Scripture for Rosary beads of the Mysteries of Christ’s Victory

These Mysteries of Christ’s Victory start with a brief reflection on an Old Testament moment where God’s compassion gave humanity another opportunity to be victorious over evil.

Likewise, he sent forth a dove after him, in order to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth. But when she did not find a place where her foot might rest, she returned to him in the ark. For the waters were upon the whole earth. And he extended his hand and caught her, and he brought her into the ark. And then, having waited a further seven days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark. And she came to him in the evening, carrying in her mouth an olive branch with green leaves. Noah then understood that the waters had ceased upon the earth. (Genesis 8:8-11)

However disconcerting the story of Noah may seem, it is one of many instances of God in the Old Testament having compassion for mankind. Remember how close mankind came to the end, but didn’t because God found people he could count on. Man listened to God and God listened to man resulting in victory over evil. God later decides there is one permanent way of showing victory over evil which is to allow himself as Christ to be nailed to the Cross. We as Christians cannot forget what God did. We have Jesus as the ultimate example of victory.

 

 

 

 

 

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

 

 

Apostle’s Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

 

 

 

The First Mystery: Protection by Jesus

Then Herod, quietly calling the Magi, diligently learned from them the time when the star appeared to them. And sending them into Bethlehem, he said: “Go and diligently ask questions about the boy. And when you have found him, report back to me, so that I, too, may come and adore him.” And when they had heard the king, they went away. And behold, the star that they had seen in the east went before them, even until, arriving, it stood still above the place where the child was. Then, seeing the star, they were gladdened by a very great joy. And entering the home, they found the boy with his mother Mary. And so, falling prostrate, they adored him. And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having received a response in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back by another way to their own region. (Mathew 2:7-12)

 

God speaks to us even in our dreams like it was for the wise men visiting the baby Jesus. There are countless stories of Saints getting these kinds of communications from God. The wise men returning a different way is a victory for Jesus as he was protected from the evil of Herod. Our own victories could potentially increase if as St. Paul says we carefully discern the Spirit at work.

 

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

 

 

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Mystery: The Call of Matthew

The Call of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.¹⁰ And as he sat at dinner^[a] in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting^[b] with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13)

Tissot often has Jesus and other divinity representations holding out two fingers. In this case Jesus’s touch of our more modern peace sign yields permanent victory over the Pharisees belief of unrighteous tax collectors. The merciful release of this burden frees Levi (Matthew) from everything that was holding him back from success. Our own burdens may be holding us back from these same calls to victory.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

 

 

 

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Mystery: Galilean Women Follow Jesus

Some Women Accompany Jesus

8 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, ² as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them^[a] out of their resources. (Luke 8:1-3)

 

After Christ removes the seven demons from Mary Magdalene she becomes a humble, repentant, obedient, and faithful disciple of Jesus. She no doubt knew the influence of these demons in her life. It may not be obvious but her gift, or resource is love, which may also be all we have. God’s unconditional love in return is a spectacular story of the victory of forgiveness and love.

 

 

 

 

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

 

 

 

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourth Mystery: The Entry into Jerusalem.

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.^[a]” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷ they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowd^[b] spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”  (Matthew 21:2-10)

 

Jesus’s love of children is embrace by Tissot as he puts them in front of the procession leading Jesus down the “red carpet” of cloaks and palm fronds. Could it be that Tissot is emphasizing the word foal, as the colt is to young to ride so instead he substitutes children. To lead the way to victory we must become innocent like these children, unburdened, clapping our hands and singing hosana in the highest!

 

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

 

 

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fifth Mystery: Mystery of Truth

⁵⁴ Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”^[s]

⁵⁵ Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Matthew 27:54-55)

 

Tissot paints the centurion among many non-believers who bend down in new faith, confessing the truth of what they witnessed. Not very visible in the distance are the many woman who followed and looked after Jesus, they are witnesses to these conversions. Do we sometimes only have faith and need the support of our own community to help us become victorious over all that seems to be in the way?

 

 

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

 

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

 

 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 

 

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us pray. O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that by meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen

 

 

 

 

 

The art in this Mystery with the exception of my own of painting representing Mary (for the rosary bead)  is from the French artist James Tissot (1836-1902)*.James Tissot’s art is now in the public domain and available as non-copyrighted downloads from the Brooklyn Museum (www.brooklynmuseum.org), The Jewish Museum (www.thejewishmuseum.org) and WikiArt (www.wikiart.org/en/james-tissot) web sites. I have followed their publication guidelines such as using proper captions for use. The small repeating images of Tissot’s paintings in this Mystery are referenced and have captions in the introduction to this collection of Rosary Mysteries.For additional information regarding art by James Tissot, the assembly of the alternative Rosary Mysteries, my comments from Lectio or suggestions on how to use these mysteries,  please see the Introduction.