A very important event took place in the Church on October 16, 2002 as the Pope celebrated the 24th anniversary of his election to the Papacy he also issued a new document on the Rosary. In doing this he also proclaimed a Year of the Rosary, October 2002 to October 2003. In giving us this new instruction on the Rosary the Holy Father also proposed a new set of mysteries in addition to the 15 that we have been using for several hundred years.

Our Holy Father teaches us the importance of the Rosary in our lives because it is a prayer that helps us to reflect upon the Gospel events through the eyes and faith of the Blessed Mother. The Rosary is not just a prayer to Mary it is a Gospel prayer that helps us to really think about what Jesus did for us in coming to us to reveal the plan for our salvation and the profound love that God has for all of us.

The Rosary enables us to look and the mysteries or the events of the Gospel through the eyes of Mary so that we can be led by her and her example to a closer relationship with Jesus in our daily lives.

These new mysteries called the Mysteries of Light or the Luminous Mysteries focus on events in the Gospel that can open our minds and hearts to the light of Christ in our lives. By praying these mysteries we can see God more clearly and come to understand His wisdom more deeply. A wisdom that can help us all greatly as we try to make our way through a world filled with darkness and ways that are contrary to the Word of God. These Mysteries of Light can help us to see and understand what our relationship with God is really all about and how important that relationship with Him is in our lives.

As we pray the Rosary we see that our Blessed Mother can and does help us to follow Jesus, her Son. Mary is an important person in our faith because she shows us the way to Jesus. Her only desire is for us to be close to her Son in all that we do in this life and to be happy with Him in heaven. She is our Mother to and she loves us so much. She wants us to know and love her Son as she does. Praying the Rosary is a very important way for us to do just that.

Please allow me to quote from the Holy FFather’s instruction on the Rosary as he explains these new mysteries.

Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries, which may be called in a special way "mysteries of light". Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light.  He is the "light of the world" (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom.

In proposing to the Christian community five significant moments -  "luminous" mysteries - during this phase of Christ's life, I think that the following can be fittingly singled out: (1) his Baptism in the Jordan, (2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana, (3) his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion, (4) his Transfiguration, and finally, (5) his institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. Each of these mysteries is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.

The Baptism in the Jordan is first of all a mystery of light. Here, as Christ descends into the waters, the innocent one who became "sin" for our sake (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:17 and parallels), while the Spirit descends on him to invest him with the mission which he is to carry out.

Another mystery of light is the first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1- 12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.

Another mystery of light is the preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him in humble trust (cf. Mk 2:3-13; Lk 7:47- 48): the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church (cf. Jn 20:22-23).

The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the God-head shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to "listen to him" (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit.

A final mystery of light is the institution of the Eucharist, in which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies "to the end" his love for humanity (Jn 13:1), for whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice. 

Where might the "mysteries of light" be inserted? If we consider that the "glorious mysteries" are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has always had a special Marian flavor, the second weekly meditation on the "joyful mysteries", mysteries in which Mary's presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday.  Thursday would then be free for meditating on the "mysteries of light".

Please take time to reflect on the words of our Holy Father and these new Mysteries of Light. Pray the Rosary with your family each day. Remember: "The family that prays together stays together."