Episode Transcript  

One

Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order 

Today, we celebrate the seven young laymen who founded the Order of Servants of Mary, also known as the Servites, and who are each honored as Saints.  

Florence, Italy, in the early 1200s was economically prosperous and confident but spiritually sick. The great families, especially those with old money, were deeply divided against one another. Greed, the lust for power, and ruthless competition shaped public life; honor was defended through vendettas, violence, and even murder. Loyalty to one’s family mattered more than justice or peace. It was a world not unlike the Mafia of today: outwardly successful, inwardly ruled by fear, rivalry, and blood debts.

Then something totally of God happened. Seven young laymen, sons of these families, grew sick of it. On the Feast of the Assumption in 1233, Mary appeared to them, advised them to withdraw from the madness of these warring factions, and devote themselves entirely to three things: Belong entirely to Her and spread the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, deep friendship with Christ through prayer, and the pursuit of personal holiness, and to help others to God through authentic friendship.

So they formed a brotherhood known as the “Praisers of Mary.” And moved into a house in a suburb of Florence. Then they moved to Monte Senario, eleven miles north of Florence, and Mary again appeared to them, approving their simple way of life and mission. In 1249, they were placed under the protection of Pope Innocent IV, which essentially recognized them as a legitimate religious community that spread throughout the world. 

The seven young men were all canonized together, a sign that they reached holiness not as isolated individuals, but through friendship with Jesus and friendship with one another, united in the Sorrowful Heart of Mary.

Two

Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary 

These young men, and later the Servite Order, spread a special type of Rosary called the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. It is comprised of seven decades in memory of Mary’s seven sorrows. 

1. The presentation in the Temple when Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart. 

2. The Flight into Egypt to escape being murdered by King Herod.

3. The loss of Jesus for three days when he was 12, causing great anguish in the heart of Mary and Joseph.

4. The fourth station of the Cross when Mary meets Jesus. 

5. The Crucifixion  

6. When Mary received her dead Son into her arms as he was taken down from the Cross. 

7. Finally, the last sorrow, when Jesus was placed in the Tomb and the stone rolled over the entrance. 

This Rosary begins with an Act of Contrition, rather than the Creed, to call to mind the role our sins had in the suffering of Jesus and Mary. At the beginning of each mystery, the sorrow is announced, followed by an Our Father and seven Hail Marys. It concludes with three Hail Marys in honor of Our Lady’s tears, rather than the Hail Holy Queen. At Kibeho, Our Lady specifically asked that we pray the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and spread it.

Three

A Life That Leads to Happiness and Holiness

Deep down, everyone wants the same thing: happiness that lasts and love that transforms us. That is what we mean by holiness or transforming union with God. There is a simple way of life that leads to happiness and holiness: belonging entirely to the Holy Spirit through Mary because the Holy Spirit forms Jesus in us through Mary.

Worship and thank God regularly in the Mass, receive Him in the Eucharist, and be forgiven and healed in Reconciliation. Daily Meditation in which we learn and think about and apply to our lives the entire Word of God, the full content of our faith. Daily resolution in which we practice good actions that become virtues that transform us in love. Removing the destructive forces of sin and the occasions of sin from our lives.

Having a rule or recipe or plan of life enables us to pursue the good things of life in a well-ordered and balanced way and is the best safeguard against using our time badly. You need time for friendship with God, care for the body, sleep, nutrition, and exercise. You need time for meaningful work, doing good for others and for the world, deep friendship with family and friends, and pursuing good things together, accompanied by the art of good conversation, helping one another to Heaven.

That is my domestic church. Knowledge about God and the good world he created. Experience of beauty in all its forms, nature, literature, art, music, a sporting event well executed.

Four

Our Rosary 

Just as the Servites promoted the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, we promote a Rosary that helps people meditate on the entirety of the Word of God. From the beginning, the Rosary has always been meant to be a meditation on the Word of God, not only Sacred Scripture, but also Sacred Tradition, the lived witness of the saints, and the teaching of the Church. 

The traditional mysteries of the Rosary were given to outline the central events of the life of Christ, not to exhaust them. They provide a stable framework that naturally invites deeper and wider meditation on the Gospel. 

This is why Saint John Paul II could both introduce the Luminous Mysteries and insist that the Rosary is never closed in on itself. 

As he wrote, “Obviously these mysteries neither replace the Gospel nor exhaust its content… the mysteries contemplated in the Rosary… easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection.” — Rosarium Virginis Mariae, no. 29

Five

The Movement of the Holy Family 

When we have individuals taking initiative and responsibility for their own holiness and then helping their family and friends to Heaven, then we have what we call “The Movement of the Holy Family.” 

This is what we want to help you do by sharing a vision and giving formation through the Rosary Podcast, training you in knowledge, skills, and habits for friendship with Jesus and friendship with others. And I also want to invite you to come and live this simple way of life with us so you can take it back to your domestic church, your small group of family and friends, that is your mission field. We have multiple pilgrimages this year as well as an experience of living this simple way of life with us in Kansas City, July 16-19 and this fall in Cincinnati.

In 2005, Archbishop Naumann formally recognized the School of Faith as a Public Association of the Faithful. And in plain terms, that means this: the Church looked at this work and said, “Yes. This is a real mission, and it is for the good of the Church.”

Because of that recognition, something very real happens. When people become members, their prayers, sacrifices, joys, and even their sufferings are gathered together and offered to God as a shared spiritual treasury. And that means you are no longer praying, working, or suffering alone. As a member of the Movement of the Holy Family, you may offer this entire spiritual treasury of graces from all the members for your loved ones. But this doesn’t happen automatically.

To share fully in these spiritual goods requires a simple act of the will: you freely choose to become a member. And it’s easy. After the Rosary, you can simply click “Join the Movement”.

If you enjoyed this meditation, subscribe below.