The Luminous Mysteries - Meditations by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
Jesus accepted baptism in order to take our sins upon Himself. He sanctified the waters with His own presence, and that of the Father and the Holy Spirit, so that they might be transformed into a washing that gives new life and grace. He descended into the waters as a new Moses and, by the power of His love, opened the sea of God's mercy, thereby turning the gaze of the Father toward the earth.
The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended in a visible form, just as He descended upon the waters at the beginning of the world to give them life-giving power. And behold, what had hitherto been a distant and mysterious promise hidden in creation was solemnly fulfilled: the Word, who became flesh, went down into the water to regenerate all things in Himself. The Holy Spirit descended upon the Word, who would offer Himself as a sacrifice, to make this sacrifice a source of life, and from heaven was heard the voice of the Father, who was well pleased with His Divine Son and loved Him with an infinite love. It was a solemn moment in which the glory of the Most Holy Trinity once again illuminated the entire earth.
The Wedding at Cana
Most Holy Mary, while bustling about and showing hospitality to the guests, and perhaps mixing wine with one of the apostles, realized that the wine had run out. This did not disturb her peace. Within the quiet walls of the Nazareth home, she had witnessed many miracles of Providence performed in secret by Jesus. She knew and contemplated the sweetness of His heart, and it was to Him that she turned with a single word, which was in reality a prayer and an invitation to action.
Christ told the servants to fill the jars, and they-thinking perhaps that the water would be used by Him for a ritual washing, and wanting to help Him-filled them to the brim. By a powerful command of His will, Jesus ordered that this water be tasted by those who were in charge of the wedding wine. He commanded in the same way as at the beginning of the world, when with a single word He created all things out of nothing and established the harmony of the order of existence. In a single moment-as the master of the feast was about to draw and taste the water-Jesus transformed it into the best wine. This was not yet the hour in which He was to shed His blood, but already now He wanted to point to and foretell by this sign the greatest miracle of His love. So He said over the water: “This is wine for the master of the wedding feast,” just as He would one day say over the wine: “This is my blood, shed for you.”
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
He went down by the sea, that is, by the Sea of Galilee, because a great crowd was following Him, and He wanted to find a place on the plain where everyone could fit. People were coming together from all sides-from Galilee, from Judea, from the region beyond the Jordan, from the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon-and He stayed by the lakeshore and received them with infinite love, seeing in the multitudes the firstfruits and seeds of His kingdom. The crowd was so numerous that Jesus had to get into a boat to teach from there. Before this, He healed many sick people and delivered the possessed who were brought to Him.
This scene showing the faith of the people would become a foretelling and an image of the reality that would come to pass in the following centuries: people of different eras and successive centuries of the Church would come to Him. He Himself would teach them from the boat of Peter, that is, by the power of the authority of the Church in which He Himself truly lives. And in every age, His opponents-like the Pharisees and scribes-would also be present. But in every era full of turmoil, people will feel the need to flee to the one true Church, which He established as the only port of salvation.
The Transfiguration
When the Redeemer began to pray, He was entirely enveloped in the glory of the Father. His soul, captivated by the beauty of God, saw the beatific vision, and His body, by means of the Divine light, was filled with the glory of God. The unspeakable purity of His Divine Body did not pose even the slightest obstacle to the eternal light that surrounded, penetrated, and illuminated it, so that He Himself was entirely in light and radiance. His face became like the sun, reflecting the ineffable beauty of glory, and His garments were penetrated by a great light radiating from His body, as a result of which they became white as snow. It was a magnificent sight that ravishes the soul, filling it with peace, joy, and love.
The Institution of the Eucharist
During the Last Supper, Jesus said that He would no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until the day when He would drink it anew in the kingdom of His Father. With these words, He was to openly admit that His earthly life had come to an end, and also to promise a future resurrection. He would no longer drink of the fruit of the vine in the way the apostles had seen it until then, but He would drink it with them as the Risen One, inaugurating the kingdom of God on earth, which indeed took place when He remained among them for forty days after the resurrection.
If only a person wishes to taste this deep life, full of silence, which is present in the Most Holy Host, and to turn to the Savior in a word full of childlike sincerity, how strongly they can experience His presence and how great a desire will fill their heart never to leave the Lord again! The life of the believer must be an eternal profession of faith in this mystery, which the Church calls the Eucharist.