As a convert from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I initially had several problems with the rosary. I was hesitant to address petitions to the Mother of God, for one thing, and I also had reservations about repetition—at what point did they become “vain,” as warned about by Our Lord (Matt. 6:7)? With the help of Catholic Answers and other resources for converts, however, I soon overcame my trepidation and gave it a try.
Even so, it took a while for the rosary to “click.” I took much more quickly to things like lectio divina and mental prayer. Nevertheless, the tradition of the Church is filled with admonition on the importance and effectiveness of the rosary, and so I’ve tried to maintain a faithfulness to it despite my struggles.
In recent years, I feel like the sweetness of the rosary has finally started to filter into my heart, especially that of the Glorious Mysteries, which are a brilliant summation of salvation. I would like to expound upon that here.
The First Glorious Mystery is the resurrection of Christ. Apart from this being the central proof of our faith, its cosmic significance is breathtaking. The Author of Life and the Ground of Life here enters death, where disobedience and sin had plunged all creation. Think about it: we had created, with the devil’s help, something somehow “separate” from God: a space of dysfunction and decay. And in the midst of our captivity to this awful fate, seemingly untouchable by the deathless Almighty God, comes God’s masterstroke beyond our comprehension: he will follow his lost sheep wherever they have strayed, even into the abyss that exists only as a rejection of him. And what happens? Death is exploded, and Hades is emptied of its faithful prisoners. God, who was already all in all and in all places, has now, in a most wondrous, tangible way, filled his creation and triumphed over even our rejection of him. The Resurrection is the destruction of the last enemy, death (1 Cor. 15:26).
The Second Glorious Mystery is the ascension of Christ. The risen, glorified Christ, still immortally bearing his battle scars, which will remain as a precious testament to his victory, bears his triumphant humanity up through the celestial realms. He ascends in full view of the inhabitants of heaven, with a trumpet blast, heralding that the battle to end all battles is won (Ps. 47:5). He takes his seat at the right hand of God, and there enthroned inaugurates the reconciliation of heaven and earth in his own person. He has tied the cosmos back together and paved the highway to heaven. No one was there to help, least of all we. He has accomplished this himself, and in himself (Isa. 63:3-5).
The Third Glorious Mystery is the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Though accomplished in heaven, how is the marriage of heaven and earth to be realized here in our world, where darkness still reigns? As Christ said, the Helper, the Paraclete, God the Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, would be sent among us. Accordingly, though scared and confused, the rudiments of Christ’s Church were filled with courage and power that Pentecost morning.
The Holy Spirit makes real, present, and manifest the victory won by Christ on the cross for those who are still on the way. This is our access to power over death and sin; this is the antidote given to the faithful for the healing of the world. The Holy Spirit fills the Church, and her sacraments then spill like springs of water over the parched surface of the earth.
The Fourth Glorious Mystery is the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now we move into the mysteries dealing specifically with the Mother of God. They are important firstly because they reveal God’s glorious work in Mary, the human race’s greatest boast, but also because they highlight the spiritual trail she blazed for mankind as a participant in these mysteries. She, as our sinless exemplar and patroness, goes before us and then beckons us forth: into the light of sinlessness through her immaculate conception, into a share of Christ’s sufferings as Queen of Martyrs, and here as all-holy vessel of God’s grace, raised body and soul into his presence before all others. She is the prototype: flesh and blood made stainless ark of God, now saved from corruption and sharing fully in the victory of her son. Our bodies rest in hope as we similarly await the fullness of our redemption (Ps. 16:9).
The Fifth Glorious Mystery is the coronation of Our Lady as queen of heaven and earth. The mother of God is the singular vessel of devotion, the most spacious cup filled to overflowing with the gifts of God. No other mortal could ever hope to attain to her sanctity, willed so completely as it is by God. Rightly, she is given dominion as the queen mother over all creation. Yet once again she points us to the levels of participation in Christ that emanate down from his throne: those roles of priest, prophet, and king. Though she is queen of all, we will also reign. Even the least among us was called by God to dominion over some corner of creation, to tend and govern it by his permission and in his power. The realization of our salvation is also the realization of this lofty charge to tenderly shepherd that which is under our care. The fifth mystery points us toward the final manifestation of the power unlocked by Christ for us in his cross and resurrection: authority over reality. The God of inexhaustible self-giving will share his royal dominion with us.
The Glorious Mysteries have become my favorites. They’re a tour de force of the wonders of our faith and a storehouse from which hope can endlessly flow. May we imitate what they contain and, by our august queen’s intercession, obtain what they promise!