In Turbulent Times: The Fifth Luminous Mystery ~ The Gift of the Eucharist

Here's the fifth of the Luminous (Light) Mysteries. Thanks to the Pope who gave them to us. Thanks to the Pope who has asked us to lean into this prayer, these days when the peace is disturbed. And thanks to you for joining the prayer.

Our Father...

Eucharist: A God who is not content to walk alongside us - before or behind us - but whose love is so permeating it wants to get inside us, where we need the most help.

Hail Mary...

Jesus did not say, "take and understand," nor "take and define," nor "take and preserve as your own property," but "Take and eat." Like a great Mother who still serves a Sunday supper.

Hail Mary...

When crusty bread is broken, crumbs fly round and about. Actually, bread-breaking can be kind of messy. Some priests obsess about keeping every crumb safe and contained, but they miss the bigger significance: Christ, desiring to be with us far and wide in the unpredictability, messiness and variability of human living.

Hail Mary...

Pope Francis cautions us about becoming so distracted by the rules that can be called upon to keep the Eucharist away from the unworthy - a kind of prize for the pure. We risk forgetting that the Eucharist is medicinal for strugglers.

Hail Mary...

At Mass, we are indeed at Calvary. But we are not re-enacting Calvary as simply a historical moment from two millennia ago. Somehow we give that impression to many. But Calvary is the love of God searching out the lost one. And that lost one is every one of us, everywhere and in every time. Mass effects this divine search. That means it makes it apparent and an experience for human kind.

Hail Mary...

"I once was lost, but now am found." Have I ever had a personal experience of this as I step along the Communion bread line, my hand's outstretched, my cup, empty. Lost in our contradictions, fears, planet threatening mistakes and folly. And in that condition, God is always looking for me, long before I had a thought of God. Like the father of the prodigal, who stands on tip-toe, scanning the horizon for us.

Hail Mary...

Ours is a religion that has food as its centerpiece. I can imagine myself beneath Calvary's cross: the blood of Christ. That would be life changing for me. I could never again be the same. Eating the Eucharist every Sunday should change me. Maybe they should say of us: "Catholics? Aren't they the ones who see to it that everyone on the planet is fed?"

Hail Mary...

Notice that at Mass everyone gets the same: the same little wafer, the same little sip. There are no distinctions. This is an important message for a world that fights to preserve distinctions. The very thought of sameness and in childish terror we start hurling words like socialist and communist at each other. Maybe for starters, there should be no title in the Church higher than brother and sister.

Hail Mary...

For Latin Rite Catholics, First Communion is generally received at age seven - the age of reason. This is supposed to be the age when we can think it out a bit. Really? In the East, the baby is given Holy Communion immediately after Baptism. The East puts the emphasis on the understandings of the heart over the figuring out of the mind. "The heart has its reasons, that reason knows not of." 

Hail Mary...

Jesus washed the feet of the disciples at the supper. Maybe they couldn't afford a foot washer servant, or maybe the guy they hired just never showed up. Doesn't matter - Jesus took up the apron, basin and towel. Maybe "foot washing" should be a kind of 8th sacrament. That would really get the world's attention.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

Prayer with the Pope: The Fourth Luminous Mystery - The Transfiguration

Pope Francis has invited us to pray the rosary with him during the month of October: a holy antidote to the devil's stirring things up. We join this global prayer for renewal, strength and healing. 

Our Father...

St. Richard, the 13th century bishop of Chichester, England, has given us this prayer. Perfect thoughts:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou has borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day. Amen.

Hail Mary...

Jesus has just told the disciples of his impending passion. Now in great kindness, he gives them this window into Easter's joy. The planet is weary with the untimely deaths of so many young people, so much destruction and waste - even faces made ugly by hate and lies. We might keep this icon of light and reassurance close at hand.

Hail Mary...

