The Luminous Mysteries
Some days ago, as I meandered through the many shades of green and of May‘s fragrances close to a lake, with my Rosary in one hand and my mobile phone in the other, I prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary for the first time in a long time. After my Confirmation in the summer of 2019 I had developed the habit to stick with the three traditional sets of Mysteries: the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious Mysteries. And so my phone was a necessary tool because I could not exactly remember the Luminous Mysteries any more and had to look them up.
I prayed them on a Thursday, fittingly, as suggested by Saint John Paul II in 2002, when, as Pope, he recommended them to the Universal Church. The impulse to take a look at them and possibly include them again had come to me at some point during the Paschal tide.
As I prayed through them, I realized that they point us to the sacraments of the Church: Holy Baptism, Holy Matrimony, the Holy Eucharist… Some people even suggest that one can actually discover allusions to all the seven sacraments in these five “mysteries of light“. They connect then, for example, the “sacraments of healing“ (Holy Confession, Anointing of the Sick) with the third mystery, and Holy Confirmation with the fourth. When it comes to the sacrament of Holy Orders, one could see it implied either in the second, the third, or the fourth mystery.
“Qui apud Iordanem baptizatus est.“
Luminous Mysteries
“He Who was baptized in the Jordan.“
“Qui ipsum revelavit apud Canense matrimonium.“
“He Who revealed Himself at the wedding feast of Cana.“
“Qui Regnum Dei annuntiavit.“
“He Who announced the Kingdom of God.“
“Qui transfiguratus est.“
“He Who was transfigured.“
“Qui Eucharistiam instituit.“
“He Who instituted the Eucharist.“
A slightly different version puts these mysteries like this:
“Qui a Ioanne baptizatus est.“
Luminous Mysteries
“He Who was baptized by John.“
“Qui se in Cana revelavit.“
“He Who revealed Himself in Cana.“
“Qui regnum Dei praedicavit.“
“He Who proclaimed the Kingdom of God.“
“Qui in monte transfiguratus est.“
“He Who was transfigured on the mountain.“
“Qui Sacramentum Altaris instituit.“
“He Who instituted the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.“
First Luminous Mystery
Matthew 3: 13-17
“Then Yeshua came from the Galilee to John, to be immersed by him in the Jordan. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be immersed by You, and You are coming to me?‘ But Yeshua responded, ‘Let it happen now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.‘ So John yielded to Him.
After being immersed, Yeshua rose up out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Ruach Elohim descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And behold, a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased!‘“
Second Luminous Mystery
John 2: 1-11
“On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in the Galilee. Yeshua‘s mother was there, and Yeshua and His disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Yeshua‘s mother said to Him, ‘They don‘t have any wine!‘
Yeshua said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with you and Me? My hour hasn‘t come yet.‘
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.‘
Now there were six stone jars, used for the Jewish ritual of purification, each holding two to three measures. Yeshua said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water!‘ So they filled them up to the top. Then He said to them, ‘Take some water out, and give it to the headwaiter.‘ And they brought it.
Now the headwaiter did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. As the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, he calls the bridegroom and says to him, ‘Everyone brings out the good wine first, and whenever they are drunk, then the worse. But you‘ve reserved the good wine until now!‘ Yeshua did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of the Galilee – He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.“
Third Luminous Mystery
Mark 1: 14-18
“Now after John was put in jail, Yeshua came into the Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of God. ‘Now is the fullness of time,‘ He said, ‘and the kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins, and believe in the Good News!‘
Passing along by the Sea of Galileee, He saw Simon and Simon‘s brother Andrew casting a net in the sea, for they were fishermen. And Yeshua said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.‘ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.“
Fourth Luminous Mystery
Matthew 17: 1-8
“After six days, Yeshua takes with Him Peter and Jacob and John his brother, and brings them up a high mountain by themselves. Now He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Yeshua. Peter responded to Yeshua, ‘Master, it‘s good for us to be here! If You wish, I will make three sukkot here – one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.‘ While He was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!‘
When the disciples heard this, they fell face down, terrified. But Yeshua came and touched them. ‘Get up,‘ He said. ‘Stop being afraid.‘ And lifting their eyes, they saw no one except Yeshua alone.“
Fifth Luminous Mystery
Luke 22: 15-20
“And He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will never eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.‘
And when He had taken a cup and offered the brache, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you that I will never drink of the fruit of the vine from now on, until the kingdom of God comes.‘
And when He had taken matzah and offered the bracha, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, given for you. Do this in memory of Me.‘ In the same way, He took the cup after the meal, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.‘“
All in all, these Mysteries of Light reveal Christ as the Light of the world and of our lives.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.“
John 1: 5
“Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.‘“
John 8: 12
One of the most important documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church entitled Lumen Gentium, opens with this theme of Christ as the Light of the world:
“Lumen gentium cum sit Christus, haec Sacrosancta Synodus, in Spiritu Sancto congregata, omnes homines claritate Eius, super faciem Ecclesiae resplendente, illuminare vehementer exoptat, omni creaturae Evangelium annuntiando (cf. Mc 16,15).“
Lumen Gentium, paragraph 1
“Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church.“
Why some people are in favor of sticking with the traditional Rosary pattern
I knew that the Luminous Mysteries had been “introduced“ by Saint John Paul II, but I did not know much about their exact origin. So I decided to conduct some research…
Not very surprisingly, I encountered the fact that there are discussions about everything these days. Apparently, it is also possible to discuss whether or not one should follow the recommendation of Saint John Paul II to pray the Luminous Mysteries.
It was in 2002, that he suggested them in an apostolic letter, in Rosarium Virginis Mariae, explicitly stating that both individuals and communities are fully free to do as they prefer.
Here is a little excerpt from this letter, which was intended to promote the Rosary prayer among the faithful – during a whole Year of the Rosary.
“Consequently, for the Rosary to become more fully a ‘compendium of the Gospel‘, it is fitting to add, following reflection on the Incarnation and the hidden life of Christ (the joyful mysteries) and before focusing on the sufferings of his Passion (the sorrowful mysteries) and the triumph of his Resurrection (the glorious mysteries), a meditation on certain particularly significant moments in his public ministry (the mysteries of light). This addition of these new mysteries, without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer’s traditional format, is meant to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory.“
Rosarium Virginis Mariae, apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II, paragraph 19
Saint John Paul II was very devoted to Mary. His papal motto Totus tuus (Totally yours) was taken from Saint Louis de Montfort‘s Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
“For me, St Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort is a significant person of reference who has enlightened me at important moments in life. When I was working as a clandestine seminarian at the Solvay factory in Kraków, my spiritual director advised me to meditate on the True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Many times and with great spiritual profit I read and reread this precious little ascetical book with the blue, soda-stained cover.“
Pope John Paul II in the year 2000
When, in 1981, he survived, against all odds, the attempt to assassinate him, he attributed it to the protection of the Blessed Virgin, and made a pilgrimage to Fatima the following year:
“The ‘mother‘s hand‘ the Pope credited with saving him was that of Our Lady of Fatima. He had been shot on her feast day, May 13, and on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt he went to her shrine in Fatima in order to thank her for sparing his life, placing the bullet that had struck him upon her altar. It was later placed in her statue‘s crown.
Andrew Apostoli C.F.R.: Fatima for Today. The Urgent Marian Message of Hope, Ignatius Press 2010, p. 90
The doctors who cared for the fallen Pope reported that he had come very near to death. By the time he had arrived at Gemelli hospital in Rome, he had lost six pints of blood, and his blood pressure was falling rapidly. As the Pope was taken to an operating room, he lost consciousness, and his secretary gave him the last rites. (…) If the bullet had not missed vital organs and major arteries, it is very likely the Holy Father would not have survived.“
In the apostolic letter mentioned above, no ardent “traditionalist“ who loves to keep the traditional pattern intact was asked to change the way he or she prays the Rosary, yet some of these folks have been explaining ever since why it is, of course, not good to do so, why no one should ever dare doing it: First of all because it is new, and what is new cannot be good; secondly because it is a change, and change cannot be good; and thirdly, to sum it up, because it is something that was “invented“ after the Second Vatican Council, and per definitionem – quad erad demonstrantum! – there is only bad and worse things happening and nothing good comes out of the Church after 1962. The world should have probably ended in 1962…
Then, there are some arguments that one can take more seriously, as they are simply concerned with preserving the ancient and highly symbolic beauty and symmetry of the traditional pattern, proclaiming it as a value in its own right: The Rosary is often also called “Our Lady‘s Psalter“ because the 150 Ave Marias of the three sets of five mysteries each (fifteen mysteries in total) correspond to the 150 Psalms in Sacred Scripture. This numerical connection which was there from the beginning of the establishment of this devotion is lost when a fourth set of mysteries is included.
Furthermore, the Rosary was given to Saint Dominic de Guzmán directly by the Blessed Virgin without the Luminous Mysteries. In every Church-approved Marian apparition since, the Rosary referred to by the Blessed Virgin has always been the traditional pattern of the three sets of mysteries. And traditionally, fifteen promises (given by Our Lady through Saint Dominic de Guzmán and Blessed Alain de la Roche) have been associated with praying the Rosary.
But a man so devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the bride of the Holy Spirit, a man whom we also venerate as a saint, this Saint John Paul II: Shall we not also listen to him when he proposes this new set of Rosary mysteries as a devotional practice? Surely, he must have had his good reasons for making this suggestion two and a half years before his death?
One last objection is raised by those who do not wish to include the Luminous Mysteries: The rhythm of going from the Joyful to the Sorrowful to the Glorious Mysteries is disturbed, they say. The following table shows the traditional rhythm compared with the rhythm proposed by Saint John Paul II in order to integrate the Luminous Mysteries on Thursdays:
Father Donald Calloway‘s arguments for praying the Luminous Mysteries
Countering the arguments presented above, the American priest Donald Calloway of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception is of the opinion that the Luminous Mysteries are a special gift for our current times:
“The Luminous Mysteries are a gift to the Church from a saint who was pope, St. John Paul II. Sadly, people who have not studied history are often of the opinion that these mysteries are an invention of a post-Vatican II Church. This is completely inaccurate. In fact, in the early 18th century, St. Louis de Montfort already spoke of adding additional mysteries to the rosary, and he specifically mentioned four of the five Luminous Mysteries. Not only that, in the early 20th century great men like the Servant of God Patrick Peyton and St. George Preca suggested additional mysteries, and it was St. George Preca who is the real ‘creator‘ of the Luminous Mysteries. He came up with these five mysteries in the 1950s and called them the ‘Mysteries of Light‘. It is also significant that he was beatified in 2001 by St. John Paul II; the following year St. John Paul II offered to the Church the ‘new‘ rosary mysteries proposed by George Preca. Pope Benedict XVI canonized St. George Preca in 2007.
Father Donald Calloway in an interview with the Catholic website Fathers For Good, published on: http://www.fathersforgood.org/ffg/en/big_four/rosary-warriors.html
However, there is another reason that the Luminous Mysteries are needed today. The original 15 mysteries of the rosary were given by Our Lady to St. Dominic to combat the Albigensian heresy of the 13th century. This heresy denied the ‘bodily‘ mysteries of Christianity, especially the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord. Therefore, today, when the importance of Baptism, marriage, conversion, the divinity of Christ, and his Real Presence in the Eucharist are under attack, heaven has answered by giving us the Luminous Mysteries. All St. John Paul II did was to sharpen the blade of the ancient weapon of the rosary and turn it into a modern day weapon, a light saber!“
And Father Calloway even makes a third point: Not only can the Luminous Mysteries be considered to be a weapon against the modern-day attacks on the sacraments of the Church, but we can also view the act of praying them as an act of reparation we offer up for any form of neglect of these precious sacraments instituted by Christ.
Aren’t these arguments quite convincing? Indeed, the sacraments, the means of God’s grace and of our sanctification, are under disregard today, as well as the call for conversion, the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations, and the identity of Jesus as the Son of God.
But though I am not a “traditionalist“ and never wish to follow such a path (in the sense of rejecting the gifts of the Church after 1962…), and though I am lovingly devoted to Saint John Paul II, and though I find the weekday pattern he proposed fitting somehow, I have to admit: The supreme beauty of the composition of the fifteen mysteries in a set of three, of the 150 Ave Marias of “Our Lady‘s Psalter“, and the nobleness of a pattern going back to the Middle Ages and to Saint Dominic de Guzmán, knowing that so many saints who have gone before us prayed exactly these same fifteen mysteries, is hard to… surrender.
