Meaning in the Luminous Mysteries

The Luminous mysteries come to us as a revelation of the revised plan of God to bring us back to Himself and be reconciled to our human nature. Perhaps "revised" is too strong a word. The New Testament is more like "Part Two" of the Trilogy of God's plan for the people of Earth. The third part will begin when Jesus returns to take up his role as King, and establishes the renewed Heaven and Earth, where the Kingdom of God can be seen in all of its glory. For now, we have the revelation of his heart, revealed to us by the words and deeds of Jesus. 

The Luminous Mysteries: 

His mission is authorized by the Father. 

1. Baptism in the Jordan 

     "This is my beloved Son" 

     - Matthew 3:16-17 ~ "beginning" 

Why does Jesus go to John to be baptized? This is the Son of God, entirely sinless yet seeking the baptism of repentance. John is amazed, "I would be baptized by you, but you come to me?" Jesus answers, "Let it be so for now, for we must fulfill all righteousness." This is an action of faith, which we are meant to emulate, and faith is righteousness in God's book. When God's people recognize their sinfulness and repent, coming to seek forgiveness, we are trusting God to grant, not only forgiveness, but the grace to choose Him first, rather than selfishness. The key here is trust, and trust is faith. This is what God wants. 

But there is more going on here. Remember the rainbow? God repented for trying to destroy all of humanity in a flood. He had lost patience with us, and acted in anger. But God's disappointment with us goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. When we doubted, and didn't trust Him, He was angry, and cursed us, removing the grace that allowed us to always follow our conscience. But now, having seen the results of that, God regretted having left us prone to the Devil's temptations. Trusting is difficult when you've been listening to a liar. 

So God, in the person of his Son, is coming down to the Jordan river to receive the baptism of repentance. His humanity is declaring his intent to trust, implicitly and totally, in God's plan, even when Jesus can't yet see how it's going to play out. He knows the strategy, from the Scriptures, but not the tactics. This is God, repenting for his rashness in condemning all of humanity for the hubris and wickedness of a few, or even for the selfish disobedience of most. Nor is He judging us collectively as a nation, a people whom He has chosen and tried to teach and guide, and who repeatedly went astray. This time He is calling us individually, to listen to the Gospel and believe. He wants to discern who would try to keep faith with Him, and return contritely after we do something wrong. 

Here at the Jordan river, God is choosing to humble Himself, accepting the baptism of repentance to remind Himself to be merciful, because humans are too broken to be capable of righteousness. He sees that we are only barely able to have faith, inasmuch as we need to see God here, working beside us and living as we live. God is repenting his overwhelming justice, and replacing it with infinite mercy. He now asks only that we believe in Him and trust in his love for us, and that we dedicate ourselves to love and follow Him in return. He is asking us to trust his intention to be merciful, despite the trouble we get ourselves into when we don't listen to Him. And if we will do that He accounts it to us for righteousness. 

2. The Wedding at Cana 

     "Fill the jars with water." 

     - John 2:5-7 ~ "joining" 

When we look closely at this episode, and the miracle of changing water into wine, we see layers of meaning. First, we hear that the party has run out of wine, and we reflect on the recent history of Judaea. There hasn't been a prophet in 400 years. People feel like God has abandoned them, because of their sins. It's a disaster to ruin the joy of being the chosen people. If a wedding runs out of wine, it reflects badly on the family of the bride. But Jesus does something generous, and replenishes the supply. 

Moreover, this is a metaphor to reveal the Gospel. Just as John the Baptist said, Jesus is here to give us the Holy Spirit. And when we look deeper, we see even more, that Jesus has replaced the rituals of purity, washing our hands, with an abundance of joy - an intoxication of happiness in the Spirit. No longer are we to be filled with ritual observance, but we are filled with the Presence of God. 

At yet another level, we look at the wider context. This is a wedding feast. How many times did Jesus give us parables about this? We know that the Gospel is an open invitation to a celebration of love, but who is the chosen bride? Jesus spoke plainly, saying that the Gospel was to be taken first to the Children of Israel. The Jews have always been the chosen people, so they are the beloved bride. The Song of Solomon tells us about God's longing for His people. And yet, a wedding is a shared event. All of our friends are invited, and if the budget is grand enough, the whole town is welcome to attend. 

Jesus transformed the whole supply of cleansing water into wine, six huge 30 gallon jars of it, way more than any ordinary wedding would need. At 16 cups per gallon, once again we have an uncounted number close to seventy times seven. The Bible generalizes the number of the gentiles as being seventy nations, so we have a prefigure of all the nations, everyone, to be included in the great feast, with abundance for all. How many days was the feast supposed to last anyway? A week? Every day we can drink this wine! There were six jars, after all.

3. Proclaiming the Kingdom 

     "The Kingdom of God is at hand."

     - Mark 1:14-15, Luke 4:16-22, Isaiah 61:1-2 ~ "newsflash" 

Who among you has never sinned? Which one of you does not rationalize why you continue to do what your own conscience would ask you to stop and reconsider? We are all sinners! We all need to repent. Come to Jesus, confess your brokenness and ask Him to forgive you. Then "do whatever He tells you to do," just like Mary told the servers at the wedding in Cana. And the story begins from there... 

"Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe the good news!" This is the message that Jesus preached when He returned from the wilderness. Repentance means that we recognize what we have done wrong, and our responsibility for it. We see that we need to change our lives, and we make a solemn vow to change our habits and stop offending against God, or at the very least, to try our best and let our consciences tell us that we owe Him our apologies, and get back up to try harder. No longer can we sin, and ignore how it offends both God and our neighbors. We have to stop, and make whatever amends we can. 

And if we hear and believe, and choose to follow and obey Him, Jesus promises to forgive our sins, and lead us into the Kingdom of God, both now and in Heaven. Jesus made an extended campaign of proclaiming the Gospel, first in Galilee, then in Judaea, and finally opening it up to include any of the gentiles who would believe and follow his teachings. He went to local synagogues to read from the prophets' scrolls and teach people about "the acceptable year of the Lord." That was what He did at Nazareth, reading from the scroll of Isaiah, declaring his agenda for proclaiming the good news, that He would release us from the confusion, captivity and oppression of the demons that warp our view of the world. When we are free, we can once again trust God to defend and provide for us. And as we see that happening, we can respond in gratitude and obedience to love God and our neighbors. 

When we follow Jesus, we are no longer led by our nearsighted self interest. We are reaching for higher things, choosing to do what is right rather than seeking our own advantage. Our aim becomes to please the Father by imitating his beloved Son. And so the revolution begins. What was once a pointless existence becomes truly meaningful, first transforming us, and then the world around us, bit by bit, because we agree to allow the Father's will to be done through us, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

4. Casting out Demons (suggested)

     "I do believe! Help my unbelief!" 

     - Mark 9:17-29 ~ "overcoming" 

Someone from the crowd came to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, I have brought to you my son. He is possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so." Jesus said to the gathering crowd, "O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me." They brought the boy to Him, and when he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then He questioned his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" He replied, "Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire or into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus said to him, "If you can?! Everything is possible to one who has faith!" Then the boy's father cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief!" Jesus looked out upon the rapidly growing crowd, then rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!" Shouting and convulsing the boy again, it came out. The boy lay limp and still as a corpse, so that many thought he was dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. Then all were amazed. Later, his disciples asked Him in private, "Master, why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting." 

A central message in Jesus' mission to Israel, and to the world, is breaking the bonds of sin. When we willingly sin, we become slaves to sin, and unwittingly allow the minions of Satan to enter and take control of our lives. These demons are often quite destructive, intending to harm us however they can. They don't want us to have the time to believe and repent, or to seek the Lord for help. They can even give us grave illness, or troublesome conditions, which challenge our faith, so we may doubt whether we deserve to be healed. And the truth is, we don't deserve it, due to our lack of faith. But Jesus knows how we want to believe, and his aid comes as a free gift, if we will ask humbly, acknowledging our sins to repent. Sometimes it may be difficult, such that we may need to prepare ourselves with prayer and fasting. But if it will serve to establish faith, in ourselves and possibly others who see it, then He is fully able to grant the miracle. All of the demons are subject to Him, even Satan himself must obey his commands, for they know that He comes with the power and authority of the Father. And yet, Jesus comes to us with the compassion and love of a brother, seeking to call us back into the Kingdom where we can share his love with one another. 

5. The Transfiguration of Jesus (was #4)

     "and his face shone like the sun" 

     - Matthew 17:1-8 ~ "revealed" 

Just a few days after Jesus began to tell what He expected to happen to Him, that He would suffer crucifixion, He took Peter, James and John away for a day. They were in Galilee, and they went to climb a mountain. When they reached the top, Jesus' appearance began to change, glowing brighter and brighter, until it was hard to look at him. And two other figures arrived, appearing as Moses and Elijah, and they took counsel with Jesus for a short while. When they had gone, Peter suggested that they erect tents in that place to honor Jesus, Moses and Elijah, but before he finished speaking, a shining cloud descended upon them. A great voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him." All three disciples were amazed, and groveling at his feet, but Jesus bent down and lifted them up. "Do not be afraid. But you cannot tell anyone what you have seen, not until the Son of Man has risen from the grave." In this way, Jesus revealed that everything that would happen was already planned. 

The Transfiguration was a sign for them that Jesus was not merely an ordinary human, but that He had the favor and acceptance of God to do and say what He does. Not only authority to do miracles, but Jesus can do whatever He sees necessary, to execute the plan of salvation. He is the Son of God Himself, and what He says will happen. This is the reason why Jesus revealed his glory at the Transfiguration, glowing with the holy brightness of sanctification and walking together with Moses and Elijah: to show his disciples that they should not be scandalized, nor have their faith shaken when He was put to death on the cross. He wanted them to see this, and remember that He has God's own power for what He needs to do. 

Peter never got used to hearing it when Jesus spoke of his coming suffering and death, but he never again questioned Him in protest. Still, he understood that telling what he had seen was unlikely to convince anyone who hadn't been there to believe. Indeed, he had almost forgotten the incident, until Mary returned with the news that Jesus was missing from the tomb. Then, as he and John ran to see what had happened, he remembered, and seeing to stone rolled away, he stopped. 

Peter could see then, in his mind's eye, what had occurred: how the guards had been afraid, and the stone removed, and Jesus emerging just as Lazarus had. The Light would have been too overpowering, blinding the soldiers who tried to look. No one could move to interfere with the angels who came for Him. It had all happened according to the plan. This was the reassurance that he had needed. Now Peter could go back and tell the story to the other disciples, and James and John would support him. Jesus has risen from the dead, just like He said He would! 

