From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
I have never seen a decree or document stating that the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary have been indulgenced.
I suspect you also have never seen a decree that the Glorious Mysteries have been indulgenced.
The Luminous Mysteries, or Mysteries of Light, are on the Vatican website. HERE They were derived, in part, by John Paul II’s reflection on the writings of Bl. Bartolo Longo, a converted Satanic priest. That’s a pretty impressive conversion.
The short answer is: yes.
These beautiful devotions are a bit fluid. There are different methods of saying the Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross, even different events of the Via Crucis as points of meditation than those commonly found in our favorite versions, such as that of St. Alphonsus. There are different methods of saying the Rosary as well, not just one.
BTW… you will notice that on the Vatican website for the Mysteries, the method of reciting the Rosary includes the Litany of Loreto. Do you do that? No? It also starts differently, more like the recitation of the Office (thus the connection with the Psalter). Also, the Vatican website says that:
The Rosary is made up of twenty “mysteries”….
And …
“This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 38).
Again, there are different ways to pray this devotion.
I have no strong desire to use the Luminous Mysteries. I’m content with the three sets which I originally learned. That said, if I were in some group that was going to say the Rosary, such as on a bus in the Holy Land with pilgrims, and someone launched into the Luminous Mysteries, I wouldn’t run up and down the aisle waving them out of the air. I can’t fathom why it would be a problem do reflect on, say, the Transfiguration of the Lord (I think that’s one of them, no?).
Some will object the recitation of the three chaplets of the Rosary, each with its five decades, amounts to the same number as the Psalms. 50 /3 = 150, right? Sort of like the Office for those who don’t say the Office. I recall reading someone’s notion that by adding another chaplet, the Luminous, you have 200 / 3 and that’s 66.6… Ooooo! We really don’t need that sort of thing. And wouldn’t it be 200 /4 ?
Others might object that adding another set of Mysteries goofs up the days of the week and which set to use. I have zero sympathy for that argument. Use the set you want when you want. See above.
The important thing is that you recite the Rosary.
With that, I’ll conclude with something I’ve posted before, that an exorcist friend told me. He told me about the effect that the Rosary has on demons.
In general, the Rosary has a greater effect on demons than any other devotion. On the “screamometer” from the demons, the Rosary is powerful.
He recounted a particular experience during an exorcism.
Exorcisms can go on for hours and many different prayers and devotions, along with the actual ritual, are deployed. At one point they were saying the Rosary. The demon stared to laugh at them. When queried, the demon responded that their distracted Hail Mary’s were like, “laying wilted dried flowers at her feet”. When asked what an attentive Rosary filled with love was like, the demon said, “What is a fragrant bouquet for her is our downfall.”
[UPDATE: I’m getting notes along the line of “Even if the flowers are wilted mothers like them if their little children bring them!” Sentimentalism isn’t wrong because it is sentimental. Mothers also like the really bad art their children draw… or say they do. Heck, I like it, too, especially in the Christmas cards you send. Sincerely. HOWEVER… wilted flowers are not the best when offered by adults. Sit down at a restaurant and there are wilted flowers. Outstanding, right? Kid art in the Metropolitian Museum… nope. (Even though some kid art is better than what you see in some of the galleries where I rarely go.) We are adults reading this and not 3 year olds. Do your best as often as you can. You can stop with the notes about mothers and children and wilted flowers. As I conclude this I just thought, “Now some Smarticus Pantsicus is going to write that a term for a “still life” painting is “natura morta”, sometimes with wilting flowers, rotting fruit, or even flies.” You can’t win. Smarticus… keep in mind my shifting mood on a stressful day, please. Are hasty Hail Mary’s better than none at all? Maybe.]
Prayers have purposes and effects. While sacraments work ex opere operato, devotions have effect ex opere operantis.
I think it is better to lay nice flowers at Mary’s feet rather than wilted ones. And it is difficult to understand how these are not beautiful flowers:
- Baptism of the Lord
- Wedding at Cana
- Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
- Transfiguration
- Institution of the Eucharist (which also means Priesthood)
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Regarding the “wilted flowers” point, two things strike me. One is that, being loyal to the father of lies, a demon might not be an entirely trustworthy authority on a point like this. I am admittedly out of my depth with this speculation, but I would think a demon would be keenly interested in discouraging the use of any sacramental or pious practice.
