Sanctity of Life Rosary

Meditations taken from Pope John Paul II’s Gospel of Life

THE ANNUNCIATION

We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the "culture of death" and the "culture of life". We find ourselves not only "faced with" but necessarily "in the midst of" this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life. For us too Moses' invitation rings out loud and clear: "See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil....  therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live" (Dt 30:15,19).

THE VISITATION

 There are still many married couples who, with a generous sense of responsibility, are ready to accept children as "the supreme gift of marriage".[21] Nor is there a lack of families which, over and above their everyday service to life, are willing to accept abandoned children, boys and girls and teenagers in difficulty, handicapped persons, elderly men and women who have been left alone. Many centres in support of life, or similar institutions, are sponsored by individuals and groups which, with admirable dedication and sacrifice, offer moral and material support to mothers who are in difficulty and are tempted to have recourse to abortion. Increasingly, there are appearing in many places groups of volunteers prepared to offer hospitality to persons without a family, who find themselves in conditions of particular distress or who need a supportive environment to help them to overcome destructive habits and discover anew the meaning of life.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

 "The life was made manifest, and we saw it" (1 Jn 1:2): Our gaze is fixed on Christ "the Word of life" 29. Faced with the countless grave threats to life present in the modern world, one could feel overwhelmed by sheer powerlessness: good can never be powerful enough to triumph over [so much] evil! At such times the People of God, and this includes every believer, is called to profess with humility and courage its faith in Jesus Christ, "the Word of life" (1 Jn 1:1). … The Gospel of life is something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation of the very person of Jesus. Jesus made himself known to the Apostle Thomas, and in him to every person, with the words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). This is also how he spoke of himself to Martha, the sister of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26). ... Through the words, the actions and the very person of Jesus, man is given the possibility of "knowing" the complete truth concerning the value of human life. From this "source" he receives, in particular, the capacity to "accomplish" this truth perfectly (cf. Jn 3:21), that is, to accept and fulfill completely the responsibility of loving and serving, of defending and promoting human life.

 
THE PRESENTATION

Allowing herself to be guided by the example of Jesus the "Good Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:29-37) and upheld by his strength, the Church has always been in the front line in providing charitable help: so many of her sons and daughters, especially men and women Religious, in traditional and ever new forms, have consecrated and continue to consecrate their lives to God, freely giving of themselves out of love for their neighbor, especially for the weak and needy. These deeds strengthen the bases of the "civilization of love and life", without which the life of individuals and of society itself loses its most genuinely human quality. Even if they go unnoticed and remain hidden to most people, faith assures us that the Father "who sees in secret" (Mt 6:6) not only will reward these actions but already here and now makes them produce lasting fruit for the good of all.

THE FINDING OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

39. Man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God himself makes this clear to Noah after the Flood: "For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting ... and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life" (Gen 9:5). The biblical text is concerned to emphasize how the sacredness of life has its foundation in God and in his creative activity: "For God made man in his own image" (Gen 9:6). Human life and death are thus in the hands of God, in his power: "In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind", exclaims Job (12:10). "The Lord brings to death and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up" (1 Sam 2:6). He alone can say: "It is I who bring both death and life" (Dt 32:39).

Luminous Mysteries

BAPTISM OF JESUS

79. We are the people of life because God, in his unconditional love, has given us the Gospel of life and by this same Gospel we have been transformed and saved. We have been ransomed by the "Author of life" at the price of his precious blood. Through the waters of Baptism we have been made a part of him, as branches which draw nourishment and fruitfulness from the one tree. Interiorly renewed by the grace of the Spirit, "who is the Lord and giver of life", we have become a people for life and we are called to act accordingly.

WEDDING FEAST AT CANA

 42. "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it": man's responsibility for life. To defend and promote life, to show reverence and love for it, is a  task which God entrusts to every man, calling him as his living image to  share in his own lordship over the world … As one called to till and look after the garden of the world (cf. Gen  2:15), man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for  future generations. It is the ecological question--ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to "human ecology" properly speaking[28]--which  finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a  solution which respects the great good of life, of every life.

PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

 47. The mission of Jesus, with the many healings he performed, shows God’s great concern even for man's bodily life. Jesus, as "the physician of the  body and of the spirit",[37] was sent by the Father to proclaim the good  news to the poor and to heal the brokenhearted (cf. Lk 4:18; Is 61:1).  Later, when he sends his disciples into the world, he gives them a  mission, a mission in which healing the sick goes hand in hand with the  proclamation of the Gospel: "And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of  heaven is at hand'. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast  out demons" (Mt 10:7-8; cf. Mk 6:13; 16:18).  Certainly the life of the body in its earthly state is not an absolute  good for the believer, especially as he may be asked to give up his life  for a greater good. As Jesus says: "Whoever would save his life will lose  it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it"

TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS ON MOUNT TABOR

95.  "Walk as children of light": bringing about a transformation of culture. "Walk as children of light ... and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness". In our present social context, marked by a dramatic struggle between the "culture of life" and the "culture of death", there is need to develop a deep critical sense, capable of discerning true values and authentic needs … we must build a new culture of life: new, because it will be able to confront and solve today's unprecedented problems affecting human life; new, because it will be adopted with deeper and more dynamic conviction by all Christians; new, because it will be capable of bringing about a serious and courageous cultural dialogue among all parties. While the urgent need for such a cultural transformation is linked to the present historical situation, it is also rooted in the Church's mission of evangelization. The purpose of the Gospel, in fact, is "to transform humanity from within and to make it new".

INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST

25. Christ's blood reveals to man that his greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift of self. Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of Christ is no longer a sign of death, of definitive separation from the brethren, but the instrument of a communion which is richness of life for all. Whoever in the Sacrament of the Eucharist drinks this blood and abides in Jesus (cf. Jn 6:56) is drawn into the dynamism of his love and gift of life, in order to bring to its fullness the original vocation to love which belongs to everyone