Extra: (moved to the Theological Mysteries)

5. The First Eucharist 

     "This is my body which is given for you."

     - Luke 22:14-20 ~ "sacrifice" 

When Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 from one basket of a few loaves and fishes, He was once again proclaiming the Kingdom, without words. But no one was understanding. So when the crowd followed, He tried to tell them the rest of the story, that He Himself is the Bread of Life. And yet, they couldn't put the miracles together with the teachings. They wanted to dispute Jesus' claim to be coming from the Father, to be more than the manna in the wilderness. Before He could even finish telling them the whole truth, they had stopped listening, and started drifting away. So when He saw that his disciples were also confused, He stopped talking. 

The story finally comes together "on the night before He was to suffer." As they are sharing an early Passover feast, no one questions Him. This time, they are listening, but now, there is no time for in-depth discussion. Jesus has to trust us to understand what He is about to do. So, He picks up a piece of unleavened bread, raises it up to Heaven and says the blessing, then breaks it. Passing it down the table, He says, "Take this, each of you, and eat from it. This is my body, which is to be broken for you." This is definitely not a part of the Passover ritual, and everyone here knows it. Then, as supper is ending, Jesus pours a last cup of wine, raises it and says the blessing, then passing it on, He says, "Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood, which shall be poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. And this shall be a new Covenant between us, in my blood. Do this in memory of Me." Again, this is not the usual ending of Passover. They will remember. 

The crucifixion of Jesus was a traumatic wake-up for the disciples. They really didn't see that coming, and were appalled and frightened for their own lives. It was the women, led by Mary Magdalen, who discovered that He had risen. That was when they began to see just how much of what He had said they hadn't understood. They were gathered in discussion to try and piece it all together when Jesus appeared to them in that upper room where they had shared dinner. That was when He explained how they should reenact that evening, and He told them to meet him in Galilee on the mountain where they had seen Him transfigured. 

The whole point of the Last Supper was for Jesus' followers to share a common meal in fellowship, and to establish a ritual by which to reenact the memory of the new covenant between God and his people. Jesus had told them that they must "eat my body and drink my blood," or else they would have no life in them. He did not say whether performing the ritual would effect a miracle of "transubstantiation," or if it was a metaphor, or more simply, a symbol of an ineffable truth. He did say that doing it would give us life, and make us a part of his body, the Church. He meant for us to have faith, to believe that his Word gives us eternal life, because whatever He says, happens. 

No matter what else you think you see, we do not eat bloody meat in the Eucharist. Neither did YHWH eat the flesh nor drink the blood of the sacrifices in the Temple. But we do partake of the body and blood of Christ in some way, no matter how you understand it, and that gives us life, and imparts God's grace to us, all because of our faith, our trust in his Word and promises. Faith has always been what God counts for us as righteousness. That upholds our end of the new covenant. 

.......

Proclaiming the Glorious Mysteries

Just before Jesus ascended to the Father in Heaven, He gave us our own mission to fulfill for the Kingdom of God. He told us to go forth to every corner of the Earth and spread the Good News. Tell everyone about how the Son of God has come and reconciled Himself to our human nature, by becoming a human being and living among us, to achieve what we could never accomplish for ourselves - a sinless life. And then having done that, He offered Himself as a sacrifice in our place. And we know this was accepted, because the Father raised Him up from the dead, and let Him talk with us for forty days. There were many witnesses who saw and heard Him. 

The Glorious Mysteries: 

His Kingdom is established in Heaven. 

1. Jesus' resurrection from the dead 

     "He is not here. He has risen." 

     - Mark 16:5-7 ~ "vindication" 

According to the apocryphal gospel of Peter, which remained incomplete after Mark was finished, only a handful of Roman soldiers and a couple Temple guards saw the actual resurrection of Jesus, and they all swore to keep silence. It had been known that Jesus claimed that He would rise from the grave. Thus, guards were sent to keep watch, so anyone who came to steal the body would meet with resistance. But it wasn't a gang of men who came to roll the stone away, it was two angels. The soldiers were too afraid to interfere. 

So when the two women came on Sunday morning to care for Jesus' body with the herbs and spices that were required, they didn't see any soldiers. Indeed, they later told how they were afraid when they found the stone rolled away, and someone sitting inside the tomb. Upon being informed that Jesus was not present, they asked where the body had been taken, but the stranger only said to go and tell his disciples to expect to see Him, and to go to meet Him in Galilee. Yet they were too confused and afraid to believe, and when they returned, they only said that the body was missing. So Peter and John both ran to see what had happened. It was only later that they saw Him, and heard the rest of the story from his own mouth. 

Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples that He was going to rise from the dead after He was crucified, but no one believed Him. Even after He had raised Jairus' daughter, and Lazarus, and plainly said that He had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again, it was unbelievable. How can a dead man perform miracles? But Jesus was not just a man. He is an integral person in the Holy Trinity who is God, and when He says He can do something, it can be done. 

But the resurrection of Jesus is not only the proof of his divinity, it is the vindication of his message and the surety of his promises. When He promises to raise us up, He can and will do it. This final part of the Gospel is essential to the message, and the witnesses who saw the risen Christ are the focal points of contact between humanity and God's intervention into history.  

