The Virgin Mary herself in the year 1214 A.D. gifted St. Dominic, and all of us, with the rosary. He and his fellow priests had been preaching against heresy and he believed he was failing to bring the heretics back to the church. In a vision, Mary, accompanied by three angels, asked Dominic, “Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?”
Dominic humbly replied that Mary knew about salvation. Mary responded,
I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.
Mary’s “Psalter” is what we now know as the rosary. Initially “Mary’s Psalter,” or the “Poor Man’s Psalter,” was prayed as a substitution for the Divine Office said by priests. When recited with 15 mysteries, Joyful, Glorious, and Sorrowful, the 15 decades account for 150 Hail Marys, corresponding to the 150 Psalms.
In an Apostolic Letter in 2002, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, St. Pope John Paul II published a new set of themes which he had authored called the Luminous Mysteries.
- The First Luminous Mystery – The Baptism of the Lord
- The Second Luminous Mystery – The Wedding in Cana
- The Third Luminous Mystery – The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the call to conversion
- The Fourth Luminous Mystery – The Transfiguration
- The Fifth Luminous Mystery – The Institution of the Eucharist
JPII made it very clear that he was proposing this as an option and that there was no obligation or duty to use his personal new set of mysteries when praying the rosary.
This is true of all the mysteries of the rosary. None of them has to be recited, none of them has to be stated:
You are always free to pray using any mysteries of the rosary you desire. There is no obligation to do all of them, or to follow them in order, although that is what most people do (Catholic Answers).
So you may use the luminous mysteries if you desire . . . Actually, if you were to examine for example the meditations of St. Louis de Monfort or Bl. Alan de la Roche on the rosary, you would find that they consider many themes beyond the traditional fifteen mysteries. That is why the Church’s indulgences for the rosary do not require any particular mysteries to be used. The Ven. Paul VI, in his letter Marialis Cultus, gives great freedom in which mysteries may be considered in praying the rosary.
Comments by those who choose not to use JPII’s own mysteries are varied:
- The Rosary is a private devotion and there is no church requirement about the mysteries
- They don’t fit as well with the system I use to meditate during the rosary.
- Because they’re not what I grew up with, they’re not traditional.
- This is just another Vatican effort at globalism via creation of a new “tradition” from whole cloth.
- The practical effect in this new neoconservative hyper-papal-personality-cult Catholic ecosystem of the early 2000s was equivalent to an imposition.
- Every old pamphlet or sermon a Saint might have written about the rosary is now obsolete, or needs to have a footnote added or an appendix written by a modern person inserted.
- If you want to reflect on the rosary as you practice it, your only choice is documents 20 years old or less. You should have been able to inherit your great-grandmother’s hand missal and still have it be seamlessly useable. Instead, across the twentieth century, it’s you need a new edition every 15 years.
- When Mary prayed the Rosary with the children at Fatima and with St. Bernadette at Lourdes, she did not use these new mysteries
Only Three “Great” Popes
Church history includes three, only three, popes who have been accorded the unofficial title “Great.” This title is not officially proclaimed, but rather is a description some, and then many, give to a pope to honor his abilities, contributions, and leadership. The three “great” popes are: Pope St. Leo I (440–61 A.D.), Pope St. Gregory I (590–604 A.D.), and Pope St. Nicholas I (858–67 A.D.).
Pope Leo the Great led the church in a time of great upheaval and troubles, and dealt with the barbarian, Attila the Hun.
Pope Gregory I the Great was a leader in developing monasticism and he was celebrated for his writings and pastoral care.
Pope Nicholas I the Great was a staunch upholder of papal authority and resolved many disputes within the Church.
In my opinion, John Paul II achieved many things and provided leadership for many years; but he is not among the “great” popes. My primary reason for this opinion is that I cannot unthink the truth about: his knowledge of the crimes of priest and bishop sexual predators within the clergy such as Marcial Maciel Degollano and Theodore McCarrick; and his ignoring McCarrick’s sexual predations and promoting him while aware of the numerous reports over many years about what he had done.
Although he had been warned in 1999 by then-New York Cardinal John O’Connor about McCarrick’s crimes and that he was widely known to single out seminarians and invite them to sleep with him in the same bed, JPII appointed McCarrick as archbishop of Washington in 2000 and made him a cardinal in 2001.
Unfortunately I cannot erase from my memory the court testimony I have read about McCarrick’s homosexual rapes and other crimes and at the same time recite mysteries authored by the man who not only refused to punish McCarrick, but who also, knowing all that he did, promoted the man to the highest level of responsibility, service and honor in the church.
Yes, John Paul II achieved much but, in my opinion, he is not among the “great” popes.
