Lightly edited on Sept. 20, 2020, for clarity. Thanks for reading!
The famous (or infamous) Mysteries of Light, the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. Love them? Hate them? Never heard of them? They’re at the center of many heated arguments, both on the web and other places. In this brief post we’ll look at the arguments I’ve personally heard most often for not praying them, and then the argument I find most convincing for praying them. Near the end of this post, the video of an episode of EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, with guest Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, discussing his book, 10 Wonders of the Rosary. (See note 1 below at the end of this post).
The four most common reasons I hear from friends who refuse to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary:
- They weren’t in the original Rosary.
- If Mary had wanted us to have them, she would have given them to us then.
- I don’t want anything to do with Vatican II and its errors.
- I’m used to praying the traditional three sets of mysteries and four would disturb my rhythm. I don’t like this change.
They weren’t in the original Rosary.
Now, I did some research on the Rosary when I first became interested in the Church, and I discovered that the Rosary had been through quite a bit of development over the centuries. But the original Rosary is not the Rosary we have now. The standard fifteen mysteries, in three sets of five, were not established by Pope Pius V until the sixteenth century. So apparently that change and development was acceptable, but other ones are not or, at least, this one isn’t. I find the argument “not in the orginal Rosary” to be not very convincing.
If Mary had wanted us to have them, she would have given them to us then.
The Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared in many places and times to many different people, and her messages are meant for the people of those places and times. This is not to say that her messages do not have continuing relevance. They certainly do! Think of Fatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe, and more. That would seem obvious. But it seems equally obvious to me that the Blessed Mother comes to give a message that has special importance to the place and time in which she appears, perhaps even more importance to the time than the place. Otherwise she could simply have appeared one time, relayed her message and that could have been that. All done.
But that isn’t what happened. She has appeared and appeared, with messages that are similar but not exactly the same. In his discussion with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Fr. Donald tells us that in the time of St. Dominic the Albigensians were attacking certain teachings and truths of the faith, and the Blessed Mother gave the saint a way to reach their misguided hearts and minds to bring them back to the Church. More on this at the end of the post. (Tracing the history of the development of the Rosary is far beyond the scope of this simple blog post, but there are books out there, and probably web articles, too, that do cover it. Perhaps I’ll write more about that another time.)
By the way, the Luminous Mysteries were not invented by Pope St. John Paul II, either before or after Vatican II. They were proposed in 1957 by Fr. George Preca (now St. George Preca) and shared with his Society of Christian Doctrine. Later they became known outside the Society and spread further on the internet. What Pope St. John Paul II did was to propose these same mysteries to the universal Church. I remember reading the Pope’s letter on the Rosary when it was released in English as soon as I could get hold of a copy. The idea of meditating on the public life of Jesus—which is what the Luminous Mysteries present to us—was one I found to be inspiring and inspired.
I’m used to praying the traditional three sets of mysteries and four would disturb my rhythm. I don’t like this change.
This seems to me to be the most convincingly honest argument for not accepting the Luminous Mysteries. Put simply, it amounts to: “It messes up my rhythm” and “I don’t wanna.” Fine. They’re not mandatory.
EWTN Live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, guest Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, discussing Fr Calloway’s book, 10 Wonders of the Rosary. At 22:39 Fr Mitch asks Fr Donald about the Luminous Mysteries and why they matter, and why he included them. He says that the Luminous Mysteries have particular significance for our day and time when certain teachings and truths of the faith are under attack, but not the same ones that were attacked by the Albigensians. This is not to say that there are no attacks today on the same teachings as back then, but there is a very significant attack today on these particular ones.
These are the proposed Luminous Mysteries because these are the Catholic truths of the faith that are being denied at this time.
- 1st Luminous Mystery: the Baptism,
- 2nd Luminous Mystery: the Wedding at Cana,
- 3rd Luminous Mystery: the Proclamation of the Gospel,
- 4th Luminous Mystery: the Transfiguration, and
- 5th Luminous Mystery: the Institution of the Eucharist.
What is being attacked?
- Baptism: People are not baptizing their children today. Also, there are those (mostly non-Catholics) who deny not only that baptism is necessary but that it is also truly regenerative. (I don’t mean that God can’t work without baptism, I mean that baptism is necessary in the ordinary way of salvation. It’s the way things normally work.)
- Wedding at Cana: Marriage, between one man and one woman. And so many children are born to parents who are not married to each other (or to anyone). This is an attack on the family. Praying this Mystery makes reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
- Proclaiming the Gospel: Evangelization and the call to conversion, and the universal call to holiness. People are either afraid to talk about the Gospel or don’t see any need to. Religious indifferentism is a big problem now. “All religions are the same” nonsense. Study religions more than superficially and you cannot help but see how different they are. “All you need to do is to be good.” No, that isn’t all you need to do. Not by a long shot. (See note 2 below.)
- Transfiguration: Jesus is God (God the Son) and not just another ascended master. He’s not a mere man or a man like the Buddha or Mohammed or any other prophet or teacher. He is Divine, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity.
- The Eucharist: How many Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist? According to recent polls, for what they’re worth, a staggering number, as many as two thirds do not believe that Jesus is really present under the form of bread and wine in the Eucharist. And as many as twenty-five percent do not attend Mass on Sundays. Further, and this is probably related, most Catholics do not even know what the Church teahces about the Eucharist. (Or, I’d go so far as to say, about anything else!) This was discussed in the video, but I also found a relevant Pew Research poll that came out just a few days ago. (See note 3 below.)
Much more can be said about all of this, but these are the main points I felt it important to present right now. I’ll write more about it as my thinking on it develops. Thank you for reading. God bless you, whoever and wherever you are. And may His peace be always with you.
St. Dominic, champion of the Rosary, pray for us and for our world, so much in need of Catholic truth, so much in need of His grace.
St. Dominic’s Feast day: August 8.
Links
- 10 Wonders of the Rosary, by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC: Paperback. Kindle. (Amazon affiliate links. See Full Disclosure below.)
- Don’t get me started, I have written about that before and will be writing more as I continue my study on the new-age-theosophical-secularist movement that has swept through the modern word, primarily in the West and, primarily, in the Anglosphere, the English-speaking, Protestantized West.
- Pew Research poll about Catholics and the Real Presence in the Eucharist. How Protestantized and secularized even Catholics in the U.S. have become. Dear Lord, forgive us, many do not know what they are doing and surely do not know what the Church teaches and has always taught.
Image: The Baptism of Christ, by Antoine Coypel. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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Catholic Heart and Mind 
I find it annoying when it is stated that the rosary is 20 decades. The Luminous mysteries are a choice. The rosary is still 15 decades with the additional 5 as a choice.
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This is a subject that comes up from time to time on the blog and on Twitter and elsewhere. The thing is, the Rosary has been different things at different times. One could accept only the early 150 Psalms, the later 150 Pater Nosters or 50 Aves, or any of the other versions that Catholics have used over the centuries. The form of 15 Mysteries and the prayers themselves only came about over time and were arranged in the form we recognize now in the 1500s. Several popes participated in arranging or adding to the prayers. Our Lady of Fatima added some things, too, though there are people who don’t say any of those prayers in the Rosary because they say they weren’t “original to it” but I can’t see that that objection makes any sense, given the history of the Rosary. It seems somewhat arbitrary. If one wants to say only the 15, then by all means, that’s certainly fine. If somebody wants to say the 20, then by all means, that’s certainly fine, too. They’re all on the blog for anyone wants to use them. If one prefers to think of them as 15 plus 5, well, that’s fine, too.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Marian. I appreciate it. I hope you find the Rosary here helpful, whichever form you prefer. Peace be with you.
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Thank you for your reply.
I have no problem with the Luminous Mysteries.
My argument is that the quantity of mysteries in the rosary are now referred to as 20. The Luminous were introduced as a choice. This is never referred to in any modern rosary prayer book. The indulgences for the rosary are still applicable to the 15 mysteries.
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I’ve linked an article below and I think you’ll find it interesting, perhaps even enlightening.
https://wdtprs.com/2022/11/ask-father-can-you-gain-an-indulgence-by-reciting-the-rosary-with-the-luminous-mysteries/
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I don’t want anything to do with Vatican II and its errors. By not giving any comments on the third reason, doesn’t this imply that Vatican II intends to change Mary’s image as the One, True and Origin of the Original Mysteries? Could she have missed anything as the perfect Mother of God? How could then she be made perfect?