Over the next forty days, Jesus appeared to the disciples many times, and He met with a crowd of followers when they got to Galilee. There were over five hundred witnesses, and when Paul named some, many were still alive to be asked what they had seen. And those witnesses were willing to stake their lives on their testimony. They lived and died to spread the story of Jesus and his message. They knew the risk, but the promise and its proof were worth it. "He is not here. He is risen." 

2. Jesus' ascension to Heaven 

    "He was lifted up while they were looking"

     - Acts 1:9-11 ~ "amazed" 

When we talk about Jesus' ascension into Heaven, we also have to try to imagine how He looked in his resurrected body. So often his disciples failed to recognize Him, we have to assume that He could appear in any way He wanted. Any form, from totally normal and incognito, as on the road to Emmaus, to all luminous and snowy white, as He was at the transfiguration, to being blindingly lightning bright, as in the predawn of his resurrection when the guards had to avert their eyes. Any of these was available to Him. Presumably, He chose to travel to Galilee in a form that only his followers could discern, and once there He revealed Himself to the gathered crowd that included over 500 men. 

But Jesus ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, rising bodily, straight up into the clear sky. His astonished apostles were left staring upward with their mouths hanging open. They could not believe their eyes, although by now they had learned to expect Jesus' miracles. The sight was so completely unexpected that they were still staring when they were approached by two angels. "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven." But what they had seen, none of them described. All we can know is, it must have been for their eyes only, for if anyone else had seen it, they didn't report it. 

Perhaps we can imagine a Pillar of Light, to remember the pillars of smoke and fire the Israelites followed through the Sinai desert. And Jesus rose through it slowly, with his arms spread, showing the nail prints, like He wants to embrace the whole world. His white clothing sparkles like sunlight reflecting from new snow, and his face is shining like the sun - but not blinding. We can look at Him, rising higher and higher, until the figure fades into the blue of the sky itself, and we see only a few scattered puffy clouds. He is gone. 

We begin to feel a sense of loss, until we recall that He told us to wait in Jerusalem until the festival of Shavuot, when He and the Father would send down the Holy Spirit to stay with us. We have ten days, and then it's our job to go and tell the story to everyone, all over the world. Then, He said, He will come back. What an amazing story we have to tell!

3. The descent of the Holy Spirit  

     "tongues as of fire"

     - Acts 2:1-6 ~ "empowered" 

And so the disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out. In the meantime, they chose Matthias to replace Judas, and told him his role as witness to Jesus' mission and message. Then, on the day of Shavuot, or Pentecost, a great sound like a rushing windstorm passed through the neighborhood. And in their room appeared a vision of fire, which divided into "tongues" and went to rest above the heads of each of the Apostles. Amazed and elated, they began to speak all at once, but in foreign languages, declaring their messages about Jesus. Then going out of doors, they encountered a crowd gathering to investigate the noise.

Although the city was full of visitors, coming for the Holy Days, from all over the diaspora, everyone assembled there heard them speak in their native tongue. Amazed that local Galileans could speak so, some thought they were drunk, but the message came loud and clear. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah! Indeed, although crucified, He had risen from the dead, as He had promised, and lived with them until just a few days ago. And they had seen Him rise up, straight into the sky, going into Heaven to be with God the Father. 

Even the crucifixion itself had not been his defeat at Roman hands, but a victory over sin and its banishment from God's Presence. Our affliction with demons from Be'elzebub, a possession due to sinful habits, is broken because the penalty for sin has been paid. Satan can have no more claim upon us. Jesus has set us free, giving us the ability to behave with righteousness, if we keep our focus on Him. Those who disagreed with Him, and handed Him over to the Romans to be put to death have themselves been put to shame. They would not believe that his miracles were signs of God's endorsement of his message. And now, He is risen from the dead! Hallelujah! 

So now, with the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel is in full force. And what is the message? "Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand! Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah!" And more than we expected, He is the actual Son of the Living God! His coming was foretold in the Scriptures, and He has saved us from our sins! Repent, and be baptized. God has heard us groaning in our misery, and answered us in our distress. Yeshua is the answer to our prayers, our rescue from oppression. And when He returns, He will reign as the King of the world, forever. 

4. Mary's assumption to Heaven 

     "Blessed is the womb that carried you..." 

     - Luke 11:27, 28 ~ "praise" 

Ever after Jesus appointed John to watch over her, Mary has been the Mother of the Church. Most blessed among women, most beloved among believers; she was the center of the Apostle's adoration. 

Mary stayed with the Apostles in Jerusalem, observing and advising as needed, until John left to spread the Gospel through Asia Minor. They settled in Ephesus in a small house for a few years, with John preaching in the synagogue there. At his words, many came to believe in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles. Her holiness and devotion were renowned all throughout the region. Many people came to her to ask for her blessing, and she would pray for their needs. To this very day, the house where Mary and John stayed on the outskirts of Ephesus is remembered with reverence. 

But the diaspora never felt like home for her, as the years passed, Mary began to long for Galilee and Judaea. At last, John decided to escort her back to Jerusalem. The passage through Galilee gladdened her heart, to see the flowers covering the hills like blankets, and the sea, sparkling like the Face of God, just like its local name, "Peniel." And the trek up to Jerusalem filled her with anticipation, to see her son James and the others who had known Jesus when He was preaching. The sight of the great Temple came with mixed feelings, joy to see the House of God, but sadness to know that so many listened to the libelous stories told by the Pharisees. Too many lacked faith in the Gospel.

