Vultus Christi
Rosary Mysteries of the Epiphany
Monday, 13 January 2014 08:00
The Mystery–Events of Christ and the Rosary
For many years now, I have “mined” the Holy Gospels, as given to us by the Church in the Sacred Liturgy, following the cycle of feasts and seasons, and found therein a rich sequence of Mystery-Events suited to meditation and contemplation in the sublime and simple prayer of the Rosary.
Those who recite a third of the Rosary sometimes assign the various mysteries to particular days: joyful (Monday and Thursday), sorrowful (Tuesday and Friday), glorious (Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday).
Where this system is rigidly adhered to, conflict can arise between the content of the mysteries and that of the Liturgy of the day: the recitation of the sorrowful mysteries on Christmas day, should it fall on a Friday. In cases such as this it can be reckoned that “the liturgical character of a given day takes precedence over the usual assignment of a mystery of the Rosary to a given day; the Rosary is such that, on particular days, it can appropriately substitute meditation on a mystery so as to harmonize this pious practice with the liturgical season”(242). Hence, the faithful act correctly when, for example, they contemplate the arrival of the three Kings on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, rather than the finding of Jesus in the Temple. Clearly, such substitutions can only take place after much careful thought, adherence to Sacred Scripture and liturgical propriety.
Article 200, Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Vatican City, 2001
In private prayer, at least, the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary need not be limited to The Fifteen Mysteries familiar to most Catholics, or even to the expansion of The Fifteen Mysteries brought about by Blessed Pope John Paul II’s proposal of Five Mysteries of Light. There must be, all the same, certain objective criteria by which other Mysteries can be prudently introduced and meditated. What might these criteria be? I can think of at least two.
• The Rosary is based on the meditation of Mystery-Events found in the Holy Gospels or recognized by the Church as part of the corpus of Sacred Tradition.
• The choice of these Mystery-Events must be guided by a docile adherence to the Sacred Liturgy. A rule of thumb might be that any Mystery-Event celebrated by the Church in the Liturgy can also serve in the prayer of the Rosary.
The Mysteries of the Epiphany
This being said, I thought it might be useful, at least to some readers, if I shared the Mysteries of the Epiphany that we pray at Silverstream Priory during Epiphanytide.
The Five Mysteries of the Epiphany correspond to the five great Epiphany Gospels given us by the Church (in the traditional calendar and Liturgy) on the day of the Epiphany, 6 January; on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 13 January; and on the Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays after Epiphany. Each of these Gospels presents a particular manifestation of the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Matthew 2:1-12, Our Lord makes himself known to the Magi by means of a star, and receives their adoration in Bethlehem.
And behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him. (Mt 2:9-11)
2. John 1:29-34 — At His Baptism in the Jordan by John, the Holy Ghost descends in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father reveals Jesus as His Beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased.
Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened; And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon him; and a voice came from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Lk 3:21-22)
3. John 2:1-11 — At the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, Jesus, at His Mother’s bidding, changes water into wine.
And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. (Jn 2:3-5)
4. Matthew 8:1-13 — Jesus, with a word, cleanses a leper.
And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. (Mt 8:2-3)
5. Matthew 8:23-27 — Jesus calms the raging sea.
And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but he was asleep. And they came to him, and awaked him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm. (Mt 8:24-25)
40. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If you will, you can make me clean.
41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said to him, I will; be you clean.
42. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
43. And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
44. And said to him, See you say nothing to any man: but go your way, show yourself to the Priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.
45. But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, inasmuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
BEDE; After that the serpent-tongue of the devils was shut up, and the woman, who was first seduced, cured of a fever, in the third place, the man, who listened to the evil counsels of the woman, is cleansed from his leprosy, that the order of restoration in the Lord might be the same as was the order of the fall in our first parents; whence it goes on: And there came a leper to him, beseeching him.
AUG. Mark puts together circumstances, from which one may infer that he is the same as that one whom Matthew relates to have been cleansed, when the Lord came down from the mount, after the sermon.
BEDE, And because the Lord said that He came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill, he who was excluded by the Law, inferring that he was cleansed by the power of the Lord, showed that that grace, which could wash away the stain of the leper, was not from the Law, but over the Law. And truly, as in the Lord authoritative power, so in him the constancy of faith is shown; for there follows, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. He falls on his face, which is at once a gesture of lowliness and of shame, to show that every man should blush for the stains of his life. But his shame did not stifle confession; he showed his wound, and begged for medicine, and the confession is full of devotion and of faith, for he refers the power to the will of the Lord.
THEOPHYL. For he said not, If you will, pray unto God, but, If you will, as thinking Him very God.
BEDE; Moreover, he Bede doubted of the will of the Lord, not as disbelieving His compassion, but, as conscious of his own filth, he did not presume. He goes on; But Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said to him, I will, be you clean. It is not, as many of the Latins think, to be taken to mean and read, He wish to cleanse thee, but that Christ should say separately, I will, and then command, be you clean.