The Gospels are not newspaper accounts. What happened on the mount was beyond optical sight, and so the evangelist stretches, using word images. It is the best he can do: "his face shone like the sun," "his garments became white as light," "glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them." God has shared divine energies with us. The scene is for our contemplating.

Hail Mary...

As at the Lord's Baptism in the River Jordan, where the Holy Trinity was revealed, so here as well, "A bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'" Matthew 17:5. But I don't want to be just an admire-r or spectator, but a participant.

Hail Mary...

This icon shows Peter, James and John hurtling down the mountain, "They fell on their faces, and were filled with awe." Has God's presence, God's splendor, God's energies ever knocked me off my feet?

Hail Mary...

Moses and Elijah are part of the mountaintop vision. Moses is on the right with his book representing God's law. Elijah is on the left representing the ancient prophets. Both had secret visions of God. I want a secret vision of God too - not to dazzle me or for God to put a stamp of approval on me, but only that further grounds me in God's justice and love. 

Hail Mary...

Jesus stands inside two symbolic shapes. The five-point star is called a pentacle, representing the bright cloud from which the Father's voice of delight was heard. The round circle of light and brightness (an aureole) repeats the theme - perhaps even enhancing or stretching the idea, as this luminous circle contains cosmic stars.

Hail Mary...

One author writes of the church at Mount Tabor, "On this mountain one can encounter God and his revelation." Why would I doubt that? But in our religion one needn't travel to Mount Tabor, or any mountain for that matter, to encounter God. God's Holy Spirit isn't bound or limited in any way. The holy mountain is wherever I step. And God's revelation? Any time; any place.

Hail Mary...

Do we notice that even the rocks of the mountain sparkle, reflecting the divine energies of the Transfiguration? While some nations are pressing ahead from the undeniable and dire signs of our planet's warming and poisoning, in other places, black toxins are still being spewed into the sky and the ocean is clogged with degrading plastic, killing the sea animals and even getting into the food chain. "Earth's crammed with heaven." Why can't we treasure our planet-gift which is meant to sparkle?

Hail Mary...

August 6 is the Summertime Feast of the Transfiguration: Jesus, in the flash of white light. But it is also Hiroshima Day. The morning Masses had just finished. The new weapon: city-buster bombs. "No such thing as coincidences" it's said. What does this mean?

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

Pope's October Rosary ~ The Third Luminous Mystery ~ The Proclamation of the Kingdom

The airplane captain may announce, "We're in for a little turbulence." If you've ever experienced it, it can be un-nerving. And Pope Francis has asked for us to take Mary's October Rosary Month most seriously while we ride out this time of "devil's turbulence" in the Church (and I'd add, Nation..) Here's a set of in-between-Hail Mary-meditations to help us keep focus. The Third Luminous Mystery: Jesus Proclaims the Kingdom. "Let us pray."

Our Father...

Jesus announced the Kingdom. This is what he has come to do. But what is The Kingdom? Good teacher that he is, Jesus anticipates we'll need to know, and so he tells us within the context of his well-known and much-loved prayer: "Thy Kingdom come (that is) Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Plain spoken.

Hail Mary...

Integral to life in the Kingdom is the cultivation of compassion. Compassion is not an emotion, but the sure, chosen and unchanging commitment to wish everyone well, even those whose behaviour and thinking is troublesome or negative. Growing in compassion could help us through these dark days: wish even the destroyers well and to be freed of their own personal suffering. Not easy, but there you have it.

Hail Mary...

There are lots of Christians who spend a lot of time thinking about and working for everyone else's salvation: saving souls and making converts. We'd do better having a real hard look at ourselves. We have the power to change the world by changing ourselves from the inside out, by getting the weapons out of our own hearts: all the negative emotions and the thoughts of bitterness, divisions and out-of -control-ego.

Hail Mary...

Pick up the Gospels at just about any point and we'll find Jesus on the road. He doesn't sit around waiting for people to come to him. He even taught while walking. That's his action plan for living. Everyday I wake up - once again God has given me the wonderful and precious gift of life, a new twenty-four hours. I must not waste it. 

