“What wisdom was it, what knowledge, that made Our Lady able to accept these things and say, Be it done unto me according to thy word with so whole a will?… What was the secret which enabled her to translate all this suffering into joy? It was the secret of a twofold love, which our Lord tells us is one and the same: the love of God and the love of man….  This is the twofold love that should inform the mind and will of all motherhood. It was this which was the secret of Our Lady’s serenity.”  –Caryll Houselander (+ 1954)

Intention: Lord, please give us fair and honest elections.

Saturday: Angels Minister to Me
1st Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation
Scripture:
God commands the angels/ to guard you in all your ways./
With their hands they shall support you,/ lest you strike your
foot against a stone./ You shall tread upon the asp and the
viper,/ trample the lion and the dragon.
—Psalm 91:11–13
Reflection:
Angels present themselves at important times in Jesus’s history:
at the annunciation, to St. Joseph to reassure him about the
Blessed Virgin Mary, to the shepherds to announce that Jesus
had been born, after Jesus was tempted in the desert for forty
days, in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was feeling
sorrowful and fearful about His forthcoming passion and at
His tomb to enlighten the holy women that He truly had been
raised from the dead.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, please ask the holy angels to minister to me whenever
I encounter difficult crises in my life, or when I haven’t a clue
of which way to turn. Amen.

Saturday: Elation
2nd Joyful Mystery: The Visitation
Scripture:
[Jesus] said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my
mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand
toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my
brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is
my brother, and sister, and mother.”
—Matthew 12:48–50
Reflection:
The elation that Mary and Elizabeth felt as they embraced and
shared their strikingly similar stories foreshadowed the elation
that Jesus’s followers felt, as they learned to follow His Way and
their whole lives were transformed.
Prayer:
Mary’s Magnificat, which she sings during the visitation, models
for us the themes of humility, gratitude and generous praise to
Almighty God. Lord, motivate me to model myself after Our
Wonderful, Sweet and Blessed Mother. Amen.

Saturday: Long-awaited Messiah
3rd Joyful Mystery: The Nativity
Scripture:
A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kinsmen; to him shall you listen.
—Deuteronomy 18:15
Reflection:
When Pharaoh ordered the killing of all the little Hebrew baby
boys in Egypt, it prefigured when Herod ordered the murder of
all the little Hebrew baby boys in Bethlehem. God saved Moses,
just as He saved the Baby Jesus (the New Moses).
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I believe that You are the long-awaited Messiah who
came to lead us to the promised land of heaven. Never allow me
to sin, but always show me how to please You. Amen.

Saturday: Imitate Jesus
4th Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
Scripture:
The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for
forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he
was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he
was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had
said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word
Jesus had spoken.
—John 2:20–22
Reflection:
Because He was the fullness of God’s unceasing omnipresence,
the Baby Jesus was naturally taken to be presented at the Temple
in Jerusalem, which had been considered to be God’s dwelling
place up until that time.
Prayer:
Jesus, You raised up Your “temple” in three days, so I recognize
that You can do all things. Help me to imitate You more and
more, for the rest of my life. Amen.

Saturday: Mass
5th Joyful Mystery: The Finding of
the Child Jesus in the Temple
Scripture:
The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on
the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and
said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I
told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s
name testify to me.”
—John 10:22–25
Reflection:
The mystery of the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
foreshadows the sadness of losing Him at Calvary, and also the
joy of finding Him again at the resurrection.
Prayer:
The temple was important to Jesus all throughout His short
earthly life. Lord, please remind me of this when I am tempted
to skip Mass in favor of frivolous pastimes. Amen.

“What baffling things [Our Lady] would have to face! The slaughter of the innocents and Christ the innocent cause of it, the flight from Herod, the life in exile, and the Child being hunted all his life long; his fasting, so much against the grain for a mother; his choice to be homeless, after all the years that she had longed for and waited for their home together. The pitiless demands made on him by strangers, put before her own claim, the selfishness of the people’s approach to him, the ingratitude shown to him, even hatred of him and fear, the misunderstanding of his closest friends. At the end there was not even one voice to speak aloud for him. And then the public death, and that burial of his, rushed through against time and in a borrowed tomb.”  –Caryll Houselander (+ 1954)

Intention:  Lord, please preserve our rights to meaningful representation in government, the right for free speech, the right for freedom of religion, the right for freedom of assembly, the right to bear arms, and having a country with firm borders.

Friday: Heroism Over Horror
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter,
“Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one
hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
—Mark 14:37–38
Reflection:
In the agony in the garden, we see Jesus experiencing the
darkness of deep terror and dread, compounded by isolation
because His disciples were sleeping. But then we see His heroism
win out over His horror: He says “yes” to the Father’s plan just
as His mother Mary had done thirty-three-years earlier at the
annunciation.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, when I am confronted with circumstances
that call for my heroism, please ask my Guardian Angel to
strengthen and fortify me. Amen.

