The Golden Rose given to Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Cuba

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BVM Caridad.jpgA rose among thorns. Well, almost. Man and woman always want to give an expression of love and affection to another. In the course of history you will notice the gifts of love's sentiment and reality given to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. Visit a shrine where healings are reported and you'll notice tokens of gratitude: lockets, flowers, chalices, artwork, and the like. One beautiful gift of love was given by Pope Benedict Monday evening to the Virgen de la Caridad de Cobre in Cuba: a golden rose. The papal gift of a golden rose dates back to the middle ages when a pope held a golden rose in a procession on Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. It was Pope Eugene III who called the rose a sign of Christ's passion: the gold symbolizing the resurrection and the thorns the suffering.

Over time the golden rose was given to Church dignitaries thus expanding the meaning: a personal honor and a reminder: do not forget the responsibilities and duties that come with being a Christian. Beyond the human honor given to royalty, the rose was given to abbeys and sanctuaries of the Virgin Mary. Pope John Paul II gave a few these roses to shrines and Pope Benedict XVI is fond of the custom and so he's given roses to Altötting, Mariazell, Fatima, Aparecida, USA and now to Cuba. 

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Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page contains a single entry by Paul Zalonski published on March 27, 2012 6:19 AM.

Happiness and fullness of being in communion, not suffering, did God make us was the previous entry in this blog.

Father Kevin O'Rourke, OP RIP is the next entry in this blog.

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