LET US PRAY WITH MARY AND POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES
Meditations of the Mysteries of the Rosary in light of Pope Francis’ homilies and catechesis on the missionary zeal Year 2024
Let us begin: There is no mission without the Rosary!
How beautiful it is to rediscover the providential similarity between the month dedicated to “missions” and the one of the “Rosary”: the month of October. And for the missionary disciples of Canada, it is a grace, because Our Lady of the Rosary is the Patron Saint of this country.
Considering the growth of the “Missionary Rosary” spiritual experience, we have prayed with Mary as Queen and Mother of Missions under the auspices of the messages and pontifical teachings for the past two years. This year, while emphasizing on Pope Francis’ catechesis, we will discover through the Rosary,
Mary’s prayer and the whole Church’s prayer for missions—we will also realize that there is no mission without the Rosary, because mission is also and foremost a prayerful action: the one of the Propagation of the faith and the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
What better way than the Rosary to meditate on the greatest moments in Christ’s life and, in the company of his Mother? Let us allow the teachings of Pope Francis to enter our hearts throughout this Rosary and let us make the Church intentions for missions our own, while fully contemplating the Joyous, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of Christ’s life, in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
First Mystery: The Annunciation
“Yet it is not so much that we go to the Lord, but that he comes to us, to fill us with his grace, to fill us with his joy.” (Pope Francis, Homily for the celebration of the sacrament of penance with the act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, March 25, 2022).
Let us pray so that the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world may be open to the graces and joy of the Annunciation in order to bring them to those to whom the Lord sends them.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Second Mystery: The Visitation
“However, when Mary clearly understood what God is asking of her, what she has to do, she does not loiter, she does not delay, but goes with haste” (Pope Francis, Recital of the Holy Rosary for the Conclusion of the Marian Month of May, May 31, 2013).
Let us pray so that the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world may obtain from God the grace to always discern his will and to act efficiently and promptly in their mission.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Third Mystery: The Nativity
“God was born in a manger, as if to remind us that, in order to live, we need him, like the bread we eat” (Pope Francis, Homily for the Nativity Mass, December 24, 2020).
Let us pray so that the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world may always find in Jesus the bread of life and share him with everyone who needs God.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fourth Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
“Jesus who goes out to meet his people. It is the feast day of encounter: the newness of the Child encounters the tradition of the Temple; the promise finds fulfillment; young Mary and Joseph encounter the elderly Simeon and Anna. Everything, therefore, meets as Jesus arrives” (Pope Francis, Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the 23rd World Day for Consecrated Life, February 2, 2019).
Let us pray so that the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world may always distinguish themselves through a spirit of openness and meeting in Jesus Christ.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fifth Mystery: The Finding in the Temple
“We come from a story that was woven with bonds of love, and the person we are today was born not so much out of the material goods that we enjoyed, but from the love that we received” (Pope Francis, December 26, 2021, Angelus).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world whose vocation is misunderstood and unwelcome by their families, so that their love for God and their families keeps growing.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
First Mystery: The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
“To become Christian is not to apply makeup that changes your face, no! If you are Christian, your heart changes” (Pope Francis, General Audience, March 29, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that their zeal may take root in the Baptismal Promises and New Life in Christ.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Second Mystery: The Wedding Feast at Cana
“O Jesus, my Love, my vocation, at last I have found it. My vocation is Love!” (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation, C’est la Confiance, October 15, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that, in following the footsteps of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Patron Saint of Missions, they may find in Jesus their love, and they may celebrate him in the wedding of mission.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Third Mystery: Jesus’s Proclamation of the Coming of the Kingdom of God
“Passion for the Gospel is not a matter of comprehension or studies, which are helpful but which do not inspire it. Rather, it means going through the same experience of ‘fall and resurrection’ that Saul/Paul lived and which is at the origin of the transfiguration of his apostolic zeal” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, March 29, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may be the first witnesses of the Good News and the conversion that they proclaim.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fourth Mystery: The Transfiguration
“When one finds Jesus, one feels the fire. May the Lord help us find Jesus, encounter Jesus, and may this Jesus change our life from within and help us to help others” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, March 29, 2023).
