There is comfort in the thought of Mary
 In the strange interlude with the angel,
A moment life changing, then world changing,
 Manifested in private.  She teaches
Quiet thoughtfulness with the will of God,
 Which confronted her, engaged to Joseph,
Alone and uncertain of the future.

II

With the Word in her womb and mind and heart,
 Mary went to Elizabeth with John;
The prophet moved in the womb in his joy.
 How simple the mystery of his love,
Of God’s love.  The rosary reminds us
 Of that presence of divine, joyful love
In our family’s humblest reunions.
 
III

The infinite through the finite emerged,
 Through the Immaculate Mother of God,
As Christ the Redeemer, Word Incarnate,
 A baby in a Bethlehem manger.
Like kings and shepherds with our Hail Marys,
 We may present gifts of prayer from our hearts
To Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

IV

Where is the ritual without Our Lord
 Renewing the activity’s freshness?
In the temple, the fount of tradition,
 What joy when the joy of Heaven was brought
To render holy all presentations.
 With Him, tender and tending their duty,
His parents, Mary and Joseph, in prayer.

V

Always this Child is Father of the man,
 Original thought, Teacher of Teachers,
Whom we lose in daily circumstances,
 As Joseph and Mary did once before.
With the rosary’s prayers we discover
 We are not unlike these saints of glory
Who found their Lord within his Father’s house.


The Sorrowful Mysteries

I

Jesus in his garden of agony,
 Embracing the thorns of man’s sin and death,
Inconsolable consoler.  We pray
 To be with you when we are called to be
Like you in times of inevitable
 Suffering for the sake of our own lives,
For our own loves, for thy will to be done.
 
II

How rarely do we turn the other cheek
 When we are slapped with the sting of insult?
How weak is our forbearance of evil?
 Do we retain our dignity in pain?
We pray for such grace in your divine name,
 Jesus, who earned us that grace suffering
The unjust scourges of Roman justice.

III

Comic King, ridiculous Pretender,
 Confronting us as this helpless, thorn-crowned
Messiah.  Mystery how sorrowful?
 We mock in brute ignorance your wisdom
That delivers us from Caesar to God.
 We need pass by the unfathomable
Depths of your love in prayer, humbler, wiser.
 
IV

An insufferable indignity
 Suffered with love’s infinite dignity,
The cross, laid on your back, there to uphold
 Your death, our salvation; yet too heavy
Its weight three times for your strength without help.
 Mystery of the Cross!  Our neighbors need
Us to help carry on, and we need them.

V

Jesus loved us as a man without fear,
 Nailed to a cross, dying.  Jesus loves us,
Creatures of the Creator, with wills free
 To fall or rise, who fell misled by pride.
How could we merit an infinite price
 Of  redemption?  Praise Our Lord and Our God!
Jesus died an ignominious death.
 

The Glorious Mysteries

I

Could an eternal king be held by death?
 Hail Eternal King!  Hail Lord of Life!  Hail!
An empty tomb, the great promise fulfilled.
 How bright were the eyes of Our Lady?
Gather the disciples, gather those men
 Who were stricken when their shepherd was struck.
And where is He now?  Where is Our Lord now?

II

He it is who gathers us as one,
 Opening eyes, enlightening our minds,
Comforting us, before His ascension.
 We are left with the music of His voice:
“Follow me” – a command, His word.  “Take up
 Your cross and follow me.”  Then with our cross,
With His light to lead us, we live—His life!
 
III

Who can be ambitious to change the world,
 At odds with oneself, with others, with God?
Hail Paraclete!  Holy Giver of Life!
 Infuse Yourself in our emotions and minds,
Lead us in Our Lord’s way to grow in His love.
 Use us, if You will, to bring others peace,
To the knowledge of Jesus and His love.