Third Luminous Mystery - Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

Third Luminous Mystery - the Proclamation of the Kingdom

The spiritual FRUIT of praying the Third Luminous Mystery is the DESIRE FOR HOLINESS AND THE COMING OF GOD'S KINGDOM ON EARTH.

An audio-video presentation of the Proclamation
of the Kingdom appears at the end of this page.

    A Scriptural Rosary version for this
    decade is available here.
    (Page can take a moment to load, and
                   text may appear further down page!)

The Proclamation of God's Kingdom – Matthew, excerpted from chapters 4 through 7:
Note - this is by far the longest scripture passage given for any Rosary Mystery on this site! Much of Jesus' core teachings are quoted below, because they give instruction on how to live the Christian life. Jesus' words appear in blue font.

[Matthew chapter 4, verses 17, 23-25:]
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to Him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and He cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed Him.

[Matthew chapter 5, verses 1-19, 21-24, 27-28, 31-32 & 37-48:]
When He saw the crowds, He went up the mountain, and after He had sat down, His disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:

[This paragraph is known as the 'Beatitudes'/'Sermon on the Mount'.]
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in Heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment … and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Heavenly Father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

[Matthew chapter 6, verses 1, 6-8, 14-15, 19-21, 24-25, 27 & 33-34:]
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your Heavenly Father.

When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you. In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

If you forgive others their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (that is, money). Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ... Can any of you, by worrying, add a single moment to your life-span?

But seek first the Kingdom (of God) and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

[and Matthew chapter 7, verses 1-8, 12-21 & 24-29:]
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them…Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in Heaven.

Everyone who listens to these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of Mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

In the Third Luminous Mystery, “Everyone is called to enter the Kingdom. First announced to the children of Israel, this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all nations".
(Article 543 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

After a short period of silence, recite the following prayers:

While holding the single bead next to the metal centerpiece of your rosary beads, pray the 'Lord's Prayer' :

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil, Amen.

On the next bead (first in the group of 10), pray the 'Hail Mary' :
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee!
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death, Amen.
Repeat the 'Hail Mary' 9 more times, for each remaining bead in the group of 10 (the 'decade').

Next, pray the 'Glory Be' :
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end, Amen.

Next, pray the 'Fatima Prayer' :
O my Jesus, forgive us (our sins), save us from the fires of Hell!
Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy, Amen.

See rosaries with added 'Glory Be' & 'Fatima' beads!

This concludes the Third Luminous Mystery. Now you may proceed to the:

Fourth Luminous Mystery a different Luminous Mystery

closing prayers (if you are praying only the Third Luminous Mystery)

start of this online rosary (all Mysteries are accessible by day of the week)

Optional Video

The video below announces the Third Luminous Mystery, the Proclamation of God's Kingdom, proceeding to the recited decade of prayers. It is also accompanied by soft background music and scrolling scripture passages. To play the video below, click on it twice.

Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery
Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery
Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery
Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery
Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery
Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery Third Luminous Mystery