Let us make Pope Francis’ prayer for the missionary disciples and the whole world, our own, following the footsteps of the disciples who witnessed the transfiguration of Christ on the mountain.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fifth Mystery: The Institution of the Eucharist
“Through Eucharistic adoration, as we remain in silence in the presence of the Lord, who remains with us in the Blessed Sacrament; by lovingly cultivating this communion with Christ, the missionary disciple can
become a mystic in action” (Pope Francis, Message for the 97th World Mission Day).
Let us pray so that the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world may be fervent adorers of Christ in the Eucharist in order to gather strength for their journey.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
First Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
“There are many martyrs in the Church today, many, because for confessing the Christian faith, they are banished from society or end up in prison” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, April 19, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world who experience martyrdom in their mission.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Second Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
“Martyrs show us that every Christian is called to the witness of life, even when this does not go as far as the shedding of blood, making a gift of themselves to God and to their brethren, in imitation of Jesus” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, April 19, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may cultivate a sense and spirit of sacrifice as Christ and the model martyrs that came after him.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Third Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns
“Martyrs, however, must not be considered as heroes who acted individually […], but as ripe and excellent fruits from the Lord’s vine, which is the Church.”
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may give an account of their efforts and sufferings to Christ and his Church.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fourth Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
“Saint Francis Xavier is the patron of missions, like Saint Therese of the Child Jesus […] They were the first of a numerous band of passionate missionaries in modern times, to depart, ready to endure immense hardships and dangers […] driven only by the powerful desire to make Jesus Christ and his Gospel known” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, May 17, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that mission may be the priority of their life, with or without the comfort of social, financial, material and technological securities.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fifth Mystery: The Crucifixion and Death
“The Missionary Sisters of Charity are still present today in Yemen. Some of them have suffered martyrdom, but the others continue; they risk their lives, but they keep on going” (Pope Francis, Catechesis on the passion for evangelization, April 19, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may be courageous and persistent while facing hardships.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
First Mystery: The Resurrection
“Jesus has shown us that death is not the last word […] The faith we profess in the resurrection makes us men and women of hope, not despair, men and women of life, not death” (Pope Francis, homily for the commemoration mass for the cardinals and bishops who died during the year, November 3, 2017).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that through their missionary zeal, they may bring the hope and life of the Risen Christ to the desperate world, which is afraid of death.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Second Mystery: The Ascension
“The Ascension exhorts us to lift our gaze toward heaven, in order to return it immediately to the earth, to implement the tasks that the Risen Lord entrusts to us” (Pope Francis, Angelus-Regina Caeli, May 13, 2018).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that their mission may be centred on prayer and concrete action in the world.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Third Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit
“Mission is the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen to the call to mission” (Pope Francis, Message for Word Mission Day, October 2020).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may continue to respond to their missionary vocation by letting themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fourth Mystery: The Assumption
“It is when we stoop to serve our brothers and sisters that we rise. It is love that elevates life. The effort in serving those who have nothing to offer in return […] It is tiring, but it is going upwards, it is attaining Heaven!” (Pope Francis, Angelus on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 2023).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that the humble servant, the Blessed Virgin Mary, may be a source of inspiration for their mission.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Fifth Mystery: The Coronation of Mary
The Rosary is the prayer that always accompanies my life. It is also the prayer of the humble and the saints… It is the prayer of my heart (Pope Francis).
Let us pray for the missionary disciples of Canada and the whole world, so that they may devote themselves to the Marian intercession in their mission, through the Rosary by following the footsteps of Pope Francis.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
With the collaboration of Fr. Gérald Fabrice Endamena
A priest from Cameroon