Hail Mary...

I've got good "kingdom-sense" when I realize in my bones that the  essential message is the love of God and the simultaneous love of neighbor. The Jewish fellow was beaten up and left for dead in a ditch on his way to temple. Two of his fellow religionists stepped around him. The Samaritan stopped and took care of everything with generous and tender love. this is perhaps the most well-known story of all times. and the hero of that Jesus-story is (as far as Jews were concerned) a heretic. We have so much to learn. 

Hail Mary...

Along Jesus' kingdom-way he pulled in close the outsiders and the culturally/religiously down-played: women, children and non-Jews. "Otherism" is a serious sin. It says things like: "We don't want your kind here in our country," or "Go back where you came from," or "Your kind don't fit in our religion," or "You stay on  your side, and we'll stay on ours." A lot of people don't understand this, but it's simply not Christ's way.

Hail Mary...

A non-Catholic fireman, who went to Mass every Sunday with his wife and children, decided he wanted to share the faith of his family. The priest told him when, where and how long the RCIA meetings would take place. But the fireman said this would be impossible with his difficult schedule. In so many words the priest said, "Too bad then." Why do we make people jump through hoops: Jesus didn't do that. P.S. A priest from another parish came to the rescue with a generous and creative solution.

Hail Mary...

In many Gospel scenes Jesus is surrounded by enemies - people who don't wish him well or are actively set against him. But Jesus engages them, works with them and even tries to teach them. He shows us that a real hero is not someone who achieves the heights of religious observances but the one who is victorious over his or her own potential for anger and hatred. 

Hail Mary...

The Kingdom of God is not far away but very near. It is not to be confused with any earthly idea. Some times a pastor can be a kingdom builder of a confused kind: money in the bank, everything in perfect order, growing memberships, micro-managing the staff to think his way. The pastor may even refer to the parish buildings and property as "the plant." That's factory talk. 

Hail Mary...

Before his Ascension, Jesus left us a final instruction: "And he said to them, 'Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation...'" Mark 16:16. In effect, I am to leave nothing outside of my care: the animals, oceans, rivers, streams, the plants, the forests, the air. The care of creation is not political, but kingdom-spiritual. Oh Jesus, keep us from the love of money which leaves our paradise planet vulnerable, weakened, degraded.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

Pope's October Request: The Second Luminous Mystery ~ The Wedding at Cana

Marriage at Cana ~ Bartolome Esteban Murillo (+1682)

The Marriage at Cana is the second of the Light Mysteries. We could do with some light these days: an increase of light in the Church, in the Nation, in the World. But we begin with ourselves.

Our Father...

Notice that Murillo (the artist) has placed an African child-slave at the heart of the water miracle. Lucky young fellow, to be so near to Jesus. One letter written to a Catholic newspaper paying close attention to the priest abuse scandal, asks the editor to stop covering the story: "People have had enough," the writer petitioned. That's a luxury we don't have. When one Irish bishop read his first account of a priest in his diocese having sexually abused an eight-year-old boy, the bishop got up from his desk and immediately went over to the parish school next door. He wanted to be sure he knew what an eight year old boy looked like. He wept.

Hail Mary...

We usually overlook this bit of the gospel account: the water jars were meant for Jewish purification rites. Probably hand washing. Good hygiene requires the washing of hands, but there is also a symbolic meaning we need to attend to. At Mass, while washing his hands liturgically, the priest prays, "Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me of all my sins." An anonymous writer pens: "For the world to continue, brains must be washed. So must hands." 

Hail Mary...

In the Genesis creation account, God blew divine breath into Adam's nostrils. Here, at the Cana Marriage, God is doing even better than that. The symbolism is delicate. Despite the world's whoring - in Jesus Christ, God is wedding-like, kissing the mouth of creation. We are that precious to God.

Hail Mary...

