Tree of Life Rosary
$75.00
Contemplate the mystery of the Cross of Christ, the New Tree of Life. Mediate on the typological origins in the Garden of Eden, its life-giving fruit… on Jesus, the New Adam, and on Mary, the New Eve. Consider not only the Cross as the tree bearing our new life-giving fruit but Mary too, Our Lady of Olives, who first bore this Divine Fruit as an “olive pressed” in Gethsemane, another Sacred Garden… and who later bore us all in John at the foot of the cross. Is she not too a New Tree of Life? “… your children will be like olive shoots around your table” (Psalm 128:3).
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| Good Friday Crucifix... | Representing the New Tree of Life, the New Adam (Jesus), the New Eve (Mary), and Saint John, the Son of Mary's Sorrow. This, her second son, the beloved of the Lord, represents all of us. Just as Eve was the mother of all the living, Mary, the New Eve, is the mother of all the living under the New Covenant. |
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| Two-Sided Centerpiece... | With the Virgin Mary on one side represented as Our Lady of Olives. On the other side is Christ sweating blood like olive oil in the Garden of "Gethsemane" (meaning "olive press")… certainly not a coincidence, as the Jews believed the original Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden to be an olive tree. Christ, like an olive in His prime, pours out His most precious blood not only in the Garden, but all the way to the cross as He hangs upon the New Tree of Life. |
| Colored "Olive" Beads... | Reminding us that we, like Christ and Saint John, are all children of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Olives. RED representing Christ on the Cross; BLACK representing Saint John, the "Son of Mary's Sorrows"; PURPLE and YELLOW representing the children who have gone before us in Purgatory and in Heaven, respectively; GREENs representing those of us still living today. |
| Olive Wood Beads... | Represent the original Tree of Life, which the Jews believed to be an olive tree. [They also believed the Tree of Knowledge… to be a fig tree.] Olive trees can grow to reach their prime after 500 years. Once passed, they may be cut down to a stump from which a shoot may grow into another 500-year old tree. Recall King David's father, Jesse… and recall Jesus, the son of David, the shoot from the stump of Jesse. |
| 12 Bead Covers... | Representing the twelve children of Jacob/Israel. The GOLD caps represent the six children of Leah; the BRONZE represent the two children of Bilhah; the COPPER represent the two children of Zilpah; and the SILVER represent the two children of Rachel. The 12 bead caps were added to represent the 12 tribes of Israel, God's chosen people. Recall Jesus' first miraculous multiplication of loaves to feed His chosen people… and the 12 remaining Hebrew baskets (____ word from Mark 8:20). |
| 7 Olive Branch Beads... | Representing all the "wild" Gentile nations… grafted to the good Tree of Life. An olive tree branch, though wild, may be grafted to a good olive tree and it will eventually produce fruit as good as the original tree. Seven "wild" branches were added to represent the 7 (or all) Gentile nations grafted to the Tree of Life after the death and resurrection of Christ. Recall Jesus' second miraculous multiplication of loaves… and the 7 remaining Gentile baskets (____ word from Mark 8:20): Like Joseph (the dreamer) before Him, Jesus also came to feed not only the Jews, but all the Gentile people with life-giving wheat/bread. |
| Our Mother of Sorrows, | Standing at the foot of the crucifix with Jesus (her first-born son) and with John (the son of her sorrows), is also prefigured at the opposite end of the Rosary. There we see Mary foreshadowed in Rachel, the mother of Joseph, her first-born son, who saved Egypt and the world with life-giving wheat. She was also the mother of Benjamin, her last-born son, who she first named "son of my sorrows" (i.e., Ben-oni), because she died while giving birth. As the New Rachel, Mary's delivery of Jesus and John was also prophesied by Isaiah (66:7-8): "Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son (i.e., Jesus); Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? … For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her sons (i.e., John and in him, us)." |
| The Seven Sorrows of Mary, | Another meditation on Our Blessed Mother's sorrows, may also be prayed using this Tree of Life Rosary. This contemplative prayer (outlined in our "Seven Sorrows of Mary Rosary" post) may be prayed using the 7 Olive Branch beads to mark the sorrowful meditations and the "Our Father…" prayers; and the 7 beads between to mark the "Hail Mary…" prayers while contemplating her sorrows: (1) The Prophecy of Simeon, (2) The Flight into Egypt, (3) The Loss of Jesus in the Temple; (4) Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary, (5) Mary Stands at the Foot of the Cross, (6) Mary Receives the Dead Body of Jesus in Her Arms, and (7) The Body of Jesus is Placed in the Tomb". |
| How Much More... | Will you learn as you contemplate the mysteries of our salvation history in the Rosary of Our Blessed Virgin Mother, Mary? |
