The Luminous Mysteries
The Luminous Mysteries
The Luminous Mysteries
THE TRANSFIGURATION
Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter which introduced the Luminous
Mysteries in October 2002.
Five mysteries, the Mysteries of Light (or the Luminous Mysteries), have been added to the
Rosary. They focus on the public ministry of Jesus Christ. They are:
"Here, as Christ descends into the waters, the innocent one who became 'sin' for our sake (cf.
2Cor 5:21), the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the beloved Son (cf.
Mt 3:17 and parallels), while the Spirit descends on him to invest him with the mission which he
is to carry out."
"The first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1- 12), when Christ changes water into wine and
opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among
believers."
"The preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to conversion
(cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him in humble trust (cf. Mk 2:3-13; Lk
7:47- 48): the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise until the end
of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his
Church (cf. Jn 20:22-23)."
The Transfiguration
"The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken
place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the
Father commands the astonished Apostles to 'listen to him' (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) and to
prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the
Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit."
Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our
contemplation brings us to those mysteries which may be called in a special way “mysteries of
light”. Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the “light of the world” (Jn
8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he
proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom.... Each of these mysteries is a revelation of the Kingdom
now present in the very person of Jesus.
..... Pope John Paul II
What John the Baptist was conferring on the banks of the Jordan was a baptism of repentance for
conversion and the forgiveness of sins. But he announced: "After me comes one who is mightier
than I.... I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:7-8).
He proclaimed this to a multitude of penitents who flocked to him confessing their sins, repenting
and preparing to correct their lives.
The Baptism given by Jesus, which the Church, faithful to his command, does not cease to
administer, is quite different. This Baptism frees man from original sin and forgives his sins,
saves him from slavery to evil and is a sign of his rebirth in the Holy Spirit; it imparts to him a
new life, which is participation in the life of God the Father, given to us by his Only-Begotten Son
who became man, died and rose again.
As Jesus comes out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove, the heavens
open and the Father's voice is heard from on high: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased" (Mk 1:11). Thus the event of Christ's Baptism is not only a revelation of his divine
sonship, but at the same time a revelation of the whole Blessed Trinity. The Father-the voice
from on high-reveals in Jesus the Only-Begotten Son consubstantial with him and all this comes
about by virtue of the Holy Spirit who, in the form of a dove descends on Christ, the Lord's
Anointed. - Pope John Paul II , Jan 1997
Conversion. The Greek word for converting means: to rethink-to question one's own and
common way of living; to allow God to enter into the criteria of one's life; to not merely judge
according to the current opinions. Thereby, to convert means: not to live as all the others live,
not do what all do, not feel justified in dubious, ambiguous, evil actions just because others do
the same; begin to see one's life through the eyes of God; thereby looking for the good, even if
uncomfortable; not aiming at the judgment of the majority, of men, but on the justice of God-in
other words: to look for a new style of life, a new life.
All of this does not imply moralism; reducing Christianity to morality loses sight of the essence of
Christ's message: the gift of a new friendship, the gift of communion with Jesus and thereby with
God. Whoever converts to Christ does not mean to create his own moral autarchy for himself,
does not intend to build his own goodness through his own strengths.
"Conversion" (metanoia) means exactly the opposite: to come out of self-sufficiency to discover
and accept our indigence-the indigence of others and of the Other, his forgiveness, his
friendship. Unconverted life is self-justification (I am not worse than the others); conversion is
humility in entrusting oneself to the love of the Other, a love that becomes the measure and the
criteria of my own life. - Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger )
4. The Transfiguration
This light shines on all the Church's children. All are equally called to follow Christ to discover in
him the ultimate meaning of their lives, until they are able to say with the apostle: 'For to me, to
live is Christ' (Phil. 1:21). But those who are called to the consecrated life have a special
experience of the light which shines forth from the Incarnate Word. For the profession of the
evangelical counsels makes them a kind of sign and prophetic statement for the community of
the brethren and for the world; consequently they can echo in a particular way the ecstatic
words spoken by Peter: "Lord, it is well that we are here" (Mt. 17:4). These words bespeak the
Christocentric orientation of the whole Christian life. But they also eloquently express the radical
nature of the vocation to the consecrated life: How good it is for us to be with you, to devote
ourselves to you, to make you the one focus of our lives! Truly those who have been given the
grace of this special communion of love with Christ feel as it were caught up in his splendor: He
is "the fairest of the sons of men" (Ps 45:2), the one beyond compare. -- Pope John Paul II -
March 1996
The other Sacraments give us grace, the Holy Eucharist gives us not only grace but the Author of
all grace, Jesus, God and Man. It is the center of all else the Church has and does.
