ഇൽ റെലിജ്യോസോ കൊൺവേഞ്ഞോ (Il Religioso Convegno)
ലക്ഷ്യം
രാഷ്ട്രങ്ങൾക്കിടയിൽ സമാധാന സംസ്ഥാപനത്തിനായി ജപമാല ചൊല്ലുന്നതിന് മെത്രാന്മാരെയും വൈദികരെയും മറ്റെല്ലാ വിശ്വാസികളെയും ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്തുകൊണ്ട് വിശുദ്ധനായ ജോൺ ഇരുപത്തിമൂന്നാമൻ മാർപാപ്പ എഴുതിയ അപ്പസ്തോലിക ലേഖനമാണ് ഇൽ റെലിജ്യോസോ കൊൺവേഞ്ഞോ (Il Religioso Convegno). 1961 സെപ്തംബർ 29 ന് പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിച്ച ഈ അപ്പസ്തോലിക ലേഖനത്തിൽ ലോകസമാധാനം സംജാതമാകുന്നതിനായി തനിക്കുള്ള വ്യഗ്രതയും ജപമാലപ്രാർത്ഥനയുടെ പ്രത്യേകതകളും ആവശ്യകതയും മാർപാപ്പ വ്യക്തമാക്കുന്നു.
തുടക്കം
കാസ്റ്റൽ ഗാൻഡോൾഫോയിൽ നടന്ന സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ പങ്കെടുത്ത, കർദിനാൾമാർ, മാർപാപ്പയുടെ പ്രതിനിധികൾ, നയതന്ത്ര ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ, എല്ലാ സ്ഥലങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നുമുള്ള വിശ്വാസികളുടെ പ്രതിനിധികൾ എന്നിവരുമൊത്ത് നടന്ന ചർച്ചയിൽ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയ സമാധാനപ്രശ്നത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് ആഴത്തിലുള്ള ആശങ്കയെക്കുറിച്ച് പരാമർശിച്ചുകൊണ്ടാണ് മാർപാപ്പ ഈ അപ്പസ്തോലിക ലേഖനം ആരംഭിക്കുന്നത്. എളിയവനായ തന്റെ വ്യക്തിപരമായ സാന്നിധ്യവും മാർഗ്ഗനിർദ്ദേശവും ആ ചർച്ചകൾക്ക് കേന്ദ്രബിന്ദുവായിരുന്നതും അതിന് ചലനാത്മകതയും മിഴിവും നൽകിഎന്നതും, സമാധാനരാജാവും രക്ഷകനുമായ യേശുവിന്റെ ദിവ്യബലി ആ സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ അർപ്പിക്കാൻ സാധിച്ചതും, എല്ലാ ജനതകളെയും പ്രതിനിധീകരിച്ച ആ സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ പങ്കെടുത്ത എല്ലാവരും സാർവ്വത്രികതയ്ക്ക് ഊന്നൽ നൽകാനും ലോകസമാധാനത്തിനുവേണ്ടി എല്ലാവരോടും അക്രൈസ്തവരോട് പോലും, ആഹ്വാനം ചെയ്യാനും തീരുമാനിച്ചതും ഏറെ ചാരിതാർഥ്യത്തോടെ പാപ്പാ അനുസ്മരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.
പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനയുടെ പ്രാധാന്യം
ജപമാലഭക്തിയെക്കുറിച്ച് മാർപാപ്പ തുടർന്ന് വിവരിക്കുന്നു. വിശുദ്ധവും പ്രയോജനകരവുമായ ധ്യാനം അഭ്യസിക്കുന്നതിനും ആത്മീയ ഉന്നമനത്തെ പരിപോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നതിനും സഭയ്ക്കു മുഴുവനും വേണ്ടി സ്വർഗ്ഗീയ കൃപകൾ നേടുന്നതിനും പരിശുദ്ധ കന്യകയുടെ മാധ്യസ്ഥം തേടുന്നതാണ് വിശുദ്ധ ജപമാല പ്രാർത്ഥനയെന്നും, അത്, തന്റെ പുരോഹിത ശുശ്രൂഷയുടെ ബാല്യത്തിൽ തന്നെ രൂപപ്പെടുത്തിയ ആത്മാവിന്റെ പ്രകാശവും ദിശയും ആയിരുന്നുവെന്നും മാർപാപ്പ പറയുന്നു. രുചികരമായ പോഷണവും അടിസ്ഥാന പ്രമാണങ്ങളുടെ ശക്തിയുമായ വിശുദ്ധ ജപമാലഭക്തി, ചിന്തകളെയും പ്രാർത്ഥനയെയും നേരായ ദിശയിൽ നയിക്കുന്നുവെന്നും, പരിപൂർണ്ണവും സന്തുഷ്ടവുമായ ഈ ക്രിസ്തീയ ഭക്തി എല്ലാ ആത്മാക്കളുടെയും ജനതകളുടെയും സമാധാനത്തിനായുള്ള സാർവത്രിക യാചനയുമാണെന്നും പരിശുദ്ധ പിതാവ് പറയുന്നു.
