Theological Foundations new file

156 Theological Foundations tual variations on the subject upon which we meditate. Common recita- tion of the rosary is important because it brings inner peace and strength- ens the spirit of faith. “Love has only one word, it is expressed in one word and as we repeat it frequently we always say it in a different way. Therefore, a mother never tires of her child climbing onto her lap chirp- ing the same words over and over again, repeating the same caresses and kisses. True pain, too, has one word, one complaint in which it is expressed and one cry in which it seeks relief.” Jesus repeated the same request three times in the Garden of Olives: “My Father, if it be possi- ble, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Mt 26, 39). 57 One who has faith and a good heart, will continue to repeat the same words and actions, and will not become weary as he repeats the same things each day. Repeating God’s thoughts and words not only does not make man’s soul weary, but enriches it with new words and evokes dif- ferent feelings each time round. Every Our Father and Hail Mary are like pieces of the heavenly bread which strengthens us. Every decade of the rosary combined with meditation on a particular mystery is like the recurring seasons where each sunrise is a greeting with which God wel- comes His creation. The days following one after another, similar to one another, bringing us the changes of the seasons in their sequential regu- larity, are like the image of the rosary prayers which, albeit the same, bring to our minds the mysteries in their sequential order, the mysteries which are like the seasons in the lives of Jesus and Mary. 58 In Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz’s opinion, the rosary is a prayer adorned with the flowers of the fifteen mysteries, it is a great image of the work of Redemption. Jesus the God-Man and Mary are present in each mystery. Each mystery gives us an example of virtues in different conditions and under different circumstances and a certainty that God’s grace will not fail us. A person who prays the rosary in this spirit, feed- ing his heart and mind with the thoughts contained in this prayer, turns his own life into a rosary and a crown of virtues. For this, God will reward him with a crown which Jesus and Mary will put on his head .59