"Not for nothin," the old saying goes. There are no frivolous details in the Gospel. The sacred authors never use words or ideas to show off or simply fill in space with charm or color to make the story more interesting. The Mother of Jesus was at the wedding. Not for nothin. The old Eve  conversed with the serpent and fell for his trickery. Humankind then went off into shadow. But here, Mary is the New Eve, righting the wrong. "Do what he tells you," she instructs.

Hail Mary...

Mary gives us a quick lesson on how to pray. Notice she doesn't make suggestions, let alone tell Jesus outright what to do about the wine problem. Rather, she simply brings the concern to Jesus' attention: "They have no more wine." She leaves it at that. Prayer should be short and heartfelt.

Hail Mary...

This is a source of embarrassment for the young couple and maybe their families too. Some might think them stingy or just ill-prepared. Maybe the newlyweds felt shame. This is a shameful time for the Church. Some people think we've talked about it long enough. Africa and Asia have yet to reveal anything of the sad tale from their own countries.

Hail Mary...

Jesus offers a creative solution for the life of the Church. "That isn't even open for discussion," someone might say. Thomas Merton writes that many vocations were lost to the monastic life over the years because people in power were unwilling to allow anything to change. "It's the tradition, and it's always been that way." That's a Holy Spirit spoiler - not to mention untrue.

Hail Mary...

Wine is a Jewish symbol for the complete enjoyment of God. The Gospel account in some ways is a parable, meaning, the old religion had run dry as a source of divine happiness and enjoyment. We'd be foolish to think the story could only be about another religion, someone else's religion, and not our own. The largest Christian denomination in the Untied Sates is Roman Catholicism. The second largest is former Roman Catholics. Have people left the Church because the "wine" has run out?

Hail Mary...

Wine is also a symbol of healing. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan, how the kind fellow poured oil and wine over the forsaken man's wounds. Luke 10:34. Oh Jesus, pour your copious, healing wine over your Church - wounded, infected and weakened.

Hail Mary...

Water is poured into clay jars. We're clay jars. And God has placed a great hope in us - that we would be the containers of God's joy-instilling presence in this world. We! Clay-like, we're so vulnerable, easily cracked, broken and ruined. God's great vote of confidence.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

October Rosary: The Lord's Baptism ~ The First Luminous Mystery

Our Father...

These Luminous Mysteries are a more recent gift to us. Mysteries of Light. We need more light, don't we? But the word mystery; what does it mean? "Oh, it's a mystery - something we can't explain - just believe it." That was the answer given to an inquiring mind years ago - or maybe still. No, we shouldn't just accept it, because that's soul-deadening. It stifles wonder! Like brushing off one's hands to be done with a project.

Hail Mary...

This old idea of mystery is like entering a pitch black room and we pat down the walls looking for the light switch. Rather, there is so much light in this room, I can't see. I might even be blinded by the light. That's the spiritually mature Christian understanding. "I can't answer that; just accept it," is spiritually lazy. We can do better.

Hail Mary...

"And the Spirit, like a dove, descended upon him." So from the start there are TWO divine visitations! Not only has the Son come to earth, but so has God's own Spirit. And this Spirit is creative, as the Spirit hovered over the watery abyss in Genesis. Let's ask the Spirit to create clean hearts in us.

Hail Mary...

"You are my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased." Of course, the heavenly voice said this of Jesus. But do I believe God would also say this of me? "Oh, I don't do enough. Oh, I don't pray enough. I'm not patient enough. I'm not...I'm not...I'm not." Some Christians think the Christian life is like a giant classroom and God is the big teacher who eeks out gold, silver, blue, green and red sticky stars for good, better and best behavior. Childish, heh?

Hail Mary...

At Christmas, Christ-God was made known only to a few shepherd-guests. But at Epiphany-Baptism (the two go together) Christ is revealed to all! He became known to the world at the River. And Christ and I have met - were introduced - in the River of Baptism. How wonderful is that!

Hail Mary...

