Our Mother, the Virgin Mary
a Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
"It becomes you to be mindful of us, as you stand near him who granted you all graces, for you are the Mother of God and our Queen. Help us for the sake of the King, the Lord God and Master who was born of you. For this reason, you are called full of grace. Remember us, most holy Virgin, and bestow on us gifts from the riches of your graces, Virgin full of graces." St Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (lived 298-373).
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 783 we already know that "Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king. The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them."
From the above, we learn that we are priest, prophet and king as the last sentence in CCC 783 indicates, an awareness that comes to us through our Baptism. And St. Athanasius in his beautiful prayer to the Virgin Mary, confides that we are a Royal people, because the Lord God is King, and, Mary is our Queen.
We are eager to pray the Holy Rosary daily, a prayer consisting of the Apostle’s Creed, the Our Father (6), and the Hail Mary (53); and some “Glory Be’s”, but unfortunately, so many do not pray the Rosary. We are in a time when the Rosary is a wonderful prayer during this Coronavirus Pandemic that can do so much good. These prayers come directly from Jesus and Mary and they are Biblical as well. So they are the best and most efficacious prayers in existence.
The most valid prayer to Mary and her Divine Son, is the Holy Rosary. The "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be," that make up the Rosary, are Gifts from Heaven. The "Our Father" is the prayer of Jesus to His (and our) Father; the "Hail Mary" is Archangel Gabriel's manner of addressing the Holy Virgin as he brought the announcement that a Son would be born to her and that she was to call him, Jesus. And, the "Glory Be" is also a very old prayer from 529 or perhaps older.
Let us then set aside 20 minutes every day to pray the Rosary, or better yet, a half an hour while meditating on each Decade, using perhaps Scriptural verses or Sacred Images to keep your mind on Mary and her Son. If you prefer to pray the Franciscan Seven-decade Rosary, then pray that, but DO pray the Rosary.
Let us often spend time with God and listen to His voice as He speaks to us in our hearts!
Peace and Good,
Fred S. Schaeffer, OFS
May 5, 2020
Mary’s Role
A Reflections by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
In the Magnificat (Lk. 1:46-55), Mary's Hymn of Praise, she makes a prophecy "From this day all generations will call me blessed." This was at the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel came to bring her the good news that she was to be the Mother of Jesus and that He would be the Messiah. There is no question that her prophecy is being fulfilled. Throughout history, Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother (by Jesus' own words from the Cross), has been revered from as early as the second Century by Christians. St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch who was reputed to have heard St. John the Apostle preach (martyred in 110 AD) stressed Mary's role as the virginal mother of Jesus.
Then, St. Justin Martyr, the first Christian philosopher (100-165 AD) saw a parallel between the role of Eve and that of Mary, a fundamental theological insight. St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (140-202 AD) preached much on Mary. He wrote that "as Jesus parallels Adam, so Mary parallels Eve. Mary is the new Eve in God's new creation." (from: "All Generations Will Call Me Blessed," © 1999, Jim McManus, C.Ss.R., Crossroads Publishing Co.)
St. Athanasius of Alexandria (295-373 AD) had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin and called her "Theotokos," the God bearer.
St. Ambrose (339-397 AD) learned that he was not able to defend the divinity of Christ without at the same time preaching that Mary, the Mother of Christ, is truly the Mother of God. Ambrose saw Mary as the "Mother of the Church."
St. Jerome (347-420 AD) another great father of the Church, a renowned Scripture scholar staunchly defended the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Mary. At about the same time, 353-430 AD, St. Augustine of Hippo was a great defender of Mary's virginity. There are others, throughout history, particularly the early history of the Church, who defended the special status of Mary in the life of Jesus and, indeed, in the life of the Church. Mary is the mother of the redeemer and of the redeemed. Slowly, the belief that Mary was conceived without Original Sin was circulated among the faithful and because of this grass- roots groundswell the Magisterium began to study this idea.
The Franciscan, Blessed Duns Scotus who died in 1308, found Mary "to have been preserved free from Original Sin" and that it was "a greater grace than to be set free from sin." On 8 December, 1854, Pope Pius IX, proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Let us honor Mary, Queen of the Franciscan Order, and Mother of the Church, in our prayers, especially in the month of May.
Fred S. 5/15/2022 rev. 2/13/2026
History of the Franciscan Crown Rosary
One unique devotion of the Franciscans is a seven-decade rosary known as the Franciscan Crown. While the traditional rosary consists of 5 decades and has 15 mysteries (or 20 if you pray the Luminous mysteries) the 7-decade Franciscan Rosary, known as the The Franciscan Crown, is a Rosary consisting of seven decades with each decade describing a particular joy from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The story of the Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin dates back to the early 15th century (1422). A pious young man named James had been accustomed to adorning a beautiful statue of Mary with a crown of flowers, which he had picked and woven himself. Wadding tells us that a young novice who had that year been received into the Franciscan Order had, previous to his reception, been accustomed to adorn a statue of the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of fresh and beautiful flowers as a mark of his piety and devotion. Not being able to continue this practice in the novitiate, he decided to return to the world. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and prevented him from carrying out his purpose. She then instructed him how, by reciting daily a rosary of seven decades in honor of her seven joys, he might weave a crown that would be more pleasing to her than the material wreath of flowers he had been wont to place on her statue. He later entered the Franciscan Order, but either because of a lack of time or permission, he was no longer able to continue this devotion. Distraught because of this, he decided to abandon the religious life and return to the world.
Our Lady then appeared to him and convinced him not to leave the order. She told him that he should not be downcast because he was no longer permitted to adorn her statue, for she would teach him a way to give her honor which was much more pleasing and meritorious. Instead of a crown of flowers, which quickly wither, he was to weave a crown of prayers, and these prayers could be offered at any moment. She then taught him the Rosary of the Seven Joys, adding that these prayers would not only form a more acceptable crown, but they would also yield innumerable graces for himself and others.
Among the Friars Minor, the promotion of this devotion is attributed to St. Bonaventure, Bl. Cherubin of Spoleto, St. John Capistran, Pelbart of Temesvár, and St. Bernadine of Siena to mention a few. St. Bernadine is said to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary when he was meditating on the seven joys of Mary. We pray the Franciscan Crown in community every Saturday.
The plenary Indulgence attached to the recitation of the Franciscan Crown, and applicable to the dead, may be gained as often* as the crown is recited. It is not required that the beads be blessed, or in fact that beads be used at all, since the Indulgence is not attached to the material rosary, but to the recitation of the prayers as such. In 1905 Pope Pius X, in response to the petition of the Procurator General of the Friars Minor, enriched the Franciscan Crown with several new Indulgences that may be gained by all the faithful. Those who assist at a public recitation of the Franciscan Crown participate in all the Indulgences attached to the Seraphic Rosary that are gained by the members of the Franciscan Order. It is required, however, that beads be used and that they be blessed by a priest having the proper faculties. A translation of the pontifical Brief is given in “St. Anthony’s Almanac” for 1909.
*According to Norms for Indulgences, promulgated by the Apostolic Penitentiary in 1988, #21.1, “A plenary indul- gence may be gained only once on any day.” As far as we are aware, this has not been altered and there is only one exception: #21.2, A member of the faithful may. however, gain a plenary indulgence at the hour of death, even after having gained one already on the same day.”