The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays [and Sundays])
The Glorious Mysteries show Jesus's triumph over death, the creation of His Church, and the rewards of the Holy Mother. The good guys win; these Mysteries are a testament to that ultimate Truth. He has conquered death and has made a place for us in heaven. He has shown us how we should treat one another in this life while still preparing for the next. The windows with these images form a half-circle centered on the altar in my church. This is what we celebrate in every mass. This is what we look forward to for our future.
The Glorious Mysteries show Jesus's triumph over death, the creation of His Church, and the rewards of the Holy Mother. The good guys win; these Mysteries are a testament to that ultimate Truth. He has conquered death and has made a place for us in heaven. He has shown us how we should treat one another in this life while still preparing for the next. The windows with these images form a half-circle centered on the altar in my church. This is what we celebrate in every mass. This is what we look forward to for our future.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Matthew 28:1-6
On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rises from the dead, conquering sin, and preparing a way for all of us to achieve life eternal.
Many people would say that this is what religion is all about: assuaging people's fears about death, reassuring them that they will live on after their bodies pass away and that their suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next. While this is an important, and even climatic, event in Church history, it is not the entirety of our religion. Even after His resurrection, Jesus still continues His teaching on love and compassion. Christianity is about how we live our lives now.
Jesus's resurrection transforms Him enough that His disciples often do not recognize Him when they see Him. While He is physically resurrected, His body is now immune to death and decay, a form that we pray our own bodies will assume in our resurrections from death.
After His death, Jesus meets with several of His disciples, both men and women, before appearing before the rest of them. He allows them to spread the word of His resurrection so that they are used to the idea before He lives among them once again. This starts a forty day period where He continues to teach among them before returning to heaven.
Lord, help me to recognize you when I see you and to recognize your path for me when I come across it. May I join you in the resurrection when the time comes. Meanwhile, help me to live in a manner that makes such a reward justified.
Matthew 28:1-6
On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rises from the dead, conquering sin, and preparing a way for all of us to achieve life eternal.
Many people would say that this is what religion is all about: assuaging people's fears about death, reassuring them that they will live on after their bodies pass away and that their suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next. While this is an important, and even climatic, event in Church history, it is not the entirety of our religion. Even after His resurrection, Jesus still continues His teaching on love and compassion. Christianity is about how we live our lives now.
Jesus's resurrection transforms Him enough that His disciples often do not recognize Him when they see Him. While He is physically resurrected, His body is now immune to death and decay, a form that we pray our own bodies will assume in our resurrections from death.
After His death, Jesus meets with several of His disciples, both men and women, before appearing before the rest of them. He allows them to spread the word of His resurrection so that they are used to the idea before He lives among them once again. This starts a forty day period where He continues to teach among them before returning to heaven.
Lord, help me to recognize you when I see you and to recognize your path for me when I come across it. May I join you in the resurrection when the time comes. Meanwhile, help me to live in a manner that makes such a reward justified.
The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven
Luke 24:36-51
Jesus imparts His disciples with His final teachings and then flies into the sky until a cloud hides Him from His disciples' sight. He ascends to heaven to take His place at the right hand of the Father, preparing a way for all of us to follow.
Jesus, in His resurrected form, could have taken command of the world, forcing everyone to love and obey Him. Instead, He shows us the fate that awaits all of us in the hereafter. While our bodies will be returned to us, they will be so in glorified forms that will transcend the human experience.
Rather than remain as the sole focal point of the Church that He created, Jesus leaves His teachings in the hands of His disciples. He trusts in us to make our world a better place. This is an awesome responsibility and one that the disciples originally try to avoid out of fear of persecution.
As there was no real reason for Jesus to fly up into the sky (He had appeared and disappeared even in locked rooms before), I wonder if Jesus decided to ascend into the heavens partially because it was fun to fly. I kind of hope that was the case.
Please Lord, help us to reach you in heaven when our journeys come to an end. May I continue to share the teachings of Jesus and help others come to believe in Him that they too may share in the rewards of peace and everlasting life.
Luke 24:36-51
Jesus imparts His disciples with His final teachings and then flies into the sky until a cloud hides Him from His disciples' sight. He ascends to heaven to take His place at the right hand of the Father, preparing a way for all of us to follow.
Jesus, in His resurrected form, could have taken command of the world, forcing everyone to love and obey Him. Instead, He shows us the fate that awaits all of us in the hereafter. While our bodies will be returned to us, they will be so in glorified forms that will transcend the human experience.
Rather than remain as the sole focal point of the Church that He created, Jesus leaves His teachings in the hands of His disciples. He trusts in us to make our world a better place. This is an awesome responsibility and one that the disciples originally try to avoid out of fear of persecution.
As there was no real reason for Jesus to fly up into the sky (He had appeared and disappeared even in locked rooms before), I wonder if Jesus decided to ascend into the heavens partially because it was fun to fly. I kind of hope that was the case.
Please Lord, help us to reach you in heaven when our journeys come to an end. May I continue to share the teachings of Jesus and help others come to believe in Him that they too may share in the rewards of peace and everlasting life.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-4
Acts 2:1-4
After Jesus's Ascension, the disciples, both men and women, returned to Jerusalem to regroup. There they heard the sound of a rushing wind as the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Tongues of fire appeared above their heads. They went into the streets and everyone, no matter the language, could understand.
This is the birth of our Church. This is moment that the apostles begin to spread the Good News to all people. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they proclaimed the saving message of Jesus despite the persecutions that they would face.