ജപമാലയ്ക്ക് സഭാശുശ്രൂഷികളുടെ ജീവിതത്തിൽ പരിശുദ്ധ കുർബ്ബാനയ്ക്കും യാമപ്രാർത്ഥനകൾക്കും ശേഷവും, സാധാരണ വിശ്വാസികളുടെ ജീവിതത്തിൽ കൂദാശകളിലെ പങ്കാളിത്തത്തിനു ശേഷവും ഉള്ള സ്ഥാനം ഉണ്ടെന്നും, ജപമാലപ്രാർത്ഥന വഴി ദൈവവുമായുള്ള കൂട്ടായ്മയും ഉയർന്ന ആത്മീയ ഉന്നതിയും സംജാതമാകുന്നുവെന്നും പാപ്പാ കൂട്ടിച്ചേർക്കുന്നു. അഭ്യസ്തവിദ്യരായവർക്കുപോലും തങ്ങളുടെ അധരങ്ങളാൽ ഉരുവിടാനാവുന്ന ലളിതമായ മൂന്ന് പ്രാർത്ഥനകളുടെ ആവർത്തനമാണ് ജപമാലയെന്നും എന്നാൽ അത് ആത്മവിശ്വാസത്തോടെയുള്ള പ്രാർത്ഥനയുടെ ബാഹ്യമായ അനുരണവും എല്ലാ മനുഷ്യരോടുമുള്ള കാരുണ്യപൂർവ്വമായ സ്നേഹത്തിന്റെ രഹസ്യങ്ങൾ തേടി കർത്താവുമായി നടത്തുന്ന സംഭാഷണവും ആണെന്നും മാർപാപ്പ സമർത്ഥിക്കുന്നു. നന്നായി ധ്യാനിച്ച് ചൊല്ലുന്ന ജപമാല വാചികപ്രാർത്ഥനയ്ക്ക് ഐക്യവും യോജിപ്പും നൽകുകയും, യേശുവിന്റെയും മറിയത്തിന്റെയും ജീവിതത്തെ ബന്ധിപ്പിക്കുന്ന കാര്യങ്ങൾ സജീവമായി മനസ്സിലാക്കാൻ സഹായിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുകയും, പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുന്ന ആത്മാക്കളുടെ വിവിധ അവസ്ഥകളെയും സാർവത്രിക സഭയുടെ അഭിലാഷങ്ങളെയും വെളിവാക്കുന്നതുമാണ്.
ജപമാലയിലെ ഓരോ ദശകത്തിലും രഹസ്യാത്മക ധ്യാനവും ഗാഢമായ പ്രതിഫലനവും ഭക്തിപരമായ ലക്ഷ്യവും ഉണ്ട് എന്ന് വിവരിച്ചതിനുശേഷം, ജപമാല എപ്രകാരമാണ് ഒരേ സമയം വ്യക്തിപരവും സമൂഹപരവുമായ പ്രാർത്ഥനയാകുന്നതെന്ന് വ്യക്തമാക്കിക്കൊണ്ടും, ജപമാല സമാധാനത്തിനുവേണ്ടിയുള്ള ഒരു പ്രാർത്ഥനയാണെന്ന് ആവർത്തിച്ചുകൊണ്ടും മാർപാപ്പ തന്റെ അപ്പസ്തോലിക പ്രബോധനം അവസാനിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.
ഫാ. സെബാസ്റ്റ്യന്‍ മുട്ടംതൊട്ടില്‍ mcbs
APOSTOLIC LETTER
THE RELIGIOUS CONVENTION
OF THE HIGH PONTIFF
JOHN XXIII
TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY AND FAITHFUL,
ON THE RECITATION OF THE ROSARY
FOR JUST PEACE BETWEEN NATIONS
Venerable Brothers, beloved children,
Health and Apostolic Blessing!
