Holy Rosary Cusmanian
The writings of Cusmano are “crossed” by a delicate marianity, a discreet reference in the strongly Christocentric spirituality such as that of the Missionary Servants of the Poor. The Mother of Jesus is felt as a companion on the way, in the life of her Son as in that of all Christians and all Cusmanians.
Blessed James, more than a devotional gaze, nourishes feelings of deep piety towards the Mother in relation to the role and mission that she incarnates; to be the way that leads to her Son and model of Christian holiness. Mary first of all “had generated (the Christ) in time and is also our Mother”. Therefore, a very common title with which Cusmano addresses Mary or speaks of her is “Great Mother of God and our Mother”, frequently expressed in the Cusmanian epistolary with the more familiar and filial title of “Mamma Nostra”.
Other Marian appellations and nuances of Mariology meet sporadically, on the occasion of Marian memorials and liturgical feasts, of which he highlights, both with putting evidence with rapid hints, the theological or spiritual meaning.
But it is above all in the Rule that the sensitive Marian trait of the spirituality of Cusmano stands out. Starting from the source: the Rule was “dictated” by the Great Mother of God and is therefore called hers. Furthermore, Mary Most Holy is often defined as a model, a faithful “copy” of the life of Christ: she “was the first to copy it in herself”, “from the first moment of her conception” exempted from original guilt and therefore “always united and present to God”, reproducing “by grace” what had happened in her Son, the Human Word, by hypostasis.
MYSTERIES OF JOY
Monday and Saturday
“Meditating on the ‘joyful’ mysteries means entering into the ultimate motivations and the profound meaning of Christian joy. It means fixing one’s gaze on the concreteness of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the dark foreboding of the salvific mystery. Mary leads us to learn the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that good Christianity is first and foremost evanghelion, “good news” which has its center, indeed its very content, in the person of Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Saviour of the world” (RVM 20).
1st Mystery of Joy
The Angel's Announcement to Mary
The Angel entering from her said: “I greet you, O full of grace, the Lord is with you. “Behold, you will conceive a Son, give birth to him and call him Jesus” (Lk 1:28.31).
“It is written that the angels would be ready, to satisfy the divine will, to leave the intuitive vision and rush into the pains of hell. Therefore, love the adorable will of God. Love it as much as the blesseds and the angels in heaven: this is the main prayer that Jesus Christ teaches us to do: ‘Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra’. Heaven begins here for the souls who yearn for this destiny to do God’s will” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
2nd Mystery of Joy
Mary's visit to Elizabeth
As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child shook in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” (Lk 1:41-42).
“In Jesus Christ we find both the active and contemplative life and how it can be in man God and in God made man. After Jesus Christ, what soul will we find more contemplative than that of Mary Most Holy who always kept the Word of God in her heart and carried him in her womb? Yet Mary, the Mother of God, felt that St. Elizabeth was pregnant, went to visit her and stayed with her for three months”. (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
3° Mystery of Joy
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the hotel (Lk 2,7).
“Jesus Christ is the humanized Word. What did the Word do to become man? He assumed a body and a soul as we have it; and thus he became man without letting himself be God. He, being God consubstantial to the Father, lowered himself to our misery and made it his own and, by making it his own, he charged himself with all the pains that were due to us and suffered everything for us, in order to relieve us from every slightest suffering and enrich us with the treasures of his grace” (Father James Cusmano).
4th Mystery of Joy
The presentation of the Child Jesus at the temple
Mary and Joseph took the child to Jerusalem to offer him to the Lord, as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every first-born male will be sacred to the Lord” (Lk 2:22-23).
“Jesus Christ not only gives us the example of perfect union with his Eternal Father, but by his example and his word he teaches us that he came into the world to do the will of his Eternal Father, who dwells in heaven and who arranges everything with his Providence, so that in all his life there is no circumstance or event of any kind that he does not receive promptly and lovingly from the very hands of his Eternal Father. The poverty of his parents, the birth in the cave, the flight to Egypt for the persecution of Herod, the laborious and hidden life, public life, passion and death” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
5th Mystery of Joy
The finding of Jesus among the doctors in the temple
“Didn’t you know that I have to take care of my Father’s things?” His mother kept all these things in her heart (Lk 2:49.51).
