The Lord’s prayer is perhaps the most well known and oft-repeated prayer of the New Testament, and is given a central position in Christian life. Yet the importance of this prayer is often both under appreciated and misunderstood. While biblical scholars acknowledge the redactions to the Bible and the problems involved in source materials, there is great acceptance among scholars that these words were likely the actual ones spoken by Jesus and were saved by oral tradition, entering the later written tradition.. Thus it becomes an interesting and worthwhile undertaking to consider these words in deeper contexts—the context of mystical language and mystical experience. The typical translations of this prayer, known to all through the King James or Vulgate versions, translate the words in ways that convey their meaning, but that do not let the original feeling speak to us today .*

The basic theme of this Rosary is the Lord’s Prayer, taken line by line and explicated from the Aramaic language, and mixed with scripture taken mostly from the Gospel of Matthew surrounding the introduction of this prayer. The reason for this is that Aramaic was (and remains) a language rich in the symbolism of fertility, of planting and harvesting, of season and time, of nurturance and blossoming. Examination of the Lord’s Prayer in the language of it’s original presentation enlivens the subtle values and nuances inherent in the prayer which in the modern English translations are at best obscured and at worst completely lost. Yet the purpose of the prayer is not to be complete in itself, no matter in what language it is conveyed, translated or transliterated. For the completion of this prayer can only take place in the depths of the human heart, the stillness of the being where heaven meets earth and both are full of joy at the mingling.

For this rosary, heavy reliance was made on Aramaic translations (or perhaps more accurately transliterations) as given by Neil Douglas-Klotz, as well as some of his interpretations of those translations. As stated in the Introduction to this book, these translations are explicated from the syllabic roots of the Aramaic words, and thus are rendered more freely than a word-for-word translation. The result is a richness of feeling that allows us to go far beyond the mind and into the heart. The intention is that the lectio, or commentary be a springboard for both contemplative non-discursive meditation as well as for discursive musing. Of course, the purpose of contemplative meditation is that the object of attention is transcended altogether, and the truest "hearing" of the pure gospel is to be found in our own awareness reflected in silence. The lectio divina of this rosary is not what is heard in sound, but what is heard in the silence of the heart. Thus, the name of this rosary is the Rosary of the Divine Heart of God. The Divine Heart of God is a mystery, and the words of the Lord’s Prayer call us to that mystery in a way that is deeply profound and deeply stilling.

Begin by having an intention in mind for the rosary. This intention may be stated as part of the following prayer.

 

Prayer of Intention

We who gather to pray this rosary do have in our minds and hearts the following intentions: (Here a few moments of silence allow all to clarify their intentions). We ask that these intentions may bring forth the results desired, according to Your will. Amen.

General Instructions

1. Holding the cross in the right hand (if right handed), with the rest of the rosary in the left hand, bless yourself with the Invocation:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

2. Holding the cross in the right hand (if right handed), and with the rest of the rosary draped across the left hand, begin with the Prayer of Saint Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in complete surrender that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

3. On the first bead after the cross say the "Our Father":

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Alternate "Our Father" translated from the Aramaic (see introduction)

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos, focus your light within us—make it useful. Create your reign of unity now; Your one desire acts with ours, as in all light, so in all forms. Grant what we need each day in bread and insight. Loose the cords of mistakes binding us, as we release the strand we hold of others’ guilt. Don’t let surface things delude us, but free us from what holds us back. From you is born all ruling will, the power and the life to do, the song that beautifies all; from age to age it renews. Amen.

4. On the next three beads say the "AVE MARIA":

Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Amen.

5. After the third AVE MARIA hold the chain and say the GLORIA PATRI:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is how and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Name the mystery and read the thoughts and prayer that follow each one. Begin with the OUR FATHER on the bead just before the medal and the AVE MARIA on the next ten beads following the medal. On the chain following these ten beads, say the GLORIA PATRI.

7. Then, name the next mystery and proceed exactly as above until all the mysteries have been said—that is say the OUR FATHER on the single bead, then the ten AVE MARIAs, then on the chain the GLORIA PATRI, then the next mystery.