66 thoughts on “Why I Won’t Use John Paul II’s Luminous Mysteries”
I do all sorts of things with the Rosary on feast days. Like during the Christmas octave, I’ll spend all five decades on the nativity: through the eyes of the shepherds, the angels, Joseph, Mary, and the heart of the Infant; or likewise on the Annunciation: getting the setting in mind, thinking of the the angels (esp Gabriel), the souls in purgatory, the astonishment of Mary, and then her joy. Many other feasts as well, especially when the mysteries of the day don’t correspond to the event we’re celebrating. The Rosary is meant to be 15-20 minutes of meditation on salvation history—no need to be slavish in a private devotion.
John Paul II kissed the Koran — not as a child or a layman, but as a pope. Imagine what that must have done to Christians in the Middle East who have been suffering for centuries for their refusal to take the easy way out and convert to Islam. This was not a sin of omission, it was a sin of commission.
That doesn’t prevent him from being a saint, but it does prevent him from being numbered among the likes of Pope St. Leo the Great, Pope St. Gregory the Great, and Pope St. Nicholas the Great. Can you imagine any of them kissing the writings of Arius?
Hang in there, Guy, most of these petty responders have way too much time on their hands and beams in the eyes.
Dear-AOP, TY.
And thank you to everyone who read this article; and to those who added a Comment, I am particularly grateful and appreciative for you all taking the time to think, read and respond. God bless all in this house. Guy, Texas
Catholics are not required by the Church to pray the Rosary nor to stick to certain Mysteries when they do.
I disagree *strongly* with your estimation of St. John Paul. He was indeed a great pope – and a great priest and man. He stood up for the teaching of the Church and courageously stood up to Naziism and Communism – and often did it alone, always with great courage and joy. He taught us well and led us well. Many of our current parish priests find him a terrific role model. I am also friends with a young man in the seminary – who was named for St. John Paul and who was born on the day John Paul died – who has a great devotion to him and who is modeling his future ministry on St. John Paul.
For myself, I happily pray all the Mysteries of the Rosary on the days recommended – Joyful on Mondays and Saturdays, Sorrowful on Tuesdays and Fridays, Glorious on Sundays and Wednesdays, and Luminous on Thursdays. I find the Luminous Mysteries especially helpful in praying for priests and seminarians because they highlight some of the duties of priests and the Sacraments – Baptism, Marriage, the Proclamation of the Gospel, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist.
The Rosary was not something ordained by Jesus. It was given to us by Mary, who, as she always does, leads us to Jesus. I do not see that any of the Luminous Mysteries leads us away from Jesus nor that they are any less holy than any of the other Mysteries.
If the author or anyone else prefers not to use the beautiful Luminous Mysteries – given to us by a canonized saint, just as the others were – that is simply a personal preference. If I and others find the Luminous helpful in our spiritual life – just as the other Mysteries or devotions such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet may be – don’t throw stones.
True … However, the Blessed Virgin *HAS*, in many approved apparitions, quite strongly recommended the Rosary. Honestly, it’s one of the things I look for in any purported apparition. She should say:
1. Stop sinning and seek the sacrament of Confession.
2. Pray for other sinners besides yourself.
3. Pray the Rosary.
That’s just about all She EVER says. It. Is. Enough.
So in effect you are standing in judgement of JPII.
With respect, I disagree that St. Pope John Paul II was not a great Pope.
St. Lucia of Fatima categorically stated that it was his Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that prevented World War III, which was due to occur in 1985. The Consecration was not done after the Fatima Apparitions in 1917 for a variety of reasons, and Lucia stated that the attempted assassination attempt on St. Pope John Paul II earlier was allowed by God to remove him from his daily duties and concentrate on the Consecration. Russia was convinced that the U.S. was about to pre-emptively strike them, and plans were in motion to hit us first. They were all set to do so, when a soldier accidentally tossed a lit cigarette where he shouldn’t have, and that action created a fire intense enough to prevent them launching their missiles against us.
Rest in Peace St. Pope John Paul II ! !
True
Indeed Deborah, the St Michael Prayer is VERY powerful. I pray it every day after my Rosary. The ‘legalism’ in this article is astounding. Our Lord nor His Blessed Mother will frown upon praying his Gospel upon which the Luminous Mysteries are a part of. And who knows what JP11 actually KNEW about McCarrick or what he really didn’t. He was surrounded by Demons in Miters even back then. Too trusting? Maybe. But KNOWINGLY promoting yet another Demon? I don’t think so.
Uh huh. But anyone with any sense can add additional mysteries.
1. The mystery of the feeding of multitudes.
2. The mystery of the healing of the lame.
3. The mystery of the healing of the blind.
4. The mystery of the casting out of demons.
5. The mystery of the raising of the dead.
Or, if you like:
1. The mystery of the promise to Adam.
2. The mystery of the promise to Abraham.
3. The mystery of the promise to Moses.
4. The mystery of the promise to David.
5. The mystery of the promise to Solomon.
Anyone can come up with similar mysteries.