Friday: Angels by Our Side
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
The angel of the Lord, who encamps with them,/ delivers all
who fear God.
—Psalm 34:8
Reflection:
The Roman scourging was so intense that it incapacitated its
victims, often causing actual death all by itself. Jesus was beaten
and bleeding profusely from the scourging; His face was marred
and ghastly. Yet just on the other side of the veil were angels
watching and standing by His side.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, please ask the angels to deliver me from any
demonic influences in my life now or in my past. Amen.

Friday: Reflection of Jesus
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:38–39
Reflection:
Jesus was humiliated in the cruelest of ways, by the ridicule of
His Kingship by the soldiers, which they couldn’t understand
by any stretch of their imaginations. And yet, His nobility and
honor were untouched by all that they inflicted on Him.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for always seeing in me the
reflection of Jesus’s goodness, when others around me cannot
see it, and when I cannot either. Please help me to keep my eyes
fixed only on Jesus in those times. Amen.

Friday: Our Companion
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
My heart pounds within me;/ death’s terrors fall upon me./ Fear
and trembling overwhelm me;/ shuddering sweeps over me./
Cast your care upon the Lord,/ who will give you support./
God will never allow/ the righteous to stumble.
—Psalm 55:5,6,23
Reflection:
The approach of death will probably put us on a rocky road,
because we each have such a strong survival instinct. Sometimes,
a saintly soul like Simon of Cyrene comes to ease the long trek.
But even if we are physically alone at our death, we are not really
alone – because Jesus is our companion at all times, and He will
assist us to transition through to the other side.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, as I cross the threshold of death’s door, please let
me see You, or get at least a glimpse of You, as You encourage
me to walk through Your door unafraid. Amen.

Friday: Draw Me, Lord
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
As to [Jesus’s] death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his
life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of
yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ
Jesus.
—Romans 6:10–11
Reflection:
Jesus said that He would draw all people to Himself when He
was lifted up (see John 12:32). This is at the heart of the Paschal
mystery. He has drawn us all to Himself. He is our constant
companion during life, and during our process of dying, He is
our welcoming door to eternal life.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to die to sin and live for You, and so reach up to
You, as You are drawing me to Yourself. Amen.

“Our Lady knew perfectly well what kind of a world it was into which Christ was to be born. It is strange that she did, for her own life had been sheltered enough, lived in Nazareth, an out-of-the-way village, lying in a ring of hills like the hollow in a chalice. Her future too was mapped out on simple, happy lines. She was betrothed to Joseph, her home was ready for her, it seemed almost certain that in front of her lay a lifetime of uneventful but serene happiness.  The first shadow to fall was the shadow of the angel’s wing when Gabriel came to tell her that she was to be the Mother of Christ.  What faith in her Son’s vocation would be demanded of her! What baffling things she would have to face!”  –Caryll Houselander (+ 1954) 

Intention: Lord, please give us a population that becomes more religious again, and has a Christian revival. I thank You God for the revival that is already started.

Thursday: Waters of Rebirth
1st Luminous Mystery: The Baptism
of Jesus in the Jordan
Scripture:
John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
—Mark 1:4
Reflection:
Jesus took on all our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
ills when He incarnated here on Earth, and He brought that
enormously heavy burden down into the waters of the Jordan
during His Baptism, cleansing and healing it.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to partake of health of mind, body and soul,
as I turn away from sin and surrender myself to the waters of
rebirth in my baptism. Amen.

Thursday: True Wine
2nd Luminous Mystery: The Wedding Feast at Cana
Scripture:
Learn to savor how good the Lord is;/ happy are those who
take refuge in him.
—Psalm 34:9
Reflection:
The wine ran short at the wedding feast of Cana. Perhaps the
wine signifies all the joys of life that we thirst for, and usually
go in search of in the world, becoming disillusioned in the
process. When we seek out Jesus instead, He sates our thirst
and gives us the true wine that we seek: God’s peace, God’s
love and God’s joy.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, transform me by giving me Your true wine and
teach me to live out each of the virtues as You would live them
out, if You were me. Amen.

Thursday: Life-giving Words
3rd Luminous Mystery: The Proclamation
of the Kingdom of Heaven
Scripture:
Blessed are the merciful,/ for they will be shown mercy./ Blessed
are the clean of heart,/ for they will see God./ Blessed are the
peacemakers,/ for they will be called children of God./ Blessed
are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,/ for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they
insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against
you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who
were before you.
—Matthew 5:7–12
Reflection:
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, sharing His
very Self with us in each of His life-giving words of the Holy
Spirit, to express forgiveness and love to each of us. His words
transform us because His words are Him.
Prayer:
Our priests are our great treasure because they remind us of
Jesus’s words and interpret their meanings for us, and also, they
celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments.
Jesus, please help me to glean as much as I can from my pastor’s
homilies, to aid me in living my life in accord with Your holy
way. Amen.

Thursday: Become Like Him
4th Luminous Mystery: The Transfiguration
Scripture:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot
be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a
bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all
in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that
they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
—Matthew 5:14–16
Reflection:
Jesus’s illumination during the transfiguration was meant to
demonstrate for us the luminosity that He longs to share with
us, so that we, too, will become like Him.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, please change me where I need to be changed,
that I may live out the virtues as best I can, and keep my eyes
on You, who illuminates me so. Amen.

Thursday: Creator and True Love
5th Luminous Mystery: The Institution
of the Holy Eucharist
Scripture:
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
—John 6:55–56
Reflection:
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist so that we would not forget
Him, and so that we would be aware of His astonishing presence
as our Creator and True Love when we take Him inside of us.
Prayer:
Lord, I understand how vital it is that we have priests to be
Your instruments to change bread and wine into Your Body
and Blood in the Mass. Please give us many honorable and holy
young men to answer the call to become priests. Amen.

“The Word of God in the flesh made his abode in [the mother of God]…. He made our human nature divine, and bestowed on us, according to the holy apostle, things the angels desire to look into (1 Pt 1:12). Such is the extraordinary honor and all-surpassing glory of the Ever-Virgin.”  –Saint Gregory Palamas (+ 1359)

Intention:  Lord, please bless us with a President and Justice Department which are non-partisan in their actions. I thank You God ahead of time for this.

Wednesday: Beginning
of New Eternal Life
1st Glorious Mystery: The Resurrection of Our Lord
Scripture:
If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies
no more; death no longer has power over him.
—Romans 6:8–9
Reflection:
On Easter Sunday, Jesus broke the bonds of transgression and
illuminated the darkness that covered the Earth. He replaced
our ties to sin and death with a connection to a new life in
the Spirit, where we can all live together in a deep, abiding
relationship with Him.
Prayer: Dearest Jesus, Your resurrection gives me certain hope that the
end of my earthly life is only the beginning of a new, eternal
life with You, if only I believe in You and try to live Your
teachings. In the meantime, assist me to live in Your charity
and love until I come home to You. Amen.

Wednesday: Taste the Sweetness
2nd Glorious Mystery: The Ascension of Our Lord
Scripture:
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd
them/ and lead them to springs of life-giving water,/ and God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
—Revelation 7:17
Reflection:
Jesus is the Lamb on the grand throne of heaven, sitting at the
right hand of the Father, where, in union with each other, they
exchange joyful love between Them, forevermore. There in
the heart of heaven, there is no more need or want, no more
loss or isolation.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, give me the gift of spiritual communion with
You, that I may taste the sweetness of heaven while I am still
on Earth. Amen.

Wednesday: Adopted Children
3rd Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the
Holy Spirit on Our Lady and the Apostles
Scripture:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry,
“Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
—Romans 8:14–17
Reflection:
The Holy Spirit abides inside each of us who are baptized as a
living flame, that is fanned by the Sacraments of the church,
and that witnesses to us our blessed adoption as children of the
Most High God.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, please bestow upon me the fruits of the Holy
Spirit, so that others might not see me anymore, but only You in
me: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Amen.

Wednesday: Doorway of Love
4th Glorious Mystery: The Assumption
of Our Blessed Mother
Scripture:
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most
pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the
dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
—1 Corinthians 15:19–20
Reflection:
Death is a door that God opens for us with His love. As we
enter the doorway, He transforms our lives here into eternal
lives. Blessed Mother Mary, because of her purity and her deep
connection to Jesus, the Son of God, prays that we would be
blessed during our transition of death.
Prayer:
Dearest Mother Mary, please intercede for me to present myself
to others with your purity, love and generosity. Amen.

Wednesday: Cling to Mary
5th Glorious Mystery: The Coronation of Our
Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Scripture:
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept
the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits
me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that
day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his
appearance.
—2 Timothy 4:7–8
Reflection:
Because Mary also suffered with her Son Jesus when He was
tortured and crucified, she fully understands what we go
through down here in this valley of tears, as we take up our
crosses and follow Him.
Prayer:
Lord, I cling to Mary as my mother in heaven, because she is
Queen of all the angels and saints, and will love me, intercede
for me and guide me more directly toward You. Amen.

“The ways of God are not our ways. It is true that [the spiritual life] goes upward, but by our lowering ourselves. It is true that it purifies the soul, but in the midst of temptations and falls. It is true that its light increases, yet the light is one that is overshadowed with darkness. Therefore, that the light may increase, the darkness must envelop us; that the purification may continue, the most painful temptations must besiege us; and that true fervor may take root in the soul, sensible fervor must frequently forsake us. Thus in the midst of darkness, of helplessness, of struggles, of temptations, of falls, we continue going upward; yet we do not notice that we are ascending until we arrive at the goal of our aspirations.”  —Servant of God Luis M. Martínez (+ 1956)

Intention:  Lord, please bless us with a Constitution that functions as it was intended to function. I thank You God ahead of time for this.