Second, heeding Our Lord’s admonishment to be like children, I know many a mother whose heart would melt if her child would bring her wilted flowers in good faith. Undoubtedly fresh flowers are more pleasing, and we should strive for perfection, but I will not be deterred. Indeed, good luck praying undistracted Hail Marys in a family rosary with children. Our family weaves warped and disfigured crowns of roses for Our Lady nearly every time we pray the rosary. Some have eight or nine flowers, others have eleven or twelve, but it’s the only way to teach our children how to weave more beautiful ones, for which we strive. As Chesterton observed, anything worth doing is worth doing badly.
Everything you say is true, Father, and I must confess that most of my rosaries are distracted. But I have always thought that the decision to say the rosary, and sticking at it, is the best prayer I can offer at that moment; and if the flowers are wilted, they will be like those wild flowers and grasses that a little child offers to his or her mother at the end of a long walk in the fields. They may be wilted, but they are there!
Well balanced comment, Fr. Z.
Call me a “traditionalist,” but when I say the Glorious Mysteries I cannot help replacing the last two Mysteries (instituted, I understand, by Clement XIV) with the original ones: The Second Coming of Christ and the General Judgment. Somehow the medieval ones seem more in the spirit of the Christological focus of rest of the mysteries.
I admit that I do, however, quietly add a “memoria” of the Clementine replacements . . .
As I recall there was a St. Smartius Pantsicus, martyred for being lippy to the Emperor, his feast day is February 30th. :)
I am ambivalent about the Luminous Mysteries, at home we always do the traditional 3, but on Thursdays before our usual daily Mass, the custom is to do the Luminous Mysteries for the rosary before Mass. I don’t have a problem either way.
I believe historically there has been a number of variations in the mysteries. While I have great sympathy with the idea of 15 decades and thus 150 Aves as Our Lady’s Psalter, the events to meditate can adapt without changing the core of the devotion.
Father Hunwicke pointed out once that Saint Louis de Montfort’s list of the mysteries is slightly different than the modern ones:
https://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-rosary-alternative-mysteries.html
And earlier versions contained even more items upon which to meditate:
https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/BVM/HortulusRosarium.html
Or https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/BVM/Rosarium.html
Having converted after Saint John Paul II promulgated “Rosarium Virginis Mariae,” I happened to learn the Luminous Mysteries from my first encounter with the Holy Rosary, and didn’t know until years later that they were not of quite the same standing as the other well-known sets!
“Smarticus Pantsicus”… Was that one of the Troggles from Supermuncher?
How many decades in a Rosary? 15. It is my understanding that Rosarium Virginis Mariae doesn’t establish the Luminous Mysteries under force of law. Correct me if I am wrong. The issue that I have with the Luminous Mysteries is that it is another example of post-VII inorganic development of the practices of piety.
That said, isn’t it the Rosary that has the indulgence, not the specific meditations? These can vary, and do vary, throughout history. Their exact form, phrasing, and content tend to come out of popular piety, and the Rosary proper is often surrounded by various additional pious prayers that is standardized only due to the prayer books that people have been taught from. So the Luminous Mysteries as a thing: sure fine, whatever. But are there 20 Mysteries to the Rosary? — No there are four lights, not five!
—-
As an aside, there is a certain dichotomy in the modern Church an under-achieving and an over-achieving instead of doing what is asked. Half-hearted distracted Rosaries vs. saying 8 Decades of 40 different Mysteries. More isn’t necessarily better and something isn’t necessarily better than nothing. The interior intention is so very important. Let us remember that the particular generation of Israelites didn’t get to go into the Promised Land due to their underachieving and Moses’ overachieving of striking the rock prevented him.
Many thanks for your perfectly charitable frankness in this post, Father Zuhlsdorf. In one of the Fb groups, every so often the horror of the revolutionary Luminous Mysteries comes up; in the past I’ve just figurately kept my mouth shut and moved on but next time, I’m planning on linking to this article. “I have zero sympathy for that argument. Use the set you want when you want… The important thing is that you recite the Rosary.”
A real Smarticus Pantsicus would pray BOTH the Joyful and Luminous Mysteries on Thursdays. Or would that be a Scrupulous Personicus?
If the Rosary is an actual supernatural gift (St Simon Stock etc) and the Fatima prayer a supernatural addendum, it seems arrogant and presumptuous to add or subtract anything other than personal devotions or perhaps as small group prayer.
With regard to the “wilted flowers” comment, It is true that much of our prayer is distracted and not the best it can be. That doesn’t take away the point that we should want our prayers to be as good and undistracted as possible.
Perhaps that is one reason that we pray 150 or 200 Hail Marys — so that at least one or two of them will be said well.
I’m actually interested in the “Sarum Rosary” I saw the link to. I absolutely love finding “lost” traditions!
I guess now’s a time to ask a question: with Advent coming up, does anyone know of any “lost” traditions I can do this year during the season?
The luminous mysteries are my favorite ones.
No no no. Smarticus is the name of the instigator of the famous Commentator Rebellion, whose account was suspended along the Appian Way. His co-conspirators were also likewise suspended, after posting “I am Smarticus.”
Even though nobody asked. But that’s the internet for you.
Interesting comment about the glorious mysteries prior being the general judgment – There is a devotion called the rosary of the God the Father which consists of the following triumphs : The promise of the incarnation of Christ, the fiat in the garden of olives, the particular judgement and the general judgment , and a quote from revelations.
Really enjoyed this. Resonates with me. Years ago I was cool towards the ‘additions’ to the mysteries. Then two things happened:
Firstly, suffering with tumours in my neck, a friend’s wife came to administer some personal care and asked what I had been reflecting on that day. I told her which passage of the Gospel I’d been thinking about. She then began the Rosary, reflecting on that passage – not a traditional one. It made me think.
Secondly, researching this, I found that in different orders and traditions there were differences in how the Rosary was/is said. I didn’t know.
I still do the traditional joyful, sorrowful, glorious mysteries, because I’m very old and that was how I was taught, but occasionally, when moved by a passage of scripture, I simply say a decade reflecting on that, whether in the traditional list or not. It does enhance my prayer life
Personally, I am *very* fond of the Luminous Mysteries, and love praying them on Thursdays. The way I remember them is that they are mostly connected with the vocation of our beloved priests – they have to do with the Sacraments they administer. 1 – The Baptism of Jesus, 2 – The Wedding at Cana, 3 – The Proclamation of the Gospel, 4 – The Transfiguration, and 5 – The Institution of the Eucharist. I always remember my hard-working and holy parish priests and other priests I am acquainted with and pray for their physical and spiritual health and protection when I pray these mysteries. We all have our preferences when we pray, so I am not arguing with anyone here. I just think it was splendid of St. John Paul to give us this gift, and I can only imagine how pleased the Queen of the Clergy must be when we remember them. God bless and protect all here!
I can see why people might not appreciate the Luminous Mysteries. It’s easy to consider them not quite as “official” as the originals, but I actually like them. They are nice to contemplate.
MattH,
Thank you very much for those links!
I once found and copied Latin versions of the 50 Rosary clausulae of Dominic of Prussia by way of an ‘External link’ from a German Wikipedia article to a website which sadly seems no longer to exist. I have long wanted to pray the 150 clausulae of Dominic of Prussia as well, but am not a handy enough searcher to have ever found them online – do you – or does any other reader – or do you, Father Z, happen to know of an online source for them?
MattH,
Seeing that Michael Martin gave as his source for the first version you link “Latin from the Hortulus Animae, 1515”, I looked around a bit and found this scan of a 1515 Hortulus anime , which has this Rosary starting at page “208 of 454”:
https://archive.org/details/ned-kbn-all-00003187-001/page/n207/mode/2up
RE wilted flowers: Must admit I’ve never heard anyone suggest that wilted flowers would be acceptable. I get it with the point about mothers of children. I’ve seen and hear any number of similar practices over the years. People too easily turn something that can be allowed once or twice in a pinch…to become a norm. While well-intentioned, they frequently undermine the larger point of the particular rite of the Mass.
Overall, …irritating. I very much appreciate your further analysis and conclusion.
As an added bit of food for thought, wilted flowers would be an obvious choice for symbols of death; they would thus make (vague) sense for funerals. …Any funeral I have ever seen or heard of used flowers in their prime.