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+JMJ+ Hi, Art. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I have to say, I don’t follow your logic here. Did Mary say everything she had to say the very first time she spoke and every time after that in the approved apparitions? Apparently not. Things unfold in time. Perhaps she relays what she is given by the Lord to relay when He gives it to her to relay it, that’s one way of looking at it.
Another way of looking at it is that our understanding unfolds over time, so the Lord gives her a message for us at one time, and one we need at another time, at another time. These messages do not contradict, but are for different times. Each age has its own problems and distortions and needs. The Luminous Mysteries look to me to be tailor-made for such a time as ours, as I think I pointed out in the post.
I don’t see how any of that points to any lack on the part of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I also don’t think of the Blessed Virgin as the One True Origin of the Original Mysteries and I’m not sure she would like that idea, either. Her whole message in the Scriptures consists of the words, “Do whatever He tells you,” and that remains her message down through the centuries, along with some other things that help us do what He tells us.
If some people choose to put limits on what the Lord can tell her He wants her to say, then that’s on them.
As for Vatican II and its errors, I didn’t have a secret meaning in skipping it, I just got ahead of myself and forgot to answer it. There are things in Vatican II that probably got put in, or were worded in a certain way, because of the nature of the beast named “committee” and that’s sadly the way it goes, even in the Church. But I don’t feel qualified to say much more about that. I’m making a study of it, while I study a whole lot of other things, so it’s more of an ongoing thing, and not something I’ll be able to answer in any depth any time soon. I listed it because it is something I hear a lot when people reject the Luminous Mysteries.
Thanks again, Art, for reading and commenting. I don’t know if I answered you the way you wanted me to answer, but that’s all I’ve got right now.
Yours in Christ,
Lee +JMJ+
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Thank you for this post. I love Saint John Paul, I think you’ve explained the Luminous Mystery beautifully and clear. Yes, these are the common mistakes of Mankind today and praying the Luminous Mystery is just as essential.
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Thank you, Trinh, for the kind words! I’m glad my points were made clearly and understood. That’s always a good thing for a blogger to hear, though I did edit it a little after re-reading it tonight. :) I love the entire Rosary, all 4 sets of Mysteries and the Luminous Mysteries are just that to me: Luminous. Filled with Light.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Trinh. God bless you and yours. :)
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A good post on this topic. I have mixed feelings about the luminous mysteries. I am one of those that you mention in your article that don’t care for much of anything after Vatican 2. In short, it did WAY MORE damage than good. And it’s changes have almost single handedly destroyed Catholic worship, faith and culture in the USA. But.. back to the luminous mysteries. One problem with them,is that it’s not been explained or firmly resolved upon what the real “fruits” of this decade are supposed to be The Vatican has not made a firm rule on this. And that is a key point. If you don’t know what they are, then you can’t incorporate them into your life. For example. When Mary gives birth in the stable. The fruit of that mystery is both a real contempt of the world and a love for poverty. Now that is something we can all understand and embrace. A well as make a part of our life. So, i sometimes will say the luminous mysteries, but often will not. And i go back to the pre Vatican 2 rosary. But include the additions from Saint Faustina like the Hail Holy Queen.
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Greetings, Mr. Paul! Thanks for reading and taking time to comment, I appreciate it.
As to the Luminous Mysteries and the fruits: Surely the faithful have meditated on the Mysteries of Scripture for thousands of years without being told the specific fruits of the Mysteries. Careful reading, meditation and observation would reveal at least some fruits. I have seen and have heard people mention the fruits of the other Mysteries, and sometimes they differ from the ones I use. It might be possible to benefit from more than one fruit during one’s ongoing meditations. Sometimes, especially when I can’t remember the “official” fruit, I reflect on the Mystery and see what I can come up with myself. I ask the Lord to show me. And He does. :)
But, really, if one doesn’t want to pray the Luminous Mysteries, then one does not have to. And one can just come right flat out and say so. I don’t expect the earth to open up and swallow anyone over it. :)
Thanks again, Mr. Paul. I do hope you’ll visit the blog again, and read and comment. Hopefully I’ll have a new post up soon-ish. God bless! Peace be with you. ❤️🙏
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