Praying the Rosary with H. Lyman Stebbins (Part Three)
To Live the Faith
“Pray always and never lose heart...” (Lk. 18:1)
by H. Lyman Stebbins

This article originally appeared on page 15 of the May 1982 issue of Lay Witness.

We continue with the general intentions which some of us here in New Rochelle[1] follow in praying the Holy Rosary. Today we consider the fourth and fifth decades of the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.

The Fourth Decades: for all those living whom we have promised to pray for or ought to pray for. Among the Joyful Mysteries, THE PRESENTATION has always had a special meaning for us in CUF, a meaning which has become deeper and more explicit since the Consecration of our apostolate to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary last August 22. For what is that mystery if not the Consecration of the Sacred Humanity, in accordance with the law, by His Mother Mary? In that mysterious act Our Lord goes before us, the first-born of many brethren, in a double consecration, making a total oblation of Himself to the Father, and doing it through the heart and in the arms of His Blessed Mother. We, in praying it, join in offering to Him ourselves and all those of His brethren whom His Providence has in any way entrusted to our love; and we too make our offering through the Immaculate Heart of the new and perpetual Mother of All the Living.

In the Sorrowful Mysteries, THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS finds Our Lord persevering in His first oblation for our sakes: taking upon His sacred shoulders, in wholly voluntary obedience, the crushing weight of the Cross on which He would exchange His death for our life. We ask for the grace to persevere in our own oblation, knowing that there is nothing we can possibly do for the sake of our friends more valuable than to take up in joyful obedience the crosses, small or great, which each day presents to us.

In the fourth of the Glorious Mysteries, we celebrate the glorious ASSUMPTION of the Holy Virgin Mary. “I will not leave you orphans,” He had promised; and He kept that promise in many ways. The Assumption is one of them. In praying for our brothers and sisters, how can we do it in a way more joyful and sure than by turning to her whom He both left to us and took to Himself: the Mother of divine grace, Cause of our joy, Gate of heaven, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comfort of the afflicted! Blessed Mother, accept our prayers and present them before the Throne of Grace!

The Fifth Decades: for our immediate families, for those especially dear to us, and for ourselves. THE FINDING OF THE BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE is the very model of all we pray for with regard to ourselves and those nearest to us. Accepimus, domine, misericordiam tuam in medio templi tui: “It is in the midst of Your Church, O Lord, that we receive Your mercy—that mercy which is the gift of salvation.” May we all find Him there; and may He lead us all alike to life everlasting!

To that ardent prayer full of hope, Christ’s answer is ever the same: Yes, you can find Me there. The Cross which bore Me to death is ready to bring you to life; but you must take your place on it. The door of My Cross is the only door to a share in My glory. That door is open now. Follow Me! These are not mere words; they are living truths, verifiable every day. We beg God to spare us and our nearest and dearest: We ask Him not to treat us as if we were braver and stronger than we are; but we do not, we cannot, ask Him to give us and our dear ones no cross at all, for is it not fitting that the brethren of the Son of man should suffer and thus enter into His glory? We glory in the CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD: Nothing else can make it possible for us to bear (and to bear even with joy) the sufferings which afflict us and those whom we Love the most. Whenever suffering comes to those we are praying for, we must let our faith overcome our revulsion and embrace the words of Psalm 90: “He shall cry to me and I will give ear to his prayer; I will be with him in all tribulation; I will rescue him and bring him into my glory; I will fill him with length of days, and show him my salvation.” Thanks be to God!

And then, by God’s grace and mercy, we shall be witnesses at the CORONATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN, QUEEN OF ANGELS AND OF SAINTS! Glorious mystery indeed, in which the Fairest of Creation, Mother of all the living, gathers around herself and before the Throne of God her universal Family of families, and they sing with one voice: My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior!

First Decade: for our dead
Annunciation—The Agony—Resurrection

Second Decade: for the Holy Father
Visitation—Scourging—Ascension

Third Decade: for CUF
Nativity—Crowning with Thorns—Sending of the Holy Spirit

Fourth Decade: for all who want or need our prayers
Presentation—Carrying the Cross—Assumption

Fifth Decade: for those nearest and dearest
The Finding—The Crucifixion—The Coronation

Back to Part One
Back to Part Two

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[1] CUF was headquartered in New Rochelle, New York, until the summer of 1994, when CUF moved to its present headquarters in Steubenville, Ohio.