Luminous Mysteries & Other

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rben20

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Hello Catholics and other peeps,

Why is it that some traditional Catholics do not like praying the luminous mysteries? I’ve also encountered those who do not like the new catechism of the official Church and prefer to use another like the baltimore catechism. Just a few questions I’d like to ask.
 
Pope John Paul II proposed five new mysteries to be added to the Rosary when he proclaimed the year of the Rosary in 2002/2003. While many Catholics were glad of this endeavor and hoped it would lead to more peope saying the Rosary and saying it more frequently, a great many were hesitant to accept a modification to a prayer they had been saying their whole life.

The New Mysteries are:

*THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

THE WEDDING OF CANA

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM

THE TRANSFIGURATION

THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST *

Alot of traditional Catholics, myself included, do not say these new mysteries. This is not because we dissagree with or dislike the new mysteries in any way: they are all events in the life of our Lord and our Lady. There is therefore nothing wrong with the mysteries themselves. The problem is that an ancient prayer said by thousands of saints has been added to. Also, the Roasary in 15 decades is traditionally belived to have been given directly from Heaven, by Our Lady, to St. Dominic - although the practice of saying 150 Our Fathers predated this by some time, even going back to the first centuries and the recitation of the 150 Psalms. Becuase there was 150 Aves, many Popes and Saints have called the Rosary the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin. Thus the addition of 5 new mysteries causes a rupture with so many centures of tradition.

Also, many Catholics say the full 15 decade Roasry every day, and the addition of new mysteries makes it a little more impracticle for some.

In my opinion, Pope John Paul II should have just issued a new chaplet with these meditations and left the Rosary untouched. Also, it is a misconception to think that it is only traditionalists prefer the traditional 15 decade Rosary. I remember hearing many peope at the time the new mysteries were issues saying that they simply werent going to say them - and they were far from being considered traditionally minded.
 
rben20 said:
Hello Catholics and other peeps,

Why is it that some traditional Catholics do not like praying the luminous mysteries? I’ve also encountered those who do not like the new catechism of the official Church and prefer to use another like the baltimore catechism. Just a few questions I’d like to ask.
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The mysteries of light don’t have the weight of tradition behind them so many people don’t pray them.

do you mean the official catechism of the Church, rather than the catechism of the official church? the official Catechism is much longer, and more in depth than the older regional catechisms. the Baltimore catechism has an elegant simplicity that makes it very easy to read and understand
 
That’s what I meant sorry. The official Catechism of the Catholic Church. I understand that there is more tradition behind the other mysteries in that they have been prayed for a long time but the use of the rosary and the mysteries was established under Pope Pius V no? Using the same logic people could possibly at the time not want to pray it since it was not traditional so to speak and had not much of a history. I just think we should pray the luminous mysteries as the Church’s tradition is a living one, not frozen in time.
 
When praying the Gospels the Luminous events in Jesus’ life are pivotal to the greater understanding of His mission. I’ve wondered they were ever excluded to begin with.

"THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

THE WEDDING OF CANA

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM

THE TRANSFIGURATION

THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST"
 
Iotaunum said:
Also, the Roasary in 15 decades is traditionally belived to have been given directly from Heaven, by Our Lady, to St. Dominic - although the practice of saying 150 Our Fathers predated this by some time, even going back to the first centuries and the recitation of the 150 Psalms. Becuase there was 150 Aves, many Popes and Saints have called the Rosary the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin. Thus the addition of 5 new mysteries causes a rupture with so many centures of tradition.
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I pray the Rosary in regulat basis sinc 1946. If I pray a Rosary,** I always pray 53 Ave’s**, starting the decades with the Creed, the Pater, 3 Aves, the Gloria and the O Jesu Fatima prayer. . If I pray all mysteries now I pray 4 * 52 = 212 Aves, before 2002 I prayed 159 Aves.

I never attended any group to pray it other way, neither here in the US

How come the traditional only 150 Ave to resemble the 150 psalms?

As for the rupture, the Fatima prayer was added in the XX Century, and on that good old really traditional times no one was offended by that. Our Church is living church, not a fossil.
 
laszlo said:
I pray the Rosary in regulat basis sinc 1946. If I pray a Rosary,** I always pray 53 Ave’s**, starting the decades with the Creed, the Pater, 3 Aves, the Gloria and the O Jesu Fatima prayer. . If I pray all mysteries now I pray 4 * 52 = 212 Aves, before 2002 I prayed 159 Aves.

I never attended any group to pray it other way, neither here in the US

How come the traditional only 150 Ave to resemble the 150 psalms?

As for the rupture, the Fatima prayer was added in the XX Century, and on that good old really traditional times no one was offended by that. Our Church is living church, not a fossil.
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The first three Ave’s are considered an introduction and 150 [if one does all 15 decades] are the body of the rosary. This provide illiterate laity a way to join with the clergy, who recited the 150 psalms in the Divine Office each week…
 
Joe_Kelley said:
The first three Ave’s are considered an introduction and 150 [if one does all 15 decades] are the body of the rosary. This provide illiterate laity a way to join with the clergy, who recited the 150 psalms in the Divine Office each week…
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I have two questions:
  • before 1911 there was no week when the clergy read all 150 psalms in a week (the offices of the duplex Saints with limited psalter had the precedence for more than half of the time) . This was the rule definitely in the 12th Century, and kept by the refom of St Pius V. Did the tradition start only in 1911?
  • what is the equivalent of the ‘introduction’ in the psalter or office
 