The Holy Trinity is revealed as well in this River Jordan scene. God is not some mountaintop loner, all isolated from us. Here, the Father's voice is heard, the Spirit descends and the Son stands in the waters that wind around the planet. A community of persons. The most basic insight of Christianity is shared: God is One, but within God, in God's own inner life, there is a society of persons: community, relationship, friendship, family. And we're each soaked to the bone with that at Baptism. This is not a private religion.

Hail Mary...

Why the descending dove? After our fruit-tree power grab in Genesis, things went badly and God got pretty fed up with it all. Regret really. So God washed things clean, except for the righteous Noah and his family and two of every animal - to begin again. After the flood, the dove with the olive branch signaled it was time to enter a new heart-to-heart with God. Here, at Christ's baptism, the heavens were opened and God offered us the olive branch anew. No more flooding us away because of sin. Now the flood is God's kind mercy.

Hail Mary...

The river in this icon seems strangely placed. It suggests Christ having gone down into the water as he will go down fully into death. Here, Jesus seems to be stepping out of a cave into the birth of the new life he offers. "Make love your aim." 1 Corinthians 14:1

Hail Mary...

Western religious art is often very sensuous: voluptuous Madonnas, swooning nun-saints in mystical unions, pumped up Jesus. But icons never show human bodies in any kind of sensual or worldly way. In the Baptism icon it is clear that Jesus was quite naked. God has stripped himself of glory. This self-lowering is call kenosis. God has joined us in our sameness, without all the distinctions we create and fight over. It's a lesson humankind stubbornly refuses to learn.

Hail Mary...

The Scriptural text says nothing about angels being present at the Lord's Baptism. Though ancient liturgical texts do. This icon places four angels along the shore. Sometimes the angels are shown with a covering for the shivering Jesus. Their bowing from the waist, their covered hands signifies deep reverence. Father Rahner speaks simply of the New Testament angels - at Christmas, in the Wilderness, at Gethsemane, at Easter morning - as Christ's entourage. What a lovely insight.

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

The Luminous Mysteries ~ The Gift of the Holy Eucharist

The Fifth Luminous Mystery

The Gift of the Eucharist

Our Father, Who art in heaven...

A cup exists to be filled. I can ask God to fill me up with what I need to give Him glory, to serve Him well and to be happy and at peace.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

At the Mystical Supper Jesus broke the bread, passed it around and gave it away. Righteous people live this way: broken and given away. Often they are non-believers. A doctor just completed the Boston Marathon when the explosions happened. He turned around and started to serve the many people who were injured.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In the Mass the plate is offered with the little bread that will become the Body of Christ. Put on the plate every concern, every problem, every heart-longing, every suffering, and ask for a transformation as God wills it.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

An Episcopalian minister, who is also a Jungian analyst said: The Catholic Mass must remain; it is the only thing left in our culture that calls us to transformation. But it is not a transformation of bad to good, so much as the transformation of my personal evolution or coming to wholeness (holiness).

Hail Mary, full of grace...

A mother who lives in Brooklyn, takes the subway into Manhattan each day with her little daughter. The girl is dropped off at her full day kindergarten in the neighborhood where the mother works. In the evening about 6, the mother returns to pick up the girl from the after-school program. The mother gets them something to eat at a fast food place, and then they get back on the train to Brooklyn. It is an exhausting day. She is ground up like wheat and crushed like grapes.God understands.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

In receiving Holy Communion we receive the Body and Blood of Christ separately - as if to signify the death of Jesus in which His body was emptied of his life-blood through his wounds. I bring all my wounds with me to Communion: the abuse, the failed relationships, my addictions, my depression and anxieties, my self-loathing, the wreckage of my past as AA says.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is the High Priest who forever makes intercession before the Father on behalf of our weary world. What Jesus did at Calvary He does always, and the Eucharist lets us enter into that mystical self-gift as nourished sharers and participants.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

