Walk through the Rosary // The Luminous Mysteries

Images by Beautiful Light Photography

     For me, the Luminous Mysteries were always the most ambiguous and hardest to keep track of. Every Thursday I would need to pull out my Rosary reflection book because, for the life of me, I could never remember the order of those mysteries! Little did I know that these mysteries were very much a part of my everyday life. Through these stories of the life and ministry of Jesus, I would come to find a light that shines brighter than the sun; a light that desires to make itself seen even in the darkest of days.

    Saint John Paul the Great, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, said “each of these mysteries is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.” This speaks volumes to me and I think that it will speak volumes to anyone who has ever experienced the loss of light in their life. At every moment of every day Jesus desires to give us His light. He desires to shine on us and take away all of the darkness, the hopelessness, and the despair.

    There have been moments in my life where it seems as though there is no light left. I spent night after night crying and feeling like there was nothing and no one to grasp onto. Every door was closed and every light turned off. I felt as though the darkness would never go away and the light was forever gone. It was in those moments that Jesus shone His loving light on me in a very real way. Through Scripture, prayer, adoration, and the sacraments I regained my sense of hope. The darkness left, the winter was gone, and the rains stopped.

I am here to tell you that Jesus wants to take away this darkness from all of us. In these moments of our lives we can turn to Him for light and love. Evidence of this light can be found in the events of Jesus’ ministry in the Luminous Mysteries. These five mysteries are the Baptism of our Lord, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist. In each of these events we will see that Jesus reveals Himself to His people and brings light to all of those who come in contact with Him. In each of these mysteries we will learn how Jesus desires to bring light into our lives. It is our job to find the places where light needs to be shown. Sometimes this darkness is very obvious. It comes to us as a small nagging feeling that we cannot get rid of. Other times it is a yoke that burdens every second of our days and makes it impossible to continue without despair. There is also darkness in our lives that is harder to see. In these areas we need to take time to reflect and look inside of ourselves. We need to ask Jesus to find the darkness and shine light on our lives. Through these five days of study we will learn about the Luminous Mysteries, ourselves, and where we need light in our lives. Every day we can give over a little bit more of ourselves to Jesus and invite Him in to shine the light on our darkest places.

Reflect: Is there an area of your life that feels “dark” right now, an area that you need to ask Jesus to come and shine a light into?

Reflect: What is your favorite of the Luminous mysteries, and why?

Act: Take time today to allow Jesus into your heart and shine on the places of darkness. Be that light for others and help them to feel the love and light that Jesus desires for us to have.