The Mysteries of Light

I have a weakness for stories about little creatures being changed into big strong beings. As for fairy-tales about frogs that emerge as handsome princes, and swans that turn into lovely ladies, they seem to say something very deep to me. These transformation stories speak to every heart that longs for change, or that seeks a lift to higher ways.

One of my favourites is about the princess who lets her golden ball fall into the lake, only to have it rescued by a frog. The frog makes this request “I want to sit beside you at the King’s table. I want to eat from your own golden plate. Then I want you to put me asleep on a silk cushion beside your bed. In the morning you must wake me with a kiss on the forehead.”

You know, how the story ends. The wicked spell is broken and there stands a splendid prince, and they live happily ever after.

We all long for the healing kiss of love. In the Christian order, we are destined to be kissed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus. We are all called to be princes and princesses of the Royal Blood of the Saviour, and to sit at his banquet table of the Eucharist. What has brought all this to my mind is the introduction of the new Mysteries of Light in the Rosary:

The Baptism of Jesus reminds us that we are all called and chosen to be beloved sons and daughters of the Father. A voice came from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” That voice is the kiss of life for each one of us.

The Marriage Feast of Cana is our invitation to what the Book of Revelation calls, the Wedding of the Lamb. We are not only children of God. We are invited to be in a spousal relationship with him. From this bond there arises the security of knowing that we are not mere casual labourers in the vineyard. We have the standing of being in a covenant relationship with the King.

The Proclamation of the Kingdom means that we are no longer in the dark pool of despair and depression, but that we are people of the Light. We are called to walk in the radiance of divine light, and to be sources of light and love for others who still walk in the valley of darkness.

The Transfiguration mystery, most of all, speaks of the innate desire of the human heart for a higher way. The poet John Oxenham puts it like this:

To every man there openeth
A way, and ways and a way.
And the high soul climbs the high way,
And the low soul gropes the low,

And in between, on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
And to every man there openeth
A high way and a low,
And every man decideth
the way his soul shall go.

We are not meant to drift and grope our way through the mists. We are invited to climb the high mountain of light and share something of the glory of the Lord. We pray: Take us with you, Lord and transfigure us. By your grace, help us to yield to the glory you have destined for us.

The final mystery the Institution of Blessed Eucharist is a summons from the King, to sit at his table and be nourished from the golden plate of eternal life, and to drink from the cup of the new and everlasting covenant. Washed in the Precious Blood of Jesus, we walk with the dignity of new creatures into the land of light.


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