I make up my own mysteries of the rosary. There, I said it. I am a rogue rosary prayer. Each day I pray the rosary when I exercise. However, when it’s a long workout and I forgot my audiobook, I continue saying the Rosary.  I have already said the mysteries of that day, so I think about other moments in the life of our Lady and blessed Lord. 
Some of my favorite meditations are what I call the Mysterious Mysteries. The period between the finding of the child Jesus in the temple until His baptism by St. John is what we call the “hidden life.” It’s the period where Jesus return with His parents to Nazareth and was obedient to them. By my calculation that is 18 years of Jesus’ life that we know nothing about, but we can speculate. I believe that he was experiencing all the normal things that a young man would do, except sin. So from the hidden life of Jesus, I present five of my mysterious mysteries of the holy rosary.

1. Keeps Holy the Sabbath – As good Jews, the Holy Family would have kept holy the Sabbath. They would have walked to temple, worshipped, visited with friends and returned home for a meal together. Mass and a Sunday supper should flow from this mystery. Do the chores on Saturday. After Mass, go ahead and watch the game but turn off the tube when it’s time to have Sunday supper together. Take turns leading the prayers, and don’t forget to tell God what you are most grateful for that week.

2. Hangs out with friends – Imagine having Jesus in your high school math class.  He definitely would get the answers right when He was called on, but I am sure that everyone felt better about themselves from hanging out  with the Lord. No teenage angst (felt nervous, worried) around Him. Leaving people better from an encounter with you is the blessing to pray for during this mystery. Let people hear a kind word and a compliment, and don’t forget to ask them if there is anything that you can pray for them.

3. Helps the Neighbours – Picture the old lady next door to the Holy Family.  I bet you, she never had to drag her trash cans back in after pick-up each week.  Be a good neighbour, especially if they are not.

4. Our Lord Does the Dishes – I can picture Jesus, Mary and Joseph outdoing one another in kindness. It was not a showy kind of care, but it was a genuine joy of bringing those we love joy. Pray for the blessing to outdo your family in generosity and goodness. Pray for the blessing of being inconvenienced.

5. Jesus Attends a Wedding at Cana – I know you think this is already covered in the Luminous Mysteries, but that mystery involves the miracle of Jesus’ changing water into wine. I am just meditating on Jesus being at a party. Did he have fun? Absolutley! Did he dance? I bet he did. I can see him in one of those large group dances from Jewish weddings. Did he laugh? Of course. He entered into humanity to help us appreciate not just the great mystery of our salvations, but also he helped us realize the true blessings of our hidden life.