Presenting Josephine Lombardi, Ph.D.

Novena #1: Mary's Face
Mary’s tender gaze supported and encouraged her Son and his followers throughout their journey. That same tender gaze accompanies us throughout the various seasons of our lives. Mary’s whole being reveals God’s plan for all humanity. We are called to love and show love with our actions, including our facial expressions.

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Novena #2: The Colours in Mary's Clothes

The colours of Mary’s clothes connect to this mystery, the real possibility of becoming a new creation with life giving thoughts, words, and habits. In a recent presentation on iconography, the presenter explained the deeper meaning of the colour red in iconography, how it connects to the process of divinization.

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Novena #3 :The Star on Mary's Veil

Mary who leads us to her Son, Jesus Christ has been referred to , throughout the centuries, as the Star of the Sea, a bright star that leads us home. St. Jerome and other early Church leaders, used this title in reference to her. She is like the bright star that led the wise men to Jesus. The wise men followed the star, using it to keep them going in the right direction.

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Novena #4: Mary's Hands

Mary, like these gifted healers, used her hands to nurture her son. Mary’s hands held her Son, delighting in his presence, comforting him after a fall, holding him tight after finding him in temple, and accompanying him on the way to the cross. Her hands knew the gift of holding and touching the flesh of the Messiah, God’s son, and her son.

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Novena #5 :The Child Jesus
Meditation on the child Jesus leads to amazement and wonder, encouraging us to ponder God becoming human, born as a baby, vulnerable and dependant on human care for his survival.

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Novena #6: Jesus' Hands

Mary’s touch soothed her son, making him feel loved and protected. God entrusted his only begotten Son to Mary and Joseph, knowing they would love and care for him, meeting his basic needs, preparing him for the demands of his future ministry.

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Novena #7: Jesus' Sandals

The child Jesus is running up some stairs, falling and hurting himself. Mary, his mother, runs to him and holds him in her arms, soothing his soul, bringing comfort to his little body. Jesus, Son of God, became one of us, having to endure the process of human development and growth. He would have stumbled, possibly cutting or bruising himself from time to time. Mary would have tended to these wounds.

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Novena #8: The Archangel Gabriel

Gabriel is present, offering strength, but he holds the signs of the pain to come. His presence in this scene shows us that God does not call us to a demanding mission without offering us grace and the assistance of others.

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Novena #9: The Archangel Michael
Michael’s appearance in this icon, holding the lance, the pole with sponge, and a vessel of vinegar, is a reminder of his protective presence. Although the items in his grip symbolize suffering,  Michael,  as heavenly  leader against the forces of evil, is ready to defend God’s people

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An Introduction
The Rosary is a prayer centred on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We meditate on the mysteries pertaining to the life of Jesus and key moments in Mary’s own life as well. Mary’s contribution and participation in God’s redemptive plan is a reminder that we are all called to participate in God’s plan for all creation.

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The First Luminous Mystery:

The Baptism of Jesus

I was baptized when I was 2 ½ years old because my parents could not agree on who the godparents would be. On the day of my baptism I became a daughter of God and a member of the Catholic Church. This mystery honours the account of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

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The Second Luminous Mystery:

The Wedding at Cana

Have you ever felt like you were running on empty? No energy or stamina to do God’s will or to perform some task? Has the wine run dry in your life? This mystery marks the first of Jesus’ signs in the Gospel of John. It reveals the power of Jesus to transform and replenish in times of spiritual and material drought.

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The Third Luminous Mystery:

The Proclamation of the Kingdom

We believe that God can make us new and will show us how to reconcile with others. Jesus used several parables referring to the kingdom. In one parable he tells us that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. The seed for the kingdom is within us, but it awaits nourishment that can only come from belief, love, humility and openness to change.

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The Fourth Luminous Mystery:

The Transfiguration

Jesus takes Peter, James and James’ brother John to a high mountain. Much to their surprise, they witness Jesus transfigured before them. To be transfigured means to be changed into something nobler or more beautiful. His “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” Jesus reveals his body in its glorified state to his friends.

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The Fifth Luminous Mystery:

The First Eucharist

The Eucharist brings us into this mystery. The word Eucharist comes from a Greek word meaning thanksgiving, gratitude, favour, or grace. We give thanks and receive the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit transforms the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. What we see is bread and wine, but the substance has been completely transformed

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Meet Josephine Lombardi, Ph.D.

Dr. Lombardi has worked as a parish minister, university campus minister, high school chaplaincy leader, teacher educator through O.E.C.T.A., professor of Religious Education, Brock University, retreat facilitator, faith formation consultant, and program coordinator in the Diocese of Hamilton. Presently, she is Associate Professor of Pastoral and Systematic Theology, Professor of Field Education, and Director of Lay Formation for St. Augustine’s Seminary in Scarborough, Ontario.

Read Josephine Lombardi's book "Living with the Rosary"

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She has done media work in radio and television and has been an advisor to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in the area of doctrine and Catholic-Muslim relations. Her book, On Earth as it is in Heaven, has been featured on CTS and Salt and Light Television.

More recently, she has been appointed Series Theologian for the new Religious Education curriculum for grades 1 through 8, “Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ” for Catholic School Boards in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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