LUMINOUS MYSTERIES SHOW DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS

VATICAN CITY, SEP 21, 2003 (VIS) - Pope John Paul, on his last scheduled Sunday at Castelgandolfo, recited the Angelus with the pilgrims who had come to the summer papal residence. He continued his spiritual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii which he will visit on October 7, saying that today he wished to meditate on the five Mysteries of Light, which he added to the Rosary last October 16.
These mysteries, he said, highlight the "public life" of Jesus, "the time in which Jesus, through the power of words and works, reveals in a completed way the 'face' of our heavenly Father, inaugurating His reign of love, justice and peace. His baptism in the Jordan, the wedding feast at Cana, the proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and the institution of the Eucharist: these are all moments of revelation, 'luminous' mysteries which allow the splendor of the divine nature of God in Jesus Christ to shine through."

The Holy Father underscored that "Mary's presence in these mysteries is for the most part in the background. Except in one: the wedding feast of Cana where the role of 'the Mother of God' is determining. It is she who tells her Son that there is no more wine; and when He answers that 'His hour' has not yet come, she entreats Him with maternal urgency, telling the servants: 'Do what He tells you'.

Mary thus shows, affirmed the Pope, "that she has understood better than anyone else the inmost intentions of Jesus. Her heart knows His heart because from the beginning she has borne within her and meditated on His every gesture and every word. She is thus the very first and the principal teacher of Christian prayer."

ANG;LUMINOUS MYSTERIES;...;...;VIS;20030922;Word: 300;