“Jesus pretends to abandon the soul, but He does not abandon it. […] If the soul is faithful, he will do as the Blessed Virgin did, who sought him for three days without restlessness and would have sought him even more if he had not found him on the third day. Where do I find him? in the temple. Thus will happen to the faithful soul in the first occlusions she suffered: she sought him out in the streets, among relatives and friends; being not yet perfect the detachment, she was used to find him in prayer, in prayer, in this or that act of piety, in this or that exercise of charity. When, however, after a long search, she will succeed in finding him in the temple, that is, in his soul, in its most intimate interior, […] then she will go straight to look for him in his soul, until she finds him, and always with greater union and intimacy” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
MYSTERIES OF LIGHT
Thursday
“Passing from childhood and the life of Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, contemplation leads us to those mysteries which can be called, in a special way, ‘mysteries of light’. In reality, it is the whole mystery of Christ that is light. He is ‘the light of the world'”. (John 8.12) (RVM 21).
1st Mystery of Light
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And as he came out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descend upon him like a dove. And a voice was heard from heaven: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am pleased” (Mk. 1, 9-11).
“John the Baptist preached the baptism of penance to the people of penance […] and cried out: ‘Prepare the ways of the Lord, make his ways straight’, when he saw a man descend into the waters of the Jordan who asked him to be baptized and exclaimed in the Holy Spirit: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world’; and a voice was heard from heaven: ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I have placed my complacency'”. (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
2nd Mystery of Light
The Wedding at Cana
“There was a wedding at Cana of Galilee and there was the Mother of Jesus. He was also invited to the wedding Jesus with his disciples. Meanwhile, having run out of wine, the Mother of Jesus said to him: “They have no more wine. And Jesus answered: ‘What have I to do with you, O woman! My hour Have not yet come’. The Mother says to the servants: ‘Do what he tells you…’. Jesus manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him” (Jn 2:1-5).
“Have recourse to Our Most Holy Mother. She, who has sponsored your cause so far, will accomplish well the work you have begun and will do you so much good, if you will be her faithful daughters, following her in the observance of the holy institution. Approach her with filial affection: through her you will know and love more and more the Only-Begotten Son of hers, the beloved Spouse of your souls, and you will arrive at the destiny that I desire for you” (Father James Cusmano).
3rd Mystery of Light
Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God and calls for conversion
“After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Gospel of God and saying: The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe in the Gospel. (Mc 1, 14-15).
“Let us pray that the Great Mother of God obtains the grace of our true conversion and that we can truly say to correspond to the high vocation to which the Lord has called us by his pure mercy. Let us commit ourselves to observe our holy rule in order to imitate it, and if we have not had the destiny to be always of God, let us strive to be so from this day forward and to be entirely so. […] What great good fortune to be able to love and serve God on this Earth! We hope to obtain it through the Mother our most holy” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
4th Mystery of Light
The transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor
“Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother with him and led them aside on a high mountain. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. And, behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him” (Mt 17:1-3).
“Peter, James and John chose to stay on Tabor, but a tremendous voice frightened them and forced them to follow Jesus Christ. And when Peter approached him and with living demands urged him to avoid the passion and death, Jesus took him back as scandalous. […] It was then that Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. – Let Jesus never be left on the cross for the sweet restraint of Tabor and let those who are at Tabor today be there to have more spirit to follow him tomorrow at Calvary” (Father James Cusmano).
5th Mystery of Light
Jesus institutes the Eucharist
“When the time came, he took his place at table and the apostles with him, and said: I have longed eagerly to eat this Easter with you before my passion, for I say to you, I will eat it no more, until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. (Lc 22, 14-16).
“In this heavenly feast of his Eucharistic table… Jesus made himself our food and if the redemption had not been necessary for our health, he would have been incarnated to establish this great Sacrament of his love, in which he gives everything to us in his body, in his blood, in his soul, in his divinity. God, being that great God that He is, has exhausted all the treasures of His love and of His omnipotence, giving Himself as food to souls, establishing this sublime sacrament of His love”. (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
MYSTERIES OF SORROW
Tuesday and Friday
“The Gospels give great importance to the mysteries of Christ’s pain […], intuiting that here is the culmination of the revelation of love and the source of our salvation. The Rosary chooses certain moments of the Passion, inducing the prayer to fix his heart’s gaze on them and to relive them. […] The Mysteries of pain lead the believer to relive Jesus’ death by placing himself under the cross next to Mary, to penetrate with Her into the abyss of God’s love for man and feel all the regenerative power of it” (RVM 22).
1st Mystery of Sorrow
The agony of Jesus in the Garden of Olives
“In anguish, he prayed more intensely, and his sweat became like drops of blood that fell to the ground” (Lk 22:44).
“Great God! I remind you of the agony in the garden of your only begotten son! of man God! His priesthood, imprinted on me by the sublime character that the Sacrament of Orders has left you, makes me participate in that same agony. […] Jesus is at the most terrible, the most interesting moment of his mortal life, when, prostrated before you with his face on the dust, he prepares himself for the great sacrifice of Calvary for the redemption of humanity, which he loved so much! He trembles! he prays! he moans! he sweats blood! He agonizes. […] Yes, O Lord, and that is precisely my pain. It is a continuation of that which your Son understood in the Garden of Gethsemane, and I offer you that of your Son in pro of these souls whom you have entrusted to me” (Father James Cusmano).
