Thursday Rosary for the Second Week of Easter

Today we recite the Luminous Mysteries or the Mysteries of Light. As we recite this great devotional prayer, let us remember to include in our intentions the propagation of the Gospel of Holy Friendship and the increase of the friends of the Lord among the nations. 

The Baptism of the Lord 

Baptism is the first among the so-called Sacraments of Christian Initiation, or entrance and incorporation into the Community of Believers, the Church, the new People of God. Unless a person is baptized, he or she cannot enjoy the fullness of Christian life. For ever since the establishment of the Church, baptism has been considered as the manner by which a person becomes a member of the Body of Christ for it is through this Sacrament by which a person leaves behind the life of sinfulness and commits to the new life of holiness. Of course, baptism does not make a person immune from the commission of sin, nor does it confirm automatic sanctity. Baptism is the door through which the person who makes that most important decision to profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a part of Christ himself, through the Church, and with the Church, that same person journeys upon this earth each day of his or her life and if his or her surrendering to God is full and without reserve, he or she will slowly be transformed in the the Person of the One whom God has sent to save the world, our Lord and Friend, Jesus Christ!

The Sign at the Wedding at Cana

By attending the celebration and even performing His first miracle or sign during the occasion, the Lord Jesus Christ sanctified weddings and made it a visible sign - another Sacrament - of His saving act. Marriage has been established by God since He created man and woman. It is the oldest and most important contract ever to be recorded in the Scripture: a covenant and a commitment between one male man and one female woman, who from the moment of their marriage becomes one flesh. We might say that the marriage bond between Adam and Eve was so strong, that Adam even has to give in to Eve's offer of the forbidden fruit, even with his full knowledge that it was against the will of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ has upgraded the level of marriage by making it a Sacrament thereby turning it from a mere human contract between a man and woman into a divine instrument of salvation. 

The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

The Jewish nation was waiting for the Messiah to re-establish the Kingdom of Israel so that they may become a great nation once again. But when the Lord Jesus Christ came He did not fulfill their version of a "Kingdom" but preached a totally new understanding of "Kingdom". The Kingdom being expected by the Jews, including the Apostles, was an earthly kingdom; while the Kingdom preached by the Lord was a heavenly one. He did not come to rule in the same way that heathen rulers rule; He came to serve: and that's a very different way of being a King indeed - so much against the idea and the expectations of the Jews. If being a king who serves was so unacceptable, the more they abhorred the thought of God becoming man in order to be crucified for the sake of His people! But that's how mysterious God's wisdom is! If only our human rulers would only open up their minds and hearts to receive, reflect upon and duplicate in their platforms of government such wisdom, there would be less troubles and more blessings in our time!

The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration provides us with a foretaste of the future, of our life with the Father in His kingdom. As the trio of Peter, James and John forgot they still have a lot to do here on earth before they get to fully enjoy the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, we on the other hand are given a vision of what we shall experience when we are already with our Father in heaven. God knows that most of us encounter sufferings, hardships and pain every day of our lives so He gives us some assurance that all of these are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again! In fact, He did not spare even His only-begotten Son from experiencing every form of suffering up to the crucifixion because He does not want us to think that sufferings are useless and unnecessary. Yes, God does not intend us to suffer really but he does not want to spoil us either. Moreover, sufferings and hardships will help us to be fully transformed into the Person of the Savior while pleasures and leisure will keep us attached to this passing and corruptible world!

The Institution of the Holy Eucharist

To help us in our pilgrimage upon this earth, the Lord Jesus Christ provided us the Holy Eucharist, the food we need in order to face the challenges of this world. He said that man does not leave on bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God: and what is the Eucharist than the Word made flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who said that only by eating His flesh and drinking His blood will we be assured of eternal life for His flesh is food indeed, and His blood is drink indeed. Our nourishment as Christian pilgrims upon this hostile earth is truly rich for it is God made man himself who has given up His own self so that we might attain the fullness of life!