Tuesday: Alone With His Thoughts
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,/ my God, my rock
of refuge!
—2 Samuel 22:2–3
Reflection:
The Lord Jesus, while in the garden for those few hours, was
subjected to the anxiety-laden expectation of what was to come:
the scourging, the ridicule, the blows, the crucifixion. He was
alone with His anticipation, thoughts and fear of all the disaster
that was about to befall Him. And yet, He still complied with
the Father’s will for Him and accepted His Cross.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I am not as strong as you in the face of
temptation. Please forgive me for all the times when I have been
fickle in my choice of whether to follow you or to follow the
ways of the world. Amen.

Tuesday: Conqueror
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
the sword? As it is written: “For your sake we are being slain
all the day;/ we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through
him who loved us.
—Romans 8:35–37
Reflection:
The hostile contempt with which Jesus’s torturers did their
cruel scourging must have also bruised His heart. But He still
conquered sin and death through what He suffered.
Prayer:
My Supremely Sensitive Jesus, You were subjected to terrible
hatred and scorn during Your scourging. Please help me not to
take personally any words of derision that may come my way,
recognizing that they are irrelevant, and that You are with me.
Amen.

Tuesday: Cause of Justice and Blessing
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh
I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on
behalf of his body, which is the church.
—Colossians 1:24
Reflection:
Jesus spent His entire life thinking godly thoughts toward
His brothers and sisters and acting accordingly. Yet, He was
imprisoned on false charges, tortured and put to death on a
Cross. He suffered terribly for the sake of those same brothers
and sisters, including those close to Him who had turned
on Him.
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus, Bruised for our Offenses, help me when I am
being judged to offer my suffering up to You, realizing that I
am helping Your cause of justice and blessing upon this planet.  Amen.

Tuesday: Pick Up Our Cross
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the
world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must
know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has
commanded me.
—John 14:30–31
Reflection:
The Father commanded His Son to carry His Cross, and in so
doing to redeem the world. No matter how He had to shuffle
and stumble along the way to Calvary, and no matter whether
the crowds expressed pity or taunts, Our Lord pressed on toward
His goal: the crucifixion, followed by the resurrection.
Prayer:
My precious Jesus, You told us that to be Your disciple, we
must pick up our cross and follow You. Oh, how often I have
wandered off that path, not knowing that I was moving further
and further from Your love. Grant to me the obedience to never
again stray far from Your footfalls, but stay close to You for the
rest of my life. Amen.

Tuesday: Pour Your Dew
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into
his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
—John 19:33–34
Reflection:
It is such a mystery that Jesus’s crucifixion and death allowed us
to be redeemed and to enter into eternal life, and also freed all
those holy souls who had gone before Him in the land of the
dead. We may never truly comprehend such a mystery, but it is
valuable to ponder it in our hearts.
Prayer:
Precious Blood of Christ, Stream of Mercy, please comfort and
encourage me during times of desolation or discouragement.
On my dryness, pour Your dew. Amen.

“The ways of God are not our ways. We conceive the spiritual life according to our own way of thinking: that is, in a very human way, especially in the beginning. We imagine that it is a life that always tends upward, in which a person continually ascends and never falls back. We think that each day our faults should keep vanishing and that our soul should continue to be purified without cease. And indeed our soul does continue to be purified more and more each day, but this purification is one of faith; it is not a tangible purification that we can perceive as in the case of our findings in the particular examination of conscience, when we note, for example, that yesterday we had eight faults, today six, tomorrow four, and the day after none.” –Servant of God Luis M. Martínez (+ 1956)

Intention:  Lord, please bless us with a society that seeks Your face and prays to You earnestly. I thank You God ahead of time for this.

Monday: Trust in Holy Spirit
1st Joyful Mystery: The annunciation
Scripture:
He is the image of the invisible God,/ the firstborn of all
creation.
—Colossians 1:15
Reflection:
Mary gave her fiat to God in a pure way; she did not question
or laugh at the angel when he asked her to become the mother
of God. From her, we learn how important it is to surrender to
God’s desire for us in an uncomplicated and trusting manner,
free of doubts and anxieties.
Prayer:
Jesus, please help me to enter into the unfamiliar territory to
which you lead me in life. Help me to trust in the grace of my
baptism into the Holy spirit, knowing that that same spirit will
be there for me to aid me in all my needs. Amen.

