Campanile, Façade and Tympanum – Parts of a Church – Part II
Sponsored
Catholic365 is sponsored by
Road to Purity
May 13 is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima and marks the anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s six appearances to three shepherd children (Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta) in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. During these appearances, Our Lady offered messages and requests, including: continual praying of the Rosary to honor of Our Lady and for world peace; establishment of a devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; building a chapel on the site of the appearances in Her honor; and offering to endure all sufferings as acts of reparation for sins and as supplication of the conversion of sinners.
The devotion to Our Lady of Fatima spans the entire world with special devotions noted in Portuguese-heritage churches such as St. Elizabeth of Portugal Catholic Church in Sacramento https://churchwonders.com/churches-shrines/california-churches/st-elizabeth-of-portugal-church-sacramento-ca/. Many churches display a statue of Our Lady of Fatima where she is shown with a long Rosary draped from her folded hands. She wears a cream-colored veil enhanced by gold lacing. Her compassionate face is tilted to the left and on her head is a crown representing her status as Queen of Heaven and Earth as described in the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.
In her appearances at Fatima, the Blessed Mother asked for praying of the Rosary daily and said “I am the Lady of the Rosary.”
What is the Rosary?
The Rosary is an easy to learn practice which involves only five prayers: The Apostles Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be (The Doxology), and The Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen). One uses a string of beads (or your fingers or knuckles) to maintain a count of the prayers, as well as to aid in concentration while reciting these prayers. A traditional, “full” Rosary, consists of the recitation of 150 Hail Mary’s in groups of ten (decades of the Rosary) marked by saying an “Our Father” at the beginning of each decade, and a “Glory Be” at the end of each decade. Within this repetition of prayers, during each decade, one meditates on each event of the Mysteries of the Rosary - originally fifteen Mysteries (Glorious, Joyful, and Sorrowful), now twenty, as the five Luminous Mysteries were added by Pope John Paul II in 2002. See https://churchwonders.com/devotions/traditional-prayers/the-rosary/ for more information on the prayer itself, the Mysteries, and the origination of the devotion.
A Meditative Tool
The use of repetition (words, sounds, movements) is common in meditative practices, as is the use of stringed beads as a tool to facilitate this repetition. If the Rosary is recited mindfully with thoughtful contemplation of the Mysteries, one will surely be distracted from cares aside from the present, as well as experience a peacefulness beyond this world. Doesn’t this sound like a meditation to you?
Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for Us!
Read more about the Rosary at https://churchwonders.com/devotions/the-rosary/
J. John is a Catholic church enthusiast who writes about churches that he has visited (or hopes to) - the places where the physical and the sacred intersect. His content gravitates toward the architecture, artifacts, art and history of the sites; as well as the related saints, devotions and liturgical aspects of the venues.
If you have a favorite church, shrine or sacred space, he'd love to hear from you!
Website: https://churchwonders.com
Email: info@churchwonders.com
