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Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which to look at Christ's compassion to the world, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now." - St. Teresa of Avila
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The Rosary of the Living Parables Introduction This
Rosary is compiled from many of the Parables contained in the Gospel of Thomas,
most of which are also available in Mark and Matthew. While Thomas is not one of the synoptic or “canonical”
Gospels, it contains important clues about at least one kind of Christian
outlook or experience that was available to a small number of first and second
century Christians. Portions
of several copies of the Gospel of Thomas have been found in various places, and
a complete Coptic version was found as a part of the Nag Hammadi material.
Although the age of the Gospel of Thomas is uncertain, found copies have
been dated to approximately the years 200, 250 and 340 CE.
Most scholars believe that Thomas was originally written in Syria in the
Greek language, but the style of the document may point to an earlier origin
than the synoptics. Scholars have
long theorized about the existence of what has come to be called the “Q”
document, which would have been a collection of oral tradition or sayings
collected from recollections and traditional lore.
Thomas seems to many scholars to point strongly to the writer having had
access to portions of the “Q”
document. The
Gospel of Thomas is not a narrative story or message, but a collection of
sayings. Even so, the overall tone
or character that they depict reflects a worldview that emphasized the nearness
of the Kingdom of God: the Kingdom
of God is available to people here and now, in whatever circumstances life
places one. The sayings stress that
God can be sought and discovered inwardly as well as outwardly in the world, so
that God is seen as a unity rather than as a duality, and seen as well in the
hearts and minds of all people. It
is often called “Gnostic” because it emphasizes inner knowing and inner
experience to see the unfolding of the Kingdom of God.
In this sense—and this sense only—Thomas is Gnostic.
However, the Gospel is not a reflection of Jewish Gnosticism or other
Greek Gnosticism, both of which emphasized that the world was a creation of evil
and that the world needs to be transcended because it is evil.
In this sense, it is not Gnostic. This
differentiation is very important, because scholars and theologians condemned
Gnostic thought (of the Greek and Jewish variety described above) in the second
and third centuries. The Gospel of Thomas emphasize a different aspect of the Christian experience that recaptures the sense of awe that fills the heart of one who sees God in all things, and all things in God. Rather than contain narrative, they challenge us to think and in many cases their Zen-like koan character leads us to the end of thinking itself: to the regions where intuition and Love are the only means possible to appreciate the depth of meaning possible in these sayings. They challenge us to re-examine our concepts about life and allow life itself to speak to us through the portal of the heart, calling and inviting us to contemplation.
Prayer of Intention We who gather to pray this rosary do have in our minds and hearts the following intentions: (Here a few moments of silence allow all to clarify their intentions). We ask that these intentions may bring forth the results desired, according to Your will. Amen. General Instructions
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your holy gift, the gift of love. Fill my mind with your holy gift, the gift of discernment. Fill my eyes that I may see your works in me and all around me. Fill my ears that I may hear your works in the world and in the lives of others. Fill my hands that they may do the work of Love without thinking; fill my feet that they may carry me in faith and knowledge. Fill my soul with the gift of light, that it may shine with Love eternal. Amen. D
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Alternate "Our Father" translated from the Aramaic (see introduction) O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, focus your light within us—make it useful. Create your reign of unity now; Your one desire acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms. Grant what we need each day in bread and insight. Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strand we hold of others’ guilt. Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from what holds us back. From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do, the song that beautifies all; from age to age it renews. Amen.
Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is how and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
First Mystery of the Parables
The Mustard Seed
The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what the kingdom
of heaven is like.” He said to
them, “It is like a mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds. But when it falls on prepared soil, it grows into a large
plant and shelters the birds of the sky.”
(Logion 20) Thoughts… The
mustard plant—especially the variety that grows in the Middle East—is a
plant that was often considered a nuisance plant, and an invader, spreading
beyond its boundaries and taking over everything in its path.
What starts as a small seed grows into a large and spreading bush.
The kingdom of God was likened to this:
it starts small and grows into that which takes over our lives. Yet when Jesus lived, Israel was an occupied country, and
many Jews expected a king to arise who would throw out the Romans and establish
Israel as an independent nation and a strong Kingdom…a kingdom of God.
This parable takes that expectation and turns it upside down, for rather
than equating the expected kingdom with the Cedars of Lebanon—the national
symbol—Jesus equates it with a common, lowly, invasive bush that out-competes
all other plants until it completely takes over.
The Kingdom of God is shown to be available in the ordinary, breaking
through our lives even when we least expect it. Yet the soil should be
prepared…for we should desire and want the Kingdom revealed to us, and when we
have prepared our soil, the seed grows by Grace and in time fills all of the
space it can, offering shelter for others. Prayer: Heavenly
Mother, help us cultivate our lives so that the kingdom of God may grow and
become a large plant that reaches beyond our own boundaries.