Monday: Praise From Holy Spirit
2nd Joyful Mystery: The Visitation
Scripture:
God mounts the throne amid shouts of joy;/ the Lord, amid
trumpet blasts./ sing praise to God, sing praise;/ sing praise to
our king, sing praise.
—Psalm 47:6–7
Reflection:
Elizabeth and Mary, with their as-yet-unborn children John
and Jesus, came together to form an association of joy that
was fueled by a burst of praise from the Holy spirit. this was
expressed with holiness in Mary’s Magnificat.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you give us your love, joy and light every day, and
we can be aware of these blessings when we take the time to
pray and listen to you. Assist me in letting go of any guilt that
may linger after my sin has been confessed and i have received
absolution. Amen.

Monday: Empty Ourselves
3rd Joyful Mystery: The Nativity
Scripture:
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in
Christ Jesus,/ Who, though he was in the form of God,/ did not
regard equality with God/ something to be grasped./ rather,
he emptied himself,/ taking the form of a slave,/ coming in
human likeness;/ and found human in appearance,/ he humbled
himself,/ becoming obedient to death,/ even death on a cross.
—Philippians 2:5–8
Reflection:
The Child Jesus was born in a lowly stable amongst the animals,
yet Mary and Joseph realized that He was the son of God.
they teach us that no situation is a cause for feelings of gloom,
because God is still in control, even when we cannot see it.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, help me to empty myself of pride and self-interest,
and embrace the power of your gospel message, that i may live
it out and share it always. Amen.

Monday: God is Love
4th Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
Scripture:
[The Lord] said: they are indeed my people,/ children who
are not disloyal;/ so he became their savior/ in their every
affliction./ it was not a messenger or an angel,/ but he himself
who saved them./ Because of his love and pity/ he redeemed
them himself,/ Lifting them and carrying them/ all the days
of old.
—Isaiah 63:8–9
Reflection:
Mary accepted Simeon’s foreboding message without cringing,
because it came through him from God—Who is Love. she
seemed to understand that Divine Love would always find a
way to make joy out of sorrow and hope out of despair.
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus, king and Center of All Hearts, please inspire me
to dedicate myself to your redeeming purpose in the world, so
that i may be your arms, hands and legs in carrying out your
grand plan of salvation for my brothers, my sisters and myself.
Amen.

Monday: God’s Mysterious Ways
5th Joyful Mystery: The Finding of
the Child Jesus in the Temple
Scripture:
Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a
wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing
away. rather we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and
which none of the rulers of this age knew, for if they had known
it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
—1 Corinthians 2:6–8
Reflection:
Mary and Joseph must have been on an emotional roller coaster
for the three days searching for Jesus and then finally finding
Him in the temple. yet still, they managed to keep saying “yes”
to God in all His unusual and incomprehensible ways.
Prayer:
Dear God, you are mysterious in the way you permit or allow
things to happen in our lives, and in how your wisdom unfolds
in our lives. Please give me the strength to hang onto the
emotional roller coaster of life while trusting in you—trusting
that you are accomplishing something incomprehensibly
worthwhile in my life. Amen.

“In the new and eternal Law, there is only one single commandment, a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. To love others as God loves them is to love God as he wishes to be loved. ”  –Father Tony El Khoury

Intention:  Lord, please help us to resist communism and totalitarianism. I thank You God ahead of time for this.

Sunday: Heavenly Place
1st Glorious Mystery: The Resurrection
Scripture:
As they approached the village to which they were going, he
gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they
urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is
almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened
that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the
blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were
opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their
sight.
—Luke 24:28–31
Reflection:
Jesus explained to the disciples on the road to Emmaus about
the Messiah and the revelations of the prophets, as it related to
Himself. Up until that point, they only recognized the human
side of Him. But then at table that night, He used expressions
and actions that reminded them of how He had acted before
the crucifixion (giving thanks, breaking bread and giving it to
them), and something in this opened their eyes to His Divine
Self as well. At that point, they realized that it had been Him
all along.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus—You who care for me so – thank You for preparing
a heavenly place for me for all eternity. I love You. Amen.

Sunday: Believe in Ascension
2nd Glorious Mystery: The Ascension
Scripture:
I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I
am leaving the world and going back to the Father.
—John 16:28
Reflection:
After Jesus had been resurrected and appeared to Mary
Magdalene, He spoke of His approaching ascension (when she
clung to Him). He said He was ascending to His Father and our
Father. Then, in Mark 16:19, we read the eyewitness accounts
of His ascension by the apostles: “After he had spoken to them,
he was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand
of God.”
Prayer:
Accordingly, we believe in the ascension and affirm it in our
Apostles’ Creed when we say, “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.” Dear Jesus, I
believe that You have ascended and sit at the right hand of the
Father. I ask You to intercede for me in the following matter:
_______________________. Amen.