The word had traveled ahead that Mary was coming home, so also went from there the invitation for all of the disciples to return to greet her. Upon her arrival, Mary was tired, being now near 70 years of age. The trip had taken its toll. James, her son-in-law, and leader of the Jerusalem Church, gave her a place to stay with him, and she settled in to rest. One by one the friends of Jesus came by to greet her, and she had plenty of company to watch and care for her. But now, her age had caught up with her, and her health began to fail. 

Finally, Mary died in Jerusalem, and all of the Apostles, except Thomas, attended her funeral with great sorrow. But the very next day, Thomas arrived. Disappointed to have missed seeing her, Thomas asked to view her body. But when they reopened her tomb, it was empty, all but for being filled with roses. 

5. Mary's coronation as Queen of Heaven 

     "and on her head a crown of 12 stars" 

     - Revelations 12:1 ~ "glory" 

According to ancient Hebrew tradition, since a King could have many wives, for diplomatic reasons, the official Queen of the nation was the Mother of the King. And yet, we have only the one Scripture, in John's Apocalypse, to confirm our expectation. Mary is crowned with twelve stars when viewed among the constellations. There is no description of the great ceremony held in Heaven to bestow the Cosmic Crown upon her. In our mind's eye, let us try to view the scene. 

We can only imagine the vast crowds of Angels gathered to witness the event, and the elect from the Council arrayed with solemn dignity on either side of the processional aisle. Perhaps the Archangels Gabriel and Michael ecorted her forward to the stage, followed by the saints devoutly praying the Rosary. At the front, on either side of the altar, stood Moses and Elijah. And God, as the Holy Trinity, gloried in the place of the Sacred Tabernacle. The starry host in the sky shed their brightest radiance through the crystal domed ceiling of the Heavenly Temple. 

As the procession reached the front, the music of coronets reached a crescendo then fell silent. Only the soft strains of harps kept playing with the ebb and flow of psalms, just low enough to allow voices to be heard. As Mary approached the altar, she bowed and reached inside her breast, withdrawing her own Immaculate Heart. As she stood, she placed it upon the altar, surrounding it with a wreath of roses. Then Jesus stepped forward, from the other side, reached inside his robe, and brought forth his Sacred Heart. He placed it beside hers, inside the wreath, and surrounded them both with his crown of thorns. Then, making the sign of the Cross above them, He changed the roses and thorns into two crowns. Both alike, they were made of twelve golden magen-stars linked together and shining with the internal light of glowing gemstones. Jesus walked around the altar to his Mother, and they both knelt.

Then the Holy Father, Adonai, came forward, as a pillar of Light, and with his own Hands lifted the two crowns and placed them on the Sacred Heads of his Son and his beloved Spouse. Once more the coronets burst forth with jubilant music, and the crowds began to chant Hallelujah! Holy, Holy, Holy Lord! 

Thus began the eternal reign of Jesus as our Lord, the King of Heaven, and his Mother, as our Lady the Queen of Heaven. And so we know that our prayers to Mary are heard, and attended with care by Her and her Son, as they watch over us now and always. 

Amen.

Suffering to Forgive: the Sorrowful Mysteries

The Sorrowful mysteries illuminate the darkest time in human existence, when we rejected and mocked the very Son of God. He had come to share with us our struggles and weaknesses, facing the same temptations and enduring the same sufferings that plague our daily lives. He found that for each of our aspirations there is also a crushing despair, for sin has corrupted our world and warps everything we try to do. So He was not surprised, indeed He fully expected to be betrayed and executed on a Roman cross. 

The Sorrowful Mysteries: 

He suffered and died for our sins. 

1. Agony in the garden 

     "let this cup pass from me" 

     - Matthew 26:36-45 ~ "obedience" 

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus brought his Divinity face to face with the core issue of the human condition. There comes a time in our existence when we break and die. The prospect of death, and the desire to postpone it indefinitely is a fundamental goad, ruling our motivations, and the knowledge that we can't defeat it is our ultimate despair. Death is the result of sin, of not perfectly trusting and following God's will. But Jesus did; His faith was perfect. And yet, avoiding death was not the plan. Instead, Jesus was going to pay our penalty for sin, so that we could be forgiven. Clearly, however, Jesus' human nature saw the horror of what was about to happen. His soul was going to be ripped from his body, and beyond that point our nature can only imagine loss and despair. Ultimate anxiety is the only honest response. 

So that night, when He knew He was about to be betrayed, Jesus went to a garden to speak intimately to God. He needed to review the plan, because the battle was beginning. As He told the disciples, "The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Could there be any other way? Jesus prayed, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me ..." and He went over the consequences of every other option. The struggle on this night was equal, in Spirit, to the battle on the morrow that his flesh was to endure. 

A human being is not meant to have one's soul parted from the body, rather the two are one being. Apart, we are broken and incapacitated, helpless to perform or prevent any action. If anything is to be done, it must be done by someone else. Jesus could not do any miracle to save Himself, despite any temptation or mockery He would suffer. He would have to relinquish his power, and depend only on the Father to follow through. 

Yes, He had the power to raise others from the grave, but dead men have no power. And He would have to experience what it means to be apart from God, once He was on the cross. When He claimed our sin, God would not be able to look at Him. At that crucial moment, the Father would have to forgive the sins of everyone who ever regretted what they had done, and remember only how truly faithful his only Son had been. God would repent his rashness of condemning all of us for the original sin, and choose to raise his own Son back from the grave. For this, Jesus would need to grasp tightly to his own faith, and trust that his Father could change his mind and his heart. 