CONCERNING THE PROBLEM OF PEACE
The religious convention on Sunday 10 September in Castelgandolfo, with noble and copious representatives of Cardinals, Prelates, the Diplomatic Corps, and a multitude of faithful from all backgrounds, was all penetrated by a feeling of deep concern about the problem of peace.
The presence of Our humble person, our moved voice was the guiding, luminous and central point of that meeting. From Our consecrated and blessed hands rose the Eucharistic Sacrifice of Jesus, Savior and Redeemer: Salvator et Redemptor mundi , and peaceful King of centuries and peoples.
All the nations represented were there to give broad significance of universality. Notable group formed, among others, the pupils of the Urbanian College of Propaganda, a reminder of all peoples, even non-Christians, but all invoking peace.
Moved and at the same time confident, we announced on that mysterious evening our intention to encourage subsequent meetings of souls as the opportunity arises along the way, to entertain them in prayer about this fundamental commitment of the presentation of peace in the whole world and to salvation of civilization.
And to this intention, and to offer a first example, that a few days later we went to the Catacombs of S. Callisto, the closest to our summer residence, to implore from there, to the sacred memories of those who preceded us – a good fourteen Popes, and with their illustrious bishops and martyrs of history – the cooperation of their heavenly intercession to ensure to all nations – and all belong in some way to Christ – the great treasure of peace: ut cuncto populo christiano pacem et unitatem Dominus largiri dignetur [ 1 ].
Now here we are in the month of October, which from a confidant tradition of Christian piety and charity, consecrated to the worship and veneration of Our Lady of the Rosary, is offered to us as a new and very opportune opportunity for universal prayer to the Lord for the same great intention, which interests individuals , families, peoples.
The devotion of the Holy Rosary
Last May, inspiring ourselves to the gesture of Pope Leo XIII, of glorious memory, we recalled the teaching of Rerum Novarum and developed it with our Encyclical Mater et Magistra with the intention of bringing Catholic doctrine ever closer to the new demands of human and Christian coexistence.
Let us now remember that that great Pontiff, who was already the light and direction of Our spirit in preparing us, from Our childbirth, for the light of the priestly ministry, to the arrival of October, I return several times to the invitation to the Christian world to recite the Holy Rosary, proposed to all the children of the Church for the exercise of sacred and beneficial meditation, for the nourishment of spiritual elevation and for the intercession of heavenly graces for the whole Church.
His successors were keen to honor the pious and moving tradition. And We humbly intend to follow these great venerable Pastors of Christ’s flock not only in the use of ever more intense concern for the interests of justice and fraternity, in the life here below, but also in the fervent search for the sanctification of souls, which is our true strength and security for every good success, as a response from above to the voices of the earth, erupting from sincere souls, thirsting for truth and charity.
As early as October 1959 we addressed the Catholic world with the Encyclical ” Grata recordatio ” [ 2 ] and the following year we addressed, for the same purpose, a Letter to the Cardinal Vicar of our diocese of Rome [ 3 ].
For this we are pleased, venerable Brothers and beloved children, those who are scattered throughout the world, to call you again this year to some simple and practical considerations, which the devotion of the Holy Rosary suggests to Us, as a tasty nourishment and strength of vital principles, placed in the direction of your thinking and praying. And all this as an expression of perfect and happy Christian piety, and always in the light of universal supplication for the peace of all souls and all nations.
The Rosary, as an exercise of Christian devotion among the faithful of the Latin rite, who are a considerable portion of the. Catholic family, takes place, for the ecclesiastics after the Holy Mass and the Breviary, and for the laity after participation in the Sacraments. It forms devoted communion with God, and always of high spiritual elevation.
Words and content
It is true that, among some less educated souls to rise above the labial homage, it can be recited as a monotonous succession of the three prayers: the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria and the Gloria , arranged in the traditional order of fifteen decades. This, undoubtedly, is already something. But – we must repeat it – it is only an outward start or resonance of confident prayer, rather than a vibrant elevation of the spirit in conversation with the Lord, sought in the sublimity and tenderness of his mysteries of merciful love for all humanity.