Sunday: Assimilate Faith
3rd Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the
Holy Spirit on Our Lady and the Apostles
Scripture:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.
—Matthew 28:19
Reflection:
While at the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples about the Holy
Spirit, Whom He promised to send them after He returned
to the Father. He said that the Holy Spirit would explain all
truth to them at such time as they were sufficiently ready to
receive it. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would take what was
His, and declare it to them. Not only that, but He said that
all that the Father had was His (Jesus’s). Therefore, we see the
full reciprocation that exists between the three Persons of the
Trinity.
Prayer:
For this reason, again, we can see how what we profess in
church directly reflects what Jesus taught us about the Holy
Trinity. In the Nicene Creed we say, “I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord the Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father
and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son is adored and
glorified; Who has spoken through the prophets.” Dear Father,
assist me to assimilate the faith of Your church. Amen.

Sunday: Soar to Heaven
4th Glorious Mystery: The Assumption
Scripture:
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes
in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life.
—John 5:24
Reflection:
We believe that Mary was exempted from original sin from the
moment she was conceived, and also, of course, spared from any
punishment because she never committed any sin. Part of why
we believe this is because it is only reasonable to believe that
God could never have united Himself to any human who had
the blemish of sin on their soul. When she passed away, she was
taken up body and soul into heaven to be with her Son, Jesus
Christ, forever.
Prayer:
When Jesus said to Martha, “I am the Resurrection and the
life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and
whoever lives and believes in me shall never die,” in John 11:25–
26, He was affirming that we will soar up to heaven someday,
if we believe and do our best to live His commandments. Dear
Jesus, God of Peace, please lift all the dearly departed faithful
into Your Heavenly Kingdom if they are not yet already there.
Amen.

Sunday: Clothed With the Sun
5th Glorious Mystery: The Coronation of our
Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Scripture:
Daughters of kings are your lovely wives;/ a princess arrayed in
Ophir’s gold/ comes to stand at your right hand.
—Psalm 45:10
Reflection:
Mary was Mother of God and Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and
thus, perhaps it is only right that we call her Queen of the Angels
and the Saints. But, adding to this reasoning, we have the book
of Revelation, where John the Evangelist wrote that He saw “a
woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1) –
immediately following his seeing the Ark of the Covenant –
inferring that they were one in the same things. This woman
gave birth to a baby boy, a little bit later in Chapter 12 of the
book of Revelation. The church naturally sees Mary in her and
believes that she was crowned Queen, having the crown of stars
above her head.
Prayer:
We see how we profess this when we say the Hail Holy Queen
prayer, “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our
sweetness, and our hope…” composed during the Middle Ages.
Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven, please pray for me in the
following urgent matter: _______________. Amen.

“Love is the path of God to us and our path toward God. To love Jesus is to follow the commandments and the words of the Gospel, in which God speaks and manifests his will of love. We must listen attentively, deeply, for they transform the heart into a source of love.”  –Father Tony El Khoury

Intention:   In Jesus’ name, please bless America with a moral, law-abiding, and God-honoring citizenry, so that we are worthy of self-governance.

Saturday: Anger and Bitterness
1st Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation
Scripture:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you?
—1 Corinthians 3:16
Reflection:
If Mary had contained some blemish of sin in her, the angel
could not have told her that she was “full of grace.” Mary had
the Spirit of God within her, or else the angel could not have
told her, “The Lord is with you.” This is the same woman who
Jesus gave to us on the Cross. How blessed we are!
Prayer:
If we live with of the merits of Jesus who gives us forgiveness
and mercy, and live a virtuous life and have the benefit of the
grace of God, we will be living examples of the scripture,
“[My Father] will give you another counselor, to be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for
he dwells with you, and will be in you” (John 14:15–17). Holy
Spirit, come heal us of all anger and bitterness as a result of our
political differences. Amen.

Saturday: Living Sanctuary
2nd Joyful Mystery: The Visitation
Scripture:
From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.
—John 1:16
Reflection:
This encounter between Our Lady and her cousin Elizabeth at
the visitation reveals to us Mary’s strong belief in God and her
profound humility: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of
his handmaiden” (Luke 1:46–48). It is the most superb hymn
of glory to God, Who gave her grace.
Prayer:
Mary is the living sanctuary of the Holy Trinity, where divinity
abounds. Dearest Mary, Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us
to be saved from our petty desires and demands, which get in
the way of our living together in peace on this planet. Amen.

Saturday: Believe, Adore,
Hope and Love
3rd Joyful Mystery: The Nativity
Scripture:
When [the shepherds] saw this, they made known the message
that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were
amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.
—Luke 2:17–18
Reflection:
Christ Jesus came from God because He is God; He came down
from heaven and became a man, yet still retained His divinity.
He shined His light into the shadows of our dark world. He
can still be found in His words, in the Sacraments of the church
and inside of men, women and children across the earth. We
can look into the faces of one another, and see His face, if we
have the eyes to see.
Prayer:
After Jesus was born, the angel appeared to the shepherds,
who then came to Jesus and adored and believed in God. In
like manner, we can say to God, “My God, I believe, I adore,
I hope and I love Thee, and I beg pardon for all those who do
not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.”
Amen.

