I bet you've probably seen this posted on Facebook, but I just took the Loyola 3-minute retreat for today, and it was amazing, so you should check it out!

And, don't worry. Just as you were hoping today, no doubt, here is a meditation on the 5th Luminous Mystery:

The 5th Luminous Mystery is the Institution of the Eucharist.

This is absolutely my favorite Mystery of all time, and I think Pope JPII was an absolute genius for adding the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary.

Sometimes, this is what's happening in my head when I receive Communion

 The only difficulty with the Luminous Mysteries is that they don't seem to fit into the Marian tradition of the Rosary. I mean, most of the other Mysteries are really focusing around Mary's experiences in relation to Jesus. The Joyful Mysteries are all about Mary's immense joy during Jesus' childhood. The Glorious Mysteries include the Resurrection and the Ascension, which can be tied to Mary's joy upon her Son rising from the dead and receiving His rightful crown, and then Mary and the Apostles receiving the Spirit and Mary herself being taken to Heaven and crowned as Queen. Even the Sorrowful Mysteries, which focus on Jesus' suffering and Passion, can be tied easily to Mary's suffering at the pain and death of her Son. 

For a while, I really thought the Luminous Mysteries couldn't be tied to Mary, except loosely - they're about His public ministry, when He left her at home and roamed around Judea with His friends - there doesn't seem to be much to say about her involvement except during the wedding at Cana. 

However, I recently (as in, while I've been meditating on this Mystery just now), discovered that the 5th and final Luminous Mystery is deeply and personally connected to Mary.

Jesus gives His Apostles (and thus, all of us!) His flesh. He could have given the Apostles some symbol of His supreme power as God to carry around. He could have given them just the Holy Spirit and not ever instituted the Eucharist (and unfortunately, a lot of the world today believes this.)

But instead of some way to remember His as all-powerful and mighty, He gives His flesh, chunks of his human body, completely God but completely human nonetheless. He gives His Apostles chunks of His flesh and goblets of His blood, disguised as bread and wine.

If I were going to leave my followers something to remember me til the end of time, it sure wouldn't be chunks of my body to eat, disguised as little pieces of unleavened bread. It would be my prized belongings or words I had written down for them to follow, or maybe an awesome crown that could be on display for all to see. 

Of course, there is the obvious conclusion that the Eucharist is a reminder to us of Christ's Passion and death, that we remind ourselves constantly of His sacrifice, and this conclusion is true. That's for sure. 

But, I think there's more. Jesus gave His flesh to the world, both on the cross and in the Eucharist. Who gave Him that flesh? Who said YES to the Father and became the true, biological Mother of God?

MARY!! 

This flesh, which we receive in the Eucharist every time we go to Mass, is from Mary. Jesus had no other human flesh than Mary's. It is Mary's gift to Jesus, shared with us, that Mary, in a way, comes to us in the Eucharist with Her Son. She doesn't come directly, but her gift to Jesus is shared with us. 

Jesus took His own 4th Commandment to heart, honoring His Mother, by taking the greatest gift she ever gave Him and sharing it with the world, so that every time somebody receives Jesus in the Eucharist, they may be reminded that He became human, that He was incarnated within the womb of Mary. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive Jesus' body, but I like to believe that in that moment of our first Communion, we receive Mary as our Mother. We became part of the Body of Christ in a powerful way when we receive Him. We receive His flesh, become incorporated into His flesh, given to Him by Mary, and Mary becomes the Mother of the entire Body of Christ throughout the world. 

This idea, of Jesus honoring His Mother by elevating the flesh she gave Him as the most beautiful and important thing in the entire world, is blowing my mind, and I'm not even sure how to write it down properly.

So, sorry for rambling, but there you have it - Jesus shared His humble humanity with us for all time, honoring the gift and sacrifice of His Blessed Mother and gathering us to Himself that Mary may be our Mother, too. Suddenly, I feel a lot better about meditating on this mystery and saying "Hail Mary, full of grace..." Mary is in every Mystery, intertwined into Jesus' life no matter what, not always obvious but always present. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

It's right there - Jesus is the fruit of Mary's womb. His flesh is hers, a gift not only given to Him, but lovingly shared with all of humanity when she accepted her role as Mother of the entire universe. 

Anyway, if you find anything in this post that is fallacious or just absolutely wrong, let me know. I'm a little groggy from pain meds, so I'm not really thinking clearly right now. 

I'm praying for you!

:) <3