The Rosary and the Greatest Vocation ever known


February 21, 2017

The Order of Preachers has a strong devotion to the Rosary. The Constitution of the Order sees the Blessed Virgin Mary as “an example of meditation on the words of Christ and of accepting one’s mission” (LCO 67 § II). There is a special kind of thrill connected to receiving a mission from the Creator of the universe, a mission that is specifically tailored to an individual whose life may seemingly be inconsequential to the rest of the world. Yet, from the divine perspective, that individual is meant to occupy a unique place in heaven and fulfil an irreplaceable role in the process of history’s unravelling.

This potential, perspectival tension that may exist between God and the world could not be more pronounced than that which we see in the case of the “virgin” from “Nazareth” (Lk 1:26). In all its obscurity and insignificance, Nazareth produced the greatest vocation ever known to mankind when the angel Gabriel was sent there to deliver the message of the Incarnation, God was to become one of us, and He was going to do it through a virgin named Mary. That was Mary’s mission, that was her vocation, to bring the Son of God into the world for the salvation of all mankind.

However deep and profound the joyful Mystery of Annunciation may be, some things are made clear to us in the Gospel’s account of Gabriel’s visit to Mary. During this angelic visitation, Mary discovered her vocation, which had been set apart for her before the creation of the world. Her life had changed within an instant. After having accepted her mission, Mary erupts in a joyful song, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” (Lk 1:46). Annunciation is the doorway to the rest of the Joyful Mysteries, which could not have been made possible had Mary not embraced her vocation, had she rejected the plan to which God had called her.

In a way, like Mary, we are all called to some vocation in this life, a vocation that will be our doorway to partake of the Joyful Mysteries. It is possible to reject this calling. There is an example of this rejection made vivid for us in the Gospel. When the rich, young man approaches Jesus and asks him, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Mk 10:17, 21). Unfortunately, this man’s attachment to his possessions was too strong to embrace Jesus’ calling. The result was “he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (Mk 10:22).

Conversely, for those of us who have embraced this vocation, that moment when it was first announced to us through an inspiration of the Holy Spirit is unforgettable. The voice of our heavenly Father calling us to embrace the purpose for which we were created imbues our lives with a meaning that surpasses the greatest possible honour this world is capable of bestowing. In many ways, this meaning remains a mystery that unfolds gradually as our docility to God’s voice grows more intense until we are ready to go out and announce the mystery to the whole world.

For this reason, the Order of Preachers was instituted, to preach the Good News to the world.

Bro. Augustine Marogi, O.P. (on DominicanFriars.org) was born in Baghdad, Iraq to a Chaldean Catholic family. He left Iraq along with five of his siblings on July, 1991 and went to Jordan, then Spain where they stayed for a year.  After that they made their way to Canada. Bro. Augustine obtained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from St. Claire College, a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a Bachelor of Education from University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario. Prior to entering the Order, he taught English and Mathematics, and he attended the Holy Family Chaldean Catholic Church in Windsor. “I joined the Order of Friars Preachers because I believe that God is calling me to serve in His vineyard through preaching and sacred studies.”

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