The Glorious Mysteries According to Zoey

Originally posted at The Way of the Rose Facebook group April 7, 2020

Novena Day 48

I had a rough day yesterday. My baby brother was admitted to the hospital with a high fever. He has a history of asthma, apnea, and more than 40 years of smoking/vaping. I also found out that my brother-in-law (who, thankfully, is healthier overall, but is in his 70s) has been feverish and coughing for several days. He was told to assume he has COVID until the test comes back. And my nephew’s wife, who has a stable but inoperable brain tumor, and her two elderly parents are all confirmed cases.

All I can say is today I need the Glorious Mysteries.

The Glorious Mysteries

The Resurrection

There has been so much written about the various resurrections throughout spiritual literature that I think most people have a pretty good understanding of this one. The resurrection is the realization that death and destruction are not the end. Life always finds a way to return and renew. It’s why Easter happens in the spring, at the same time that the world is waking up from what may have been a barren winter. We are frequently told that Jesus has been abandoned by “all his friends.” But that’s not true. The women never left. They are holding vigil when it happens. In many resurrection traditions, the women actively put the dead lord back together. For me, this means that it isn’t going to be the masculine traits we have been “crowning,” competition, “winning” at the expense of others, and amassing power and wealth, that will be helpful when transcending death and destruction that was caused by those traits. Rather it is the feminine traits of community, compassion, and cooperation that we must call upon.

The Ascension

After spending 40 days with his apostles, Jesus “ascended” into heaven. He pierced the veil between heaven and earth and was able to see with the eyes of heaven. I don’t think of “heaven” as “above” earth, so the idea of ascension to me, rising up, brings up different connotations. “Going up” or “looking up” are frequent themes throughout spiritual literature. Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive God’s word and came back with the Ten Commandments. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” In the 23rdPsalm—The Lord is my shepherd—the “shadow of death” is in a valley.Ascension to me is the idea of withdrawing from engagement in the world in order to see the world from a different perspective, to the extent possible, the eyes of heaven. The view from above is always more expansive than the view on the ground. It is also, by design, less personal and less emotionally involved. I think this is idea behind going off to meditate in a cave or an ashram, as well as denial of pleasures of the flesh. The spiritual seeker is attempting to transcend the limitations of earthly existence. I think it’s striking that the world has called for a universal withdrawal from engagement at a time when many spiritual intuitives have been talking about “ascension.” Could social distancing be aiding this ascension? If so, what can we gain from it?

I have long felt that such withdrawals can have a great deal of value, but just as this is only the second of the five glorious mysteries, they are not the end of the road. They are a step, a valuable and maybe even necessary step on the spiritual path, but they are not the destination or even the path itself. In the shunning of earthly pursuits, such withdrawals are inherently masculine in nature and must be balanced by the feminine, and that is exactly what happens next.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit

Once the new perspective has been gained, to change things here that perspective has to be brought back to earth and shared with others, and in the very next mystery that’s what happens. The Holy Spirit (the feminine aspect of God) “descends” into those who are still here. They, too, can now see with the eyes of heaven, knowing perhaps for the first time in their lives the oneness and connection of all things. The disciples now experience the wisdom, grace, and power of heaven.The veil has been broken forever: All of us have access to that wisdom, grace, and power at any time here on earth. All we have to do is tune in to the pure joy and boundless love of heaven, set our heart “receivers” to the frequency of the Divine Mother’s love. It isn’t easy to tune in to that when we are so busy listening to the noise of our society and buying into the fears. That’s why the Ascension is necessary. But it is there for us anytime we pick up a rosary and remember who we are, who She is. Interestingly, people have discovered that certain chemicals, LSD and psilocybin among them, can make it much easier to tune into the vibrations of love and oneness provided that one’s mindset is already pointed more toward love than fear.

The Assumption or “Dormition”

Mary doesn’t die; she simply goes to sleep on earth and wakes up in heaven. This one may seem just silly. If Jesus ascended, why isn’t that good enough for Mary? Why does she do something altogether different? Because heaven isn’t “above,” and it is no longer necessary to ascend. There is no effort required for Mary’s transition from an earthly existence to a heavenly one. This mystery reminds us that there is no separation, no veil, between heaven and earth. All is one. All that’s required to be in heaven while still on earth is a simple shift in consciousness. Simple, not easy.

Mary Is Crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth

This is the “end” of the story that starts over again tomorrow. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I always cringed whenever I heard this phrase. What exactly is “Queen of Heaven and Earth” supposed to mean, anyway? It sounds like some pie-in-the-sky title made up to make everybody happy. But what does it mean?I have a very different take on this mystery these days. Mary has already demonstrated that there is no separation between heaven and earth, meaning that we are not bound by the limitations we attribute to life on earth, and there is no place on earth that isn’t accessible from heaven. And now we are explicitly told that this generous, merciful, loving—in short, motherly—presence is in charge of both. What could be better than that?For most of us our first and most important nurturer, protector, and champion, is our mother. We came from within her and were one with her in a way that we may be seeking in other relationships for the rest of our lives. Earthly mothers tend to make mistakes, some of them huge, but as a society we still retain that deep connection to “mother.” Who wouldn’t love to have the perfect mother always available to provide that nurturing, protection, and championing at any time? There is no corner of heaven or earth that the Divine Mother cannot reach and improve with her intercession, even miraculously, if we tune our hearts to her love and invite Her to co-create with us.