The Rosary — The Luminous Mysteries
by Fr. Gary George
The world is in desperate need of our prayers to be converted, and the Rosary is a simple, but inordinately powerful form of prayer. The relationships of Jesus to the Church are shrouded within the Mysteries of the Rosary—offering a way to grasp how each mystery sheds its light on our souls. It affords us a way to unite with Jesus and Mary, through meditating on the mysteries of their life.
In the Luminous Mysteries, we begin with the Baptism of our Lord as an invitation to reflect on the mystery of the union of nature and creation. Nature being the very life of Jesus, who enters into the water from which to bring forth the beginning of a new life through creation. Water, which is a part of creation, now has a divine purpose—creating within us a new man destined for eternal life. In nature, the faithful are compelled to seek God, because nature speaks and fights for life, for living; not emptiness and death.
The Miracle at Cana in Galilee shows once again how nature and creation are joined together. Humanity and divinity are joined. Our biological bodies are joined with God’s divine nature: where water, symbolizing our humanity, is joined with the wine of his divinity, and the two become one in nature in the marriage feast.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven is an invitation to partake in the life of repentance and embrace the mission of the apostles. We begin to feel the power of the great sacrament of confession and penance. It is an invitation to experience the very reason for Jesus’ mission to call us back to the Father through repentance.
The Transfiguration is an invitation to meditate on the lives of Peter, James and John, and their friendship with Jesus. It is the mystery of Light where everything becomes clear, yet they were lost on the mountain because they were looking for the ordinary when Jesus was showing them his true brilliance and leading them to the extraordinary.
The Eucharist is an invitation to enter the life of Jesus and the disciples after the resurrection. It is an invitation to not only follow him and do what he did, but a deep and profound invitation to be transformed into being like him in all things.
Commitment and discipline of praying the Rosary is a way to respond to these invitations. It is saying yes to him in all of life’s circumstances. Even though we may not fully grasp the depth and extent of his wondrous mysteries, we believe in the gift of faith. We cannot compel a person to believe, but faith is the foundation on which everything flows. It elevates our pain and suffering and offers meaning and purpose. Faith makes prayer more sensitive and performs acts of mercy.
Rev. Gary George CSsR, is Director of Youth and Vocations in the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon