Rosary LightFor centuries we Catholics
have prayed the Holy Rosary with three sets of
meditations or mysteries: the
Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries and
the Glorious Mysteries. These
were written by a Dominican monk in the
fifteenth century. However, on October
16, 2002, during the twenty-fifth
year of his reign, the Holy Father, Pope
John-Paul II saw fit to add a
fourth group of mysteries to the rosary, a group
he named the ³Luminous
Mysteries² or ³Mysteries of Light²
³in order to bring out fully the
Christological depth of the rosary.²
1 John Paul felt that something was
missing between the Joyful Mysteries proclaiming
the hidden life of Christ
and the Sorrowful Mysteries about His Passion, that
mysteries about Christ¹s
public ministry were needed in order to make
the Rosary ³more fully a
compendium of the Gospel² 2 He called these
Mysteries the Luminous
Mysteries or Mysteries of Light because ³it is
during the years of his
public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most
evidently a mystery of
light.² 3 Remember, Christ said ³I am the
light of the world ³ (John 9:5).
The Luminous Mysteries are as follows:
the mystery of Jesus¹ Baptism in the
Jordan, the mystery of the miracle
at the wedding in Cana, the mystery of
the proclamation of the Kingdom of
God, the mystery of the Transfiguration,
and the mystery of the institution
of the Eucharist. It is interesting to
note that luminous, in Webster¹s
Dictionary, means both emitting steady or
glowing light and bathed in steady
light; for, as Jesus is luminous with His
message so we are luminous in its
reception as we hear and accept the
message. The Holy Father suggests that
the Luminous Mysteries could be said
on Thursday in lieu of the Joyful Mysteries
which could be prayed instead on
Saturday, a day traditionally devoted to
Mary. The Glorious Mysteries which
are normally said on Saturday, would then
be reduced in times of meditation
to twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday.
I was delighted to hear of the
Luminous Mysteries and to add them to my meditations.
I agree with the Holy
Father that they fill a gap in the gospel line of the
rosary and bring the
light of Jesus¹ ministry shining into this most
well-known, much-loved
method of prayer.
1-3 ³Rosarium
Virginis Mariae² Apostolic Letter of the Supreme Pontiff
John Paul II
to the bishops, clergy and faithful on the most Holy Rosary.
2002.
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