Finally He saw, the only way to win, would be to lose. "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done." Amen. 

2. Scourging at the pillar

     "... and after flogging Jesus" 

     - Mark 15:15 ~ "rejection" 

"So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified." This is a rather terse way to recall one of the more gruesome events of the day our Lord was crucified. Pilate had not found sufficient reason to execute Jesus during his interrogation, and wanted to release Him. So he suggested that Jesus should be flogged, and at the same time proclaimed a prisoner release, to show "how merciful Rome can be," as was customary during the jewish holy days, in the hope that this might be enough to placate the crowd. But the High Priest, and many members of the Sanhedrin, were determined to silence Him and quell his movement, so they stirred up a mob to shout for a different prisoner, Barabbas, a known criminal. Pilate was nonplussed. "So what do you want me to do with this Jesus, the King of the Jews?" And the mob grew agitated, chanting "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" So there was nothing to do but to release Barabbas, and turn Jesus over to be flogged and then crucified. In his frustration, Pilate publicly washed his hands to declare that this was not his idea of Roman justice. And the High Priest responded to accept responsibility. 

Now, in those days, there was a difference between being flogged as a full punishment for civil offenses, or being scourged as a prelude to crucifixion. A public flogging was limted to a maximum of 39 lashes, and the whip had small lead weights at the ends of the cords to make them effective. This was already bad enough, as it would quickly break the skin and cause wounds with profuse bleeding. Traditionally, it has been assumed that this is the flogging that Jesus received, as it is indeed what Pilate had ordered. There was a penalty for giving more, as it could be enough to kill a man to continue further. Any soldier who got carried away could himself be flogged for the offense. These are the kind of wounds shown on the Shroud of Turin. 

So we can well imagine the scene. The soldiers knew He was to be crucified, but the sentence was only for flogging. A relaxation of restraint could be overlooked, up to the count, so long as it didn't kill the prisoner. Then He had to be unchained and given a seat. Of course, the soldiers had heard most of the discussions, and the charges, and they were sarcastically amused to have the "King of the Jews" in their hands. 

3. Crowned with thorns 

     "Hail, King of the Jews!" 

     - John 19:2-3 ~ "mockery" 

When the soldiers took Jesus down from the flogging post and let him sit, He was bloody and trembling with pain. This is the blood of the new Covenant, spilled for the forgiveness of sin. Let us look closely at the stripes by which we are healed. The flogging whip has 12 thongs, each ending in a small leaden barbell, intended to bruise and break the skin to make the victim bleed. Thirty-nine times, He was struck by a veteran soldier who was not "pulling his punches." Twelve multiplied by thirty-nine lashes is 468, almost the full count of "seventy times seven times" that Jesus said we should forgive one who wrongs us. He is now suffering in such misery that He feels dazed. And indeed, He must have been hard to look at without at least some pity.

Then one soldier found a discarded red robe and draped it across his shoulders. Another, remarking that every king needs a crown, pulled a vine of thorns off from the wall of the fort and coiled it into a circle. Then, after roughly shoving it onto Jesus' head, knelt before Him and sneered, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They all lined up to mock Him with sarcastic homage. One man brought a stick, saying, "Look! A sceptre!" and struck Him on the head, driving the thorny crown deeper into his scalp. Then he placed it in Jesus' hand. By now, most of the soldiers in the garrison were aware of the scene. One by one, they came to kneel and bow, and when they rose up, they spit on or slapped Him. "What kind of king are you?" they mocked, "You're as pathetic as this pathetic people!" They jeered at Him, rudely laughing, until an officer gave the order to bring up a cross bar. It was time to move on. 

The irony of this situation cannot be lost on us. We know that Jesus truly is the King of the Jews. Even Pilate, in mocking the crowd, has said as much. And now, in this moment of apparent defeat, He is being crowned, not only King of the Jews but as King of Heaven. And from this bloody ceremony, He goes forth into battle, to win our forgiveness and salvation on the cross. 

And yet, the significance of these events is lost on the Jewish people whom He came to save. This is not the king that they expected, even though we, in hindsight, can see how this was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. The king they had been hoping and praying for was supposed to be a political leader, strong to lead an army of patriots, and chase out the foreign armies of the oppressive Roman Empire. They did not equate the suffering servant passages in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 with the expected Messiah. Nor were they thinking that the oppressor to be defeated was Satan, the evil Adversary of all humanity.

4. Carrying the cross 

     "carrying his own cross" 

     - John 19:17 ~ "suffering" 

When they brought out the cross, this was not a nice piece of lumber. It was a rough-hewn split rail, squared off with an axe, about two meters long, and it weighed close to 100 pounds. No one had cared to smooth any sharp edges or splinters that remained. This was a weapon of execution. It was meant to terrify rebels and deter criminals. It was a burden meant to humiliate Rome's enemies, and that's why the condemned were paraded through the city on their way to Golgotha. There was no pity now. The soldiers were driving them on with whips and batons, fully aware that soon they would put nails into their hands and feet. And still, Jesus was determined to bear our sins meekly, like a lamb going to slaughter. 

