I find it challenging to reflect on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.

Sure, it’s awesome to think about the crowning events in the lives of Jesus and Mary and their reaching their ultimate goal to be with God in heaven forever and ever. It’s even more awesome thinking about all Jesus and Mary endured in their earthly lives in order to get there. I believe Jesus and Mary set the example on what it means to have eternal life with God. They both accepted God’s will – completely and without question – and lived according to his divine plan.

“Behold, I am the handmade of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38) were the words Mary spoke at the Annunciation. And Jesus, on the night before he died and knowing well what the next day would bring, prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42)

The mother of Jesus and Jesus, who is the Son of God, set the example on how to reach heaven. And, here comes the challenging part, I must follow their example and do the same.

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My view on the Glorious Mysteries, in particular the Resurrection, is something that’s evolved over the past 28 years, ever since my mom died unexpectedly on Friday, Aug. 27, 1993. She went into the hospital on Monday, Aug. 23, for a medical procedure that was considered a success. The feelings of joy and relief we felt that evening turned to shock and worry early the next morning when we were informed that pulmonary embolisms – blood clots – were heading for my mom’s vital organs. The following three days were a blur as we hoped, prayed and trusted in the doctors who valiantly worked to try and turn her situation around. With each hour, it was obvious that this was not part of God’s plan. On Friday morning, soon after receiving the Sacrament of the Sick, my mom went home to God.

I’ll never forget in the following days when a close friend – a person of unwavering faith – first offered me words of comfort, and then proceeded to give me a talking to: “You know, Mary, as hard as it is to accept God’s plan right now and you have every right to grieve, just remember what our faith teaches. Just like Jesus, who was raised from the dead on that first Easter Sunday, your mom and every single one of us can experience that same Resurrection and be with Jesus forever. Hold on to that. Don’t let go.”

My friend’s “don’t let go” statement resonated when Jeff Bruno, a member of St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, and a longtime freelance photographer for The Monitor, shared his thoughts on the Glorious Mysteries. “We live our lives with all the turbulence that comes along with it. We go through times that can be very dark, and in the world today, it’s easy to lose hope,” Jeff said. “But the Glorious Mysteries remind us that Christ is triumphant and that we, in him, share in that triumph. So regardless of how dark things may be, we can look forward with hope to what awaits us so long as we persevere in our faith.”

As for praying the Rosary, Jeff admitted that it wasn’t all that long ago he thought he would never be “the sort of person who prays the Rosary daily.”

But faith “brings forth things that we’d never dream possible,” he said. “The Rosary has become a spiritual anchor for me, it re-centers me on what’s important at the end of each day. Now I can’t see life without it.”