There is an interesting conversation on a friend’s Facebook page about whether the Luminous Mysteries should be included in the Rosary. Pope Saint John Paul II added them because he thought it a good thing to meditate on the earthly life and ministry of Christ. And we should study that, surely.
There is a definite division between those who believe that it should be so, and those who believe it should have been left the way it was. So I decided to do a little bit of checking in Catholic history regarding the Rosary. Here is what I came up with..
What is truly interesting is that in many apparitions, the Blessed Mother confirmed the 3 sets of mysteries of the Rosary—Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious. In 1460, she appeared to a Dominican named Alaine De la Roche and told him to spread the Rosary in the same 150 hail Mary form. In 1884 was Our Lady of Pompeii and she appeared with the same traditional Rosary. In 1858 Our Lady of Lourdes appeared and taught St. Bernadette the same 150 hail Mary form. Then again, in 1917 at Fatima, she appeared with the same traditional Rosary, instructing the children to ask the people to pray that original form for the sake of world peace.
Numerous popes all along supported the same traditional Rosary, including Pope John the 23rd, Pope Pius V and then Pope Leo XIII. In Pope Leo’s case, he opposed any changes to the structure of the Rosary.
As I said, I think it is wonderful to contemplate and read about Jesus’s earthly ministry. But that was not part of the Rosary that the Blessed Mother gave us, nor was it part of any apparitions.
I’m not about to fall on my sword over this. Being armed with the historical background, you should do your own discernment. And whether you include the Luminous Mysteries or not, it is just important that you pray your Rosary.
95 Questions 