Sep 2004 VOICE OF SHALOM

From "mysteries" to the "Mystery": Mary's Way "The cycles of meditation proposed by the Holy Rosary are by no means exhaustive, but they do bring to mind what is essential and they awaken in the soul a thirst for a knowledge of Christ continually nourished by the pure source of the Gospel. Every individual event in the life of Christ, as narrated by the Evangelists, is resplendent with the Mystery that surpasses all understanding (cf. Eph 3:!9): the Mystery of the Word made flesh, in whom "all the fullness of God dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9). For this reason the Catechism of the Catholic Church places great emphasis on the mysteries of Christ, pointing out that "everything in the life of Jesus is a sign of his Mystery". The "duc in altum" ("put out into the deep" Lk.5:4) of the Church of the third millennium will be determined by the ability of Christians to enter into the "perfect knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:2-3). The Letter to the Ephesians makes this heartfelt prayer for all the baptized: "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power . . . to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). Pope John Paul II Rosarium Virginis Mariae

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