But this cross was more than a wooden beam. It was the burden of our guilt. Jesus was carrying all of the sins of the world - all that ever had been, and all that ever would be committed. Each one weighed Him down with shame, separating Him from the Father like never before. Never had He ever felt this alone. And then He stumbled, falling to his knees, and the cross dug deeply into his shoulder, a splinter jabbing under his already lacerated skin, and breaking off. Just like our consciences will never forget our worst offenses, this one won't come out. 

Then He saw and heard the crowd, gathered along the way. Some were weeping for mercy, and some were jeering at the condemned. He stopped to tell the wailing women to weep for themselves, and for Jerusalem, and a guard shoved Him. He fell, and Veronica stooped close to wipe the sweat and blood from his face. Jesus struggled to his feet, and carried his cross a bit longer. Then, stumbling again, He sprawled out on the road. Annoyed, this time the guard singled out a man from the crowd. "You. Come help carry this," so Simon helped Jesus to stand, and picked up the heavy cross. Together, Jesus, his new friend, and the other prisoners trudged slowly and wearily out through the city gate and around the wall to the hill where the scaffolds were standing. Simon was released to go about his business. Then Jesus was brought over to his position, in the middle place, between a rebel and a thief. Jesus looked around. No sign of Peter or James. Only John and his Mother were there. The soldiers took what was left of his clothing, and He was left naked and exposed. Then they led Him to where He would lie to be nailed to the wood. 

5. Crucified to death 

     "Father, forgive them. They know not ..."

     - Luke 23:32-34 ~ "intercession" 

It was our darkest hour, when we rejected the Son of God and tried to cast Him out of this world. That was Satan fighting at his hardest, and the unbelievers showing who is their god and Father. When we do not agree with God's plan in honest humility things can, and will, go seriously wrong. But our God knows all of this beforehand, and plans to make even our foolishness and cruelty turn to achieve his ultimate design. Of course, it would have been better all around if we had never needed to be redeemed, but sin has consequences. The only way to restore our relationship with God was to show how much pain and terrible suffering our sin causes, so that we would see clearly why we must avoid it, at all costs. God relies on our empathy to observe how He feels - how any victim feels - about sin. 

We are all familiar with the scene. Roman soldiers are not paid to care about how the criminal feels. Crucifixion is punishment, and it is meant to deter all rebellion against Rome. Cruelty and spite are part of the deal. Anyone who merits a cross becomes the object of abuse. Nor is it supposed to be a quick execution. It's a prolonged struggle just to breathe. The victim pushes with his feet to raise his body enough to compensate for hanging by his outstretched arms. But one way or another, by sunstroke, dehydration or slow exhaustion and weakness of breathing, death is inevitable and painful. With his legs bent, pushing against the nails would make each breath a surge of pain, and his back would also scrape against the cross. But this is the afternoon before one of the Jewish religious Holy Days, and this can't go on for long, so the soldiers made it hard for Him to push up. It was a cruel kind of mercy. 

But for Jesus, the worst part of all of this was not the pain, nor the fear of dying. It was the separation from the close communion He treasured with the Father. In Scripture, there is a curse on one who hangs on a tree. Thus He cried out, "My God! My God, why have you abandoned me?!" That was when He truly knew how empty and meaningless our usual experience is as sinful human beings. We don't know how He felt to be One with the Father, but suddenly, it was gone. 

And in his last extremity, He would pray, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." With these words, Jesus won the battle against Satan, paid the penalty for sin, and ransomed us from the power that corrupts our flesh. When we look at Jesus on the Cross, we do not see defeat. We see the Victory of God's Son, the King of the Jews, and the King of Heaven. "Father, into your hands, I commend my Spirit." 

What is Divine Justice?

The concept of the afterlife in the Old Testament is left rather vague. There are few actual references to where a person goes when they die. Some even denied that the soul persisted after death, but they were the exceptions. The loose and general consensus was that the dead went to "Sheol."

"Sheol" is the place of graves, like a cemetery or catacomb. It is a temporary respository of the bodies of the dead, usually with the souls asleep until the Day of Judgment, although there are exceptions for those who cannot rest, or who are called to Heaven for saintly lives. In Sheol, one contemplates the events of one's life, via dreams, which is why we hope they will "rest in peace." The parallel place of the dead, in the Bible, was "Gehenna," named after the valley of Hinnom, where bodies were thrown to be burned. Jeremiah's vision of the "valley of dry bones" was of the abandoned people in Gehenna. 

Sheol and Gehenna are where Jesus went to announce the Gospel to the dead, between the crucifixion and his resurrection. Those who received Him with joy will be saved on the Last Day.

By contrast, Hell is the place where those who have rejected God's salvation are tormented, despairing of finding any meaning or consolation in their existence, and mocked and tortured by demons for their failures. Hell has very few human denizens before the Day of Judgment, and they lack physical bodies  until then.

By contrast, Heaven is the reward for those who have chosen to know and love God. It will be anything but boring, and we will enjoy a close relationship with Him forever, throughout an eternity filled with loving friends and meaningful occupations.

What then is Hell? God is not cruel, spiteful or vengeful. He prefers mercy to justice. But punishment? It's a matter of interpretation. 

Hell is existing without any relationship with God... a totally meaningless, absurd, boring, pointless and unfulfilling life, where you can't trust anyone and no one loves anyone, and every activity is hard work that comes to nothing... fruitless. No pleasure or joy, only struggle, so that every sensation seems like pain to be endured endlessly. You can't make it better, but you can make it worse... except you can't make it end, either. 

