Saturday 23rd - Sunday 31st August 2025
- bostallpark
- Aug 25
- 8 min read
TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME– CYCLE C
SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST 2025
ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE BY POPE JOHN PAUL II (part 10)
The Sorrowful Mysteries
22. The Gospels give great prominence to the sorrowful mysteries of Christ. From the beginning Christian piety, especially during the Lenten devotion of the Way of the Cross, has focused on the individual moments of the Passion, realizing that here is found the culmination of the revelation of God's love and the source of our salvation. The Rosary selects certain moments from the Passion, inviting the faithful to contemplate them in their hearts and to relive them. The sequence of meditations begins with Gethsemane, where Christ experiences a moment of great anguish before the will of the Father, against which the weakness of the flesh would be tempted to rebel. There Jesus encounters all the temptations and confronts all the sins of humanity, in order to say to the Father: “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42 and parallels). This “Yes” of Christ reverses the “No” of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. And the cost of this faithfulness to the Father's will is made clear in the following mysteries; by his scourging, his crowning with thorns, his carrying the Cross and his death on the Cross, the Lord is cast into the most abject suffering: Ecce homo! This abject suffering reveals not only the love of God but also the meaning of man himself. Ecce homo: the meaning, origin and fulfilment of man is to be found in Christ, the God who humbles himself out of love “even unto death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). The sorrowful mysteries help the believer to relive the death of Jesus, to stand at the foot of the Cross beside Mary, to enter with her into the depths of God's love for man and to experience all its life-giving power.
The Glorious Mysteries
23. “The contemplation of Christ's face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!”(29) The Rosary has always expressed this knowledge born of faith and invited the believer to pass beyond the darkness of the Passion in order to gaze upon Christ's glory in the Resurrection and Ascension. Contemplating the Risen One, Christians rediscover the reasons for their own faith (cf. 1Cor 15:14) and relive the joy not only of those to whom Christ appeared – the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and the disciples on the road to Emmaus – but also the joy of Mary, who must have had an equally intense experience of the new life of her glorified Son. In the Ascension, Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption, enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in glory – as she appears in the last glorious mystery – Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church. At the centre of this unfolding sequence of the glory of the Son and the Mother, the Rosary sets before us the third glorious mystery, Pentecost, which reveals the face of the Church as a family gathered together with Mary, enlivened by the powerful outpouring of the Spirit and ready for the mission of evangelization. The contemplation of this scene, like that of the other glorious mysteries, ought to lead the faithful to an ever greater appreciation of their new life in Christ, lived in the heart of the Church, a life of which the scene of Pentecost itself is the great “icon”. The glorious mysteries thus lead the faithful to greater hope for the eschatological goal towards which they journey as members of the pilgrim People of God in history. This can only impel them to bear courageous witness to that “good news” which gives meaning to their entire existence.
From “mysteries” to the “Mystery”: Mary's way
24. 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 3:19): 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”.(30) The “duc in altum” 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 fullness of God” (3:17-19). The Rosary is at the service of this ideal; it offers the “secret” which leads easily to a profound and inward knowledge of Christ. We might call it Mary's way. It is the way of the example of the Virgin of Nazareth, a woman of faith, of silence, of attentive listening. It is also the way of a Marian devotion inspired by knowledge of the inseparable bond between Christ and his Blessed Mother: the mysteries of Christ are also in some sense the mysteries of his Mother, even when they do not involve her directly, for she lives from him and through him. By making our own the words of the Angel Gabriel and Saint Elizabeth contained in the Hail Mary, we find ourselves constantly drawn to seek out afresh in Mary, in her arms and in her heart, the “blessed fruit of her womb” (cf Lk 1:42).
Mystery of Christ, mystery of man
25. In my testimony of 1978 mentioned above, where I described the Rosary as my favourite prayer, I used an idea to which I would like to return. I said then that “the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”. (31) In the light of what has been said so far on the mysteries of Christ, it is not difficult to go deeper into this anthropological significance of the Rosary, which is far deeper than may appear at first sight. Anyone who contemplates Christ through the various stages of his life cannot fail to perceive in him the truth about man. This is the great affirmation of the Second Vatican Council which I have so often discussed in my own teaching since the Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis: “it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man is seen in its true light”. (32) The Rosary helps to open up the way to this light. Following in the path of Christ, in whom man's path is “recapitulated”,(33) revealed and redeemed, believers come face to face with the image of the true man. Contemplating Christ's birth, they learn of the sanctity of life; seeing the household of Nazareth, they learn the original truth of the family according to God's plan; listening to the Master in the mysteries of his public ministry, they find the light which leads them to enter the Kingdom of God; and following him on the way to Calvary, they learn the meaning of salvific suffering. Finally, contemplating Christ and his Blessed Mother in glory, they see the goal towards which each of us is called, if we allow ourselves to be healed and transformed by the Holy Spirit. It could be said that each mystery of the Rosary, carefully meditated, sheds light on the mystery of man. At the same time, it becomes natural to bring to this encounter with the sacred humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labours and endeavours which go to make up our lives. “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Ps 55:23). To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother. Twenty-five years later, thinking back over the difficulties which have also been part of my exercise of the Petrine ministry, I feel the need to say once more, as a warm invitation to everyone to experience it personally: the Rosary does indeed “mark the rhythm of human life”, bringing it into harmony with the “rhythm” of God's own life, in the joyful communion of the Holy Trinity, our life's destiny and deepest longing.
