The Blended Rosary 4th Mystery: Prophecy and Promise
Note: This is part 4 in a 5-part series written for SpiritualDirection.com. You can read part one here, part two here, and part three here.
The Fourth Mystery
The Presentation in the Temple; The Transfiguration; The Carrying of the Cross; The Assumption
In the Fourth of Joyful Mystery we meet two witnesses to the long duration of waiting in the Old Testament: Simeon and Anna. Both are old. Simeon has been “long seeking and awaiting the consolation of Israel;” it is the final hope and expectation of his life before he dies. Anna is an eighty-four-year-old widow. In their age and in their longing, they represent the long wait of the generations before them for the promised Messiah. Even as they themselves are approaching death, these two recognize in the baby the One in whom new life is coming.
“Suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek.”—Malachi 3:1. But the scene is a humble one—certainly not what anyone would have expected who read the words of the prophet Malachi. Others who were present probably failed to notice the young mother and her humble husband, carrying their baby up the steps of the temple. There is no drama; no thundering voice from heaven. The event itself is something of a “sign of contradiction.” Yet old Simeon shows himself a prophet, and Anna herself becomes an evangelist, for these two are given by the Holy Spirit to recognize the hidden reality.
Simeon rejoices to see the Savior—but the joy of the mystery is tempered as he speaks of the sorrow and suffering that will accompany this sign of contradiction. And Mary who carried Him beneath her heart will continue to carry Him within her heart—and thus that heart will be pierced along with His. This news was no doubt unanticipated, and we can imagine St. Joseph being somewhat dismayed. But with Our Lady we treasure even this painful mystery as we ponder it in our heart.
In the Fourth Luminous Mystery we see Jesus again going up, this time ascending Mount Tabor with His disciples Peter, John and James. The three apostles are astonished to suddenly see Jesus transfigured before them in all of His glory. “His face shone like the sun and His garments became as white as light.” They also see witnesses from the Old Covenant, Moses and Elijah (representing the Law and the Prophets). They speak with Jesus about His coming Exodus which He will accomplish in Jerusalem.
The disciples wish to remain—Peter offers to make booths, though in one recounting he admits “he did not know what he was saying.” And then comes a luminous cloud and a voice from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.” And the apostles fall on their faces before Him.
In the Transfiguration the apostles are given both a glimpse of the glory that awaits Jesus—and of their own hope for resurrected glory. This event precedes the crucifixion and is meant to give them strength and faith to endure what is to come, but their hearts cannot perceive even what their eyes are given the grace to witness.
Mary was not there at Tabor when Jesus was transfigured. But she must have kept faith and hope in her heart nonetheless as she watched the prophecy of Simeon unfold, even as her Son carries His cross up to Calvary in the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. The Scriptures are silent and we are not told of any words spoken between them that day. Perhaps because no further words were necessary, their union so complete; the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart both broken, but both still beating with love for us.
Simeon spoke of the sword that would pierce Mary’s heart, but surely it must have felt a new sword running her through each time she saw her Son fall on the road to Calvary. Traditionally the Stations of the Cross mention three falls, but it is very possible that He fell more often. The evidence from the Shroud suggests His nose was broken, likely from landing face-first as He fell. Mary would have seen the Crown of Thorns, the evidence of His scourging; she would have heard the cheers and jeers as He was pressed forward throughout the crowds. She would have seen Simon of Cyrene, pressed into service, forced to help her Son carry His cross. (Did her maternal heart long to run and be the one to assist?) She would have watched the soldiers drinking and gambling for His garment. I imagine that even before the nails entered His hands and feet, her own heart was thoroughly pierced.
Mother and Son share His suffering—but also His glory. She who held the hope of the Fourth Luminous Mystery given to the apostles is the first to receive its fulfillment. In the Fourth Glorious Mystery, Mary’s body is glorified and raised along with her soul into heaven to be fully united again with Jesus.
Mary is the first to receive God’s Promise. The church fathers tell us that she conceived Jesus first in her heart, and then in her womb. Similarly, the first promise Mary received was Jesus Himself, growing within her for nine months. But she also receives the fulfillment of His promises—life eternal, and she is the first to experience in heaven the reuniting of her body, also glorified.
Mary is “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.” But the gifts that are in her are also for us. We seek her intercession in uniting ourselves more closely to her Son, so that we too may enjoy eternity united with Him.
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