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary are actually my favorite mysteries since they focus on the ministry of Jesus Christ.
The rosary has evolved over time. It began as 150 Pater Nosters prayed by peasants who could not pray the psalms as the monks in the nearby monasteries did. For this reason, it is called people’s breviary. It is St. Dominic who is credited with encouraging the laity to pray the rosary using the Hail Marys as we know it.
The word rosary comes from the Latin rosarium and was used in the Thirteenth Century. I do not remember the exact date that the mysteries were added, although it did come up during one of the monthly Deepening the Faith sessions provided by my current parish.
In 1917, The Fatima prayer was added.
St. Louis de Montfort had his own meditations that he used at the beginning of each decade. Pope Paul II encouraged meditating on a short scripture passage at the beginning of each decade. There are books that contain passages for each Hail Mary for anyone who would like to pray the scriptural rosary.

Back, to the OP. The Psalter has 150 psalms. 3 sets of mysteries X 50 Hail Marys per rosary = 150 (not counting the 3 at the beginning of the rosary). The addition of the Luminous mysteries changes the count to 200 so that it no longer = the number of psalms in the Bible.
 
If I pray a single five decade rosary per day, then I include the luminous mysteries. If I pray the full rosary, then I stay with the traditional 15 decades because the alternative is awkward. I also don’t care for the new 20 decade rosary beads for the same reason.

My own personal preference would be to follow the older schedule and exclude the luminous, but there is nothing theologically incorrect with the mysteries, and not having everything my way is a good exercise in humility and obedience. Besides, the rosary has changed in certain details over the centuries and were standardized by Pope Pius V, so why couldn’t another pope make modifications? Not saying that these modifications are in line with my preferences; but just because I don’t care for something doesn’t mean it’s illegitimate.
 
rben20 said:
Hello Catholics and other peeps,

Why is it that some traditional Catholics do not like praying the luminous mysteries? I’ve also encountered those who do not like the new catechism of the official Church and prefer to use another like the baltimore catechism. Just a few questions I’d like to ask.
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For the same reason some guys are still wearing wide collar shirts, mullets, and bell bottom pants. Sometimes our comfort in doing the same old thing also leaves us stuck to doing the same old things and afraid to open up our hearts to the possibility that God may want us to draw nearer to Him through another way.

It is a sad commentary indeed when we limit the ways in which God can speak to us. Always open yourself up and be vulnerable to the possibility of God being God. If he spoke to the prophet through a donkey, surely He can speak to us through the Luminous Mysteries. 👍
 
Actually, the Luminous Mysteries were SUGGESTED by the Holy Father in his encyclical on the Rosary; they were not mandatory. Big difference!

I used to say them when they first came out (I was working in the local Catholic bookstore at the time). But now I’ve returned to saying the regular fifteen mysteries instead.

But if I ever go to a public recitation of the Rosary, and the Luminous Mysteries are said, then I would join in out of charity.

I have heard some traditional Catholics put down the Luminous Mysteries. And I respond by saying that they are merely ‘suggested’, and not ‘mandatory’. One doesn’t have to use them if they don’t want to.
 
One can be a good Catholic and never say the Rosary at all. It’s a devotion, not a doctrine.
 
Jim_Dandy said:
One can be a good Catholic and never say the Rosary at all. It’s a devotion, not a doctrine.
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This is true. The rosary is a private devotion. There is nothing mandatory about it.
In a family where the rosary was prayed nightly, we did not reflect on the mysteries of our faith. I learned about the mysteries of the rosary when my parents went on their honeymoon for their thirtieth anniversary (They were unable to go before then). My younger sisters and I spent the weekend at the convent that ran the school they attended.
During catechist training I learned to add a single word/phrase after the name of Jesus in the Hail Mary to help maintain focus on the mystery being prayed. As already mentioned, the Luminous mysteries are my favorite while the Sorrowful become the most powerful when I add the single word/phrase after the name of Jesus.
The rosary has been described as the most liturgically correct prayer outside the Mass. The mysteries of the rosary are a summary of the Gospel beginning with the Annunciation.
*Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take place in the complete series of the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through, we might say, the heart of His mother. *
 
I pray the Luminous Mysteries, but that is my option. I don’t see why it would be anybody’s business to question why I do or why someone else does not.
 
HelenRose said:
I pray the Luminous Mysteries, but that is my option. I don’t see why it would be anybody’s business to question why I do or why someone else does not.
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I hear you, and it isn’t anyone’s business.

Anyway…

I didn’t originally pray the Luminous Mysteries, yet on Thursday they really fit in well IMO. So, I have adopted them. They really are a fantastic set of Mysteries though. Also, I have never viewed them in any less light of the others.
 
I pray the Luminous Mysteries. From the time that I first learned them, they seemed to naturally fit into the mysteries of the rosary, the life of Christ filling in the gap between the age of 12 and his passion.
 
Here’s an article on the new mysteries.

And here’s another.

I think they explain to a degree why people stay with the traditional mysteries, especially in these formless ever changing times. Change itself is the enemy of tradition, and the more that happens at once, for whatever good cause, the more harm can be done.

Some things should be let be. 😃

‘If you persevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be a most probable sign of your eternal salvation.’

Bl. Alan de la Roche

‘When you say your Rosary, the angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too, and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary.’

The Blessed Virgin to Bl. Alan de la Roche

‘Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.’

Pope Bl. Pius IX
 
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