The Goodness of the Human Condition

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one

The Baptism in the Jordan

a.  The luminous mysteries are called luminous because they illuminate something, they shed light on some truth.

b.  During this Rosary, we’ll talk about how they each shed light on some aspect of the goodness of the human condition

c.   And the first is clear enough. At Jesus’ Baptism, He is recognized as a Son of God – with whom His Father is well pleased

d.  So too at our baptisms, we are officially received as God’s children – as sons and daughters pleasing to Him

                                         i.    God says that He is well pleased with Jesus, before Jesus does any public service – before Jesus carries out the key components of His mission

1.  Because Jesus’ being is good – and the Father loves Him simply because Jesus is His child.

e.  The first truth of the human condition, then, which the luminous mysteries illuminate, is that our being is good – and our Father loves us, is pleased with us, simply because we are His children.

two

The Wedding at Cana

a.  The second aspect of the human condition whose goodness is illuminated by this set of mysteries consists in the goodness of natural human pleasures and relationships.

                                         i.    In this one event, the wedding at Cana, we see Jesus participating in weddings and wine, in celebrations and friendships. We see him eating with his friends and his mother, and making his own contribution to the banquet.

b.  God gave us these basic goods, these natural goods.

                                         i.    He is pleased when we take pleasure in them. He celebrates with us when we have these goods – food, drink, family, friendship – which are natural to us.

c.   So we thank God in this mystery, not only for the goodness of our being, but for all the good things and people in our life – all these natural sources of gladness with which God has blessed us.

three

The Sermon on the Mount

a.  In this mystery, we see the goodness of a human life well lived

                                         i.    Jesus shows us, in the parables and the beatitudes and his directions for prayer and morals, how good it is to be virtuous.

b.  In the beatitudes, He doesn’t just say, “how happy you will be,” but “how happy you are”

                                         i.    When you live purely, and honestly, and you seek peace

                                       ii.    When you’re free from vanity or greed

                                      iii.    When you repent, and when you forgive, and when you’re willing to be a hero for the Lord.

c.   This mystery shows us not only the goodness of our being, and the goods we’ve been given, but the goodness of the life to which we are called.

four

The Transfiguration

a.  With this mystery, we get a foretaste of the goodness that awaits us in the life to come

                                         i.    The goodness of the human condition isn’t limited to earthly existence – in fact, it’s not even primarily a part of earthly existence.

b.  Jesus gave his three closest friends – Peter, James, and John – a glimpse of the Glory of Heaven

                                         i.    Of the unfathomable splendor, and the company of the great heroes, that awaits us.

                                       ii.    Peter beheld, and he trembled, and he didn’t ever want to leave that moment behind.

c.   One day that will be us, reigning in glory with the patriarchs and prophets, with the saints and angels.

                                         i.    When we come to that place, we won’t ever want to leave. And we won’t have to.

five

The Institution of the Eucharist

a.  The final aspect of the goodness of the human condition is the most profound – Jesus reveals, in the Eucharist, the opportunity for intimacy with God

                                         i.    That’s why we call it communion because it offers the greatest mode of being personally brought into union with (cum + unio) God in Jesus Christ

b.  The goodness of intimacy with God is what grounds all the other goods of the human condition

                                         i.    It’s what makes us sure that we are good, and beloved by our Father

                                       ii.    It’s what makes us able to be grateful for all the other goods in our lives

                                      iii.    It’s what gives us the strength to live the way we’re supposed to

                                     iv.    It’s what gives us the grace to strive for and reach our heavenly destiny

c.   And the greatest mode of intimacy with God – in our souls and even in our bodies – is to receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in a prayerful, worthy manner.

d.  So thank God during this mystery for how good it is to be a human being, and for all the ways He has done to bless our condition. And thank Him, above all, for giving us to Himself in the Eucharist, a word which means, after all, thanksgiving.