The true substance of the well-meditated Rosary is constituted by a triple element which gives unity and cohesion to the vocal expression, discovering in lively succession the episodes that associate the life of Jesus and Mary, with reference to the various conditions of the praying souls and the aspirations of the Universal Church.
For each decade of Hail Mary here is a picture, and for each picture a triple accent, which is at the same time: mystical contemplation, intimate reflection, and pious intention .
MYSTICAL CONTEMPLATION
First of all, pure, luminous, rapid contemplation of every mystery, that is, of those truths of faith which speak to us of the redemptive mission of Jesus. in an intimate communication of thought and feeling with the doctrine and with the life of Jesus, son of God and son of Mary, who lived on earth to redeem, to instruct, to sanctify: – in the silence of the hidden life, made up of prayer and of work, – in the pains of his blessed Passion, – in the triumph of the Resurrection: as in the glory of heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Father, always in the act of assisting and vivifying with the Holy Spirit the Church founded by him, and progressing in its journey through the centuries.
INTIMATE REFLECTION
The second element is the reflection that from the fullness of the mysteries of Christ spreads in bright light over the spirit of the person praying. Each one perceives in the individual mysteries the opportune and good teaching for himself regarding his own sanctification and the conditions in which he lives and under the continuous illumination of the Holy Spirit, who from the depths of the soul in grace “solicits for us with unspeakable groans” [ 4 ], each compares his life with the warmth of teaching, which flows from those same mysteries, and finds inexhaustible applications for his own spiritual needs, as well as for those of his daily life.
PIOUS INTENTION
Ultimately it is intention : that is, the inclination of persons, or institutions, or the necessity of a personal and social order, which for a truly active and pious Catholic fall within the exercise of charity towards the brothers, charity that spreads in hearts as a living expression of the common belonging to the mystical body of Christ.
In this way the Rosary becomes a universal supplication of individual souls and of the immense community of the redeemed, who from all parts of the earth meet in a single prayer: both in the personal invocation, in imploring graces for the individual needs of each one; as in participating in the immense and unanimous choir of the whole Church for the great interests of all humanity. The Church, as the Divine Redeemer wanted it, lives amid the harshness, adversity and storms of a social disorder that often turns into a fearful threat; but his gazes are fixed and the energies of nature and grace always reach out towards the supreme destiny of eternal purposes.
LABIAL AND PRIVATE RECITATION
This is the Marian Rosary, observed in its various elements, gathered together on the wings of vocal prayer, and intertwined with it as in a light and substantial embroidery, but full of warmth and spiritual charm.
The vocal prayers therefore also acquire their full prominence: first of all the Sunday prayer which gives tone, substance and life to the Rosary, and coming after the announcement of the individual mysteries, marks the passage from one decade to another; then the angelic salutation, which carries within itself the echoes of the exultation of heaven and earth around the various pictures of the life of Jesus and Mary; and finally the trisagion, repeated in profound adoration of the Holy Trinity.
Oh! always beautiful, thus, the Rosary of the innocent child and the sick, of the virgin consecrated to the hiding of the cloister or to the apostolate of charity, always in humility, and in sacrifice, of man and woman, father and mother of the family, nourished by a high sense of responsibility, noble and Christian, of modest families faithful to the ancient domestic tradition: of souls gathered in silence, and abstracted from the life of the world, which they have renounced, and yet always kept to live with the world, but as anchorites , between uncertainties and temptations.
This is the Rosary of pious souls, who bring alive the concern for their own singularity of life and environment.
SOCIAL AND SOLEMN PRAYER
In the act of respecting this ancient, customary and moving form of Marian devotion, according to the personal circumstances of each one, we are also permitted to add that the modern transformations, which have occurred in every sector of human coexistence, scientific inventions, the same improvement of the organization of work, leading man to measure the physiognomy of the present world with greater breadth of gaze and penetration of shrewdness, arousing new sensitivities also regarding the functions and forms of Christian prayer. Now every soul who prays no longer feels alone and occupied exclusively with his own interests of a spiritual and temporal order, but he feels. more and better than in the past, to belong to a whole social group, in which the responsibility participates, enjoys the advantages, fears uncertainties and dangers. This, moreover, is the character of the liturgical prayer of the Missal and of the Breviary: at each touch, marked by the “Oremus”, which presupposes plurality and multitude both of those who pray and of those who await fulfillment and for whom the prayer is completed.It is the crowd that prays in unity of supplication for all human, religious and civil fraternity.
