(c)Mary TV/Anthony Zubac
July 30, 2019
St. Peter Chrysologus
Dear Family of Mary!
“Dear children! My call for you is prayer. May prayer be a joy for you and a wreath which binds you to God…” (July 25, 2019)
When I first read this message, I wondered what Our Lady could mean by “a wreath which binds you to God.” For my English language ears, it seemed a bit odd. So, I did some investigating of the word “wreath” and I looked at some other translations of the message to see what words were used. Here is what I found:
Synonyms of the word “wreath”: garland, chaplet, circlet, coronet, crown…
They all can mean a circle of woven flowers or leaves into a round adornment. (One could make a wreath out of roses!) But some of these words carry another meaning as well. Chaplet reminds us of the circle of beads that we call the Rosary. And coronet or crown remind us that the Rosary is also associated with the Crown of Our Lady. So, it seems that this wreath alludes to the Rosary, the prayer of the Rosary!
Here are some translation versions:
Croatian: vijenac
French: la couronne
Spanish: una coronaSt. Peter Chrysologus
Dear Family of Mary!
“Dear children! My call for you is prayer. May prayer be a joy for you and a wreath which binds you to God…” (July 25, 2019)
When I first read this message, I wondered what Our Lady could mean by “a wreath which binds you to God.” For my English language ears, it seemed a bit odd. So, I did some investigating of the word “wreath” and I looked at some other translations of the message to see what words were used. Here is what I found:
Synonyms of the word “wreath”: garland, chaplet, circlet, coronet, crown…
They all can mean a circle of woven flowers or leaves into a round adornment. (One could make a wreath out of roses!) But some of these words carry another meaning as well. Chaplet reminds us of the circle of beads that we call the Rosary. And coronet or crown remind us that the Rosary is also associated with the Crown of Our Lady. So, it seems that this wreath alludes to the Rosary, the prayer of the Rosary!
Here are some translation versions:
Croatian: vijenac
French: la couronne
Italian: una corona
German: der Kranz
German: der Kranz
All of these words refer to a wreath, but some of them carry with them the meaning of a crown. In Italian the Rosary can be called “la Corona del Rosario”. And that is what finally convinced me that Our Lady was referring to the Rosary as the wreath that binds us to God.
And isn’t it true! The Rosary is a strong prayer that brings so much peace when we pray it. It is a beautiful prayer that helps us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit. It is a simple prayer that in so many ways draws our hearts away from the complications of our modern world into a relationship of trust and surrender to the God who loves us. The Rosary is a deep prayer, in which we meditate on the mysteries of the life of Jesus. Those mysteries teach us so much about our fallen nature and the price that Jesus had to pay to save us, not to mention the joy of eternal life that awaits us. This wreath of prayer is a stronger bond than any earthly chain. It is made of roses, but those roses form an unbreakable bond with God.
May we pray our Rosary with all our hearts, with deep gratitude, because through the Rosary we are bound to God forever in bliss!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2019
