Rosa Mystica (or Mystical Rose) is a poetic title of Mary. One form of

Marian devotion Marian devotions are external pious practices directed to the person of Mary, mother of Jesus, by members of certain Christian traditions. They are performed in Catholicism, High Church Lutheranism, Anglo-Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Orie ...

is invoking Virgin Mary's prayers by calling upon her using a litany of diverse titles, and the title 'Mystical Rose' is found in the

Litany of Loreto The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto (Latin: ''Litaniae lauretanae''), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of ...

. It is also a Catholic title of Our Lady based on the Marian apparitions reported between 1947 and 1966 by Pierina Gilli at

Montichiari Montichiari (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on December 27, 1991. The town is home to the Gabriele D'Annunzio airport (Italian: ''Aer ...

and Fontanelle, in Italy.

Origins

The Biblical source of the title is

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

2:1, often translated, "I am the

Rose of Sharon Rose of Sharon (in Hebrew: חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן) is a Bible, biblical expression, though the identity of the plant referred to is unclear and is disputed among biblical scholars. It has become a common name for several speci ...

". Bishop Robert C. Morlino draws a connection to Isaiah 11:1, "But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. This is also reflected in the German Advent hymn ''

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen "" () is a Christmas carol and Marian hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and is also called "A Spotless Rose" and "Behold a Rose of Judah". The rose in the German text is a symbo ...

'', known in English as ""Lo, how a rose e'er blooming", which makes reference to the Old Testament prophecies of

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

which in Christian interpretation foretell the

Incarnation of Christ In Christian theology, the incarnation is the belief that the pre-existent divine person of Jesus Christ, God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, and the (Koine Greek for 'word'), was "made flesh" by being conceived through the power o ...

, and to the

Tree of Jesse The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schemati ...

, a traditional symbol of the lineage of Jesus.

Examples in Art and Literature

09665jfSan Guillermo Parish Church Mendoza Street Buting Pasig Cityfvf 18

A devotional image enshrined at the Maria Rosenberg Church in

Waldfischbach-Burgalben Waldfischbach-Burgalben () is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the western edge of the Palatinate forest, approx. 10 km northeast of Pirmasens. Waldfischbach-Burgalben is also l ...

, Germany, holds an 1138 painting of Mary, featuring roses.

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

said,

Mary is the most beautiful flower ever seen in the spiritual world. It is by the power of God’s grace that from this barren and desolate earth there ever sprung up at all flowers of holiness and glory; and Mary is the Queen of them all. She is the Queen of spiritual flowers; and therefore, is called the Rose, for the rose is called of all flowers the most beautiful. But, moreover, she is the Mystical or Hidden Rose, for mystical means hidden.

Roses have long been connected with Mary, the red rose symbolic of love, the white rose, of purity. In the fifth century,

Coelius Sedulius Sedulius (sometimes with the nomen Coelius or Caelius, both of doubtful authenticity) was a Christian poet during the first half of the 5th century. Biography Little is known about his life. The only trustworthy information, contained in his tw ...

referred to Mary as a "rose among thorns". Known as the “queen of flowers”, the rose represents Mary as Queen of Heaven. Medieval writers also referenced a passage from

Sirach The Book of Sirach (), also known as The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, The Wisdom of Jesus son of Eleazar, or Ecclesiasticus (), is a Jewish literary work originally written in Biblical Hebrew. The longest extant wisdom book from antiqui ...

24:14 "like a palm tree in Engedi, like a rosebush in Jericho".

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

said, "Eve was a thorn, wounding, bringing death to all; in Mary we see a rose, soothing everybody's hurts, giving the destiny of salvation back to all." Mary is celebrated under the title "Our Lady of the Rose in

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Italy on January 30. Roses feature prominently in the apparition of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...

wrote a devotional poem called "Rosa Mystica" (c.1874-5), which includes the lines "Mary the Virgin, well the heart knows, / She is the mystery, she is that rose".

