In the year of our Lord 2002, His Holiness Pope John Paul II
unveiled before the eyes of the faithful his instruction on a deeper mediation
upon the life of Christ. Seeing a need
to enter more fully into the life of the Savior, the Pope instructed his
children to meditate upon the active life of Christ. Under the title of the Luminous Mysteries,
His Holiness highlighted five mysteries of the life of the Son of God by which
the faithful would gain an ever-greater vision of their own path of redemption. Unfortunately for most Catholics, the
promulgation of the Luminous Mysteries in the Apostolic Letter, Rosarium
Virginis Mariae, has been little more than a passing memory. But, for some Catholics, the Mysteries of
Light have been a great source of mediation over the past few years and have
resulted in an increase of grace at the hands of the Blessed Mother. For these Catholics, dedicated disciples of
Christ, led by the successor of Peter, a great desire has been engendered to
enter into the active life of Christ through repetition of the Ave Maria. This desire is increased with every passing
moment as the Luminous Mysteries are again and again brought before the
thirsty eyes of the soul. It is toward
these Faithful, desirous of a greater unity with the mysteries of the life of
the Christ, that these next posts are aimed.
Over the next few weeks we will journey through the Gospels, from the Jordan River to the Holy City of Jerusalem, walking in
the footsteps of the Savior and learning from him the revelation of the
Mysteries of Light.
Since none
but Christ has the words of eternal life, I will act in the role of guide and
fellow student. To make your journey as
fruitful as possible, the sessions will be divided with sub-headings and
summaries. Together we will walk through
the Sacred Scriptures, peering into the Revelation of God and discovering anew
the mysteries therein. Because this is
the fruit of years of my own study, I will take care to make clear each step of
the journey, desiring to make all who read true partakers in the discovery of
Christ revealed in the Luminous Mysteries.
As instructor and guide I do not have a monopoly on interpreting the
Sacred Scriptures and am therefore eager to learn from the insights of those
alongside whom I am studying.
Our
objective over the next few weeks is to gain a firm grasp of the themes,
imagery, and events contained in the mysteries of the active life of
Christ. We will divide our study into
three parts. First, we will study the
framework of Salvation History within which the Luminous Mysteries are set,
focusing upon the Semitic perspective and the hope with which the Jews at the
time of Christ waited eagerly for the coming of the Messiah. These first posts will focus primarily on
images of the story of the Garden of Eden as the paradigm for properly
interpreting the restoration of mankind in Christ. In conclusion of this first part, we will
take what we have learned from the creation narrative and apply it to the first
Luminous Mystery, the Baptism of Christ.
Second, we will journey from the Jordan
to Cana, and see Christ begin to proclaim the Kingdom
of God as he stands in the synagogue
at Nazareth. Third, we will meditate upon Christ
transfigured on Tabor, and receive from the Son of God the fruit of His labors,
the flesh which is for eternal life. Finally,
we will consider the eschatological significance of the Luminous Mysteries and
the end or goal to which meditation upon these mysteries will lead.
It will often be necessary to refer
to the Old Testament and to consider in detail certain aspects of the original
language in which a particular text was written. On such occasions I will make every attempt
to simplify the linguistic discussions so as to make those unfamiliar with
Hebrew, Greek, or Latin able to follow the text under consideration. Though you may be tempted to skim over
sections that are either detailed analyses of Old Testament references or
linguistic considerations, please be patient and attentive to the details as we
will build our exegesis of the Luminous Mysteries upon the sure foundation of
the Old Testament and gain valuable and indispensable insight based upon
certain linguistic consideration of the original language.
Finally, I
encourage you to begin before reading with prayer for the grace of insight. As a union of souls incorporated through
Baptism into the Body of Christ, we will succeed of fail together. We will succeed inasmuch as we open our
hearts to the Grace of the Holy Spirit and we will fail in as much as we
separate ourselves from the Body of Christ.
Opening Prayer
O Master
Who loves mankind, illuminate our hearts with the pure light of Your divine
knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to understand the teachings of Your
Holy Scriptures. Instill in us also the
fear of Your blessed commandments, that we may overcome all carnal desires,
entering upon a spiritual life and understanding and acting in all things
according to Your holy will. For You are
the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and to You we give
glory with Your Father and Your all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, both
now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
