Recognizing Him...pt. 5

I know it's been too long since I wrote this series, having this final set of Mysteries to get through, but with the death of my Mom, things have been upside-down here for a while. Now that my days are more steadied, and I have come to that feeling of peace where I know she is in a better place and hopefully reunited with my Dad, maybe we can now finish what we started? :)
As we move on to the fourth set of Mysteries, the Glorious, I seem to be more at peace than at any other time throughout the entire Rosary. It's not because its the end of His life, Our Lady's life, or maybe even if we meditate upon the end of the world itself.
Even the calm of His suffering being finally over is not the reason for my relief. Of course, I am overjoyed ~ ecstatic ~ that He has done this for me, and for everyone. He loves me like His sister, His friend and His subject. He has redeemed me and everyone ~ and everyone who appreciates what He has done is eternally grateful!!!
But even more than that, there is a sense of real recognition here, that we understand the real meaning and consequences of all that They went through ~ from the beginning (at the Annunciation itself) until the very end (the Coronation of Our Lady) ~ and the implications for us.
In the First Glorious Mystery, the Resurrection, we see Him ~ perhaps for the first time ever ~ as He is, glorified and victorious, and ready to reveal His final secrets to us all.
Naturally, the very first person to see Him alive and well was His own Blessed Mother Mary. Can you imagine the joy in Her Heart when He came to Her?!? The immense feeling of happiness, relief and gratitude...the overwhelming desire to give thanks to God the Father for all His works are wonderful!!! He has done such mighty works for His handmaid!!!
And now, on the outside ~ Mary Magdalene is the first one to go to the Tomb on that fateful morning, after what I am sure is a long, sleepless night. As she approaches the entrance, she is stunned to behold, not a guard standing straight-faced and somber, ready to pounce upon any who might come near to (they suspect) try to steal the Body of Our Lord. What she does see is recorded in the Gospel for all of posterity until the end of time: the Risen Christ, the one True King of Kings in His majestic glorified Body, probably smiling at her as she suddenly realizes Who He is that is watching her, and falling to her knees in recognition.
She hurries to give the happy news to the Apostles, who, as we know, still do not recognize the fact that this is possible...they must see the Tomb for themselves. Peter, James and John race down there, finding only remnants of the Lord's stay. The Angels on watch tell them that "He is not here." Recognizing what has happened, they run back to tell the others that, yes, it is true!
Rejoice! Give thanks to God! Holy is His Name!
And last but not least, our dear Thomas the Doubter...who can forget the lesson he learned that fateful Sunday after Easter, eh? Without a doubt (no pun intended) he will forever now recognize his Savior and Lord in the Person of Jesus Christ!!!
In the Second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension, Jesus brings His life to it's earthly conclusion. In the presence of His Apostles, disciples, His Mother and other family members, He commissions His priests to go out to the entire world and teach them to recognize His Word, His Church, and His very Self in the Eucharist, in the Confessional, and in every facet of God's Plan for them.
...so, how are we doing so far?... Are we able to recognize Him in our daily lives yet?
In the Third Glorious Mystery, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, we find Our Lady and the Apostles in the Upper Room, the same room where the Last Supper took place, and all those historic moments occurred. As they are hiding from the Jews and the Pharisees, they are suddenly engulfed by the most powerful wind they have ever experienced, but of course, we all know that this is no ordinary wind ~ here we must recognize the Coming of the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus had promised to send! ...no tiny whisper this time, but a mighty gale that surrounds the entire gathering with such force that there is no mistaking Who has come. When the Apostles go out onto the balcony to preach to the multitudes gathered out on the street, they themselves are recognized as being chosen ones ~ the ones who bring the Word of God to the people, who will help them all recognize the workings of God in their own lives. Over 3,000 men that day (not to mention all the women and children) were baptized on the spot, so overwhelmed were they as they recognized the wonders that God had wrought.
And now, the final two Mysteries ~ devoted solely to the merits of Our Blessed Mother, the one who in all Her life, never once failed to recognize in Her Son all that He was, is and ever shall be. And for all that She endured on His behalf, what is Her reward?!?
First of all, in the fourth Mystery, the Assumption, we find that She is preserved from the fate of death itself. That She, the Holy Mother of God, falls asleep but not to die, is stolen away by the Angels and brought to the glory of the very Throne of God! How can we fail to recognize the endless graces that have been ours through the merits of this Holy and gracious Virgin?!? She is not, as the Protestants and the pagans suggest, merely a Woman who had a Baby a long time ago...She is the one to whom we owe everything, if only we would recognize what She did ~ being the channel through whom the God-Man, Who is Her divine Son, worked and is still working His plan for all of mankind, to redeem and sanctify us.
She is like the moon, reflecting the glow of the Sun, and She leads us to the Light by Her example of Faith and submission to the Holy Will of God the Father, recognizing in that as the only way we will be saved!
And finally, in the fifth Glorious Mystery, the Coronation, we reach the climactic conclusion of all that has gone before...beginning with the waiting for thousands of years by all of mankind for the promised Redeemer, the One Who commanded recognition by all who would be saved ~ right up until the crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
What a wonderful, breath-taking sight that must have been! The songs of the Angels surrounding Our Lord as He placed that crown upon the head of His Mother, and She, who knelt at His feet, in all humility and love, accepting Her destiny and reward ~ and His loving, triumphant recognition of all that She had done for Him when He was on Earth. She never asked, nor expected, such a reward as this...He has said that it is His wish that She be honored more than any other creature in history; She is so humble that She would not dream of taking any attention away from Her Son.
But can we not recognize Her as our own Mother?!? Can we not recognize His will in honoring Her as the Queen of all creation?!? Can we not follow it?!?
Just as it is the will of the Father that we recognize His design in the workings of His Son's life among us, so too it is also the will of the Son that we recognize the merits of Holy Mary, the Woman of the prophets.
We will one day be in Heaven ourselves, God willing, and we will come face to Face with Them both. We will have the chance to finally express our gratitude for Their lives, and all that They endured for us, just so we could get to that moment.
I say, why wait? Why not start now, this very day? We can begin by asking for the grace and strength we need to live out the rest of our lives in grateful recognition of our Redemption, offering up all that we do, just so that when that final day comes, we may find ourselves in the presence of Our Lady and all of the Angels and Saints, and where we may recognize ~ and kiss ~ the very Face of God.