Looking East | Stand and Rejoice!
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Over the last several days, I have noted a tremendous amount of anxiety, fear, and division. Maybe that is why you turned to this rosary meditation today, hoping to hear a “good word” that might encourage you or give you some peace. So it is fitting today that we turn toward the East. Many Catholics don’t realize, but there are actually 23 churches which make up the communion of the Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church is one of those Churches, and the pope is the visible sign of unity amongst all the Churches. These other Churches are generally known as Eastern Catholic Churches, many of whom never left communion with Rome, or returned after the Great Schism between Rome and Constantinople. St John Paul II as pope, being from Eastern Europe, labored tirelessly to restore unity between the Eastern Orthodox and Rome. Constantly, he spoke to the Church about needing to “breathe with both lungs”. So today, we take a deep Eastern breath by meditating on the words of a prayer very much beloved by Eastern Christians, both in union, and out of union with Rome. It is called the Akathist to the Mother of God. The word Akathist comes from the greek akathistos which means standing. So, it is usually sung standing, but you can pray however you are comfortable and I won’t subject you to my singing voice : )
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The refrain sung between the 12 sections of the Akathist is, “Rejoice, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure! Rejoice, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!” In fact, the word “Rejoice” is used somewhere around 170 times throughout the entire Hymn. This is because the Greek word the Angel Gabriel used to greet Mary was chaire. This was a normal greeting at the time. It’s a bit different than how we greet people today. It is actually a command, or imperative of the verb “to rejoice”, but because it is a greeting, we usually translate it as “Hail” or think of it as “Hello”, but it really is a command to rejoice! The Akathist beautifully repeats this reminder over and over again at the beginning of many of it’s lines as it gives different descriptions of Mary in an echo of the Angel’s greeting. Remember the news he is delivering is incredible and the scriptures say Mary is troubled by the words. But God’s words are true. We can learn from this. Although, we may not understand what is going on, or why something is happening. Although, we may feel like we are being called on to carry too much. Although, we may not like the result of where things are in our lives. God is speaking to us clearly right now. We hear this word over and over again: Rejoice!
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I don’t know if you have noticed before, but when you pray the “Hail Mary” you are imitating the Angel Gabriel. You are addressing Mary with the same words he used to announce the Incarnation of the Son of God. This is truly the first time someone was “evangelized”. You see to evangelize is to deliver good news. It was the Angel Gabriel who delivered the best news a human had ever heard to the best human that had ever lived to receive it. I think about this as I say the “Hail Mary” or sing the lines in the Akathist which begin with “Rejoice”. Every time I say these I am imitating the Angel Gabriel in sharing the Gospel. It truly is practice for when I share the rosary or the Akathist with others, or anytime I share the good news of Jesus with someone who needs to receive Him.
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The lines beginning with “rejoice” in the Akathist are not only practice for evangelization, but they are also beautiful titles for Our Lady and rich fodder for reflection and meditation. Here are some of my favorites:
Rejoice, O Restoration of the Fallen Adam!
Rejoice, O Redemption of the Tears of Eve!
Rejoice, O Wonder Ever-Thrilling to the Angels!
Rejoice, O Wound Ever-Hurting to the demons!
Rejoice, O Gate of the Sublime Mystery!
Rejoice, O You who carry Him who carries all!
Rejoice, O Ark that the Spirit has gilded!
Rejoice, Sacred Glory of reverent priests!
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One of the last antiphons, or Kontakia as they are called, is a great ending for us:
O Mother worthy of All Praise, you who have given birth to the Word,
the Holiest of the Holy, accept this present offering,
deliver all of us from every affliction,
and save from the future punishment those who cry out to You: Alleluia!
Let’s entrust everything to Jesus, through Mary. Let’s be like Mary and receive the message of the Angel and rejoice. Then, in turn, let us be like the Angel and stay on mission sharing this good news and the rosary with others, just as Mary hastened to bring Jesus to Elizabeth and John the Baptist. God remains sovereign and in charge.