We desire to express that Kingdom that we in turn may provide shelter for
others. Amen. Second Mystery of the Parables
The Jar of Flour
Jesus
said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a women who was carrying a jar full
of flour. While she was walking on
a road far from home, the handle of the jar broke and the flour spilled behind
her on the road. She did not know
it: she had not noticed the
problem. When she reached her
house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was empty.”
(Logion 95) Thoughts…
In
this parable, the Kingdom is compared to a jar of flour, which leaks out all of
the contents until it is empty. This
is an ordinary act of life, an ordinary occurrence. Around the world, in many liturgies, is expressed the idea
that “May our love be poured forth upon thy people, and our lives be spent in
thy service” and that we are called to service and through service we come to
see the Divine everywhere. This
certainly was true for Mother Teresa and is equally true for all of us.
Yet this parable tells us that the women was in service to someone, for
she was engaged in bringing home flour, and that the things we hold on to—our
patterns of behavior, addictions, emotional hurts and frailties—can flow from
our lives until we are hollow and empty. When
we are thus emptied of what we really don’t need, we are able allow Love and
Life to pass through us unconditionally and untouched by our attitudes and
deficiencies. When all of the stuff that we hang on to is gone and there is
nothing left, when we are empty, we are able to be more fully filled with Grace,
and become fit instruments for God to act through us and with us in service to
others. Prayer
O
Star of the Heavens, help us gently let go of the addictions, the attitudes, the
emotions, the pain, fear and hurt that keeps us from experiencing unconditional
Love. Inspire us to service, that
though service we may see the Kingdom of God in others and in ourselves, and as
we empty ourselves may we be more perfect instruments of God’s love and
service for creation. Amen.
Third Mystery of the Parable
The Shepherd
Jesus
said, “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.
One of them, the biggest, wandered away.
The shepherd left the ninety-nine and searched for that one until it was
found. After going to such trouble,
the shepherd said to the sheep, “I love you more than the ninety-nine.”
(Logion 105) Thoughts…
This
parable is quite similar to the parable of the Prodigal Son, and like that
parable we see an individual wander away from their home, from their place of
belonging to go out into the world. Here
the Shepherd leaves the rest to seek for the lost sheep, doing so with greater
love: for “I love you more than
the ninety-nine”. Seeking God is
risky: it is often fraught with
peril in that we are exposed to our thoughts of separateness from God, elements
of our own frailties and deficiencies, our emotional patterns and stresses, our
mental concepts and ideas. We are
called to give them all up, to lose them, to seek the Kingdom as wise beings.
Yet in this activity we are not alone, for God is there with us each step
of the way, having searched us out and found us:
once found, were are not lost. God
pours upon us His Love as we seek Him and gives to us the Grace and strength to
come back to our original condition of unity with God, for which we are given
special strength and love for the journey.
In this way, we cannot fail to return. Prayer
Mother
Divine, guide us to the fold, to our Unity with God. Help us give up our thoughts, emotions and concepts, that in
our surrender we are receptive to being found, and in being found, guided again
to our home. Amen. Fourth Mystery of the Parables
The Kingdom
Jesus
said: If your leaders say to you,
“Behold, the kingdom is in the sky,” then the birds in the sky will get
there before you. If they say to
you, “It is in the sea,” then the fish will get there before you. Rather, the kingdom is inside you and outside you.
When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and will understand
that you are children of the living Father.
But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and embody
poverty. (Logion 3) Thoughts…
This
parable, found only in the Gospel of Thomas, clearly locates the Kingdom of God
everywhere simultaneously, yet we may seek it “inside” by knowing ourselves.
The process of knowing ourselves encompasses a release of all that is
truly not a part of who we are as Children of God, such as our expectations, our
emotions and thought patterns, as well as an embracing of what we actually are:
inheritors of the spark of Divinity which makes us Children of God, and
the Grace of God which exists always available to us.
The awareness of this simple fact is both enlightening and ennobling and
makes of us the wealthiest citizens of the Kingdom.
Our ignorance of life in God makes us the most impoverished.
We are exhorted in this parable to live up to our inheritance and seek
the Kingdom with courage and simplicity, to learn to see it everywhere around us
and to realize that there is nowhere—no physical place nor state of mind or
being—that the Kingdom does not embrace or that God cannot penetrate.
As we know ourselves, we are known indeed—as Children of God and
inheritors of the Kingdom. Prayer
Mother
of Love, Queen of Heaven, reveal to us the Kingdom inside and outside; help us
to know ourselves as Children of God and recognize others as Children of God.