The Rosary of Mary is therefore taken up as an elevation of great public and universal prayer in the face of the ordinary and extraordinary needs of the holy Church, of the nations and of the whole world.
There were difficult times, very difficult in the history of peoples, due to the succession of events that marked the variations of the most powerful states in Europe in notes of tears and blood.
It is well known, to those who follow the events of political transformations from a historical point of view, the influence exerted by Marian piety, in preservation from threatened misfortunes, in recovery of prosperity and social order, as a testimony of spiritual victories obtained.
HISTORICAL MONUMENT OF PIETY AND ART IN VENICE
Always mindful of the city Our beloved of Venice, which for six years offered us so dear opportunities for good pastoral ministry, we love to point out for reasons of deep satisfaction, which touches our heart, the restoration now completed of the sumptuous Chapel of the Rosary, a very preclared decoration of the Basilica of Saints John and Paul of the Dominican Fathers beyond.
It is a monument that shines with great honor among the many who have affirmed the victories of faith in Venice over the centuries, and corresponds to those years precisely, which followed the Council of Trent, marking – from 1563 to 1575 – the characteristic fervor spread throughout Christianity , in honor of the Rosary of Mary, since then invoked in the Litany under the title of “Auxilium Christianorum”.
Again and always: Rosary invocation of universal peace
o Blessed Rosary of Mary: how much sweetness in seeing you lifted from the hands of the innocent, of the holy priests, of pure souls, of the young and the elderly, of those who appreciate the value and efficacy of prayer, raised by the countless and pious crowds as emblem , and as an auspicious banner of peace in hearts and of peace for all human peoples!
To say peace in a human and Christian sense means penetrating into the minds of that sense of truth, justice, perfect brotherhood among peoples, which dispels all danger of discord, confusion, which composes the will of each and every one in the footsteps of the Gospel. doctrine, on the contemplation of the mysteries and examples of Jesus and Mary, which have become familiar to universal devotion: on the effort of every soul, of all souls, towards the perfect exercise of the holy law, which, by regulating the secrets of the heart, rectifies the actions of each one towards the fulfillment of Christian peace, the delight of human living, a foretaste of the immanable and eternal joys.
A MEDITATED ROSARY ASSAY
Beloved Brothers and children, on this subject of the Rosary of Mary, intended as a worldwide supplication for the peace of the Lord and for the happiness of souls and peoples here below, the heart would suggest other pious, persuasive and touching considerations. But we prefer to offer to your attention, as a complement to this Apostolic Letter, a little essay of our devout thoughts , distributed for each decade of the Rosary, with reference to the triple emphasis – mystery, reflection and intention – of which we have mentioned above.
These simple and spontaneous notes may well suit the spirit of many. particularly inclined to overcome the monotony of simple acting. Useful and opportune forms for a more lively personal edification, a more heated fervor of snpplication for the health and peace of all peoples [ 5 ].
This last thought is for St. Joseph. His beloved figure appears several times in the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary. But we remember that the great Pontiff Leo XIII, in the fervor of his recommendations, three times – in 1885, in 1886, in 1889 – presented him to the veneration of the faithful of the whole world, teaching that prayer “To you, O blessed Joseph” , which is all the more dear to Us, because it was learned in the fervors of Our happy childhood.
Once again we recommend her, inviting the Guardian of Jesus and the most pure Spouse of Mary to validate Our vows, Our hopes with his intercession.
Finally, we wish with all our heart that this month of October succeeds, as it wants to be, a continuous and delightful succession for the pious souls of mystical elevation to her who the officiation of the Most Sacred Rosary, in its closing, still and always acclaims the ” Beata Mater, et intacta Virgo gloriosa, Regina mundi ” to universal peace and consolation.
Castel Gandolfo, 29 September 1961, feast of St. Michael the Archangel.
IOANNES PP. XXIII
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[ 1 ] Cf. Litaniae Sanctorum .
[ 2 ] AAS LI (1959), pp. 673-678.
[ 3 ] Epistula «The October that is before us», AAS LII (1960), pp. 814-817.
[ 4 ] Rom , 8, 26
[ 5 ] In textu, quem ephemeris ” L’Osservatore Romano ” in lucem edidit die 1 Octobris mensis a. 1961 [n. 227], sequuntur nonnullae piae commentationes super quindecim Sacri Rosarii mysteriis.