Saturday: Faithful to God
4th Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
Scripture:
When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was
named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was
conceived in the womb.
—Luke 2:21
Reflection:
By offering Jesus in the temple, Mary was fulfilling the Old
Law, and yet at the same time, she was fulfilling her role as
Co-Redemptrix of humanity.
Prayer:
Our Blessed Mother gives us a model of obedience to follow
in her compliance to the Old Law. Heart of Jesus, In Whom
the Father Was Well Pleased, inspire me to also follow Mary
by honoring and being faithful to God in His church. Amen.

Saturday: Add Prayers
5th Joyful Mystery: The Finding of
the Child Jesus in the Temple
Scripture:
We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of
some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you
see the day drawing near.
—Hebrews 10:25
Reflection:
Joseph, Mary and Jesus provide a wonderful model of Christian
devotion. It mattered not the long distance, nor the lack of
transport to Jerusalem. They were eager to add their prayers
to the prayers of all the other people who had gathered there.
Prayer:
We are so fortunate to have a church to which we can go—a
church that feeds us with the word of God and the Body and
Blood of Christ. Lord Jesus, Our God, lead me to Your church
every Sunday, that I can worship You together with my brothers
and sisters in Christ. Amen.

“The inclination to hiddenness is a quiet mark of holiness. It corresponds to the secrecy of relations between a soul and God. For it seems to be God’s consistent habit with souls to conceal himself even when they are close to him.”  –Father Donald Haggerty

Intention:  Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to please bless all my friends and relatives and the people who dislike me with good health, financial stability and uplifting relationships with their friends and family.  Please bless them with peace, love, joy, happiness and harmony, and please, when their time comes, give them each a peaceful, easy and happy death, and bring them into heaven to be with you forever and ever.

Friday: Your Will Be Done
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not
provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of
angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which
say that it must come to pass in this way?
—Matthew 26:53–54
Reflection:
Jesus was true God and true man and, on account of His
humanness, He chose to prepare for His passion through intense
prayer—which we know of as His agony in the Garden of
Gethsemane. His Father needed Him to be a sacrificial victim
to atone for human sins. Although it was abhorrent to His
human nature, He chose to sacrifice Himself for us, to make
satisfaction for the sins that we had committed.
Prayer:
Even if my distress is at its highest possible level, it could never
be as extreme as Jesus’s anguish, because He took on the sins
of all humanity in His sacrifice on the Cross. Heavenly Father,
help me to remember to pray Jesus’s prayer to You when I am
suffering and in distress: “Father, if you are willing, take this
cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Luke
22:42). Amen.

Friday: Infinite Value
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
Pilate questioned him, “Are you king of the Jews?” He said
to him in reply, “You say so.” The chief priests accused him
of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, “Have you no
answer? See how many things they accuse you of.” Jesus gave
him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
—Mark 15:2–5
Reflection:
Jesus took on our human nature so that He could sacrifice
Himself at the pillar and on the Cross to make amends for
our sins, and thus accomplish our Redemption. The animals
sacrificed under the Old Law had only been of partial merit.
But Jesus, being wholly divine, as well as wholly human, had
infinite value in His sacrifice.
Prayer:
Jesus predicted what was going to happen to Him and could
have avoided it if He had wanted to. We can see this, because
He spoke of His passion a few times before it happened. Dear
Father, when I am facing a tough situation and doing the right
thing seems difficult, give me Your strength to follow Jesus’s
example and do Your will anyway. Amen.

Friday: Last Drop of Cup
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
All who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
—2 Timothy 3:12
Reflection:
The soldiers ridiculed, scourged, and pierced Jesus with thorns.
And Pontius Pilate, though he thought Jesus was innocent,
submitted Him to all this and also to the ultimate suffering of
the crucifixion.
Prayer:
Even though the soldiers left Jesus in a pathetic state, and
Pilate proclaimed His innocence, the crowd insisted on Jesus’s
crucifixion, and Pilate capitulated. Lord Jesus, Angel of Great
Counsel, if I am ever persecuted by unjust powers-that-be, give
me Your tenacity and poise to endure until I drink every last
drop from the cup. Amen.

Friday: Faith, Hope and Love
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these
is love.
—1 Corinthians 13:13
Reflection:
After Pilate handed Jesus over to carry His Cross, the soldiers
forced Him to trudge down the road to Golgotha. All the
while, in His weakened state, He had to endure the abusive
name-calling of the people who had lined the road to jeer
at Him.
Prayer:
Jesus dragged His Cross for our sake with the infinite faith, hope
and love of His divinity. Father, assist me in following in His
footsteps by giving me some of His faith, hope and love while I
carry my own cross in life, blessing anyone who disparages me
along the way and ignoring their detractions. Amen.

