I am afraid I never got into the Luminous Mysteries , they were before my time. Actually I had even forgotten the original 15 mysteries , but Our Lady reminded me of them. She never mentioned the luminous. But then at that time few people knew about them; I certainly did not. I would say anyone who meditates on the 15 will eventually come to know their Faith very,very well. They are such great teachers.
I never misunderestimate infused Wisdom. Time and time again we read of saints with little or no education at all who have a depth that astounds great theologians. St Bernadette Soubirous and St Joan of Arc are two good examples. They got things straight from the horses mouth so to speak. It reminds me of the child Jesus teaching the learned Rabbi's in the Temple.
All prayer is mystical , by its very nature. If it were not so it would not be prayer. Not all prayer however involves perceptual mystical phenomena however. I have found that I understood mystical writers like St Teresa of Avila when going through the type of prayer she writes about. Otherwise it had me scratching my head a little. Pope St John Paul did his Doctoral thesis on St John of the Cross and was taught the rosary and the wisdom of the Spiritual Life by a little tailor in Kracow who happened to be a saint, very much in the Carmelite mystical tradition. From what I understand of his life I would say he was a Great Mystic. http://www.faith.org.uk/article/march-april-2014-the-tailor-mystic-who-inspired-a-pope
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary are my favorite. Thank you St. John Paul for this gift. They so apply to our time of the great apostasy: The Baptism of Jesus. So many today are not even getting baptized, but they will so easily take on the mark of the beast when he comes. So I pray for those who have not been baptized, those who have been baptized and lost their faith and for those who have been baptized and who are fighting to get to heaven in this mystery. The Wedding at Cana. Marriage is being attacked, as Sister Lucia said would take place, as the last battle between Satan and God. We see this sacrament being front and center splitting the Church and coming from the highest offices within the Church, as it tries to usurp God's 6th commandment. Marriage is no longer an option for many millennial's who choose to co-habitat in sin. The preaching of the kingdom. We are in the final battle between heaven and hell for souls. We must pray for God's kingdom to come on earth, where his will shall be done as it is in heaven. This temporal kingdom is at hand and will come after the great purification. More than ever this prayer is essential for our moment in time. The Transfiguration. Peter, James and John receiving a glimpse of the divinity of Jesus as the Father shows his son illumined in a great light in the presence of Moses and Elijah. This is the hope of all saints to be in the beauty of the Holy Trinity in heaven for all eternity. The institution of the Holy Eucharist. The greatest gift of God for the Church Militant on earth, essential for our journey through life and its many crosses. It is only through the Eucharist the world has survived to this point and it will be our only survival in the tribulation going forward as many prophets have indicated that we will receive Eucharist from the angels, as bread was given to the Israelite's from heaven during their exile.
Our one need Great need in the Spiritual Life is prayer. With it we shall most certainly be saved. Without it we shall most certainly be damned. (as the Cathechism of the Catholic Church points out echoing the Doctor of the Church St Alphonus Ligouri). 2732 The most common yet most hidden temptation is our lack of faith. .... Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned.40. The very first duty of the Christian is to save their soul. If we do not do this then all else in our lives are lost. If we do not walk the path to heaven through prayer we will save no one else. If we run the path to hell it is very likely that we will drag others to the pit of hell to join us. If we ask why a soul was brought to heaven we can answer very simply; 'It is because they prayed'. If we are asked why such and such a soul wound up in hell, we can answer , equally simply, 'It is because they never prayed'. All else in the spiritual life flows to prayer, all else flows from it. It is the very life and light switch of the soul. With it we can through grace accomplish nothing, without it we can accomplish nothing and shall be lost. When we turn on this light switch our souls are filled with Light and the Warmth of Love. When we turn of this Light Switch of Prayer we are plunged into the very Darkness of Hell itself. We do not have to wait for hell at death, we are already in it. Whereas if we pray we already bathe in the Joys of Heaven here on Earth. John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta was one time asked about her work for the poor in and destitute in Calcutta and she pointed out that she was not a Social Worker. The apostolic work that she and the other sisters and brothers carried out stemmed from her prayer and spiritual life. Non Christians find this impossible to comprehend . That prayer is the centre and the all of the Christian, especially the Catholic Life, all else stems from this. For prayer is off the Spirit of God and is the total antithesis of the spirit of this world. The way of prayer is hidden and secret. It thrives in anonymity. It does not break the bruised reed. It glows n darkness. It is gentle , is fertilised by the Blood of the Cross. Just so the Sacraments. The Eucharist a piece of Bread. The Blood of God a gulp of wine. Baptism a sprinkling of Water. 1 Corinthians 2:12 Spiritual Wisdom …11For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.…
So that the Spiritual Person judges all things spiritually. She is like the fish in the sea that dives deeply into the darkness of the Waters of Life. She wishes always to dive deeply into the hidden heart of the Darkness of God alone with the alone. Realising fully that God became Man and died on the Cross that Man might become God. Her one love His Cross. 1 Corinthians 2:14 Spiritual Wisdom …13And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.…
So in prayer we are like the salmon that is constantly swimming upriver for all that we are and all that we do goes constantly against the Spirit of this world. But the deeper we swim in the waters of the Spirit of God, knowing a Peace and a Joy that the world cannot give and causing us, again like the the Salmon to leap at times with joy.
