The Mysteries of
the Rosary
The
Joyful Mysteries
1. The
Annunciation Foreseeing the
fall of man, God had decided to save him and welcome him home. So when in his
estimation the time was ripe, he began a dialogue with a virgin maiden who
lived in Nazareth. She was just a child of 12 when her parents presented her to
God in the great Jerusalem temple to do with her as he pleased. That was when
the dialogue was initiated that lasted three years. The virgin maid’s name was
Mary, a name signifying noble lady, gracious woman – a truly grace-filled girl,
sweet and gentle, yet penetrating and transcendent. I can only imagine what was
going on in the mind, soul and spirit of this gracious maid. God was ever so gentle
too, his inspiration the breath of the Holy Spirit that never forces but
breathes like the evening breeze over a placid lake. The maid was ever so
sweetly drawn by the very breath of God whispering with the utmost delicacy and
deference the final question, “Will you consent to be the mother of my Son?” Never
was such a request made in the evolution of the universe and in the history of
man. Gentle maiden, sweetest virgin, lead me to your offspring!
2. The Visitation The Virgin Mary is now
carrying the Son of God in her body physically. Could there be anything more
intimate than this? What joy, what exultation! She is to be the Mother of God.
We therefore celebrate the Divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Maid of Nazareth. Does she just sit down in complacent triumph over other
women? Does she dance the nuptial twirl, the light fantastic? No! She puts a
few things together for a long journey, a trip to Ain Karim where dwells her
cousin Elizabeth now in her sixth month of pregnancy with John the Baptist.
Mary, the utterly altruistic woman, has no time to waste in her own good
providence as the chosen one. She puts all her energy into the arduous journey
to Ain Karim to put herself at the loving service of her beloved cousin , Elizabeth, for the final three months
of her pregnancy. She arrives, exchanges
greetings with Elizabeth and chants her “Magnficat” that will be proclaimed by
her children till the end of time and forever. “My soul glorifies the Lord, and
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”, her Creator and Saviour whom she will
carry for the following nine months and remain forever his Mother.
3. The Nativity of
the Lord Let us go and behold the true
Bread that has come down from heaven. The Bread in Bethlehem, the home of
bread. The Bread of angels wrapped in swaddling clothes. The interventions of
God come to us in the most familiar ways: the conception of a child in the womb
of a maiden, the visiting of one family to another, the word of greeting and
leaping with joy, the help a woman needs at childbirth, the intimate rejoicing
at the birth of a child. These are instances of God’s intimate intervention
and, in fact, his very presence. So why cannot we have confidence in him?
4. The
Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the Temple The
word “infant” is from “infans” – incapable of speaking. The Baby Jesus could
not utter an intelligible word but makes the sounds a baby makes. But the baby
sounds of Jesus were of praise and delight: delight in the Father and in his
creation of which the humanity of the Baby Jesus was a part. God and creation
coming together in a little Child. Could anything be more intimate than that?
We must admire God for the lengths he goes to in order to come close to us. The
parents of Jesus, Mary, his Mother, and his foster father, Joseph, surely
sensed this and so made their contribution to the great project of divine-human
intimacy. And Simeon and Anna rejoiced to see it. The condescension of God, the
song (Mary’s Magnificat”) and dance (John the Baptist leap) of man. You can
imagine the dance and prattling of the baby Jesus in the arms of Simeon,
summarizing the dance of the universe. May we be permitted to join the dance,
drink the new wine and eat the one and only Bread?
5. The Finding in
the Temple The
Child Jesus lost in the Temple. What do you mean by “lost”? In God’s Temple no
one and nothing is lost. In fact, we want to be lost in him completely, totally
and absolutely, so lost in him as to be indistinguishable from the Three
Persons of the Holy Trinity, sharing in the life of the Trinity in the order of
existence. Ultimately there is only one existence, that of the Holy Trinity.
God is pure existence: “I
AM”. What my uniqueness will be like is
none of my business. I only want God. All my anxieties vanish when I pray for
greater and greater confidence in Jesus Christ, my transcendent Lord.
The
Sorrowful Mysteries
1.
Agony of Our Lord in Gethsemane Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of Mary
has come to us with unspeakable closeness. In his agony of soul, mind and body
he in a real (not abstract) manner shares our sadness and distress like any
human being who feels the pain of loss, loneliness, abandonment and terror at
the prospect of certain death. Once Christ has assumed the human condition he
will accept the consequences with no desire or ploy to escape. The pain of being human is now played out on
the stage of divine drama: God meeting man in terms of excruciating pain. Now
his divine love pours out into the crucible of human torture. This is humanity at
its excruciating depths and heroic heights. Why? Because if God has to know his
rational creation he has to become rational himself. It is precisely in
suffering together that we become most intimate, and the memory of shared
suffering makes us more loving. “We went through it together. We know each
other better than ever.”