Friday: Heal Hearts
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among
themselves and said, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the
cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified
with him also kept abusing him.
—Mark 15:31–32
Reflection:
Jesus’s suffering and death were foretold by the prophet Isaiah
who said, “He was like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and
like a sheep that before its shearer is dumb and opened not his
mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Jesus came, partly, to fulfill the scriptures.
Prayer:
Isaiah also foretold that Jesus would come to make reparation
for the sins of the people when he said, “He poured out his soul
to death, bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). And then He forgave those who
had wounded and killed Him, too. Holy Spirit, come into our
land and heal those who have been wounded by people in the
church. Heal their hearts, Holy Spirit. Amen.

“How unnatural it is not to speak to him, to ask him to help us, to express our sorrow if we offend him, to admire his goodness, to thank him for his benefits…. Our Lord, who is God, showed that he wished people to lay their requests before him. He let people ask him, and then he granted their requests. Moreover, he tells us to ask and keep on asking…. ”  –Canon Francis J. Ripley (+ 1998)

Intention:  I pray for Your help, Lord, today, in carrying out the work that You have given me to do.

Thursday: Baptism
1st Luminous Mystery: The Baptism
of Jesus in the Jordan
Scripture:
I prayed to the Lord, my God, and confessed, “Ah, Lord, great
and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant
toward those who love you and observe your commandments!”
—Daniel 9:4
Reflection:
Our gracious God accepts us just as we are, and through the
Sacrament of Baptism, affirms His merciful covenant with us.
The Father professes His love for us (His children) in baptism.
Prayer:
We each yearn to hear from the Father the same words He said
to Jesus at His baptism: “You are my beloved Son; with you I
am well pleased” (see Matthew 3:17). Lord, heal me all of my
childhood wounds, from any time I felt unwanted, abused or
neglected when I was a youngster. Amen.

Thursday: Generosity and Kindness
2nd Luminous Mystery: The Wedding Feast at Cana
Scripture:
Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who
are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. For I was… thirsty and you
gave me drink.”
—Matthew 25:34–35
Reflection:
Giving a drink to those who are thirsty was one of Jesus’s
directives in Matthew 25 – a corporal work of mercy. Blessed
Mother Mary seemed to recognize this instantly at the wedding
feast of Cana when the wine ran short there.
Prayer:
Those who have asked Blessed Mother Mary to go to her
Son on their behalf are aware of how much generosity and
kindness she has for us all, because they have experienced such
a blessing as a result. Lord Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, may
Your Blessed Mother once again become loved and cherished
throughout the world. Amen.

Thursday: Listen
3rd Luminous Mystery: The Proclamation
of the Kingdom of Heaven
Scripture:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,/ because he has anointed
me/ to bring glad tidings to the poor./ He has sent me to
proclaim liberty to captives/ and recovery of sight to the blind,/
to let the oppressed go free,/ and to proclaim a year acceptable
to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the
attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue
looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture
passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
—Luke 4:18–21
Reflection:
When we counsel the uncertain and educate the ignorant with
gentleness and kindness, we are performing spiritual works of
mercy. In this, we are allowing the Holy Spirit to use us as a
tool of the divine in diminishing the cloud of darkness that
surrounds the world.
Prayer:
When we listen to others faithfully and sincerely, we are giving
them the gift of Jesus’s ear and Jesus’s heart. Dear Jesus, True
Light, inspire the leaders of large corporations to listen with
Your heart to the needs of those affected by their business
activities in the world. Amen.

Thursday: Vessels of Hope and Love
4th Luminous Mystery: The Transfiguration
Scripture:
Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we
will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
—1 Corinthians 15:51–52
Reflection:
The transfiguration teaches us that everything and everyone is
adaptable to grand and holy change. Divine mercy desires our
transformation into vessels of hope and love for one another.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, bless all the holy souls in Purgatory with the
enlightenment of the mind and heart of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thursday: Remember Him
5th Luminous Mystery: The Institution
of the Holy Eucharist
Scripture:
Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who
are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you
gave me food.”
—Matthew 25:34–35
Reflection:
While His sacrifice on the Cross was imminently near, Jesus
instituted the Holy Eucharist, that by the memorial of His
suffering, death and resurrection, we would remember Him
and stay close to Him. It was a corporal work of mercy, as well
as a spiritual one, for us.
Prayer:
There is no telling how much our lives have been extended and
how much disaster has been averted, because of Jesus’s generosity
in providing the Holy Eucharist to us. Lord Heavenly Father,
cause the Blessed Sacrament to be more and more loved and
adored throughout the world, so that people may live lives that
are more joyful, more productive and more protected against
evil. Amen.