Weekend Masses

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The mysteries of light (the luminous mysteries) .were added to the Rosary by St John Paul II. As I pray them they flow from the Joyful Mysteries with ease. They shed light on the life of Christ. They are taken from the Gospels. They are the events of his life, starting with the baptism in the Jordan River. Jesus asks John to baptize him and the words from heaven are heard “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” The journey begins. The second mystery The wedding Feast at Cana. Jesus fulfills His mother’s request and saves a young married couple from embarrassment. The third mystery is the proclamation of the kingdom. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus uses the words of the Prophet Isaiah to proclaim what His ministry is about “the lord has appointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted” The fourth mystery is the Transfiguration. Jesus and some of His apostles go up the mountain and he is transformed and is seen talking with Moses and Elijah. His apostles see his Glory. Peter says “let us build three tents…” They are being prepared for the events that lie ahead, His passion His death and Resurrection. The final part of the journey of salvation has begun. The fifth mystery is The Eucharist. As we hear every time we go to Mass “On the night he was betrayed…” At the Last supper, that final meal Jesus shared with his disciples he tells them to do this in remembrance of me. He gives them his body and blood as food for the journey as John tells us in Chapter six “unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of his blood you cannot have life in me” As we meditate on these mysteries we once again are reflecting on the life of Jesus as seen in the Gospels. It might be a good practice to look up all these events in the gospel to read about them and above all to pray them as we journey together in faith. Pray for me as I pray for you, Fr Karl

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Joyful mysteries of the rosary begin with the Annunciation. “The Angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph and the virgin’s name was Mary” You have a young woman probably preparing for an arranged marriage negotiated on her behalf by her parents and on to that scene comes a messenger Gabriel. It must have been terrifying even for one who knew the scriptures. Mary‘s reaction in the turmoil seems calm and her responses and actions are also very calm and deliberate. She reaches out to the one person who will understand, her cousin Elizabeth. Together the two women can reflect on what is happening while helping each other. As we read on in this account the makeup of the rosary is here. We have the words of the prayer we use in every decade The Hail Mary. . It’s all here in the opening verses of the Gospel. From the very beginnings the prayer it is scripturally based. We are praying about the life of Christ. We announce the event, we use prayers that come from the gospels and as we pray them we reflect on the event. The third mystery of the joyful mysteries is the Nativity the birth of Christ and the angels proclaim Glory to God in the highest and we say after every decade Glory be to the Father the.. And then we announce and we pray the prayer Jesus gave us. The fourth decade Jesus is presented according to Jewish custom in the temple. Joseph and Mary are not wealthy people so the offering again according to custom is the doves. The final decade of the Joyful mysteries is the finding of the child Jesus in the temple. You could call this Mystery a reflection on Jesus’s teenage years. He is becoming aware of Himself as God and Man realizing what his work is about and his “rebellion” is to stay behind in the temple beginning the work of His Father, but as a true teenage boy he does not realize the pain and suffering it will cause Joseph and Mary. He is doing his thing and that’s what is important and real to him at that moment in time. As we pray we journey with Jesus and we reflect on his life and how we can learn more and understand that this person is real God and Man. He had a life, he struggled, he rebelled he lived and as we pray the rosary we journey through the events that are our salvation history and that continue to give us life and lead us to God. Let us continue the journey. Pray for me as I pray for you. Fr Karl