 

First Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Our Father, who art in heaven

"Abwoon, d’bwashmaya…"

"…when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:7

Thoughts…

In Aramaic, the word "abba" means Father. Yet this translation is incomplete, for the root "ab" connotes the springing forth of fruit from a single source—diversity sprung from unity. "Abwoon" has a similar but more personal meaning—that which is so close to us that it is dear to us. In giving His instruction Christ revealed the secret to prayer as well as a methodology to prayer. By placing our awareness inward, toward the spark of Divinity that lies within, we find a place more fulfilling and more pleasant than the world of the senses, for the light of the soul is more illuminating than the light of the sun. By going deeply within to pray, we rest in the Presence of God, and in the silence that is the purest form of prayer, we need have no words, for the Divine knows our needs before we do. As we rest in the silence of the Presence of God, our intentions and needs find fulfillment.

Prayer:

Heavenly Mary, mother of Life, enfold us in your love and lead us to our secret places, wherein our Father may be revealed to us in Love. Amen.

 

Second Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Hallowed be thy name

"Nethquadash shmakh"

 

"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases like the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words." Matthew 6:7

Thoughts…

The translation of the Aramaic phrase "nethquadash shmakh" (hallowed be thy name) includes several root words. The root "shm" from which the Aramaic word "shem" is derived can mean light, sound, vibration or experience. The root "qadash", meaning "holy", has the connotation of having been set apart, as ground cleared and ready to grow something new. Thus, to hallow the name of the Lord means to see that part of the Lord which is set apart, full of light and sound, from which new things arise. Prayer in this manner is both silent and active, restful and dynamic. To understand this, it is only necessary that we observe rather than initiate action in the holy place of the Lord, to receive rather than to give—to hear with our hearts the Word of God within us, rather than the words of our prayer. Going from the Oneness of "Ab" to the envelopment of "qadash" is to open ourselves to God, and to fall into God’s Presence as an act of sacred surrender.

Prayer:

Heavenly Mother, even as you surrendered to Love, we ask that you help us give up our words that we may hallow the name of the Lord both in daily life and in the purest prayer of silence. Amen.

 

Third Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Thy kingdom come

"Teytey malkuthakh"

"The disciples said to Jesus, ‘Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.’ He said to them ‘It is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. But when it falls on prepared soil, it grows into a large plant and shelters the birds of the sky’" Gospel of Thomas, saying 20

Thoughts…

The Aramaic word "Teytey" means "come" but has the connotation of mutual desire that ends in unity. God wants us to live in His Presence even as we want to live in it. God is attracted to us even as we are attracted to the Divine. In truth, the meaning of this phrase is one of invitation—the bringing together as one two desires for unity. The word "malkuthakh" has the image of a fertile arm of creation, ready to sweep across the land to both fertilize and grow, thus birthing fruit and greenery. The invitation here is to create within us the garden from which may flower all of the essence of Divinity. And from this garden we may grow, from the smallest of beginnings, greenery that encompasses all of life.

Prayer:

O Mother of Heaven, Shrine of the Spirit, nurture within us the garden of the Divine, that in growing we may shelter all the birds of heaven. Amen.

 

Fourth Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven

"Nehway tzevyanach aykanna d’bwashmaya aph b’arha"

"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will our Father forgive your trespasses" Matthew 6:14-15

Thoughts…

The invitation to create the garden here gives way to surrendering that garden to God. The Aramaic word "tzevyanach" has the connotation of "desire" in the sense of a purpose, and the word "aykanna" means "just as" in the sense of stability and coherence. We can only invite the Gardener to grow in the Garden if we are willing to surrender to the will of the Gardener. It is the cooperation of our will with that of the Divine in the act of losing one will into another, of merging one into the other so that our will becomes the will of the Divine. This is a most sacred marriage—the will of the soul, without losing it’s own uniqueness, expresses the will of the Divine in perfect harmony. "Arha" means "earth" and has the connotation of being supportive yet expressive of Divinity—power and movement. Forgiveness of others, as well as ourselves, is a surrender to that quality of ever-new-creativity that is a hallmark of God—all things created anew.

