The First Luminous Mystery,
The Baptism of Jesus. Matthew 3.
About that time John the Baptist first appeared, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea: “Repent, for the realm of heaven is at hand.”.
Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent him.
“I need to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why have you come to me?”
“Drop this for now,” Jesus answered; “this way makes it right.” So John agreed.
After the baptism of Jesus, and just as he came up from the water, the skies Opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending, like a dove, and alighting on him, and from the heavens there came a voice which said: “This is my dearly loved son, in whom I delight.”
Fruits of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit, the Healer. Gratitude for the Gift of Faith.
The Second Luminous Mystery
The Wedding at Cana., John 2
Two days after this there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and Jesus’s mother was there. Jesus himself too, with his followers, was invited to the wedding. And, when the wine ran short, his mother said to him: “They have no wine left.”
“Woman, what do you want with me?” answered Jesus. “My time has not come yet.” His mother said to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.” There were standing there some six stone jars, in accordance with the Judean rule of “purification” each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants: “Fill the water jars with water.” And when they had filled them to the brim, he added: “Now take some out, and carry it to the president of the feast.” The servant did so. And when the president of the feast had tasted the water, which had now become wine, not knowing where it had come from –although the servants who had taken out the water knew –he called the groom and said to him: “Everyone puts good wine out first, and inferior wine afterward, when his guests have drunk freely; but you have kept back the good wine till now!”
This is the first sign of his mission, Jesus gave at Cana in Galilee, and by it revealed his glory; and his followers believed in him.
Spiritual Fruit: To Jesus through Mary. Fidelity. Obedience. Following our Call.
The Third Luminous Mystery
The Proclamation of the Kindom of God and the Call to Conversion. Matthew 5
On seeing the crowd of people, Jesus went up on the mountain; and, when he had taken his seat, his disciples came up to him; and he began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the realm of heaven.
Blessed are the mourners
For they will be comforted.
Blessed are the gentle,
For they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice,
For they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they will find mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted in the cause of righteousness,
For theirs is the realm of heaven.
Spiritual Fruit: Christian Witness and Conversion
The Fourth Luminous Mystery.
The Transfiguration. Matthew 17
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain alone. There his appearance was transformed before their eyes; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. All at once, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. While Peter was speaking to Jesus, a bright cloud enveloped them, and there was a voice from the cloud that said, “This is my dearly loved so, who brings me great joy, listen to him.”
Spiritual Fruit: Spiritual Courage, Believing. Trust.
The Fifth Luminous Mystery
The Institution of the Eucharist. Luke 22
When the time came, Jesus reclined at dinner, and the ambassadors with him. On receiving a cup, after saying the thanksgiving, he said: “Take this and share it among you. For I tell you that I will not, after today, drink of the fruit of the vine, until the realm of God comes.” Then Jesus took some bread and after saying the thanksgiving, broke it and gave it to them, with the words: “This is my body. Do this in my memory.” He did the same with the cup after the supper and said; “This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you.
Spiritual Fruit: Love of the Eucharist, Remembering and Celebrating community.
Bible verses taken from Taussig, Hal. A New New Testament: A Bible for the Twenty-first Century Combining Traditional and Newly Discovered Texts, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
The presence of Jesus is powerful. When he was walking the earth his presence demanded a response. Especially those moments that revealed his divinity. The Luminous Mysteries, often referred to as the Mysteries of Light, capture some incredible moments filled with Jesus’ divinity. They proclaim: “This is the chosen one, the one you have been waiting upon for so very long, this is the Messiah, this is the Son of God!” How will you respond?
The First Luminous Mystery: The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Jesus, the Son of God, went to John the Baptist to be baptized. John felt unworthy even to untie Jesus’ sandals, but Jesus stood in line with sinners and presented himself to John to be baptized. At that moment, as Jesus stood in the water, the heavens opened and God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17).
The Second Luminous Mystery: The Wedding Feast at Cana. This is it. Jesus’ first public miracle. And it takes place rather quietly at a wedding. When the bride and groom ran out of wine, Mary took their need to Jesus. And he turned water into wine, a wine that was far better than the wine they had already served, and more wine than they could ever drink. The Our God is a God of abundance. Just as Jesus abundantly supplied more wine when it was in short supply at the wedding in Cana, he wants to provide abundantly for whatever is in short supply in our lives today.
The Third Luminous Mystery: The Proclamation of the Kingdom. When Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he perplexed people. They had a certain image of God and his ways, and Jesus turned them upside down and inside out. In our own ways, we too have images of God and ways of thinking about how God does things that he wants to turn upside down—which as it turns out will be right side up.
The Fourth Luminous Mystery: The Transfiguration. Jesus wants to show us what is possible. Too often our vision is too earthbound. He wants to open our hearts and minds to all that is possible far beyond our limited thinking. The disciples, like you and I, could only see Jesus in a very limited way because of their limits. Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on the mountain so God the Father could open their spiritual eyes wider than ever before and see Jesus in all his glory.
The Fifth Luminous Mystery: The Institution of the Eucharist. Do you know what happened at the Last Supper? Most of us would say yes, and then recite the facts and mechanics of that historic experience. But really, what we don’t know about the Last Supper dwarfs what we do know. What we don’t know about God makes what we do know about him look like a grain of sand in the Sahara desert.
Accessed January 30, 2021 from: https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/rosary/unlocking-mysteries-rosary.html