CHRYS. Further, the reason why He touches the leper, and did not confer health upon him by word alone, was, that it is said by Moses in the Law, that he who touches a leper, shall be unclean till the evening; that is, that He might show, that this uncleanness is a natural one, that the Law was not laid down for Him, but on account of mere men. Furthermore, He shows that He Himself is the Lord of the Law; and the reason why He touched the leper, though the touch was not necessary to the working of the cure, was to show that He gives health, not as a servant, but as the Lord.
BEDE; Another reason why He touched him, was to prove that He could not be defiled, who freed others from pollution. At the same time it is remarkable, that He healed in the way in which he had been begged to heal. If you will, says the leper, you can make me clean. I will, He answered, behold, you have My will, be clean; now you have at once the effect of My compassion.
CHRYS. Moreover, by this, not only did He not take away the opinion of Him entertained by the leper, but He confirmed it; for He puts to flight the disease by a word, and what the leper had said in word, He filled up in deed; wherefore there follows, And when he had spoken, immediately, &c.
BEDE; For there is no interval between the work of God and the command, because the work is in the command, for He commanded, and they were created. There follows: And he strictly charged him, and forthwith, &c. See you tell no man.
CHRYS. As if He said, It is not yet time that My works should be preached, I require not your preaching. By which He teaches us not to seek worldly honor as a reward for our works. It goes on: But go your way, show yourself to the chief of the priests. Our Savior sent him to the priest for the trial of his cure, and that he might not he cast out of the temple, but still be numbered with the people in prayer. He sends him also, that be might fulfill all the parts of the Law, in order to stop the evil-speaking tongue of the Jews. He Himself indeed completed the work, leaving them to try it.
BEDE; This He did in order that the priest might understand that the leper was not healed by the Law, but by the grace of God above the Law. There follows: And offer for your cleansing what Moses, &c.
THEOPHYL. He ordered him to offer the gift which they who were healed were accustomed to offer, as if for a testimony, that lie was not against the Law, lint rather confirmed the Law, inasmuch as lie Himself worked out the precepts of the Law.
BEDE; If any one wonders, how the Lord seems to approve of the Jewish sacrifice, which the Church rejects, let him remember, that He had not yet offered His own holocausts in His passion. And it was not right that significative sacrifices should he taken away, before that which they signified was confirmed by the witness of the Apostles in their preaching, and by the faith of the believing people.
THEOPHYL. But the leper, although the Lord forbade him, disclosed the benefit, wherefore it goes on: But he having gone out, began to publish and to blaze abroad the tale; for the person benefited ought to be grateful, and to return thanks, even though his benefactor requires it not.
BEDE; Now it may well be asked, why our Lord ordered His action to be concealed, and yet it could not be kept hid for an hour? But it is to be observed, that the reason why, in doing a miracle, He ordered it to be kept secret, and yet for all that it was noised abroad, was, that His elect, following the example of His teaching, should wish indeed that in the great things which they do, they should remain concealed, but should nevertheless unwillingly be brought to light for the good of others. Not then that He wished any thing to be done, which He was not able to bring about, but, by the authority of His teaching, He gave an example of what His members ought to wish for, and of what should happen to them even against their will.
BEDE; Further, this perfect cure of one man brought large multitudes to the Lord; wherefore it is added, So that he could not any more openly enter into the city, but could only be without in desert places.
CHRYS. For the leper every where proclaimed his wonderful cure, so that all ran to see and to believe on the Healer; thus the Lord could not preach the Gospel, but walked in desert places; wherefore there follows, And they came together to him from all Places.
PSEUDO-JEROME; Mystically, our leprosy is the sin of the first man, which began from the head, when he desired the kingdoms of the world. For covetousness is the root of all evil; wherefore Gehazi, engaged in an avaritious pursuit, is covered with leprosy.
BEDE; But when the hand of the Savior, that is, the Incarnate Word of God, is stretched out, and touches human nature, it is cleansed from the various parts of the old error.
PSEUDO-JEROME; This leprosy is cleansed on offering an oblation to the true Priest after the order of Melchisedec; for He tells us, Give alms of such things as you have, and, behold, all things are clean to you. But in that Jesus could not openly enter into the city, it is meant to be conveyed, that Jesus is not manifested to those, who are enslaved to the love of praise in the broad highway, and to their own wills, but to those who with Peter go into the desert, which the Lord chose for prayer, and for refreshing His people; that is, those who quit the pleasures of the world, and all that they possess, that they may say, The Lord is my portion. But the glory of the Lord is manifested to those, who meet together on all sides, that is, through smooth ways and steep, whom nothing can separate from the love of Christ.
BEDE; Even after working a miracle in that city, the Lord retires into the desert, to show that He loves best a quiet life, and one far removed from the cares of the world, and that it is on account of this desire, He applied Himself to the healing of the body.
Catena Aurea Mark 1