We reverence the Eucharist: we genuflect and bow, we incense the Eucharist and sing hymns before it, we place it in a golden container and adore it. But do we reverence each other, who are made in God's image and likeness?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

At the Holy Thursday meal there should have been someone to wash the dusty feet of the arriving guests. Apparently this detail was missed that  night. Jesus waited through most of the meal to see if someone in the room would assume that responsibility. Finally he did it himself. Maybe he said to them: You know we've been together for years now, and I would have hoped that after all this time you'd have learned the lesson. The Eucharist is intimately linked to the service of people.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

At the Last Supper Jesus gave Judas his First Communion before Judas left the room in a hurry. Afterwards Jesus accepted Judas' kiss of betrayal in the garden and even called Judas, friend. On Holy Thursday night, Pope Francis washed the feet of twelve young people in jail. The message of the Mystical Supper with its Holy Food, Foot Washing and the Passion begun that night is, we are all the friends of Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...

Holy Saturday Night ~ The Sepulchre of Jesus ~ Jerusalem



The Luminous Mysteries ~ The Transfiguration of Jesus

Apse mosaic of the Transfiguration ~ 6th century Monastery of Saint Catherine ~ Mount Sinai

The Fourth Luminous Mystery

The Transfiguration of Jesus

Our Father Who art in heaven...

On the way to Jerusalem - up the mountain and down the mountain. It is a recurring New Testament theme: we're on a journey with Jesus. And journey means to move along, to keep going step-by-step, as the Christ-person in me grows to full stature.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The great mosaic is over the altar at Saint Catherine's Monastery at the base of Mount Sinai in Egypt which Moses climbed and where he beheld God while receiving the Law. Moses and the prophet Elijah are pictured here, and Jesus standing in the ancient continuity of law and prophet. He fulfills all that they said and directed in his law of love, lived wholly on the cross and from the Easter tomb.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is splendid in a radiance the gospels can only struggle to express. But whatever Jesus has, he shares. I pray to reflect my own personal brightness - not attractiveness as the culture perceives it but as Christ would call me to.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus has just told Peter, James and John that he is going to suffer and die. He lets these three apostles witness the bright window into His Resurrection, as they will be with Him in the garden of His arrest. He consoles them by this Easter insight.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

This Transfiguration is our hope - our assurance that God will act: "That we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1Cor.15:51) Change! What an important word in a world of stubborness, pride, arrogance, smuggness. That my mind would be made fresh - like the freshness of the Christ who shines as new snow.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Peter, James and John are here tumbling down the mountain, so bright is the glistening Christ. Have I ever allowed myself to be overwhelmed by the beauty of Christ? Have I ever allowed Christ to knock down what I think is life - Christ who will then raise me up in His bright vision?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

A cloud overshadowed them - like the Spirit of God hovering bird-like over the abyss in the beginning. (Genesis 1:1)  Now God hovering over Jesus, the new human person.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

We listen to sales pitches, news commentators, politicians, the clergy, good-neighborly and family advice, the experts...But when heaven opens over us, the Divine Voice tells us to "Listen always" to Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The face of humanity is often dirtied, weary; diseased; tear-stained; contorted by anger, fear or sadness. Can I see the face of Christ there too?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Rumi is a 13th century Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic. The Jesus of bright-light would clap with appreciation when Rumi wrote:

There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it don't you?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

 

Glory be to the Father...

Rose Window ~ Saint John the Divine ~ New York City

The Luminous Mysteries ~ The Proclamation of the Kingdom

The Sermon on the Mount ~ Jan Brueghel the Elder (1598)

THIS IS A GREAT PICTURE. There is a light from Jesus which permeates the crowd, but then it stops. Maybe the people beyond the line of light have hearts that are closed to Jesus. Look! Not everyone is paying attention, especially the folks in the back of the crowd. Most are involved in their own conversations. Some men even seem to be flirting with the girl with the dog. Are there people selling things? I've preached in churches which resemble aspects of this scene. Saint Thomas More (1478-1535) said of Medieval England: "England would have yawned at the Sermon on the Mount." But we're no different. Along with a deep consideration of the image, we might read The Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5,6,7) before praying. It's the content of the teaching Jesus delivered in this painting.