Amen. Fifth Mystery of the Parables
The Yeast in the
Dough
Jesus
said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little yeast, hid
it in the dough, and made large loaves of bread. Whoever has ears ought to listen.” (Logion 94) Thoughts…
When
Jesus lived, the society of Israel considered yeast, or leaven, as a symbol of
corruption and ritual pollution. It
was considered profane rather than sacred and was never used in celebrations or
temple worship. In those days, to
make leaven, one placed a piece of bread in a dark, damp place and let it rot.
This parable, therefore, equates the Kingdom with the profane, with the
everyday, and thus emphasizes that the Kingdom of God is here and now in all
things. It is found in the common,
in the ordinary, in the farthest reaches of places we don’t expect to see
Divinity. Yet it is hidden just as
the yeast in mixed in the dough. It can’t be identified as separate because it is a part of
the whole loaf of bread so that it is both hidden and accessible.
All one has to do is partake and taste, for the leaven is immediately
obvious when one looks for it. Thus
the Kingdom of God is immediate and available to us if we look for it where we
least expect to see it, and accept it’s breakthrough in our lives.
In this way, the Kingdom is revealed as breaking through the everyday
circumstances of our lives…in both laughter and tears. Prayer
Mother
of the Divine, help us see the Kingdom of God everywhere around us.
Help us celebrate the Divine in the ordinary; to see the mystery of God
at work in all people no matter who they are or what their circumstances in
life. Open our eyes to the Kingdom
of God within and without so that like the leavened bread, we may taste God
equally everywhere. Amen. Sixth Mystery of the Parables
The Prophets
His
disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they
all spoke of you.” He said to
them, “You have ignored the Living One who is with you, and have spoken only
of the dead.” (Logion 52) Thoughts…
This
parable, contained only the Gospel of Thomas, tells us that the Living One is
always found in the present, and that although others have spoken in the past,
the Kingdom of God or the Living Presence of God will not be found when the
attention is in the past or in the future, but only found in the present moment.
This parable reminds us that we are to find the Living One in the
ordinary, in everyday life rather than looking for special significances or
signs or portents because if we are, then we waiting for something, judging all
things and saying “not now, not now”. We
miss the Kingdom in the present moment. To
attend to the Living One is to attend to God in the present and in our present
lives. Prayer
Mother
Mary, Mystery of Life, help us claim the present moment as God’s moment in
revelation, to see the Kingdom of God in the ordinary, in the everyday, hearts
and minds of all people, and through our love and service to others claim the
Living One as our own. Amen. Seventh Mystery of the Parables
I Am The Light
Jesus
said, “I am the light that is over all things.
I am all: all came forth
from me, and all attained to me. Split
a piece of wood, and I am there. Pick
up a stone, and you will find me there.”
(Logion 75) Thoughts…
This
saying is not really a parable, yet amplifies all of the parables in that it
emphasizes the here and now aspect of the Kingdom of God and it’s immediate
availability to our lives. It is
also a reminder that the Kingdom can be found both in the sacred and the
profane, not only in the dualities of opposites, but in all places and in all
times if we can but see it. We came
from the Divine, and our awareness will once again rest in the Divine as we
“attain” to the Divine. In the
sense that we feel separated from God, we are not really separate—we just feel
ourselves to be so. And this is a
self-imposed limitation that by perception, by seeing Christ in the wood and in
the stone, we will find Him—and He will find us. Prayer
Mother
of Unity, pull us toward Christ, that we may attain to our birthright as
Children of God. We know that we
live with God, through God and in God, and that we are called to serve God in
creation. Help us attain our unity
with God not for ourselves alone, but for the sake of all of creation.
Amen. After
the last decade has been said, and the connecting medal has been reached, the
following prayer is said: I
give myself this day to the strong power of Love To
the obedience of Angels, the faith of confessors, the preaching of Apostles, to
the purity of simple souls. I
give myself this day to the virtues of the starlit heavens, the brightness of
the sun, the whiteness of the moon, the flashing of lightening, the restlessness
of wind, the stability of earth, and the deepness of the sea. I
give unto myself this day the power of God to lead me, His eye to watch over me,
His hand to guide me, His Word to give me speech. Christ
with me, Christ beside me, Christ
behind me, Christ within me, Christ
beneath me, Christ above me, Christ
to the right of me, Christ to the left of me, Christ
in lying down, Christ in sitting, Christ in rising up, Christ
in the heart of every person who may think of me, Christ
in the mouth of everyone who may speak of me, Christ
in the eye of everyone who may look on me, Christ
in the ear of everyone who may hear me. I
give myself this day to the strong power of Love. Amen. |