As St. Mark records that, at the Last Supper, Jesus "took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it
to them: "Take this, this is my Body" (Mk 14:22). That word blessed in Greek is eucharistesas,
from which the Eucharist derives its name.
Three of the four Gospels record the institution of the Holy Eucharist: Matthew 26:25-29; Mark
14:22-25; Luke 22:19-23. St. Paul also records it in First Corinthians 11:23-25. St. John's Gospels
does not report this, presumably because he intended chiefly to fill in what the others had not
written, for he wrote probably between 90 and 100 A.D. There are small variations in the words,
but the essentials are the same in all accounts: This is my body... this is my blood.
In John 6:53 Jesus said: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you will
not have life in you." Of course, He did not mean to cut off salvation from those who through no
fault of their own do not know or grasp this truth. It is like the case of Baptism: one must receive
it if one knows.
The form, that is the words required for the Eucharist, are of course the words of institution. The
matter is wheat bread (white or whole wheat) for the host, and natural wine (mixed with a very
little water) for the chalice. Addition of a notable amount of other matter would make the
material invalid.
Jesus is present wherever the appearances (species) of bread and wine are found after the
consecration. Hence He is found even when the host is divided. The substance of bread and wine
is gone, only the appearances remain. The Church calls this change transubstantiation: change
of substance.
In John 6:47-67 Jesus did not soften His words about His presence even when so many no longer
went with Him: had He meant only that bread and wine would signify Him, He could have so
easily explained that, and they would not have left.
The Church has always understood a Real Presence. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch, who
was eaten by the beasts in Rome around 107 A.D., wrote: "The Eucharist is the flesh of our
Savior Jesus Christ" (To Smyrna 7:1). St. Justin the martyr wrote around 145 A. D: "We have been
taught that the food is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh" (Apology 1. 66. 2).
The Council of Trent in 1551 defined that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, body and blood,
soul and divinity.
Obviously, this divine presence deserves our worship. Really, someone who believes in it should
be much inclined to come before the tabernacle often. Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament
seems to have started in the 15th century. The Church also promotes Forty Hours devotion. In
some places there is perpetual adoration. - Fr. William G. Most
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The Luminous Mysteries
The German Liturgical Institute was eventually asked its opinion about instituting a fourth series
of Rosary mysteries, The Public Life of Jesus. A Marian group in Leutsdorf, Germany then
requested permission to officially institute a fourth series of mysteries that had been suggested
by Rev. Benno Mikocki of Vienna, the head of the Rosary/Reparation Way of the Cross movement.
The letter of the Liturgical Institute noted that an attempt had been made to promote these
mysteries over twenty years ago in the national German prayerbook, Gotteslob. This attempt had
found little echo from the people. The letter indicated that such devotions have to come from
among the people rather than "from the top down." Dr. Elmar Nubold, director of the Liturgical
Institute, commented that the three sets of mysteries, with their concise formulations, had proven
effective over the years. Nevertheless, new suggestions should be taken into account. Rev. Josef
Schultheiss concluded from the Liturgical Institute's response that it was now up to the individual
communities and movements to do what they could to further this intention in order to achieve
their aim over a longer period of time.
In Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002), John Paul II proposed the Luminous mysteries below as an
"addition to the traditional pattern." (RVM, 19)
The mysteries of light are placed between the Joyful and sorrowful mysteries. Each one of the
Luminous mysteries sheds light on an important aspect of Christ's mission: He is son of the
Father, the miracle worker, announcer of the Kingdom, the transfigured Son of god, and living
bread or Eucharistic presence. He is God's light for this world. These new mysteries are
extensively treated in John Paul II's letter on the rosary.
The Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan