Does anyone else love the luminous mysteries for Thursday rosaries? I love that St. John Paul II added them to our rosary routine. They center around five key moments in Chris’s ministry when He revealed, or illuminated, deeper truths about the divine life.
The first Luminous Mystery is the Baptism in the Jordan. This is a beautiful scene when Jesus humbled himself to be baptized by John the Baptist, even though Jesus obviously didn’t need baptism. But in that way He modeled for us the importance of this sacrament of initiation. Then, John and his followers were able to witness the voice from heaven calling Jesus the beloved son. This also marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
The second Luminous Mystery is the Wedding at Cana. I particularly love this moment for the interaction with the Blessed Mother. As His public ministry is just beginning, Mary gently encourages Jesus to perform a beautiful miracle. Although Jesus points out to her that his hour had not yet come, she knew her Son’s heart, and she spoke these profound words: “do whatever he tells you.” We would all do well to remind ourselves of these words. Placing Christ’s first miracle at a wedding also elevates the sacrament of marriage.
The third Luminous Mystery is the Proclamation of the Kingdom. Throughout His public ministry, Jesus gradually revealed more and more about the Kingdom if Heaven. He used parables partly to illustrate His teaching more clearly to His followers and partly to avoid revealing too much to the enemies who would have used it against Him. In this way, Jesus was able to make His public ministry last until His hour did come.
The fourth Luminous Mystery is the Transfiguration. Again, this is a beautiful moment when some of Christ’s followers, this time Peter, James, and John, got to witness the revelation of Christ’s true divinity. Have you ever imagined what that must have been like? It had to be completely overwhelming to hear God’s voice from heaven, confirming what Peter had already professed about Jesus. Every once in a while, it crosses my mind that this whole process of finding God’s plan for me would be so much easier if He would just open up the sky and talk to me like that! …but of course, that’s not how it works. Still, what a blessing to have this beautiful witness of Christ’s dear Apostles.
The fifth Luminous Mystery is the institution of the Eucharist. It is in this amazing moment that Christ really made the revelation of the new covenant completely clear. This beautiful gift allows us to maintain and strengthen our bond of Communion with Christ every week, or even every day, if we’re lucky enough to be able to attend mass that often. It is easy, especially for a cradle Catholic like me, to begin to take for granted the gift of the sacrament, but we should take time to remind ourselves what a gift it really is.
So, thank John Paul II for this beautiful reminder of the Divine revelation we received through Jesus in the Gospels. I hope you are able to pray a Thursday rosary from time to time and contemplate the abundance of grace we receive in that revelation.