2nd Mystery of Sorrow
The scourging of Jesus
“And Pilate, wanting to give satisfaction to the multitude, released them Barabbas and, After he scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Mk 15:15).
“Will it be the fear that human nature can feel in him at the sight of the great tortures that await him? Is it the scourges? the crown of thorns? the cruel nails? the terrible cross, perhaps that frightens him so? But He does not show this fear at all in His sufferings, which He later encounters with a strong soul, with loving gentleness, with divine grandeur! […] Oh! No! None of this is the real reason for his moaning! He groans because he doesn’t know whether his eternal Father accepts his sacrifice! And he hesitates that in order not to be accepted the poor humanity, which he loves more than himself and above any of his sufferings, should be lost” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
3rd Mystery of Sorrow
Jesus is crowned with thorns
“The soldiers braided a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, with a rod in the right, then… they mocked him: ‘Hello, King of the Jews! And spitting on him, they took the barrel out of his hand and beat him on the head” (Mt 27:29-30).
“Thus was the lovable Redeemer reduced for our sins. The Scripture says: ‘Non erat ei aspectus!’, ‘he was no longer recognizable’; and so the poor sinner is reduced, when he has the misfortune to fall into the greatest of miseries: sin. Everyone fled, everyone abandoned him in those moments when the sacrifice of the cross on Calvary was made. Marie and John alone stood motionless in the midst of the wicked multitude, who insulted him, blasphemed him, mocked him. Do you want to be part of those who abandoned him or of the adventurous Marys who stood by him until his last breath?” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
4th Mystery of Sorrow
Jesus climbs the mountain of Calvary loaded with the cross
“Pilate delivered him to them. They then took Jesus and Him, Carrying the cross, he went towards the Gòlgota” (Jn 19, 16-17).
“To ascend Calvary, to follow Jesus on the way of the cross, is not for weak souls who put their affections in creatures, in earthly things, and at this trial they will not stand up, they will be lost in the multitude. Let it never be, my sisters, let it never be that any of you will fail and be lost. Oh! if you do not have the spirit to truly love Jesus and to follow him to Calvary, at least have the courage to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane! Help me with prayer, make the great God deign to give me the lot to see you crowned with Him in glory” (Father James Cusmano).
5th Mystery of Sorrow
Jesus dies on the cross
“And after receiving the vinegar, Jesus said, ‘All is accomplished! And he bowed his head and died” (Jn 19:30).
“Look at Jesus hanging from the cross for the health of souls, feel the burning thirst he has for the health of souls and overcome every obstacle to help you to save them. […] Would we want to meet a different part of us from the part touched by Jesus Christ, our life? But if it is true that He is crucified by those who came to redeem Him, it is also too true that by dying He conquered death and humiliated and beaten by his enemies in his own humiliation, he was victorious in his triumph! […] He who goes to the school of the Crucifix must learn that one lives by dying and one wins by losing, and when he is a master in this divine strategy, then with the grace of the Lord he will be made worthy to sustain and win the battles of God’s greater glory” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
MYSTERIES OF GLORY
Wednesday and Sunday
“The contemplation of the face of Christ cannot stop at the image of Him crucified. He is the Risen One! The Rosary has always expressed this awareness of faith, inviting the believer to go beyond the darkness of the Passion, to gaze upon the glory of Christ in the Resurrection and Ascension” (RVM 23).
1st Mystery of Glory
The Resurrection of Jesus
“The Angel said to the women: ‘Do not be afraid, you! I know that you are looking for Jesus the Crucified. He is not here. He has risen, as he had said'” (Mt 28:5-6).
“Why so little joy in your appearance? Jesus Christ triumphed for us from death, from hell, from the world and from sin and gives us the legacy of his peace. Pax vobis. Therefore, let us not be sad and fearful; let us share in his joy which is equivalent to paradise, let us not shrink our poor soul, already redeemed by the precious Blood of our Redeemer, within the limits of our heart and mind. […] Let us also triumph with Him and from this day forward our life be in Jesus Christ through Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ and thus we shall live in His holy service, we shall die in the sweetest embrace of His peace and we shall rise with Him in eternal glory” (Father James Cusmano).
2nd Mystery of Glory
Jesus' Ascension to Heaven
“The Lord Jesus, after having spoken with them, was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God” ( Mk 16:19).
