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Mysteries of The Rosary (Part II)

by Lois Donahue

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES John 8:12

While there were certainly changes made along the way in the process of forming the Rosary, as I have known it all my life, quite a remarkable change was made by Pope Paul II in October of 2002 when he added a new set of mysteries called The Luminous Mysteries (also sometimes called the Mysteries of Light).

These five 'happenings' in the life of Jesus showed that He was willing and capable of bringing the light of 'hope and promise' to a spiritually dark world and that He truly was what He declared Himself to be - "..the light of the world".

THE BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN

Matthew 3:13-17 Mark 1:10 Luke 3:21-22 There are two things that often come to mind when I think of Jesus' baptism. The obvious one is the reassurance and support He is openly given by the other two persons of the Blessed Trinity. St. Mark tells us that after he baptized Jesus, John the Baptist "saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove descending upon him" and that a voice came from heaven saying, "You are my beloved Son: with you I am well pleased."

The other thing I've thought about is something we see often in Jesus throughout his lifetime -- his humility. Regarding His humility at His baptism --- it is obvious that John knew how very special Jesus was, even before the dove and the voice from heaven, when he said to Him before the baptism, "I need to be baptized by you". Jesus must also have known He was the son of God as we can be reminded by recalling Him saying to his parents when they found Him in the temple, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Therefore, at this time, here on the banks of the Jordan River, He had to have known He was sinless and in no need of John's "baptism of repentance". He could have turned his back and walked away in a gesture of superiority that would have been an obvious "put- down" to all the people gathered there -- but He didn't. He insisted that He be treated the same as all of those who felt the need for the 'symbolic cleansing' of John's baptism with water.

THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA

John 2:1-11

No doubt there are many very significant and thought-provoking things connected with the miracle Jesus performed at Cana which would offer ideas for meditation but, as I have said at the beginning of this series, I always seem to be drawn to the 'humanness' of Jesus especially when it involves His interaction with biblical people of His time.

It makes all of them 'come alive' for me and consequently, as in this case of Cana, just thinking of Jesus and Mary and the Apostles being invited to the same wedding and enjoying it together - talking and laughing with friends and quite probably drinking some wine - makes me feel so much more comfortable 'talking' to any of them in prayer. Some other thoughts -- how Mary, being a woman, is the one who notices they are running short of wine, - how Mary, being a mother, rather subtly makes that fact known to her son and then, still in her mother-mode and even after her son so much as says, 'I'm not getting involved', tells the servers to "Do whatever he tells you" - and what happens?

Jesus tells the servers to fill the jars with water and, without further comment, He changes it into wine. To me that far from unusual mother/son relationship event coupled with the fact that He performed His first miracle in response to His mother's faith in Him is so touching and well worth taking a moment or two to think about when I come to this Mystery. Beyond that, I think of how St. John, when writing much later, reminds us of the immediate and important impact made by this miracle with these words - "because of that miracle "his disciples began to believe in him".

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM

Matthew 9:35, 16:18-19 Mark 1:15 Luke 9:2
Catechism of the Catholic Church 543 & 546

When I see or hear the word 'kingdom' my first thought is usually a large portion of land ruled by a king. God's Kingdom, however, has nothing to do with land but it is certainly ruled by a king and that king is God. We've all heard of 'Christ the King'. Although, for sure, I am in no position to 'explain' the Kingdom of God; still here are some of the things I have learned about it from a variety of sources. Jesus began His public ministry 'proclaiming' - "the kingdom of God is at hand" and continued to repeat that message in more detail throughout His earthly life.

God's kingdom is "not of this world" but is rather a spiritual kingdom. Everyone is called to enter it but that entry demands more than just claiming to believe in the message of Jesus ("Words are not enough, deeds are required"). Jesus instructed the Apostles to "proclaim the kingdom of God". He gave the "keys of the kingdom" to Peter upon whom He would build His church and, with the promised guidance of the Holy Spirit along with the perseverance of the Apostles who, like Jesus, not only 'talked the talk' but 'walked the walk, we were given that Church against which "the netherworld (the gates of hell) will never prevail." From somewhere in all that information, I don't have much trouble coming up with something to 'think about' when I prepare to pray this Mystery.

THE TRANSFIGURATION

Matthew 17:1-8 Mark 9:2-9 Luke 9:28-36

Here is how 'transfiguration' is defined -- "to change in outward form or appearance". From what the Bible tells us that is what happened when Jesus was 'transfigured". Here is what it says. He took Peter, James and John "up a high mountain" and gave them a glimpse of the truth that He was not only fully human (which they had witnessed since first knowing Him and which would be made even more evident to them when He suffered and died) but that He was equally divine. There on the mountain Matthew tells us "his face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light".

Luke says, "his face changed in appearance and his clothes became dazzling white". We are also told that 'from a cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him." It would seem that possibly Jesus was 'transfigured" in the presence of the Apostles not only to help them 'believe' the seemingly unbelievable truth that Jesus was at the same time both human and divine; but that they would be able to 'go forth' and preach that truth with conviction and in so doing, those who would hear them and follow in their footsteps would establish the Church Jesus promised to build and through that Church bring that same truth to the generations yet to come. Again much from which to find thoughts for 'meditation'.

THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST

**(The word Eucharist means "the giving of thanks")
Matthew 26:26-28 Mark 14:22-26 Luke 22:14-20

Here we are faced once again with something "unbelievable". Jesus was celebrating the Passover with the Apostles just as He had no doubt done before. This night was decidedly different. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, broke it, gave it to them and said "Take and eat; this is my body which will be given for you, do this in memory of me"; Then he took a cup, gave thanks and gave it to them saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood .. which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." I don't think we can doubt for a minute that all the men at that table did just what Jesus told them to do.

They ate the bread he gave them and drank from the cup. (Here I will note that it is questionable as to whether or not Judas was at the table at that time.) I think we can be equally certain that every one of the men there believed, to the extent which was humanly possible, that they were consuming His body and blood. Their belief was not based on knowing or understanding. It was based on faith - their faith in Jesus. They had seen this remarkable man do too many things beyond the realm of possibility not to believe.

They had seen Him walk on water, give sight to the blind, feed thousands with only a small amount of food, bring the dead back to life, calm a storm, make it possible for the deaf to hear and the hopelessly crippled to walk. Admittedly, in order to accept as truth the mystery of the Eucharist much more was demanded of their faith since nothing seemed to have changed. The bread still looked like bread and tasted like bread and in the same way there was no sign of change in the wine. Jesus made an additional demand of their faith when He told them to "do this in memory of me" -- apparently without any specific instructions.

Consequently, as part of meditating on this Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, we might think about the fact that back on that first Holy Saturday, at what would come to be known as the Last Supper, the Apostles had no idea that Jesus was "instituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist" nor could they have imagined how absolutely essential that Sacrament would be in making it possible for everyone yet to be born to "eat His body and drink His blood". Talk about demands on their faith. But they remained strong in that faith and step by step in the course of time the Holy Spirit gave them answers to their questions and made it possible for the "breaking of the bread" to evolve into the Mass during which men with the faith of the Apostles and following in their footsteps were, and are, indeed able to obey God's command and bring "His body and His blood" to the people of "all nations".

Thinking about this mystery reminds me of two things - believing isn't always easy and we sure need God's help to do it.

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"Nothing should
frighten or grieve you.
Let not your heart be troubled. Am I, your Mother,
not here with you?"

"Nothing should
frighten or grieve you.
Let not your heart be troubled. Am I, your Mother,
not here with you?"

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