn. 13 and 30.) The Balamand Statement was cited approvingly
by Pope John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint, n. 59.
7 Further aspects of the Pope's inculturation will appear in Part III
of CFN's World Youth Day series. See also The Liturgy of the World by
Christopher Ferrara, The Remnant, August 15, 2002.
8 Otherwise known as the pan-religious prayer meeting at Assisi, and
the new "Spirit of Assisi".
9 "Pope to Mark 25th Anniversary, Change Rosary," Phillip Pullella,
Reuters News Agency, October 14, 2002.
10 A series in four parts commenting on World Youth Day. Parts I and II
were published in Catholic Family News in September and October 2002,
respectively.
11 Rosarium Virginis Mariae, No. 19. All quotes taken from the English
edition from the Vatican webpage.
12 See Saint Benedict's Rule for Monasteries.
13 The History and Devotion of the Rosary, Richard Gribble, C.S.C.,
with a Foreward by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., (Huntington: Our
Sunday Visitor Publishing, 1992), p. 28.
14 See "Our Rosary Beads" by Father James J. Galvin, C.SS.R., in the
collection of articles on Our Lady from the American Ecclesiastical
Review entitled "In Praise of Mary," edited by Msgr. Joseph Clifford
Fenton and the Reverend Doctor Edmond Darvil Benard (Washington:
Catholic University of America Press, 1952), pp. 16-19.
15 Ibid.
16 This Rosary, Father Anthony N. Fuerst, S.T.D. (Milwaukee: Bruce
Publishing, 1948), pp. 44-45.
17 The Secret of the Rosary, Saint Louis de Montfort (Bay Shore:
Montfort Publications, 1954), p. 18. St. Louis de Montfort explains
that the story of Our Lady's visitation to Saint Dominic is found in
the book De Dignitate Psalterii by Blessed Alan de la Roche.
18 "The Dominican Rosary", entry by Msgr. George W. Shea, S.T.D,
Mariology, Edited by Juniper B. Carol, OFM, Volume III (Milwaukee:
Bruce Publishing, 1960) p. 92
19 The Splendor of the Rosary, Maise Ward, (New York: Sheed and Ward,
1945), p. 35.
20 Msgr. Shea writes: "The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Leo X, Pastor
Aeterni, Oct. 6, 1520, gives the first indication from a Pope that the
Psalter of Mary is commonly called "rosary": "et modum orandi huiusmodi
Psalterium sive Rosarium eiusdem Beatae Virginis vulgariter
appellatum". Mariology, Juniper Carol, Volume III, p. 92, note 18.
21 Pope Saint Pius V, Consuerverunt Romani, September 17, 1569. Found
at www.papalencyclicals.net.
22 Pope Leo XIII, Augustissimae Virginis Mariae - September 12, 1897.
Taken from The Rosary of Mary, Letters of Pope Leo XIII. (Paterson: St.
Anthony Guild Press, 1945).
23 Fidentem Piumque September 20, 1896. Taken from The Rosary of Mary,
Letters of Pope Leo XIII.
24 Pope Pius XI, Ingravescentibus Malis, Encyclical on the Rosary,
September 29, 1937. It is true that Pope John Paul II mentions the
"Psalter" Rosarium Virginis Mariae, No. 19. He writes: "Of the many
mysteries of Christ's life, only a few are indicated by the Rosary in
the form that has become generally established with the seal of the
Church's approval. The selection was determined by the origin of the
prayer, which was based on the number 150, the number of the Psalms in
the Psalter." But he then immediately follows this with the
recommendation of the five new mysteries, an addition that shatters the
concept of Our Lady's Psalter. It's almost as if he mentioned the term
only to kiss it goodbye.
25 This is especially attributed to the message of Our Lady of Fatima
on June 13, 1917. The actual translation is: "I want you to come here
on the thirteenth day of the coming month, to recite a third of the
Rosary every day, and to learn to read. I will tell you later what I
want." William Thomas Walsh in his book Our Lady of Fatima, translates
the phrase into English as "recite five decades of the Rosary every
day," Dr. Walsh then supplies the following footnote: "The word Our
Lady used, according to Lucia, was 'terço' meaning 'a third' - that is,
five of the fifteen decades of the Rosary." Our Lady of Fatima, William
Thomas Walsh (New York: Doubleday, 1954), p. 68.
26 Fatima, Intimate Joy, World Event, Volume IV, "Tragedy and Triumph,"
Frère François de Marie des Anges, (Buffalo: Immaculate Heart
Publications, 1994), p, 87.
27 Dr. António Maria Martins, SJ, Memorias e Cartas de Irmã Lúcia,
Simão Guimarães Filhos Lda, Porto, 1973, facsimile edition of Sister
Lucia's 'Memorias' and letters with a Portuguese transcription and with
French and English translations, p. 415.
28 "Russian Patriarch Slams Popes Video Link-up as 'Invasion'," BBC
News, March 2, 2002.
29 "Russia Battles for Believers after Vatican Brings in Bishops,"
Andrew Jack, Financial Times (London), Sept. 14, 2002.
30 "Vatican Blasts Russia Over Claims of Nun in Brothel," Ann Fleet,
The Scotsman, October 15, 2002.
31 "Brother Riles Vatican," The Ottawa Sun, October 15, 2002.
32 "Russia Catholics Decry Story About Monastery Brothel," John
Danisaewski, Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2002.
33 It is baffling because of the good things that Pope John Paul II has
said about Fatima in the past. For example, The October 24, 1997
L'Osservatore Romano quotes the pope saying, "Fatima is one of the
greatest signs of the times in the 20th Century because it announces
many of the later events and conditions them on the response to its
appeals."
34 In Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the closest John Paul comes to any
allusion to Lepanto is in an extremely veiled reference in Section 39:
"At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance
was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary
was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation."
35 The Hours of the Divine Office in English and Latin, Volume II:
August to Advent, (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1963) p. 1631.
36 Supremi Apostolatus, Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII, September
1, 1883. Quoted from The Rosary of Mary, Letters of Pope Leo XIII.
37 Ingravescentibus Malis, 1937.
38 Pope John Paul II and the New Evangelization, edited by Ralph Martin
and Peter Williamson (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994) Chapter 1 by
Father Avery Dulles, SJ on the "New Evangelization", p. 28.
39 Bold Strokes Retell Crucifixion," Jill Smith, The Oregonian,
September 27, 2001. The article says, " In 1991, Pope John Paul II
introduced a new, more ecumenical version [of the Stations of the
Cross] that matched the biblical account of the Crucifixion. He removed
some scenes and added others, including a 15th station for the
Resurrection."
40 Pope Saint Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis, Against Modernism,
September 8, 1907.
41 For example, Paragraph #91 of the Vatican's 1993 Directory for the
Applications of the Principles and Norms of Ecumenism, one of the most
radical documents in since Vatican II, calls for "continuous
aggiornamento of ordained ministers and pastoral workers in view of the
continual evolution within the ecumenical movement".
Source:
http://www.seattlecatholic.com/article_20021108_The_Twenty_Mysteries_of_the_Rosary.html
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