“Fortunate are the souls who live by Jesus’ love alone; they will live like angels on earth and fly to the same office in eternal rest. Our life, as the Prophet says, can be compared to a single day: to vespers the weeping, to matutino joy. Short is suffering, eternal is enjoying. Lucky us if we suffer with Jesus Christ, we will be glorified with Him. Courage! The cross leads to Heaven. The love of God makes suffering sweet and eternal joy will not be lacking in faithful souls” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
3rd Mystery of Glory
The descent of the Holy Spirit
“Tongues appeared to them like fire that divided and settled on each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:3-4).
“I suppose that my dear daughters are all intent on persevering like the Apostles, together with our most tender Mother Mary, in holy prayer to receive the Divine Paraclete on the day of Pentecost and in the abundance of all her gifts. […] Calling in the spirit of the vocation to imitate the Apostles, you have already abandoned everything to follow Jesus Christ. Fortunate! A step forward in your faithful correspondence to the spirit of God and His holy gifts! You are already in the Upper Room, in the House of the Lord, and together with Mary, Mother of God, from whom, like the Apostles, you receive the holy teachings through the Holy Rule” (Father James Cusmano).
4th Mystery of Glory
The assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven
“From now on all generations will call me blessed. Great things the Almighty has done in me and Holy is his name” (Lk 1:48-49).
“We are in the fortnight of the Assumption of the Great Mother of God, whose life is the rule of our own; let us pray that she obtains for us the grace of our true conversion and that we can truly say that we correspond to the high vocation to which the Lord has called us out of pure mercy. It flies to Heaven in body and soul, because it was all and always God’s; let us commit ourselves to observe our holy rule to imitate it; and if we have not had the destiny to be always of God, let us procure to be of God from now on and to be fully of God; let us not be content with appearances, let us procure reality and then we will be happy” (Father Giacomo Cusmano).
5th Mystery of Glory
The coronation of the Virgin Mary in the glory of the angels and saints
“Then a great sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed in the sun, with the moon under her eyes. feet and on his head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12:1).
“What other joy can daughters give to such a mother than that of guarding themselves pure and without stain for love of her and her Most Holy Son? From now on, be true daughters of the Great Mother of God and serve her blessed Son in her Poor Ones! The moments of our time fly by and no one will be able to arrest just one; when we least expect it, the one who will present us in the presence of such a tender mother will arrive. What a pain if we do not have his uniform! Who will be able to obtain it at that moment, if he has not kept it for the rest of his life? Renew the vows of holy Baptism and the promises of your dedication to the service of Jesus. May the life of Jesus and Mary be real in your virginal hearts” (Father James Cusmano).
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To you do we cry poor banished children of Eve, to you do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then o most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards, and after this our exile, shown unto us the blessed fruit of your womb Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Litanies of Father James
(from the writings)
Lord, have mercy – Lord, have mercy
Christ, have Mercy – Christ, haveMercy
Lord, have mercy – Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us – Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us – Christ, graciuosly hear us
O God, Heavenly Father – have mercy on us
O God, redeeming Son of the world – have mercy on us
O God, Holy Spirit – have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God – have mercy on us
Mother of God – pray for us
Great Mother of God and our Mother – pray for us
Blessed Mother – pray for us
Mother of sinners – pray for us
Sweet Mother – pray for us
Tender Mother of our’s – pray for us
Our Mother who begotten us at the foot of the cross – pray for us
Mommy who thinks of everything and helps us get everything – pray for us
Our Immaculate Mother – pray for us
Our Mother of Sorrow – pray for us
Our Mother flew to heaven in body and soul – pray for us
Heavenly Mother – pray for us
Our Lady of Mercy – pray for us
Our Lady of Grace – pray for us
Our Lady of Carmel – pray for us
Our Lady of La Salette – pray for us
Our Lady of the Rosary – pray for us
Mary who copied the life of Jesus – pray for us
Mary always united and present to God – pray for us
Mary that you have received everything from the hands of God – pray for us
Mary that you have worked all out of pure love and glory of God – pray for us
Mary our teacher – pray for us
Mary our Rule – pray for us
Mary Foundress and first superior – pray for us
Mary all and always of God – pray for us
Holy Virgin – pray for us
Purest Virgin – pray for us
Cause of our joy – pray for us
Health of Christians – pray for us
Reconciler of sinners – pray for us
Help of Christians – pray for us
Shield and defense in all the difficult moments of life – pray for us
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, forgive us,O Lord
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously here us, O Lord
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord
– Pray for us, Holy Mother of God,
– That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
We pray
O merciful God, who fills those who hunger and thirst for justice with your goods, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, remember your family gathered in prayer and transform our poverty into the richness of your love.
Through Christ our Lord.