George Egerton Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright (born Mary Elizabeth Annie Dunne; 14 December 1859 – 12 August 1945), better known by her pen name George Egerton (pronounced Edg'er-ton), was a writer of short stories, novels, plays and translations, noted for ...

's novel ''Rosa Amorosa'' (1901) repeats the litany "''Rosa mystica! Ora pro nobis!''" but subsequently subverts this by transforming it into a pantheistic call "The elm overhead is my ''Rosa mystica!''". Chrysogonus Waddell composed an

a capella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

choral piece titled "Rosa Mystica", which was featured in the 2017 film Lady Bird.

Modern Italian Devotion

On 7 December 2019, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brescia The Diocese of Brescia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).Pierina Gilli who reported

Marian apparitions A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are mor ...

and neighbouring Fontanelle, Italy, in 1947 and 1966. Whether or not the source was a genuine apparition of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, Pierina actively promoted a devotion to Our Lady with three roses upon her breast and a way of practicing devotion to Mary under the title "Rosa Mystica".

Devotion and claims of Miracles in Venezuela

María, Rosa Mystica, arrived in Venezuela as the Pilgrim Virgin, traveling through homes in the arms of devoted followers. In today's day and age various temples and some devout households in Venezuela celebrate the Virgin Rosa Mystica on the 13th of each month. These celebrations include the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the praying of the rosary, and the Holy Mass, in accordance with the Virgin's requests to Pierina during her apparitions. "Wherever my image goes, my presence is there." This sentiment is echoed by those who have hosted her image in their homes, reporting a palpable sense of her presence at every domestic altar. The main feast day for the Virgin Rosa Mystica is on July 13. On October 13, the Reparative Communion is distributed during the celebrations. Additionally, on December 8 at 12:00 p.m., the "Hour of Grace" is observed. These events are organized by groups of priests, nuns, and committed laypeople who uphold this devotion in Venezuela.

Claims of Miracles

In 1993, at the Sisters Servants of Jesus Convent in Carrizal, Miranda State, Venezuela, the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to several people, including nuns, displaying various miraculous signs. One of those signs was glitter appearing on the hands of a seer. This apparition is known as the Virgin Mary Mother of the Consecrated Souls. The glitter phenomenon has sparked controversy among people. Some believe it is a sign of the Blessed Virgin’s presence and assistance, as she told Sister Mary Carmen on February 9, 1993, during the Carrizal apparitions. Others reject this idea, some have doubts, and some mock it entirely. In the chapel of Belén School (Colegio Belén) in Venezuela, two notable events have been recorded. In one instance, a nun was fervently praying to the statue of the Rosa Mystica when both she and the statue became covered in glitter. On another occasion, a statue in the convent was carried in a midnight procession to the main chapel after it began to "cry blood." Since the Convent was trying to prove these as miracles, glitter was not permitted in any kind of school activity. Several studies were conducted on multiple samples of glitter collected from several locations in Venezuela where this phenomenon took place: * From the convent in Carrizal * From the Belén School in Los Palos Grandes, * From the María Auxiliadora Community of Las Mercedes del Llano (Guarico), * From Campo Rosario Mission in Perijá (Zulia), * From the religious community of the Servants of Jesus at the Santa Ana School in Caracas, * From the United Nations Park, during the conference of the Marian Priestly Movement on March 2, 1992, when Father Stefano Gobbi was present. In conclusion, th
studies
demonstrated a different composition and chemical reactions from man-made samples and the samples collected in the abovementioned places where the glitter phenomenon took place.

References

External links

Diocesan Shrine of Rosa Mystica, Mother of the Church
– Official website
Investigación sobre la Escarchas en Imágenes Religiosas
– Foros de la Virgen María
Huellas de la Virgen María en Venezuela: cultos y devociones
- Marielena Mestas Pérez, Horacio Biord Castillo (Fundaciones Polar Book) {{Madonna styles Catholic Mariology Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus Roses