It’s kind of amusing that tradition minded people who pray the luminous have to keep it on the down low. I’ve read that JPII saw the need to emphasize Our Lord’s divinity in our time and the subject was addressed in these mysteries.
And what about other parts of the our Lord and Lady’s lives that have no mystery like His 40 days in the desert of the visit of the magi? There could be 5 mysteries that speak to encounters with Christ like the shepherds, magi, call of St matthew, the centurion, Dismas. Some of these could be wedged into meditation on existing mysteries but what could be wrong adding other sets of themed mysteries? As a private prayer shouldn’t the rosary be fruitful and not relegated to a set formula to be recited just because we are onligated? Shouldn’t we be praying/meditating not reciting just to check the box for today?
Excuse me while I retrieve the smelling salts.
Venerator Sti Lot,
I cannot say I know any more about Dominic of Prussia or his version of the Rosary than what you had said, except that it was described some places as the Carthusian Rosary:
https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/c/carthusian-rosary.php
Although if you were looking for this, you probably already knew that as well.
I look at the Luminous mysteries a little differently. When John Paul II came out with them, I questioned if he had a vision of our Blessed Virgin Mary telling him to do so? Obviously not or we would have been told.
It is dangerous territory. No long ago Pope Francis talked of changing the Our Father over “lead us not into temptation”.
There is a term known as spiritual dryness in prayer. It can last a very long time. Though one’s flowers seem ‘wilted’ to oneself it is a likely trick of the devil, I’m sure, to discourage perseverance in prayer. When we feel self-satisfied with the ‘quality’, ‘quantity’, and ‘fervor’ of our prayers and devotion, it suggests spiritual pride.
Wilted flowers please any mother (or father).
@Lurker 59
The issue that I have with the Luminous Mysteries is that it is another example of post-VII inorganic development of the practices of piety.”
With due respect, I don’t understand this obsession of blaming V2 for all things that one does not like. As we can see for the comments here, the Holy Rosary has been changing quite organically, and I feel this change can be considered “organic”. If you don’t like it, welcome, but I don’t think V2 has much to do with this issue.
@Venerator Sti Lot
I love these things, great link.
I think the Hail Marys ought to be said hastily. You do say ten of them, and the time is better spent focussing on the respective mystery rather than the Hail Mary in question. Also, your prayer time is better spent praying three rosaries quickly (it does leave enough time to come into actual prayer, usually with meditation on the mysteries) than one focussing on each word you say. Most of the time, of course, you won’t say three rosaries but one, and that quickly: And that’s fine. It’s better if you take away the feeling that a rosary is not actually such a burdensome thing to “do”. You might do it more regularly. (Coincidentally, I don’t know about saints, but there seems to be a whole lot of prominent clergy and pious people alike who measure the amount of time they do sports in, like, “I’ve been jogging for one rosary’s time”, and the like, and of course driving and all that, so that seems a fine thing to do too.)
They say the better is the enemy of the good. Let’s be good.
And if you we do take steps to improve our praying, we improve it by better shunning worldly digressions of the mind (though without getting scrupulous about them) and focus on the mysteries instead, not by focussing on the words of the Hail Mary.
However, if we add prayers after the actual rosary for some specific intention, such as typically in Church for the intentions of the Holy Father… that is the time where improving the praying means better meaning each specific word.
At least that’s how I see it.
(Oh, I think there is no exception to the rule that one should not care either way what a demon says, especially if it is a real one, because one never can know for sure whether he really is forced to betray a secret or is using a trick or even, possibly, is forced to betray a secret but manages to use a subliminal trick to an end of his own nonetheless. They are smart, as the Church teaches, so we should not wonder if they put their smartness to use.)
Re wilted flowers: This is an opportunity for the wisdom of GK Chesterton: If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly. kThe closer someone is to a bright light, the more likely he is to be blinded by it.
IMHO, it’s important to realize that the Rosary is not a meditation, where someone is trying to control his imagination. There are many things happening at once: The announcement of the mystery; the three different prayers said during each mystery; the possibility of a sudden insight into one of the words of the prayer or the mystery. Also perhaps attention to some work–I have known women who would say the Rosary while they’re doing housework.
I am reminded of Anatole France’s Le Jongleur de Notre Dame
Fr Augustine,
Traditionalist that you are, do you also insist on using the first release of software?
Fr. Z has cited N.38 of Rosarium Virginis Mariae above. That is an important text.
St. John Paul II begins it by reminding us that we can say the whole rosary each day and many laudably do. He acknowledges that the addition of the Mysteria lucid make this harder and so offers a suggestion as to how to distribute the parts across the week as a way of mitigating any difficulty.
If the Rosary is a bike, in these mysteries, he has given us new accessories for the bike (eg. A bell, fancy handle bars, reflectors, etc.). Bottom line as our host has reminded us before in another context: RIDE THE BIKE.
For me the Luminous Mysteries are a godsend. Sunday is now Luminous Mysteries Day. There is no need to consult the calendar to know whether it will be a Joyful, Sorrowful, or Glorious Rosary Day.
@Fr. Reader
To be clear, I am not blaming VII on anything. Given the text of VII and the general attitude towards liturgical and governmental collegiality, I don’t think that the VII Fathers would have approved of a top-down modification to popular piety. In fact, given the way VII, compared to proposed schemas, handles Mariology (cf. Lumen gentium) and eschews being expansive, can we be so sure that the Council Fathers would have been on board?
Yes, the Rosary has been changed organically in the past. Yes, some people like the Luminous Mysteries. Doesn’t change the fact that this is an inorganic development. Generally speaking, we should be against that sort of stuff independently of its source. Again, this isn’t me suggesting that they shouldn’t be used — popular piety is pretty plastic and non-uniform. They are fine, but there is also a reason why the 15 are what they are and the Luminous do diverge from that in content and structure. Again, fine people are allowed to pray as they will.
I used to be an Elementary DRE in a parish FR. Z knows in MN and I continue to teach kids in other ways now. In doing research for a children’s Catholic website (yep, how many of THOSE are there for children, not parents or teachers, but kids – near nothing) the story goes Our Lady gave St. Dominic the specific original 15 mysteries of the Rosary to combat the errors being promoted by the Albigensians. Each mystery combats and corrects a particular error that was being taught by the heretics. So, if you fast forward and look at the Luminous mysteries, what errors are these mysteries combatting in our day? Babies are not being baptized, the Sacrament of Marriage is way down and under attack, the Gospel is not being proclaimed in its fullness, the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus is undermined, and you know what’s next, don’t you? That 2/3 of Catholics don’t believe in the True Presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Each Luminous mystery corresponds precisely to a particular error or need in our time. Applying these particular mysteries from the life of Our Lord is the remedy. THAT’s the POWER! (Our 5 smooth stones to defeat the enemy just like David brought down Goliath!) So like Dominic had his weapon to fight the Albigensians, we continue our battle but, thankfully, with a “fuller” arsenal.
Mama Jean
CatholicKids101.com
“We are kids telling kids about Jesus!” AND “Changing the world one decade at a time!”
@Lurker 59
OK
I have used the Luminous before. I don’t currently, not because they are not useful to meditate upon or that there is anything wrong with them, but because they are the set that is not quite like the other three.
I view the Joyful as mysteries related to the Incarnation, the Sorrowful as related to the Death of Jesus, and the Glorious as related to the Resurrection – the 3 events mentioned in the Creed. The Luminous mysteries relate to Jesus’s ministry, but haven’t traditionally had such a focus as the Credal events (institution of the Eucharist excepted). The other consideration is that the BVM isn’t usually associated with any of the Luminous mysteries other than the wedding, while she is associated with the mysteries of the other 3 sets.
Devotions being what they are, they’re mostly a choice of personal preference. Whatever works to get people praying well and living a life of faith is good.
In addition to the fifteen decade Rosary, there is also the eighteen decade Rosary (to which an additional Mystery or intention is added to each of the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries) which dates back to the mid-Fourteenth Century, was instituted by St. Bridget of Sweden and utilized by the Bridgettines and which was later adopted by St. Teresa of Avila and the Discalced Carmelites. Popes Leo X, Clement XI and Benedict XIV all granted special indulgences to the use of this Rosary. According to St Bernadette, when the Virgin appeared at Lourdes, she caried a rosary of six decades of beads and Bernadette thereafter used a six decade rosary to pray the eighteen decade Rosary of the Carmelites – which differed slightly from the Bridgettine Rosary. Traditionally, a Lourdes rosary has six decades of beads – though how frequent that tradition remains is not clear.
