Joyful Mysteries
First Joyful Mystery:
The Annunciation
 Reflections
 The time for the Incarnation is at hand.
Of all
women, God prepared Mary from her conception to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word.
The
Angel Gabriel announces: "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee."
Mary
wonders at the salutation.
The
Angel assures her: "Fear not . . . you shall conceive in your womb, and give
birth to a Son.
Mary is
troubled for she has made a vow of virginity.
The
Angel answers that she will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit, and her Son will be
called the Son of God.
The
Incarnation awaits Mary's consent.
Mary
answers: "Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your
word."
The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us.
Second Joyful Mystery:
The Visitation
Reflections
Mary's cousin Elizabeth conceived a son in her old age . . . for
nothing is impossible with God.
Charity
prompts Mary to hasten to visit Elizabeth in the hour of her need.
The
journey to Elizabeth's home is about eighty miles, requiring four or five days.
Though
long and arduous, the journey is joyous, for Mary bears with her the Incarnate Word.
At
Mary's salutation, John the Baptist is sanctified in his mother's womb.
Elizabeth exclaims: "Blessed are you among woman, and blessed is the fruit of
your womb."
"How
have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
"Blessed
is she who believed that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled."
Mary
replies: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit finds joy in
God my Savior."
Mary
serves her cousin in all humility for three months until the birth of John the Baptist.
Third Joyful Mystery:
The Nativity
Reflections
Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem to comply with the decree of
Caesar Augustus.
The hour
for Mary to give birth is near, but there is no room in the inn.
In the
stillness of the night, the Savior is born in a stable, Mary remaining a Virgin.
She
wraps Him in swaddling clothes and lays Him in a manger.
In
unspeakable joy Mary gathers to her bosom the Flower of her Virginity.
Jesus
enters the world in poverty to teach the lesson of detachment from earthly things.
The
Angel announces to the shepherds: "Today there is born to you in the town of
David, a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord."
The
angelic chorus sing: "Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on
earth."
The
shepherds come to the stable to pay homage to the Infant Jesus.
The Magi
come to adore the Holy Child and to offer Him gifts.
Fourth Joyful Mystery:
The Presentation
Reflections
Observing the Law of Moses, they take Jesus to the temple to
present Him to the Lord.
According to the Law, the firstborn male child of every family should be consecrated to
the Lord.
Mary
offers her Son to the Father, then ransoms Him back at the price paid by the poor.
Jesus is
not subject to the Law of Moses, yet to teach obedience, submits to it.
Mary is
not subject to the law of purification, yet in humility she submits to it.
God had
revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the Messiah.
Recognizing the Child, he prays: "Now you can dismiss your servant in peace. You
have fulfilled your word."
And to
Mary Simeon reveals: "And your own soul a sword shall pierce."
After
they fulfill all the Law requires, they return to Nazareth.
Fifth Joyful Mystery:
The Finding in the Temple
Reflections
When Jesus is twelve years old, He goes with His parents to
Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
After
the feast of the Passover, Joseph and Mary unknowingly set out for Nazareth without Jesus.
At the
end of the first day's journey they discover Jesus is missing.
His
parents return immediately looking for Him.
This
loss causes grief and anxiety beyond our understanding to the hearts of Mary and Joseph.
On the
third day they find Jesus in the Temple among the Doctors who were astonished at His
wisdom.
Mary: "Son,
why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been searching for you in
sorrow."
Jesus: "Why
did you search for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?"
Jesus
goes down with them to Nazareth, and is subject to them.
Mary
keeps all these things in her heart.
|
|