To be continued.
PARISH NOTICES
FR. INNOCENT’S 23RD ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION.
Please keep Fr. Innocent in your prayers as he celebrates his 23rd Priestly Ordination Anniversary this Sunday the 24th August 2025.
MARIAN MARRIAGE CIRCLE (MMC).
This is a gathering of young Catholic singles eager to learn and develop their love & relationship skills. It’s open to all Catholics of any nationality from 21yrs or working class (at least 18yrs). It aims to create a Christian culture that encourages relationships that lead to marriage & happy family life. Come let us place our relationships at the feet of Mary! To join the WhatsApp, kindly send a text to: +447424269423 (this number does not accept phone calls) The first webinar through Zoom will be on Sunday 7th September at 7:15pm. Meeting ID: 879 7124 6953 Passcode: 585828
Ave Maria!
UPCOMING EVENTS
PARISH FAMILY FUN DAY – 14TH SEPTEMBER 2025.
Please save the date. There will be a BBQ, games, bouncy castle, ice cream truck, stalls and much more for all the family to enjoy. At the end of the day, the parish social club will be open in the hall who will be having a family pub quiz. All are welcome. If you would like to have a stall or can donate cakes and refreshments please email bostallpark@rcaos.org.uk. Donations for raffle prizes, bottles and more can be brought to the house and left with Melissa or the parish priest. If you are able to volunteer in any way, please contact the parish office. Please see the poster in the porch.
DAY FOR READERS & EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS
OF THE EUCHARIST.
The day retreat for parish Readers & Eucharistic Ministers is on Saturday 18th October at St. Stephen’s Church, Welling. Please inform the parish office if you are able to attend as soon as possible. Please bring a packed lunch.
PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO ST. JUDE’S SHRINE, FAVERSHAM – 25TH OCTOBER 2025.
The parish is organising a parish pilgrimage to St. Jude’s Shrine in Faversham, Kent on Saturday 25th October. There will be a coach taking pilgrims from the Church which costs £10 per adult & £5 per child under 14 years old. Please speak to the parish priest if you have any questions or can help to sponsor any pilgrims who are unable to finance their pilgrimage.
PARISH GROUPS NOTICES
UCM MEETING.
The next meeting of the UCM will be on Saturday 20th September in the hall.
New members are always welcome.
LUNCH CLUB.
The lunch club are on their summer break returning 4th September at 12.30pm in the hall.
LEGION OF MARY.
Every Monday at 7pm in the porch.
New members welcome.
MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Saturday 23rd August
G Feria
9.30 a.m. Adoration
10.00 a.m. Thavasakayampilai Joseph RIP (1st Ann.)
G TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
6.30 p.m. Les Burlington RIP
Sunday 24th August G
8.30 a.m. Daily Rosary
9.00 a.m. Braganca Family TG+WB
10.30 a.m. Daily Rosary
11.00 a.m. Olivia & Benedict TG on their birthdays
Monday 25th August
G Feria
No Public Mass Today
Tuesday 26th August
G Feria
7 p.m. Daily Rosary
7.30 p.m. Hammond Macaulay RIP (3rd Ann.)
Wednesday 27th August
W St. Monica
9.30 a.m. Adoration
10.00 a.m. Gerry & Kathleen Meehan RIP
Thursday 28th August
W St. Augustine
9.30 a.m. Adoration
10.00 a.m. Victor Fernandes TG & WB
Friday 29th August
R Passion of St. John the Baptist
9.30 a.m. Rosary for the Dead
10.00 a.m. Hammond Macaulay RIP (3rd Ann.)
Saturday 30th August
R Ss. Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line & Margaret Ward
9.30 a.m. Adoration
10.00 a.m. Dominick Mancuso TG
G TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
6.30 p.m. Lorraine D’Souza TG
Sunday 31st August G
8.30 a.m. Daily Rosary
9.00 a.m. Maisy Nunes for her 75th birthday
10.30 a.m. Daily Rosary
11.00 a.m. Godwin Owoicho Otene RIP