An interesting find about the Rosary and Luminous Mysteries

[HillbillyHermit]

Googled EWTN.com today looking for info on the Rosary and found this in the Q&A section:
LINK

One of the things that stood out to me was:

One is under no moral obligation to pray the Luminous Mysteries. However, there is merit in the docility of accepting the counsel of the Holy Father. Yes, the traditional rosary is beautiful, but I find the Luminous Mysteries a fitting addition. They commemorate events from the public ministry of the Lord, which emphasize the incarnational/sacramental/evangelical dimension of salvation when false ideas about the nature of the plan of salvation and religion are growing.

(Emphasis Mine)

Docility…that’s the word that especially stood out. It reminded me of the 4th Joyful Mystery when Mary presented Jesus in the Temple.
[BIBLEDRB]Luke 2:22-24[/BIBLEDRB]

The Virgin Mary, being the Ark of the New Covenant, didn’t need purification, yet she humbly submitted to the rules like everyone else. Maybe that’s not the best way of putting it, but those of us going to Jesus through Mary might want to ponder that. I know that the Luminous Mysteries, or any of the suggestions in Rosarium Virginis Mariae, are not mandatory. But… doesn’t it seem like a small but good way of imitating one of Mary’s virtues?

I’ve been kind of torn lately between St. Louis De Montfort’s Secret of the Rosary and Blessed John Paul II’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae. They both have similarities (clauses pertaining to each mystery, for example), but there are some differences. Maybe that’s what lead me to finding the link provided above. A Saint won’t steer anyone wrong, but “the counsel of the Holy Father”…well…that’s something to really pay attention to, I think.

As for the last sentence in the quote:
Could it be that Blessed John Paul II saw how the Rosary has kept people on track throughout history, and thought this same great form of prayer and meditation could also help with the challenges we face today?

:tiphat:

 

[mommyof4]

Thank you for the post! I have always loved the luminous mysteries (well, since they came out, anyways), and I don’t have an issue praying them, either. I know that some people on the forums do, though, and this may help them.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

I like meditating on the Transfiguration in particular. I find the Luminous Mysteries to be a good addition to the rosary.

I missed starting a 54 day rosary novena with my parish, so I am starting it on the 13th. Then the first half (petition) will happen before the election and the second half (thanksgiving) after. Would anyone like to join me? We can include the Luminous Mysteries once a week!

 

[Kenny_Kamel]

The Virgin Mary, being the Ark of the New Covenant, didn’t need purification, yet she humbly submitted to the rules like everyone else. Maybe that’s not the best way of putting it…

That’s not a bad way of putting it at all, Jesus did not need to be baptized by John but did to set an example for all to follow both in faith and in humility. Mary did the same in the instance you refer to.

I think we’d do well to not focus on the Divinity of the Christ and the Immaculate Conception in these instances, not who they were but rather what they did for us in following the Will of Our Father in Heaven

 

[HillbillyHermit]

That’s not a bad way of putting it at all, Jesus did not need to be baptized by John but did to set an example for all to follow both in faith and in humility. Mary did the same in the instance you refer to.

I think we’d do well to not focus on the Divinity of the Christ and the Immaculate Conception in these instances, not who they were but rather what they did for us in following the Will of Our Father in Heaven

Thanks. I’m not good at remembering the technical stuff, so can only do my best with what I have. The baptism in the Jordan is another great one, thanks for mentioning it!

Another possible way of connecting the mysteries:
The Institution of the Eucharist and The Presentation in the Temple (That one’s on my mind a lot today for some reason.)

Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist like Simeon received the infant Jesus in the temple:
28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;
30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation (Luke (RSV) 2)

And yet another possibility with the Luminous Mysteries…
For the 3rd, The Preaching of the Kingdom/Call to Conversion, how about the daily Gospel reading from the Mass? I read that idea somewhere, but can’t think of where to even begin searching to give proper credit. But here’s something from Rosarium Virginis Mariae that could apply:

Every individual event in the life of Christ, as narrated by the
Evangelists, is resplendent with the Mystery that surpasses all
understanding (cf. Eph 3:19): the Mystery of the Word made
flesh, in whom “all the fullness of God dwells bodily” (Col 2:9).
For this reason the Catechism of the Catholic Church places
great emphasis on the mysteries of Christ, pointing out that
“everything in the life of Jesus is a sign of his Mystery”.

This is what I did last night:
Taking a section from the Gospel, reading it, and thinking about it while praying a decade. Kind of a “Lectio-Rosary”!

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Kind of a “Lectio-Rosary”!

Love it!

 

[TuAutem]

Could it be that Blessed John Paul II saw how the Rosary has kept people on track throughout history, and thought this same great form of prayer and meditation could also help with the challenges we face today?

No doubt–and I cannot recommend to you enough an encyclical of Leo XIII, Laetitiae Sanctae, which spells all this out explicitly. As true today as when it was written, this text lays out the fundamental ways in which the holy rosary is the antidote to the false influences we are faced with today:

papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro3.htm

 

[Della]

A few years before JPII came out with the Luminous Mysteries I compiled a 7 day rosary with events from the lives of Jesus and Mary not included in the traditional rosary meditations. My Thursday mysteries were very close to JPIIs, so I was very happy to see the Holy Father extend the mysteries to include more scriptural content–one can never have too much Scripture.

 

[HillbillyHermit]

No doubt–and I cannot recommend to you enough an encyclical of Leo XIII, Laetitiae Sanctae, which spells all this out explicitly. As true today as when it was written, this text lays out the fundamental ways in which the holy rosary is the antidote to the false influences we are faced with today:

papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13ro3.htm

Thanks for the recommendation. It has been added to my to-do list.

Della:

My Thursday mysteries were very close to JPIIs, so I was very happy to see the Holy Father extend the mysteries to include more scriptural content–one can never have too much Scripture.

Especially when we follow Mary’s example and ponder it in our heart. (Luke 2:19 & 51) That’s why I’ve also come up with my “Lectio-Rosary”. Some of the biggest light bulbs to come on over my head and what has touched my heart and challenged me most has been while praying the Rosary. I need all the help I can get when reading the Bible. Not so much studying, as getting to know Jesus, how much He loves me, and how to pass that love on to others. Who better than Mary to help me get to know Him? I can’t think of anyone. Blessed JP2 was a wise and holy man.