The weather finally turned favorable in Enterprise, AL, so the SPSE team was evangelizing. They spoke with many people who were also out enjoying the good weather.
One couple was new to the area. The wife was looking for a Catholic parish and her husband, although not Catholic, was interested in the Church. The evangelists told them about the two Catholic churches nearby. The wife took Rosaries for herself and her daughters. The husband spoke with evangelist Mikey Torres about the fullness of the truth that only the Catholic Church possesses.
The team also spoke with many others, mostly about how biblical the Rosary is, a tool that helps us meditate on Mysteries in the life of Jesus Christ. A “Mystery” is a truth with so many layers of meaning that we can never know all of it; there’s always more to discover. The Rosary has 20 Mysteries: 18 directly relate to what Jesus said and did, 2 illustrate His graciousness to Mary. SPSE’s Rosary pamphlet lists where each is in the Bible.
Besides its Mysteries, the prayers are also biblical. The Our Father comes directly from Our Lord (cf. Mt. 6:9-13). The Glory Be is pure praise of God, and the O My Jesus is a plea for God’s mercy on sinners.
So, what about the Hail Mary? Its first half, too, is directly from Scripture (cf. Lk 1:28, 42), focusing on God’s love for us and on the unearned gift He granted a member of our otherwise-fallen human race. Properly understood, our praise of Mary is actually praise of God, Who created her and saved her from the moment of her conception.
The second half starts with “Holy”. The Bible refers to Christians in general as saints, or “holy ones” (cf. Eph 1:1, Phil 1:1, Col 1:2). Plus, “Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself” (CCC 509). Then we ask Mary to “pray for us”, since all Christians should pray for one another (cf. 1 Tim 2:1, 3). This duty still applies to the saints in heaven (cf. Rev 5:8). So, nothing in the Hail Mary goes against Scripture.
Thank you, Team Enterprise. Great first outing of 2015! You can do this too! Join us?