3rd LUMINOUS MYSTERY

PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM 

AND REPENTANCE

The third Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary is the only one which doesn’t invite us to reflect on a particular event.  Instead, this Mystery embraces the whole of Jesus’ mission to Proclaim the Kingdom of God and Repentance.   That is the mission the risen Lord gave to the Church, just before He ascended to heaven.  That is the mission each of us Christians received at our baptisms.

  I must confess that this Mystery has a special appeal to me as a member of the Order of Preachers.  We Dominicans have been called to follow Jesus, the wandering preacher.   Mobility is an essential aspect of our life style. That means we can be moved from one house or country or another, according to where we are needed to preach the Gospel.

It strikes me that there’s a danger of the second part of this mystery, ‘Repent,’ being either over looked or under-played.   If so, the whole point of Christ’s preaching mission would be lost.  He proclaimed the Kingdom precisely so that it would touch our hearts and transform our lives.  This change in direction is what we mean by ‘Repentance’ or ‘Conversion.’  It’s not a-once-in-a-lifetime response to the Good News, but involves our constant renewal and rebirth.  That’s as necessary for the preacher as for those who hear him.  Without our response of repentance Christ’s preaching would not have changed anyone’s life 

I’m now 86 and confined to my room, when not to my bed.  For me the question is, ‘How can I continue to live this third Luminous Mystery of Proclaiming the Kingdom and Repentance?’   Certainly, I can and must meditate on Christ’s Gospel teaching and allow it to transform my life.  So, must every  Christian.   But my Dominican motto challenges me to go further –‘To hand on to others the fruits of contemplation.’   Thanks to modern technology I can still post sermons and meditations on Facebook.  I used to be able to record sermons in my room and email them to the W. Indies, where they were broadcast.   But thanks to the ravages of time I sound more and more like a corncrake or croaking bull frog and would not meet the required standards.   ‘Better to jump before I was pushed,’ thought I.  

Now that I can no longer be actively involved in public preaching I need to concentrate on a different way in which I could play an essential part in that apostolate, which fulfilled my vocation,   as a member of the Order of Preachers.  I must concentrate on getting  the ‘Divine Communicator,’ the Holy Spirit, involved both in the giving and receiving of the Good News.      After all, that is the example the New Testament gives us.  According to Luke’s Gospel that’s what Jesus did when He quoted the prophet Isaiah in His Mission Manifesto, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.   He has sent me to proclaim deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,”  (Lk4. 18-19).   

Again, before Pentecost, the infant Church prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would enable it to proclaim the Good News with courage, zeal and eloquence.   That is still the Church’s mission, and always will be -until Jesus finally returns in glory to  claim His Kingdom.  The  Church will always need our prayerful support, asking the Spirit of Truth to assist both those who proclaim the Kingdom, and  those hear its call to repentance. 

That is still the Church’s mission, and always will be -until Jesus finally returns in glory to claim His Kingdom.  The  Church will always need our prayerful support, asking the Spirit of Truth to assist both those who proclaim the Kingdom, and  those hear its call to repentance.

When I was working in the W. Indies I was very aware of my need of our Dominican enclosed nuns back in England to pray for me as I tried to share the Good News; my parishioners needed their prayers to help them to be open to the Holy Spirit and allow him to transform their lives. But before we presume to tell anyone else how to live the Gospel each of us must begin with ourselves, by first hearing the word of God and doing it.

No matter what our age, strength or weakness or walk of life, each of us has a vital role in living the Third Luminous Mystery –‘THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM AND REPENTANCE.’

Isidore O.P.