Prayer

Mother of Love, bringer of redemption, help us nurture our desire for union with God, that we may surrender in forgiveness and allow the flowering of Christ within. Amen.

 

Fifth Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Give us this day our daily bread…….

"Hawvlan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana"

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting." Matthew 6:16

Thoughts…

The Aramaic word "lachma" means both "bread" and "understanding", which implies all that nourishes. Once surrendered to the Divine Gardener, we ask for nourishment that we may grow. Prayer, fasting, and meditation all nourish the Garden and invite the Gardener to further change the landscape. As our wills are merged with the will of God in the act of surrender, we rest in the Divine Presence. When we act from this Presence, we act with the will of the Divine. The Lord here in the scripture tells us to act from the Presence without perceiving ourselves in the process as an object of action. We act as God desires us to act, not as we desire to act.

Prayer

Dearest Mother, whose heart encompasses the worlds, help us to open to the nourishment of God, that we may eat of the Bread of Life and grow in knowledge of Christ. Amen.

 

Sixth Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors

"Washboqlan khaubayn (wakhtahayn) aykanna daph khnan shbwoqan l’khayyabayn"

"When you give alms, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:2

Thoughts…

The Aramaic word ""washboqlan" has several meanings that go beyond "forgive". One such meaning entails the idea of "return to its original state" and another "embrace with emptiness". As the prayer was translated from the Greek version of Matthew, the word "khaubayn" was rendered as "debt" or "offences". The original Aramaic word also connoted ones "hidden past" or "secret debt". It could just as easily be rendered as "failures" or "mistakes". The Lord in this part of the prayer seeks to remind us of our natural heritage, one of fully being present in the present moment—the moment of God… "This is the day the lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it!" This part of prayer is the giving up of what holds us back, of what our minds grasp for and hold fast to, of releasing everything that binds us in joy and freedom…including what we have done to others and what others have done to us. It is thus that we return to our original state—embraced by the emptiness that allows the Fullness of the Presence of God to express through us. By surrendering to the Presence in the present moment, we act without the need to think, and thus our left hands know not what our right hands are doing—we act fully awake to the moment in God, and that is in itself the reward!

Prayer

O Mother of Divine Grace, give us your heavenly aid that we may open ourselves to the Presence of God within and in living in that Presence, fully express it. Amen.

 

Seventh Mystery of the Divine Heart of God

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

"Wela tahlan l’nesyna. Ela patzan min bisha"

Thoughts…

A better and more fitting translation of these words reveal from the Aramaic meanings well beyond what is represented in the Greek. "Wela tahlan" is better rendered as "don’t allow us to be deceived ", and "nesyuna" contains the idea of being diverted from our purpose in life. The last part of the phrase is better translated as "but break the seal that binds us to error". In this phrase we are asking to be kept from delusion, from the binding influence of our likes and dislikes, our mistakes as well as our successes. In terms of the Divine, what is evil in reference to us? That which allows us or encourages us to believe that we are separate from God, that we are far from our Divine roots.

Prayer

Holy Mother, help us to see more and more of our true nature in Divinity, revealing Christ to us moment by moment. Amen

After the last decade has been said, and the connecting medal has been reached, the following prayer is said:

I give myself this day to the strong power of Love

To the obedience of Angels, the faith of confessors, the preaching of Apostles, to the purity of simple souls.

I give myself this day to the virtues of the starlit heavens, the brightness of the sun, the whiteness of the moon, the flashing of lightening, the restlessness of wind, the stability of earth, and the deepness of the sea.

I give unto myself this day the power of God to lead me, His eye to watch over me, His hand to guide me, His Word to give me speech.

Christ with me, Christ beside me,

Christ behind me, Christ within me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ to the right of me, Christ to the left of me,

Christ in lying down, Christ in sitting, Christ in rising up,

Christ in the heart of every person who may think of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who may speak of me,

Christ in the eye of everyone who may look on me,

Christ in the ear of everyone who may hear me.

I give myself this day to the strong power of Love. Amen.