2.
Jesus is scourged: As
if mental pain were not enough our dearest Lord has to undergo physical
suffering. Now he is close to us not only rationally but also physically. “I am
with you” was not a flight of idyllic poetry but turns out to be the nuts and
bolts of our relationship. A true friend is one who tells us, “I know your
pain. I went through it myself exactly as you are doing now. Yet, courage, you
will soon overcome it as I did.” Jesus is in my very pain.
3.
Jesus is crowned with thorns: The Lord of the universe is
acknowledged King with a crown of thorns. He who so ardently desired to come to
his subjects is rewarded for his efforts with a decorative crown made up of
thorns. This was not entirely unexpected since they were about to make him king
after the feeding of the multitudes that evening when he fed them with bread in
the wilderness. But Jesus knowing what was in man refused the offer of a
perishable title.
4.
Jesus carries the Cross: and thereby
carries our sin. Could he become more intimate with us? Already at his baptism
he plunged into the Jordan and stood in solidarity with sinners.”He who knew no
sin was made into sin for us,” writes St. Paul in his 2nd. Letter to
the Corinthians. No word could ever express such closeness and intimacy such as
this line from St. Paul. Having assumed human nature, a nature marked (though
not marred) by sin, carrying the Cross through the city streets and rough paths
to Golgotha, Jesus was manifesting in concrete his taking upon himself the sins
of all men and women till the end of history. He has assumed the hubris and
self-centredness of historical man so intimately and completely that when he
dies all the hubris and sin of mankind are destroyed and our nature rises to
new life in his Resurrection.
5.
Jesus is crucified and dies on the Cross: We are there nailed to the Cross
with him. Let our sinful selves die with him, and for that to happen let each
one of us adhere to the Lord in the most intimate manner.
The
Glorious Mysteries
1.
The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ: There never was and never will
be a Resurrection like that of Jesus Christ. It is the greatest triumph the
world will ever know. Conquering death, the last enemy of man, symbolizing the
victory of good over evil, the victory over sin and death. How does it affect
me? Definitely. I was a sinner on my way to death that I had earned by my sins.
But then Jesus met me on that dire road, turned me a sharp angle and put me on
the road to life, eternal life. Now I am his more intimately than ever.
Intimacy with Jesus is what matters: total, complete, irrevocable intimacy. Prayer: How splendid you look, my Risen
Lord in your well earned glory before the Father and the Holy Spirit, your
Blessed Mother Mary and before all men. You have done us proud, dearest Lord,
Conqueror of death and Lord of life. We cannot contain ourselves. I dance with
joy and happiness. O Divine Lord of the universe, who never had a place to lay
your sweet head on earth, you now have the universe with its trillions of
galaxies as your footstool and my heart as your throne. Conquer me, for you
have smitten me by your invincible Resurrection. Rule me, for you have led
captivity captive, and in the process you have liberated my heart to love you
with a love that is utterly free and lightsome. Give me an everlasting voice to
sing your triumph and a body to dance in unison with the Holy Trinity and the
angels. Brothers and sisters let us do the light
fantastic of eternity to the heavenly orchestra of adoration, praise and
thanksgiving to the Eternal Risen Lord Jesus Christ unceasingly and forever.
Amen
2.
The Ascension of Our Lord: “It is accomplished”, said the Saviour already
on the Cross, punctuating the last moments of his terrible suffering. It was a
declaration to the world and to his Father: “The work you sent me to do I have
finished.” The “hour” he mentioned to his Mother Mary at Cana, that hour he is
now closing as he raises his hands for a final blessing to his disciples and
the world. His self-offering on behalf of men to his Father is now
accepted, having been sanctified and
ratified by suffering and death – death that sweet and swift elder brother of
us all. To make that acceptance visible and assured, the heavens open their
arms, symbolised by the manifold clouds of God’s manifestation, to receive him
into heaven. All is ready for the
descent of the Holy Spirit, promised by the Messiah.
3.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit upon Our Blessed
Mother Mary and the Apostles: At his Resurrection Jesus had told
his disciples not to feel sad at his departure back to the abode of the Trinity
as he would send them the Holy Spirit. The mutual love of Father and Son is now
poured out upon the world, first upon Mother Mary and the Apostles – the first
members of the new community – and through them upon the rest of humanity and
its succeeding generations till the entire saved world will have assembled in
heaven. “For unless I go I shall not send the Holy Spirit”, said Jesus. Now,
what did he mean by this? So they must wait till Jesus has reached his rightful
place of power and authority in heaven. Expiation now complete, now Father and
Son will send their mutual love in the Person of the Holy Spirit. An act of
mutual partnership, made the more efficacious by the Paschal Mystery of Christ,
which is completed by the descent of the Holy Spirit and now operative in its
fullness. Christ’s Paschal Mystery is now fully accomplished.
