Pressed Flower Pictures By Kathy
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Hi! If you are Catholic you may know that the "Mysteries of Light" are the most recent addition to the holy rosary. Please take a few minutes to read and meditate on these beautiful events in the life of Jesus. Love and Light, Katy |
Holystic Essentials The Mysteries of Light |
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I. The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan"…
"...and when
Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the
heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven saying, 'This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" (Mt 3, 16-17)
II. The Wedding Feast at Cana
"The steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, 'Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now.'" (Jn 2, 10)
III. The Proclamation of the Gospel
"Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1, 14)
IV. The Transfiguration
"…Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered and his raiment became dazzling white…a cloud came and overshadowed them...And a voice came out of the cloud , saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" (Lk 9, 28, 34-35)
V. The Institution of the Eucharist
"Now as
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it
to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a
cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of
it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Mt 26, 26-28)
These
Rosary Meditations on the Mysteries of Light are from the website of the
Dominican Nuns, Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, http://www.op.org/nunsopsummit/
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This First Mystery of Light not only
blinds us with the resplendent manifestation of the Eternal Trinity, it
may also puzzle us with what seems like an unnecessary purification for
Jesus. We can understand John the Baptist's protests, "I need to be
baptized by you and do you come to me?" But this incongruity, the
Creator seemingly dependent on the creature, shows again the Mystery of
the Incarnation. Jesus, the Word-Made-Flesh came not to lord it over us
but to dwell among us. His being baptized by John the Baptist, stripped
and vulnerable in the Jordan (as he would later be stripped and vulnerable
on the Cross), shows the Divine Humility of him who truly became like us,
in all things but sin. Jesus responds to John's hesitation with, "It
is fitting…" And, the baptism's fittingness is revealed by the
Father's declaration and the Spirit's descent upon Jesus, truly God and
truly Man, as he embarks upon His mission of salvation.
Jesus' first miracle or sign occurs in the very intimate and very human setting of a wedding banquet. No one is healed here, no one raised from the dead. There is nothing particularly fantastic or dramatic happening at Cana. Jesus responds, at the repeated insistence of his Mother, to a simple human need. "They have no wine." Not a great need, not an alleviation of thirst. Rather, Jesus works this miracle to spare embarrassment for the bridegroom and bride, so that the joy of their wedding day may not be darkened in any way. Not only does Jesus turn water into wine, he turns the water into very good wine. His love and tenderness for the young couple, and for us, is overflowing, a no-holds-barred generosity. "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16, 24). With this first miracle Jesus reveals who he is, Our Savior, responsive to our every need, great or small, especially when it is asked through the intercession of Mary.
Jesus emerges from his forty days of fasting and prayer and temptation in
the Judean desert. He who is the True Light is coming into the world,
ready to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. He chooses twelve
ordinary men to be his apostles, his associates in preaching, teaching,
and healing. They follow their Master as he tirelessly travels to every
town and village with Spirit-driven urgency. At Jesus' word and at his
touch, the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are made clean, the hungry are
fed, the dead are raised to life again. The promises of the prophets are
wondrously fulfilled. In the midst of his intense activity, Jesus escapes
the press of the crowds to find a quiet place to pray to his Father, only
to be interrupted by his apostles' complaints, "They are looking for
you." Yet, Jesus makes it clear that his mission goes far deeper than
that of miracle-worker, healer, and rabbi. The cures and miracles he
performs point to the deeper reality that he has come as Savior, to save
us from our sins, and reconcile us to the Father. He has come as Shepherd,
to gather his lost sheep to himself, and present them to his Father.
In this Mystery of Light par
excellence, the apostles behold the glory of Jesus, glory as of the
only Son from the Father (Jn 2, 14), and are offered a lightning-like
glimpse of the Godhead's majesty shining from the face of Christ. The
"ordinary" Jesus who ate and drank with them is now revealed as
the beloved Son, the Chosen, who converses familiarly with Moses and
Elijah of what soon awaits him in Jerusalem. Peter's stammered,
"Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make three
booths…" perhaps reveals the apostles' desire to bask in Jesus'
present glory, and leave behind the growing hostility of the Master's
enemies, the darkness which is seeking to overcome the light. But soon,
Moses and Elijah disappear, and they see only Jesus, no longer
transformed, and descend from the mountain to face the stark reality of
Jesus' words, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of
men, and they will kill him..." which crescendo with "and he
will be raised on the third day." Jesus' Transfiguration was meant to
prepare the apostles for the agony of his Passion and Death, so as to come
with him to the joy of the Resurrection.
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