Look, I might not have converted to the Catholic Church if Francis had been Pope then instead of John Paul II, for which I am grateful both to God and to John Paul II. HOWEVER, that doesn’t really mean that John Paul II was one of the greatest saints ever. I’m not that important. ARE YOU? Are you assuming that because he was important in your youth, and you “clearly” are one of the most important saints ever, John Paul II is also one of the greatest Popes ever? If you think the answer is yes … you might want to carefully reconsider.
I should probably have worked in the promise to Noah. Either way….
In an age when all the Sacraments are SOOOo neglected these mysteries encourage us to beg heaven for Light for those in darkness so that Catholics become Sacramental people once again. Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Annointing of the sick, Marriage, Priesthood and especially the Holy Eucharist it’s all there in these mysteries . I don’t know how anyone could say they shouldn’t be prayed
I fully and heartily agree with you!
I only pray the Joyful mysteries and I do so every day. Sometimes I feel like it might be wrong not to pray the Sorrowful and the Glorious mysteries but I love the Joyful mysteries and it makes me feel close to Mary and Joseph.
I’m a simpleton who doesnt always read the cumbersome Bible, however I’ve always considered my Rosary the cliff notes. So the addition of important moments of Jesus’ life through the use of the luminous mysteries I thought was a pretty good idea. I like it.
Try reading the Bible online. You won’t find THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD so cumbersome that way. By the way, the Holy Rosary is a tremendous devotion. But the ScripturesJohn as stated above are Divinely revealed; the Rosary isn’t.
I do pray the Luminous Mysteries but always felt a little unease for this reason:
If I pray with the Church, each day of the week is assigned a different set of mysteries, which meant that the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries were recited at least twice per week. If you said the Luminous mysteries on Thursday, the Joyful mysteries, which largely involved The Blessed Mother, were only recited once.
Traditionally, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed on Sundays and Wednesdays, the Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Mondays and Saturdays, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the Luminous Mysteries are prayed on Thursdays. All sets of Mysteries are prayed twice during the week, *except* the Luminous Mysteries. There is no reason to feel unease. But if you do, pray *all* the Mysteries – 4 Rosaries – every day.
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I’m sorry you can’t meditate upon the luminous mysteries without thoughts of sex perversion. Perhaps this is Satan tempting you and the cure is doubling down on your prayer.
Exactly.
I agree with the other comments here that this essay took a wild turn from the original subject and seemed intent on bashing St. JPII. I believe there are is valid skepticism around your claim that he absolutely knew the depth and gravity of McCarrick‘s crimes.
This essay also lost credibility when Pope Saint Paul VI was referred to as “venerable”. He was canonized in 2018.
Thank you – I fully agree, and you said it so much better than I.
I don’t pray them because the Rosary was given to us by the Blessed Virgin Mary. She had her reasons for giving us the three sets of mysteries that she asked us to pray – Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious. The true “Holy Mother Church” would never attempt to correct or improve on the teachings of Mary or Jesus.
Putting your humanly ideas ahead of the His is why Jesus condemned the Pharisees.
Yes but Jesus gave authority to “ Peter “ what ever was bound on earth was bound in heaven. Personally it’s a joy to meditate on these mysteries especially the Holy Eucharist.
Exactly how I have felt. A person cannot, should not try to add, correct, edit…anything our Holy Mother Mary says and/or gives to us. We can pray whatever we want but not add on to Her words.
This guy needs his head examined! I love contemplating the luminous mysteries! It’s more contemplation of Jesus’ life! Sounds good to me and St. John Paul II the Great!!!!!!!!!
Me too, especially the Institution of the Eucharist.
Yes. *Anything* that leads us to Jesus is a holy and worthy thing, and the Luminous Mysteries most certainly do so.
The criticism of St. John Paul was also *WAY* out of line.
Pope John Paul 11 was declared a Saint because of his holiness and leadership in a world that was and still is in great chaos . He lived through an assassination attempt on his life and forgave the man who tried to kill him . He wrote about the culture of death and he was opposed to all wars . He travelled over the whole world visiting all the countries bringing the message of Christ love and forgiveness . He brought into being the devotion of St Faustina and the Divine Mercy. He created Divine Mercy Sunday after Easter . Gods Mercy is the whole message . He suffered terribly and yet never handed over the papacy to any other person . He died as a true follower of Jesus Christ and was declared a saint within a very short period of time .
He was and still is in eternity a living example of Jesus Christ . We are blessed to have lived during his papacy !
Preach it, sister! I fully agree!
Sounds like a Pharisese attitude of those Latin Rite folks. Very negative and hateful. What a way to show your disunity to Holy Mother Church and to bash a saint in Heaven….oh, by the way, he deserves the rank of “Great” because of he is the Holy Slave of Mary and helped her to bring down kommunism. He gave a big yes to her and God’s plan. He is “Mary’s Pope”
Shame on you for your ignorance! …and as for the Lumnous Mysteries…your the one missing out!
