This mystery has always been the strangest for me to meditate on, because unlike the miracle at Cana or the birth of Jesus or the scourging at the pillar, this mystery doesn't refer to a specific, one-time incident - this mystery refers to three years of public ministry, years of which we know only fragments of information.
Exactly how many people did Jesus heal? What did Jesus do when He was not actively outside and ministering to the sick and needy? After all, He was human - He presumably needed to sleep, eat, take short breaks. Did the Apostles and Jesus have inside jokes? Were there nicknames within the group? How much time did Jesus spend talking to His apostles about their lives and their families?
More importantly, what did Jesus say to His apostles about the Kingdom? What secret revelations did He make to them that were never written in any of the Gospels?
Most importantly, what was Jesus' favorite food? I mean, He did have taste buds, and I'm assuming He had some favorite meal that Mary cooked a lot. I claim to have a close, personal relationship with Jesus and I don't even know what to feed Him when He comes over for dinner!
In all seriousness, though, I think it is the fact that this mystery is so large, so bulky, and so unique in its time-frame that makes it an essential mystery to meditate on during a Rosary.
How often during our lives do we focus on one aspect, one moment in time, and get bored or restless when thinking about the periods of "just living," those long stretches of time when nothing "exciting" is happening, or when we're not sure what's supposed to happen? We count our days - I've been alive for 20 years, I'm going to graduate college in 2 years, I have 14 more hours until my surgery - all the time forgetting that the in-between times are just as important, if not more.
Saints are not people who sit around and wait anxiously for their moment to shine or prove themselves. Saints are people who live each day, each hour and each moment as an opportunity for love, without fretting about the previous or the next, and who accept the challenges when they come.
So maybe, the next time you're talking to Jesus, you can ask Him not what He has planned for you as Hi ultimate goal or vocation for your life, but whether He prefers honey or syrup.
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