Combining the Luminous Mysteries with the Stella Maris chaplet
Sometimes ideas come to me when I am out on a run. Everyone who is running can surely testify to this phenomenon…
This time the idea was to simply move the meditation of the Luminous Mysterious from the Rosary to another Marian devotion which I discovered some weeks ago, during the Paschal Octave, and have been practicing since. According to the creative candor awakened by moving my body, the Rosary would then still consist of fifteen and not twenty mysteries, but I would not forget the gift of Saint John Paul II as I would make it part of praying the Stella Maris chaplet…
This chaplet is a devotion to Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris). It has a resemblance to a devotion Saint Louis de Montfort mentions: the Little Crown. Let us first look at the latter:
“If it is not too inconvenient, they (devotees to Mary) should recite every day of their lives the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin, which is composed of three Our Fathers and twelve Hail Marys in honour of the twelve glorious privileges of Mary. This prayer is very old and is based on Holy Scripture. St John saw in a vision a woman crowned with twelve stars, clothed with the sun and standing upon the moon. (…) There are several ways of saying the Little Crown but it would take too long to explain them here. The Holy Spirit will teach them to those who live this devotion conscientiously. (…)“
Saint Louis de Montfort: Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, paragraphs 234-235
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux saw in the twelve stars of Mary‘s crown the mysteries and virtues of her life, and Saint John Eudes expounded this by ascribing the folllowing twelve virtues to the Blessed Virgin: innocence; simplicity; humility; obedience; patience; love for God; charity towards her neighbor; renunciation of worldly prizes; virginal purity; silence; gentleness and meekness; modesty.
Besides, the stars also refer to the twelve tribes of Israel and to the twelve Holy Apostles. Mary‘s Queenship is addressed in the final Glorious Mystery of the Rosary and in the last part of the Litany of Loreto:
“Qui te, virgo, in caelo coronavit.“
Fifth Glorious Mystery
“He who crowned you, Blessed Virgin, in heaven.“
“Queen of Angels,
Litany of Loreto
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace.“
The Stella Maris chaplet is very similar to the Little Crown. It consists of an introductory prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, moves on to one Our Father, one Ave Maria, and one Glory Be – which are offered up for the Holy Father, the local Bishop, and the local Priest – , and proceeds with twelve Ave Marias, concluded by prayers in honor of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, like, for example, the hymn Ave Maris Stella. I close the chaplet with this hymn, followed by a Stella Maris prayer by Saint John Paul II, and finally two Stella Maris prayers by Saint Anthony of Padua.
“Most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother.“
Introductory prayer of the Stella Maris chaplet
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to help me in this necessity; there are none that can withstand your power.“
“O Mary, Star of the Sea, light of every ocean, guide seafarers across all dark and stormy seas that they may reach the heaven of peace and light prepared in Him who calmed the sea. As we set forth upon the oceans of the world and cross the deserts of our time, show us, O Mary, the fruit of your womb, for without your Son we are lost. Pray that we will never fail on life‘s journey, that in heart and mind, in word and deed, in days of turmoil and in days of calm, we will always look to Christ and say, ‘Who is this that even wind and sea obey Him?‘ Bright Star of the Sea, guide us!“
Prayer by Saint John Paul II, possible closing prayer of the Stella Maris chaplet
The devotion to Our Lady, Star of the Sea is very ancient. Church fathers like Saint Jerome and Eusebius began to understand the name of the Blessed Virgin (Miryam / Maryam) as meaning “star of the sea“. The Ave Maris Stella hymn dates back to at least the 8th or 9th century. It is sung in the Liturgy of the Hours at Vespers on Marian feast days.
“And the Virgin‘s name was Mary. Name of sweetness and name of delight, name comforting the sinner and of blessed hope. What is Mary but ‘star of the sea‘, lighting the way to harbor for those tossing on the bitter waters? A name beloved of the angels, terrible to the demons, health to sinners and sweet to the just.“
Saint Anthony of Padua
At some point during my first few weeks of practicing this devotion, I began to always add to each Ave Maria the fifth of the Glorious Mysteries (“qui te, virgo, in caelo coronavit“) referring to Mary as the Queen of Heaven. But then, out on my run, I started to think: What about keeping this honoring of the Queen of Heaven on Saturdays and Sundays, and then taking one of the five Luminous Mysteries for each day from Monday till Friday, thereby adding them into the 12-star-crown?
Could it be fitting to combine these Mysteries of Light – that remind us of our earthly journey, our vocation, and of the sacraments that are our provisions along the way, our salvific beacons in darkening times – with the devotion to the Bright Star of the Sea that guides us on our path? The pattern would look like this:
Not every idea that happens to come to me while I am running through the streets and parks of the city of my exile is always a good one. But I have begun to give this one a chance…
“We must reflect the Light of Christ through lives of prayer and joyful service to others.“
Saint John Paul II
“Dear young people, let yourselves be taken over by the light of Christ, and spread that light wherever you are.“
“Allow the light and the healing presence of Christ to shine brightly through your lives. In that way, all those who come in contact with you will discover the loving kindness of God.“
Saint John Paul II, pray for us!