Your comment is spot on. There is *nothing* unworthy about praying the Luminous Mysteries – or any other set of Mysteries. And the disrespect and criticism of St. John Paul is despicable.
What a way to sneak in an attack on “those Latin rite folks”. Who is being divisive and hateful here?
.
Truly a banal and pointless essay to just bash St. JPII – who’s a saint by the way, so the Church investigated every aspect of JPII’s life and so your comments about him and immoral priests and bps and cardinals is not the whole story. The luminous mysteries are beautiful and connect the joyful and sorrowful mysteries… but this guy thinks he is smarter than the Church.
Thank you, Father, for your clear defense of the Luminous Mysteries and St. John Paul.
Perhaps you, like my good pastor and a young man of our parish who is currently in his 2nd year of seminary, find St. John Paul a very worthy example of priestly joy, optimism, and holiness. That alone – not to mention our good St. John Paul’s courageous defense of the Church in the face of Naziism, Communism, secularism, and personal insults – renders the author’s credibility nil in my opinion.
I don’t pray the luminous mysteries. Why? Well, why should I? The original 3 (150 Hail Marys corresponding to for Mary’s Psalter) had been around for centuries. Yes, the mysteries were tweaked and finely tuned throughout those years, which led to be perfectly grounded. OTOH, some modern pope just willy-nilly decides to add in a whole new set. Okay…
Besides, in 2002, Pope JPII’s health was in drastic decline. He was surrounded by very BAD advisors, whom he seemed to trust WAYYYY too much. What sort of things were they pushing in front of his face to sign? Making McCarrick a cardinal?
I imagine the Boomer fascination of the LM stems from having an over-the-top fascination with Pope JPII.
No one is stopping/forcing anyone to stop using the luminous mysteries. But I do support other people who won’t use Pope JPII’s addition.
PS. I wouldn’t use the LM even if Pope Benedict XVI introduced them.
How unfortunate that you see the Luminous Mysteries – which, like the other Mysteries of the Rosary, lead us to Jesus and were given to us by a canonized saint with a tremendous devotion to Jesus and Mary – as somehow unworthy.
*No* saint was perfect every day of his or her life. *All* saints, however, asked God for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession and started over and kept trying to please God every day. And St. John Paul is exactly such a holy saint.
JPII is canonized, I think that speaks volumes about his gift to the Church, including the Luminous Mysteries. Saint John Paul pray for us!
So you don’t like the luminous mysteries? Okay, fine. That is your prerogative; no one is forcing you as you point out. And this somehow leads to your indictment of Pope St. John Paul II. I’m not sure the purpose of this essay.
Agreed.
Why give up another source of grace?
Just because you didn’t like/approve of St JP2 doesn’t mean you know his intentions.
Pray the rosary as you like but don’t include the ‘extra’ prayers added throughout the centuries since they were given to St Dominic.
You’re not giving up “another source of grace” by not praying the LM and instead using a traditional one.
Thank you – I feel exactly the same.
JPII, greatest Pope since Peter!!
The Luminous Mysteries are my favorite because of the emphasis on the Eucharist, the Wedding Feast at Cana, Christ’s first miracle and the last mystery, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. This last mystery brings to light the whole emphasis of our faith, the source and summit of our faith. How can you not love this? Beyond me
Exactly. I truly love The Institution of the Eucharist the best. It brings me so much joy when I get to that decade. The author here seems to be very judgmental as well.
Very well stated. This is exactly how I feel about the Luminous Mysteries, which serve to focus us on Jesus and His ministry. They give me great peace and joy.
The Holy Rosary is a meditation on the life of Christ, and it is no coincidence that the Luminous Mysteries were given to the Church in a day and age where marriage and the family and the faith is under assault like in no other age. Hence these meditations on the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, Jesus giving a glimpse if His divinity in the Transfiguration, and the ultimate sacrament of the institution of the Mass and the Most Holy Eucharist are another arsenal in the battle against the fierce forces of evil.
I’m anfraid this article is a very good example of the pharisaical mentality that has always plagued the Church. Simply read the gospels and look carefully at how those who thought they were so close to God who were sooo religious, were the ones that disobeyed and crucified Christ. Behind it all is the devil who whispers division in the Church.
You stated my feelings very clearly and well. Why on earth would *anyone* criticize the Luminous Mysteries, which not only defend the Holy Sacraments and Catholic marriage and family, but also the holy ministry of our beloved parish priests?
The Pope Is considered infallible when it comes to prayers. Pope Leo Xlll had a vision and wrote the Prayer to St. Michael the ArchAngel.
Please site source where Pope is infallible in terms of prayer. Thanks!