Fifty years ago, on September 29, 1961, Pope Blessed John XXIII signed the Apostolic Letter "Il Religioso Convegno", on the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary. As a complement to this Apostolic Letter, John XXIII published his own personal devotions on each of the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary - available on the Vatican website in Italian and in Spanish.
All English translations currently available on the web are very incomplete, and filled with mistranslations. We used this version as our draft for a correct and complete translation of this beautiful devotional exercise of the Pope.
This Sunday marks the exact fiftieth anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council, by the Apostolic Constitution Humanae Salutis - which explains the prayers asked for the Council in the meditation of the third Glorious Mystery. Our readers surely know our skepticism regarding the last Ecumenical Council - many of its problems were the result of a naïve enthusiasm which, events would soon make clear, was unjustified.
But the time is long past for us to reclaim Pope John XXIII: in the Sacred Liturgy, in liturgical practices, in traditional devotion, few recent Popes were as traditional as the Good Pope. This can be readily noticed in this Collection, in which the Missale Romanum and the Breviarium Romanum are quoted several times. We can easily see how the documents of the Council would have turned out if he had been able to lead it with all his intellectual faculties by the beautiful decisions of the Roman Synod of 1960 and the very traditional original schemata (drafts) of the Conciliar documents. As his predecessors in the 20th century, Leo XIII, Saint Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII, he was a good Pope. But he was our Good Pope. He was also a man of his age, marked by the optimism and regrets of the post-war generation, but always a son of Our Lady.
This Sunday marks the exact fiftieth anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council, by the Apostolic Constitution Humanae Salutis - which explains the prayers asked for the Council in the meditation of the third Glorious Mystery. Our readers surely know our skepticism regarding the last Ecumenical Council - many of its problems were the result of a naïve enthusiasm which, events would soon make clear, was unjustified.
But the time is long past for us to reclaim Pope John XXIII: in the Sacred Liturgy, in liturgical practices, in traditional devotion, few recent Popes were as traditional as the Good Pope. This can be readily noticed in this Collection, in which the Missale Romanum and the Breviarium Romanum are quoted several times. We can easily see how the documents of the Council would have turned out if he had been able to lead it with all his intellectual faculties by the beautiful decisions of the Roman Synod of 1960 and the very traditional original schemata (drafts) of the Conciliar documents. As his predecessors in the 20th century, Leo XIII, Saint Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII, he was a good Pope. But he was our Good Pope. He was also a man of his age, marked by the optimism and regrets of the post-war generation, but always a son of Our Lady.
We now make our translation available to you in this special PDF booklet format as our own Christmas gift - if you wish to, you may open it only tomorrow...
NOTE: the host website will ask you for an encryption password: ignore it, just click on the FILE tab and then on DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL and download the file.
May you all have a very happy and blessed Christmastide!
NOTE: the host website will ask you for an encryption password: ignore it, just click on the FILE tab and then on DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL and download the file.
May you all have a very happy and blessed Christmastide!