We, too, have been filled with the Holy Spirit and to spread the Gospel so that all people can benefit from its teachings. We, too, have been asked to build God's Church and bring more people into it. We need only to listen to the Holy Spirit as it gives us guidance in all of the things that we do.
Please, Lord, help me listen to the Holy Spirit that has been breathed within me. Let my faith burn with a passion so that all who meet me know of your Love and Compassion. Help guide me to guide others in the ways of your teachings so that, one day, all might lear
The Assumption of the Blessed Mary into Heaven
Judith 13:18-20; 15:10
Mary is assumed, body and soul, into heaven either before her death or shortly after her death. There she joins her son, Jesus, and watches over those of us who remain.
For the most part, the Bible is quiet on what happens to the Mother of God after Pentecost. Only the Book of Revelation speaks of her (12:1-18) where she is in a conflict with Satan (who is in the form of a dragon). No word is given about her death.
While we don't know if she died or not, it is generally accepted that her body is no longer on this earth. Although cults and devotions to Mary started as early as the first century, no relics of hers remain nor has any place claimed to be her final resting place. The tradition of the Assumption is also established very early in Church history, based on several, if varying, accounts from non-Biblical sources.
As an English teacher, I am interested in how the word "assumption" or even "assume" changed in the years following the Protestant reformation. While it originally meant "to take in," questions about the Church's devotion to Mary made the word change into basically mean "to believe without proof." Both definitions still exist for the same word.
May I treat the body which was given to me with the care and reverence that it deserves. May I not make wrong assumptions because of prevailing attitudes in the world or my own fears, but live a life that allows me to join Jesus and Mary in heaven.
Judith 13:18-20; 15:10
Mary is assumed, body and soul, into heaven either before her death or shortly after her death. There she joins her son, Jesus, and watches over those of us who remain.
For the most part, the Bible is quiet on what happens to the Mother of God after Pentecost. Only the Book of Revelation speaks of her (12:1-18) where she is in a conflict with Satan (who is in the form of a dragon). No word is given about her death.
While we don't know if she died or not, it is generally accepted that her body is no longer on this earth. Although cults and devotions to Mary started as early as the first century, no relics of hers remain nor has any place claimed to be her final resting place. The tradition of the Assumption is also established very early in Church history, based on several, if varying, accounts from non-Biblical sources.
As an English teacher, I am interested in how the word "assumption" or even "assume" changed in the years following the Protestant reformation. While it originally meant "to take in," questions about the Church's devotion to Mary made the word change into basically mean "to believe without proof." Both definitions still exist for the same word.
May I treat the body which was given to me with the care and reverence that it deserves. May I not make wrong assumptions because of prevailing attitudes in the world or my own fears, but live a life that allows me to join Jesus and Mary in heaven.
The Coronation of Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth
Revelations 12:1
Mary, as the mother of God, is crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth. She advises the omnipotent and helps bring humanity to heaven. She advocates and supports for all of us, but especially for those who are so often forgotten.
The old joke is that Jesus tells Peter to guard heaven's gate more sternly as heaven is filling too quickly. After a couple of days, Jesus doesn't see any change in the number of new arrivals so he confronts Peter, asking him why he hasn't become more strict in his selection of who can enter. Peter answers, "I've done what you've asked, but you've got to talk to your mom. She's letting everyone in through the back."
While a joke, the above illustrates how Mary provides for us another way to connect to God. Perhaps it's because she is purely human, not God and human like Jesus is, that makes her easier for us to talk to. Perhaps it's because she gives a woman's compassion to the judgement of heaven that makes people appeal to her.
I appreciate how this shows that Jesus does not forget His mother, even in death. God recognizes the role that Mary has played, is playing, and will play in the salvation of the world, and rewards her for it. In a sense, as she is the mother of God, she is also the mother of us all. We are fortunate to have such a devoted advocate for us.
Mary, please continue to watch over us and intercede for us as we make our way to the salvation God has given us. May we recognize the roles that our own mothers have in our lives and show our appreciation to them as Jesus has shown His appreciation to Mary. May we all get a chance to see Mary and be in the presence of her son when this world comes to an end.
Revelations 12:1
Mary, as the mother of God, is crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth. She advises the omnipotent and helps bring humanity to heaven. She advocates and supports for all of us, but especially for those who are so often forgotten.
The old joke is that Jesus tells Peter to guard heaven's gate more sternly as heaven is filling too quickly. After a couple of days, Jesus doesn't see any change in the number of new arrivals so he confronts Peter, asking him why he hasn't become more strict in his selection of who can enter. Peter answers, "I've done what you've asked, but you've got to talk to your mom. She's letting everyone in through the back."
While a joke, the above illustrates how Mary provides for us another way to connect to God. Perhaps it's because she is purely human, not God and human like Jesus is, that makes her easier for us to talk to. Perhaps it's because she gives a woman's compassion to the judgement of heaven that makes people appeal to her.
I appreciate how this shows that Jesus does not forget His mother, even in death. God recognizes the role that Mary has played, is playing, and will play in the salvation of the world, and rewards her for it. In a sense, as she is the mother of God, she is also the mother of us all. We are fortunate to have such a devoted advocate for us.
Mary, please continue to watch over us and intercede for us as we make our way to the salvation God has given us. May we recognize the roles that our own mothers have in our lives and show our appreciation to them as Jesus has shown His appreciation to Mary. May we all get a chance to see Mary and be in the presence of her son when this world comes to an end.