No meaning, no love, no success, no hope. And all because you don't want to have a relationship with God. So -- you don't go to Heaven, because there you surely will have a relationship with God. You don't want to repent and turn your life around. You like your selfish, indulgent, dark and destructive ways, even though you know it's crazy. You have no interest to get right with God. Therefore you end up in Hell. Your choice, your decision to spend eternity without God. 

Yes, you offended God. You told Him to get lost. So He left you alone with yourself... and others like you. That's justice. 

Do you want to imagine what Hell looks like? You can read the Qur'an. Muhammad would know all about it. Visualize a post-apocalyptic wasteland, like a desert. The air is reeking of sulfurous smoke, thick like fog, obscuring the distance. You continuously hear the crying of those in despair, or their screams of fear and horror. Your body suffers and you wear long, heavy chains. Your food is unwholesome, thorny and rotten, and the water is putrid, boiling hot. It burns your mouth. There is no shade, except under the rocks where vermin, scorpions and serpents hide. You can't even approach any of your neighbors without a conflict. Of course, anything you want only appears along the borders of your confined territory, where you have to compete for your part of it. No one shares. You have no clothes and no shoes, except what you can fashion from the rough desert plants. Indeed, since no one will work with you, you have only what you can do for yourself. 

And then you see the demons, fallen spirits who desire only to torture you out of spite. They hate you because they fell from grace for saying that you didn't deserve the chance to become a child of God, and you proved it, even while others ascended. They hate you because you had the capacity to desire to know God. You had the opportunity to try to win what they had lost, but you refused it. Thus, their scorn and contempt is without limit.  And you know that you deserve it. 

So then, what is Purgatory?

That's where you go if you didn't refuse to believe in God. You actually kinda wanted to be okay with Him, but you didn't really want to turn your life around. Lukewarm. It's sad, because Purgatory feels a lot like Hell, being abandoned and left out from a relationship with God, except you can fix that.

Unlike Hell, in Purgatory there are no demons or troublesome neighbors, and the food isn't foul or painful. Moreover, it doesn't have to last forever. You are allowed one consolation. You can pray. Your prayers, and those of others on your behalf, can help to turn your life around, to make up for your sins, to reject sinful habits and allow you to learn proper devotion. In this, your efforts are not quite fruitless. It may feel, at times, like a penalty, but in place of despair you still have hope. Imagine a place where the world is always in twilight. The dawn seems to be slowly rising on the horizon, but if you want more light, you have to walk there. The amount of light you have shows your spiritual state. 

The one torture in Purgatory is the great longing for a personal relationship with Jesus, and through Him, with the Father. It burns in your soul, like being homesick while in prison and missing your loved ones, only worse. But then one day, who knows after how long, you will get out. And when you do, you can humbly approach the mercy seat of God, and ask to be friends. You will then be welcomed home with a joyful triumph. 

But maybe the concept of Purgatory is not an essential interpretation of the Scriptures. The Bible and Tradition seem to suggest that the dead are asleep or resting, in Sheol or Hades, to await the Day of Judgment, at which time we will learn of our eternal fate.

There doesn't seem to be any punishment analogous to the Lake of Fire in Hell (unless it's like Gehenna, the place of rejection and final abandonment), at this time, because the dead are not integrated embodied souls until the resurrection. Once that occurs, then our eternal reward or punishment will take effect. But for the interim now, it seems likely that there are few or no humans in residence in the final prison of Hell. 

Those who yet await the Last Judgment are either consoled or tormented by their own consciences. If Purgatory is a current reality, then some have already been judged as worthy of Heaven, but in need of character improvement. They know that they have tried to grasp the opportunity to be reconciled to God, but lacked the full repentance needed for personal transformation. We know whether we have desired to love God and neighbor, and done what we could to follow. Alternately, we know if we have refused the Truth, denying his call and choosing selfish advantage in the present world, telling ourselves that there is no afterlife. 

The traditions that suggest a long sleep in the grave, or Sheol, where we contemplate the events and acts of our completed lives are the reason why we have the old cliché carved on tombstones as "Rest in Peace." It must be terrible to know that Judgment is coming, and that your likely end shall be eternal suffering in Hell, especially as you will know that it was only your own stubbornness that led you to refuse the grace that could have saved you. 

So let Jesus call you once again. He does not wish that even the most selfish, corrupted soul should suffer and perish. He has already paid your penalty. All you need to do is to accept his Hand as He is now holding it out to you. Yes, you need to turn from evil, but He understands how hard that can be. He will give you strength. 

Don't wait. Come now. It's a whole lot easier to come to Jesus with faith, and turn your life around now, than it will be later when you can't do good things to help show your faith. Prayer is good, but deeds have a multiplier effect. Break the bad habits, and build some good ones. You'll be glad you did. At least try. God understands. That's why Jesus is merciful to forgive. Effort shows your desire. And the Holy Spirit will make sure that you aren't left fruitless. God doesn't want anyone to give up. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, He wants to run out to meet you as soon as you make the effort to return to Him. God truly is Love. 

You can start with this simple prayer: 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Help me to amend my ways, and lead me to follow thy path. Lord Jesus, teach me thy Way of Truth, and let me share thy Life, now and forever. Amen.