Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary - A Thanksgiving Hymn

St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena surrounding Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in a painting reverenced particularly at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei, Italy

This feast was instituted by Pope St. Pius V in thanksgiving for the great naval victory over the Turks at the battle of Lepanto on this day in the year 1570, a favor due to the recitation of the Rosary. This victory saved Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam.The Feast is in reality a great festival of thanksgiving for the signal and countless benefits bestowed on Christendom through the Rosary of our blessed Queen.

In modern times successive popes have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary. It is a form of contemplative prayer, mental and vocal prayer, which brings down God’s blessing on the Church. It is a biblically inspired prayer which is centered on meditation on the salvific mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, who was so closely associated with her Son in his redeeming activity.

The Mysteries of the Rosary

The Rosary is made up of twenty "mysteries" (significant events or moments in the life of Jesus and Mary), which, following the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, are grouped into four series.

The first contains joyful mysteries (recited on Mondays and Saturdays):

1. The Annunciation;
2. The Visitation;
3. The Nativity;
4. The Presentation;
5. The Finding in the Temple;

the second, the mysteries of light (Thursdays):

1. His Baptism in the Jordan;
2. His self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana;
3 His proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion;
4. His transfiguration;
5. His institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal mystery;

the third, the sorrowful mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays):

1. The Agony in the Garden;
2. The Scourging at the Pillar;
3. The Crowning with Thorns;
4. The Carrying of the Cross;
5. The Crucifixion;

and the fourth, the glorious mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays):

1. The Resurrection;
2. The Ascension;
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit;
4. The Assumption;
5. The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin.

"This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 38).

* * * * * *

"For the fruits of His Creation, thanks be to God..."

For the fruit of his creation,
thanks be to God.
gifts bestowed on every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth's safekeeping,
thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labor,
God's will is done.
In the help we give our neighbor,
God's will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God's will is done.

For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.

Today, we give thanks to God for this year's harvest of onions....

Fred Pratt Green (b. Roby, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, 1903) wrote the text specifically for the tune EAST ACKLAM with its somewhat unusual meter. Pratt Green carefully matched the "Thanks be to God" phrases to fit the short but powerful cadential motifs in Francis Jackson's tune. The text was first published in the British Methodist Recorder in August 1970. "For the Fruits" has become a popular harvest thanksgiving hymn.

The text's theme is thanksgiving: in stanza 1 for the natural harvest and in stanza 3for the spiritual harvest. That thanksgiving tone, however, functions as a frame around stanza 2, which reminds us that thanksgiving must also be shown in our deeds of sharing God's bounty with those in need.

Although the text is a modern one, it expresses the same message as did the Old Testament prophets: offerings of thanksgiving are acceptable to God only if "the orphans and the widows" have received loving care (see Isa. 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8). That message is so necessary at North American harvest feasts!