The Mystery of New Life

The Resurrection is the Mystery of New Life: Christ’s, yours, mine, and everyone else’s.

My meditations on the Rosary vary from week to week, as I’m sure they do for most people, but for each mystery I usually have some particular “go to” topic. For example, I almost always think of the Visitation in terms of service: of Mary bringing Jesus with her as she goes to minister to Elizabeth. It’s these “go to” meditations that I’ve been sharing in this series of columns over the last fifteen months or so.

For some reason the Resurrection is different, though. It’s probably because the Glorious Mysteries fall on Wednesday, and on week days I usually pray the Rosary in the car on the way to work. And some how it seems that on Wednesday’s I’m often a tired, sleep-deprived, and not particular ambitious or enthusiastic zombie. But I need to go to work, and the work needs to be done. And so I pray for myself, asking Christ to bring the dead back to life so that I can go about my day.

And then it usually occurs to me to pray for other zombies: those who are simply tired like me, and need a lift; and those who are in a bad way and need to make a change; and especially for those I know who don’t know Christ at all and who need the rebirth of Baptism.

And then I simply rest in the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. I might picture Him with His disciples, eating fish or sharing a meal, or telling them to go and make disciples of all nations—and then I have stop short, because otherwise He’ll begin ascending, and that’s the next mystery. It wouldn’t do to jump the gun.

The Resurrection, bracketed as it is by the Crucifixion and the Ascension, is a unique time in Christ’s life. His great work is accomplished: He has reconciled God and Man. He gets to bring joy to His disciples, the men and women He chose, and taught, and loved, and to spend time with them. It’s almost like a divine vacation before He ascends and takes His seat at the right hand of the Father.

And so He rests with His loved ones; and I rest in Him.