The Third Luminous Mystery

The Proclamation of the Kingdom

Our Father, who art in heaven...

Jesus sat down for his Sermon on the Mount because he taught them with authority. He's the new Moses; the new Sinai. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it!" (Luke 11:28) Jesus says. I must be attentive to the other voices I heed, especially media voices.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The Kingdom of God, which Jesus proclaims, is God's rule in my life. God first! On Easter night the Soviet soldier stood at the church door, redirecting the young people to the movie theatre to watch free Western films. The young man refused the pressure and went inside the church for the liturgy. He understood God first.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The Beatitudes are not a new code of conduct for everyone to copy but rather God's announcement of blessing for those in the world who are at the bottom, reversing the world's emphasis: the Untouchables of India, whose job is to pick up human waste from the streets. God knows. So why doesn't God do something about it? Rather, why don't people do something about it?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Blessed are the mourners. Much of the world lives in perpetual mourning: those who live where  wars are unceasing; those in the fourth world who live off the refuse of the first world.

 Hail Mary, full of grace...

Blessed are the meek. But meek isn't a good word because it makes us think of someone who is weak or perceived as a loser. Rather, blessed are those who know how dependent we are upon God, for all we have and who we are, and who don't resort to cheating to improve things for themselves.

 Hail Mary, full of grace...

Blessed are the merciful. Mercy isn't pity but God's kindness through justice. The first world has the best food, the best toys, the best shopping and uses the most electricity. Living in that first world we often forget about the more of the world which has little to nothing.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Blessed are the pure of heart. But this isn't about sexual things. A clean heart create in me, O God (Psalm 51:10) - that is: a heart free of resentment, attachments, cynicism and inner blindness. A pure heart is open to God and other people.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Blessed are the peacemakers. Peacemakers, not peace hope-ers or peace wishers. I will be attentive to the desire for power which causes conflict. And in another gospel place, "Take no walking stick" (Luke 9:3) - the walking stick being a means of self-defense. Jesus would undoubtedly understand that this is difficult beyond imagining! But He also would probably have little patience with our bitter and divisive fighting over gun clips and background checks. 

Hail Mary, full of grace...

They will be called children of God. There can be no more derogatory name-calling. This is who we are: children of God. All of us! And the world will not be well until we realize this in our hearts and start to live out of that realization.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, Jesus says. Exceedingly glad! There can be no such thing as a sad Christian. Mother Teresa says our smile is our best gift. Often the poorest people smile the most and the best.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...  



Lights in the night, bless the Lord! (Daniel 3)

The Luminous Mysteries ~ The Wedding Feast at Cana

The account of the Wedding Feast at Cana is found only in Saint John's Gospel ( 2:1-11). It is one of the Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) because Jesus first revealed his glory there. The splendid painting by Nicolas Correa first deserves its own silent contemplation.

The Second Luminous Mystery

The Wedding Feast at Cana

Our Father, who art in heaven...

This wedding scene is one of extravagance: the robes, furnishings, the guests and table settings. In Christ, God has held nothing back nothing of Himself - He has given it all away to us in love.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

There is the canopy over the bride and groom's table. God has covered us with the unbreakable bond of His kind mercy.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The disciples are with Jesus at the wedding, but there have been no signs as of yet. Mary indicates the wine has run out, and Jesus reluctantly performs his first miracle. The disciples believe. Where Mary intervenes, faith abounds.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Now Jesus uses the water jars of Jewish purification, not for ritual washings but for something far better - the wine that calls to mind his later gift of the Eucharist.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The Prophet Amos tells us that when the Messiah takes up his reign: "Behold the days are coming...and the mountains shall drip new wine" (Amos 9:13).

