The Luminous Mysteries

​Our Lord is Himself luminous; radiating light, illuminating and revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to the world that dwells in the darkness and error of sin. The Mysteries of Light, or the Luminous Mysteries, invite us to meditate on Christ’s public ministry when He made Himself known as the revelation of God, God Who seeks us in the darkness to draw us to His never-failing Light. Let us join with Our Blessed Mother and St. Louis Marie de Montfort to find this illumination in the five Luminous Mysteries.

The First Luminous Mystery:
​The Baptism in the Jordan
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Baptism in the Jordan; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of fidelity. Amen.

As Christ rises from the waters of the Jordan, the Father’s voice from heaven begins to reveal the mystery of the Triune God in proclaiming Jesus as His Beloved Son. The Son, in turn, has revealed His love and fidelity to the Father’s will by receiving Baptism from John’s hands, though He was the sinless Lamb of God; and He will continue His fidelity in fulfilling His mission with which the Holy Spirit invested Him. In our Baptism, we too become a “beloved son” and a “child of the light”, called to be faithful to Our Father’s will and His mission.

​O Mary, beloved Daughter of the Father and Virgin most faithful, pray for us to God that we may practice fidelity to our baptismal promises.
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The Second Luminous Mystery:
The Wedding Feast at Cana
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy self-manifestation at the wedding feast at Cana; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of obedience to the will of God. Amen

​​Our Lord performs His miracles as “signs” of Who He truly is; and His first sign, prompted by His Mother, reveals to us the abundance of God’s love for His people, as the wine is given lavishly to the wedding couple. Mary, Our Mother, reminds us that our generosity in obeying God’s will is never without a hundredfold return on the part of Our Lord, as He gives liberally of the wine of the Spirit Who enlightens and inflames our hearts.

​​O Mary, our mediatrix and intercessor, open our hearts to the true Light, that we may “do whatever He tells us.”

The Third Luminous Mystery:
​The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy proclamation of the Kingdom of God; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of conversion of life. Amen.

​The Kingdom of God is a true mystery, both hidden and revealed, as a seed in the ground is hidden yet grows. This mystery Jesus seeks to share with us, and He communicates to us what eye has not seen nor ear heard – what “no man has ever spoken” and “no one has ever heard” (cf. Jn 7:46, 9:32). His message is sublime yet simple, easy to understand yet hard to practice: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” He reveals to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom that He has inherited from His Father, the truth about God and man that will set us free, if we covert and turn to the Light.

O Mary, Queen Mother of the Kingdom of God, rule in our hearts that the Kingdom of God may reign within us.
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The Fourth Luminous Mystery:
​The Transfiguration
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Transfiguration on Mount Tabor; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of attentiveness to God’s Word. Amen.

The Mount of Tabor becomes a consecrated place of God’s revelation when Christ brings His beloved Three to the top and is transfigured before them. What has come before in the Law and the Prophets is fulfilled in Him, the Word through Whom comes grace and truth. If we are attentive to this Word-made-flesh, we will share in His transfigured light, becoming ourselves “lights of the world”, shining before men that they may glorify the Father.

​​O Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, help us to ponder in our hearts the Word of God that we may radiate His goodness to the world.
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The Fifth Luminous Mystery:
​The Institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, a spirit of profound adoration. Amen

The culmination of God’s revealing light comes to us in the Institution of the Eucharist, where Our Lord reveals to us the ultimate mystery that the Light is Love. How can we but help to adore such a mystery, the God Who humbles Himself to take the form of bread, Who does so as the prelude to the sacrifice of love which He will make only a short time after? The mystery of Love can never be pondered to exhaustion; the mystery that God has so loved us that we can become Love ourselves.

O Mary, perfect adorer of the Blessed Sacrament, give us thy heart that we may too worship Our Lord in the Eucharist in perfect love.

O God, Whose Only-Begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen

Mary, fair as the moon and bright as the sun, ​ora pro nobis!