4.
The Assumption of Our Blessed Mother Mary to
Heaven: What our hearts
through the centuries of Christian history always desired and craved, and God
seemed to agree, has happened. On falling asleep in death, Our Blessed Mother
was assumed, soul and body incorrupt, by the power of God and to the great
rejoicing of the angels and saints, taken up to heaven to be with her divine
Son Jesus Christ forever in transcendent glory and bliss. Our fondest wish, our
deepest desire, has been fulfilled, otherwise we would have lived and died in
utter misery, sadness and pessimism. Our own desire has reverberated with God’s
own right through the centuries of Christian history. We are filled with
gladness and jubilation! This is exactly what we wanted for our dearest Mother.
“Maria assumpta in coelis,” is what we sing and dance with joy as we can hardly
contain our happiness at this great and glorious mystery of your Assumption. “O
dearest, ever dearest Mother, how happy you must be. How happy the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit with an infinite and unending joy. How blissful the saints.
How jubilant your children on earth you love so much and who love you. All that
we desired for you has happened. My mind is full of thoughts of you and my
heart with love. Gracious maiden of Nazareth. Gracious Virgin. Gracious Queen.
Gracious Mother. Mother of God and my Mother. Lead me to Christ your Son.
5.
“Maria Mater Virgo in coelis coronate”: Our Blessed Virgin Mother is crowned Queen of
heaven and earth. O glorious ending to a life of obedience and devotion, and
much suffering in union with her glorious Son Jesus Christ. Nothing higher
could we desire for our dearest and sweetest Mother Mary. “Hail Queen of heaven
and earth, more beautiful than the rarest of flowers, more brilliant than the
brightest star in the universe. No creature on earth or in heaven can rival
thee, daughter of God the Father, spouse of the Holy Spirit, and mother of Our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! More loving than a million mothers, sweetly compassionate
towards your children on earth whom you have not abandoned and for whom you
prepare places in heaven by your side and at your feet. There’s where I belong
– at the feet of Our Blessed Mother. Dearest Mother Mary, you are the most
deservedly crowned Queen of heaven and earth. You remain forever the loving
Mother and gracious Queen of heaven and earth. We love, trust and honour you.”
The
Mysteries of Light
The Luminous
Mysteries proclaim the progressive revelation of Jesus Christ the Lord. The
Transfiguration is the 4th. Mystery of Light. How well it fits in!
After revealing his solidarity with us sinners at his Baptism in the Jordan (1st.
Mystery), Jesus shows how he shares our human happiness, in fact, enhances it
by his miracle of the water into wine – the 2nd. Mystery, which also
marks the transition of the Old Testament to the New, the elevation of human
happiness to divine joy. The old wine has run out. The new wine is
inexhaustible. He proclaims it by his powerful preaching and by works of
forgiveness and healing – the 3rd. Mystery. The 4th.
Mystery is continuous with the three already in that his joy is that of
divinity: God among men, revealing the truth that the Christian vocation is one
of light and joy. This God of ours is determined to remain with us. So he
institutes the Holy Eucharist. The 5th. Mystery of Light is the
institution of the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament whereby God assures us that
the personal presence of Jesus Christ is a covenantal one by which he is not
only among us sinners, taking personal interest in our human undertakings and
happiness, supplying our need for the light of wisdom, our need for healing;
but he is personally our sustenance in our journey through life with all its
struggles and failures. Thus Jesus Christ not only is present among us but
really ad truly feeds us with his Body and Blood. The Holy Eucharist is the
inexhaustible source and transcendent summit of the covenantal love of the
Father in the Son through the Holy Spirit. In fine, the revelation of God’s self-giving
in the circumstances of our sinfulness (Baptism) and the celebration of our humanity
(Cana) sustained by divinity (Transfiguration) in the very flesh and blood of
Jesus Christ. And the greatest wonder is that God does not stop at creating and
leaving us to our human happiness, but he must immerse us into the very self,
life and bliss of the Trinity. Wonder!
Wonder! Wonder!
How grateful I am to my dearest Lord and Master Jesus Christ for
revealing to me these truths past all telling. Where shall we find another
source of light and truth? It is only
Jesus Christ who is the Truth. Thank you, dear Lord for these elevating
insights, pure gift of your affection for me. I love you and bless you now and
forever.
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