Scripture for Rosary beads of the Mysteries of Waiting
These Mysteries of waiting start with a brief reflection on an Old Testament moment where David is praying that his waiting is over soon.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 4 Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. (Psalm 40:2-4)
David waits in filial fear of the Lord. Filial fear is the highest order of love where a person knowing in weakness they might displease or betray the one who is loved. David has entered a state of not knowing when God is going to be available again, begging in desperation. Notice in third verse of the Psalm David switches from talking about himself to “Many will see, and they will fear; and they will hope in the Lord.” David is speaking to us, wanting us to know that this wait which can test our faith to the limits is worth it. The gift of filial fear goes beyond divine as it also has a human nature. It allows us to not only to give up on ourselves but also on the ones we love, especially if we are waiting on them to respond to us or to God.
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: The Burial of Jesus
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. (Matthew 27:57-61)
Unlike those near the un-risen Lord we know the fate of Jesus so our wait is only as long as it takes to remember the rest of the story. We all have gone to visit, pray, and to silently sit with a loved at their gravesite. Are we not like Joseph and Mary and others wondering how our own loved one is doing but also remembering their life with us in the present time? For me this “silent sitting and remembering” of those I love who have died can happen any time, with even a subtle reminder. I believe this is Jesus’s touch, making me aware of divinities presence in the here and now and for a brief moment I do not have to wait to know there are.
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:
Awareness of the End of Time
11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14)
St. Paul’s sleep and walking, dark and night, light and day takes away any sense of gray. We must be awake in the light of day, but obviously he is not talking about physical sleep, dark or even the day but rather the spiritual. Our armor against the broad playing field of evil is to stay in the virtuous clothing light of Jesus. To say this is easy would be an understatement but we know in our hearts St. Paul is right. It is always time to see if the hour we are in is dark but not always easy to recognize. I am still surprised that when I find myself there. I seem to recognize which hour in acts of the passion it might correspond to. For me just about all darkness can be placed into one of those hours.
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: The Unknown Day and Hour
36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:36-39)
What is interesting for me in the Noah story is that he did warn others but no one believed. Everyone could have built their own ark and been saved. I look at the Noah story as more of a metaphor that I have been warned, now what am I going to do about it? Jesus is repeating the story all over again. I have been given another warning, my wait is over. Either I am prepared or I am not. If I am a believer, how can I not realize it? It sort of keeps me honest with myself, as the list grows long. I am either righteous or I am not, I either love everyone or only certain others, I am …..
.
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 Day of the Son of Man
30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.” 37 Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:30-37)
In that day, hour, in that fraction of a second, or rather is it really in God’s sense of moment when my wait will end? Will my mouth be open speaking to someone like the woman at the stone and suddenly I will not be there anymore? If you do not know it eagles and lot of other birds of prey also eat the easier to find dead left behind food. To the “where Lord”, Jesus is quite clear: I will be raised up or I will be food for the eagles. To be honest, I don’t like the imagery and it may not be a bad reason to think this 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.
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: Dependence on God
18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” 22 He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. (Luke 12:18-19,21-22,32,36)
It is very hard thinking about my possessions as having no value. After all I am also here for my family and friends and they expect certain things from me. There is no way I can give away everything and walk away or they will disown me. But is this what Jesus is really talking about, of course not. What he is talking about is to be reasonable during the wait as it might last to an old age or it might also end in the next second. I have to be able to say right now, are my family and friends happy with me in the last second I just had? Maybe if I had just read them this reflection, but what if I was doing something less honorable like buying another fishing pole because it was the latest and greatest when they know I already have enough.
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 Lectio reflections or suggestions on how to use these mysteries, please see the Introduction.