I love the Luminous Mysteries! That is the Rosary I pray for priests.
To the actual topic of the luminous mysteries (and thanks for the answer to the question, I had actually been wondering about that on the technical grounds that they were not yet “out there” when the Enchiridion indulgentiarum was issued),
I like them. Tampering with the Rosary is a big thing, sure, but 1. St. John Paul II was the Pope, 2. he merely proposed, did not order, 3. people have gladly received them.
Yes, there is some sense in not having anything about Our Lord’s public life in the Rosary except the Passion. I get that. There is also some sense in having 150 Hail Marys. I also get that. But it still is worth while to meditate on our Lords public life and the institution of the Eucharist, etc.?
(By the way, an interesting meditation to me is how is the first, second etc. mystery of each series connected to each other. This is a rather economical way of doing a First Saturday meditation… and I always include the luminous ones there. )
Hence, I treat the luminous mysteries as an addition. I would never think to include them on a pilgrimage when the full rosary is said, but the Thursday Rosary? Yes, of course. And that sort of thing.
I like the fact that you can track the course of the Luminous Mysteries through the Gospels of Epiphanytide, Septuagesima and Lent- in the Traditional Missal of course (The Novus Ordo doesn’t do Epiphanytide or the Gesimas).
The Baptism of Our Lord -13th January, a week after Epiphany.
The Wedding Feast at Cana- 2nd Sunday after Epiphany.
Parables concerning the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven- Epiphany 5, Epiphany 6, Septuagesima, Sexagesima.
The Transfiguration- 2nd Sunday in Lent.
The Institution of the Eucharist- Maundy Thursday.
“IMHO, it’s important to realize that the Rosary is not a meditation, where someone is trying to control his imagination.”
Ehrm, I think that may depend on precisely what you mean by controlling imagination. I typically must focus on visualizing one or another aspect of a particular mystery. Otherwise, my mind scampers hither, thither, and yon.
“I think the Hail Marys ought to be said hastily. You do say ten of them, and the time is better spent focusing on the respective mystery rather than the Hail Mary in question.”
FWIW, such thought…likely motivated my CCD teachers. ..and induced me to loathe the prayer. We went into Church by class–I might’ve been in 2nd or 3rd grade–our teachers gave us a copy of the Hail Mary, …and away we went. Maybe we had all the prayers; I recall the paper listed the Hail Mary in particular as I hadn’t learned it; they prayed it so fast I couldn’t keep up. For me, it rapidly became mindless droning with meaningless words.
I recall being further annoyed with others praying a rosary before Mass after college. They seemed to be using the same too-fast pacing as I recalled from childhood; they compounded the matter when requesting the choir pipe down as we rehearsed for Mass because they couldn’t concentrate. Grrrrr!!!!!!
I finally–grudgingly, reluctantly–tried again in my late 30s. I recall Fr Corapi commenting it only took about 20 minutes; I suspect I took a good 45 or more. I needed to ensure to pay proper attention to both the meaning of the words I uttered AND the events and meaning of the given mystery.
…*chuckles* Once I finally got to offering one frequently, …I ultimately learned to offer it in Latin.
Incidentally, I recall reading how one could be…flexible. mo7 mentioned the magi, Dismas, shepherds, and the like. Ultimately, Fr Zs comment regarding needless critique applies. Using the typical 15 or 20 mysteries gives a fabulous summary of Christ’s life and teaching, especially for a group. …Even so, praying to God is praying to God. Maybe choose one–or more–of mo7’s ideas; maybe choose something else. ..Considering the encounter between Christ and Zaccheus comes to mind. Better to consider a biblical event than allow one’s mind wandering about.
I think traditionalists should be able to discern the good and the bad that comes from our modern Popes (and bishops). We should follow the good directives
,like Pope Francis’ consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, but not the ones that are disrespectful to God. There is nothing disrespectful in the Luminous Mysteries or the Divine Mercy Chaplet. There is disrespect in Communion on the hand, female altar servers, female lectors, Mass ad populum, etc. We can make up all sorts of theories, but then we are straining the gnat. I am more concerned about the movement of the mysteries to different days then before which now does not make any sense.