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The guests have drunk freely, but Jesus extends the feast with a seemingly unreasonable amount of high quality wine. Where Jesus is welcomed as inner guest, there is delight!

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus isn't rude but addresses His Mother formally, calling her Woman. She is the New Eve - the new Mother of all who would follow her Son. She instructs us to learn from Him.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Mary doesn't make a specific request of Jesus, rather she states the problem, "They have no more wine." Jesus always responds to faith.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus knows that if He performs a sign His enemies will gather and begin to scheme against Him. That hour of His glorification has not yet come. But when it does, Mary will be there too, standing resolutely beneath the cross as first disciple.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The wine represents the wise teachings of Jesus. But a jar is missing; there would never be six, but seven, the number representing totality and fullness. Jesus is  the missing jar of wisdom.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...

  

Night-grotto at Lourdes, France

The Luminous Mysteries

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES WERE INTRODUCED BY POPE JOHN PAUL II in October of 2002. They are another set of five scenes, this time taken from the public life of Jesus, which we might consider while praying the Rosary.

For most people the word mystery means: A puzzle we can't solve. Sometimes we can't understand something, like the resolution of a crime, because the clues have been covered or removed. Or something might be a mystery because: "The clues were right under my nose all the time."

I might not be able to see well because there is not enough light, or I might not be able to see because there is too much light. Christian mystery is the later: right under my nose, so close, too much light. How's that? In Jesus Christ God has come to be with us as close as God can get. "So the Word (the self-expression of God) became flesh and blood and lived for a while among us, abounding in blessing and truth..." (John 1:14).

Luminous means shining with a bright light. Don't we need to be invited to the light in a dark world: a world where terrorism is now an everyday world, a world so often constructed on lies, a world of uncertainty and fear?

In the 1930's throughout parts of Europe, the clergy devised a method of praying the rosary in which two or three sentence reflections were offered between each Hail Mary, to help the mind remain focused or locked on the mystery being considered. Here I've composed a new set of reflections, using that helpful format.

Better to light a candle than curse the darkness, the Chinese Proverb and the Christophers say. Maybe these new prayer-flames will light up some dark place within and help to focus our thoughts - distractable as we are.

The First Luminous Mystery

The Baptism of the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River

Our Father who art in heaven...

"I want to walk as a child of the light..." the hymn says. What could this mean for my mind and its thoughts? What could this mean for my awareness, intentions and gratitude?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus begins  his public work at his Baptism. Later He will tell us "Don't hide your light; let it shine, (Matthew 5:15).

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus steps down into the waters of the Jordan. In Jesus Christ, God begins to take back everything lost to Him. He begins with the water of which we're all made.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The waters of our planet are increasingly polluted. Millions upon millions of people have no access to drinkable water. I can't ignore this.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The nakedness of Jesus. But it is not sensual nakedness like in a movie or in a magazine. He is each human person, stripped of nationality, custom, time. Jesus stands as God sees us - without masks.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The waters of the Jordan don't flow crisp and clear all the time. In places the river is muddy, cloudy and even polluted. Much of it flows through lands where war seems perennial. In Christ, God immerses Himself in the muddiness of our human story.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

A dove appears. I am reminded of the dove which did not return to Noah after the waters of the flood receded. God is always ready and eager to begin again (Genesis 7:10-13).

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Jesus is in the crowd of people whose land is occupied by the Romans. They are full of  anticipation, of weariness, desire and a sense of failure. I may discover Jesus in church, in my prayers, in the teachings of religion, but will I find Him in the human crowd?

Hail Mary, full of grace...

The humility of John, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" (Matthew 3:14) However I may hold to religious truths, values or practices - humility means I still have so much to learn  from others.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Mother's water broke and I passed through to be born. In Baptism I returned to the water, passing  through again, to be born this time from above; born to become the new kind of human person Jesus reveals and to which he invites.

Hail Mary, full of grace...

Glory be to the Father...