Until very recently I thought that Pope John Paul II had composed these mysteries but apparently he merely gave his approval to them. They were apparently composed by Malta's only saint Gorg Preca who died in 1962. It is odd that the Maltese bishops have been so quick to attack the Sacraments of Marriage and the Eucharist when these mysteries, composed by a Maltese priest, invite us to consider both Sacraments. I don't usually use these mysteries but will do so in future in view of the attack on the Sacraments.
Thank you for your kind thoughts. I needed them tonight. I have been feeling sad today about some of the young ones in work who tell me they do not believe in God. To me they seem to live such very sad lives. They do not have to wait till the Judgement Seat to experience the sadness of being separated from God. Their hell is now in a way. I love sinners very , very much having touched the bottom myself I would like to see others rise up from the bog to prayer. My hope is what many of you hope , that the Illumination of Conscience comes to help them. Such ,sad, sad, sad times we live in. Some of these young people were brought up in Catholic homes, too. Sad, sad, sad, so very,very sad. If I feel so sad sad about it what must their Heavenly Mother feel? I must pray more.
I was going home on the train yesterday a really beautiful summers day. Part of the journey takes us over the River Lagan were you get the most beautiful view of the river and its surroundings for a miles. I suddenly realised I was using my smart phone and missing everything, like so many on the train. This kind of threw me as I thought I was good with smart phones, mostly using it to post religious and spiritual stuff on face book. Plus I thought I was too old and new to smart phones to be addicted. I see now I am a little. Habit ,really. Often I think it is our Angel Guardians tapping us on the shoulder and pointing these things out. It makes me sad seeing people always with face book, especially parents with their children and lovers. People walking in really beautiful parks, heads down. In order to pray, really pray deeply we have to make time for it and we already have so very little time. Looking back on it , it was such a blessing having spent those years in a Monastery and in prison , especially in solitary confinement. But it is such a struggle finding time in a busy day to set time apart. Thank God I have no TV at least. There is an old saying, 'If you want something done ask a busy person!' I think that is true of prayer too. The more you pray the more you find time to pray. Going over to mass in the hospital chapel everyday is such a big help. Walking the dogs in the early morning and at night a huge help. Spending time praying and writing on the forum a big help. Praying in bed through the night when I wake up a big help . But I have to make time for it. It doesn't just happen. You have to make it happen. One thing I loved my last time camping was sitting by the lake in the forest and just looking and praying. There is time. We have our whole life. But we have to give certain things up or restrict them. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...al-story-behind-the-kids-on-phones-photo.html
Thank you so much for these beautiful posts Padraig. This thread is what makes MOG forum so unique in the whole wide world.
I was going into mass on Saturday when I met a gentleman I knew for years ago, a prosperous buisnessman. When I knew him back then he was grossly materialistic , violent, very dishonest and although married carried on with so many affaires it would make your head swim. In other words he was just about as far from God as you could possibly imagine. The only thing I would say about him is he was very likeable. He reminded me a lot in his lifestyle of Tony Soprano. Someone told me a year or two ago that he had converted and was living a very good Catholic life. I was astonished, to be honest. But there he was , large as life and you could just see the change in him, so happy and relaxed , spiritual and really good to talk to. His daughter has become a Dominican nun and is teaching in the States. . I admit to being dumbfounded. I went into mass utterly delighted. I suspect God uses more energy in bringing about a conversion like this than he did to create the planet. I just praised Him all through mass. God of course can do as He wants. But in my heart there is always a little doubt. But things like this floor me. Luke 15:7 The Parable of the Lost Sheep …6comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ 7In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. 8Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?…