There is Something About Mary Series – Do You Choose Joy?

Ponder:  God wants us to have complete joy. He created us for it.

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary The Joyful Mysteries are one of the four themed categories of the rosary when we celebrate joy entering the world. We meditate on the joyful events of Jesus’ childhood and contemplate God’s incredible love for us.  Traditionally prayed on Mondays and Saturdays, and, during the season of Advent, on Sundays, the Joyful Mysteries are taken mostly from St. Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament.

The most joyful event in all human history is the Incarnation or when God became man and dwelt among us. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, the gates of heaven were closed. God promised to send a savior who would open the gates of heaven. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise. That is why the Incarnation is the most wonderful event in human history. The Joyful Mysteries consist of the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation in the Temple, the Finding in the Temple which we will unpack individually over the next five days.  We accompany Mary and Joseph as they learn that Mary will bring the Son of God into the world, and we journey with them through Christ’s birth and into his childhood. We recount all the Joys of the “Good News”, namely Jesus.

Pray:  The Joyful Mysteries

Lord, when I meditate upon these mysteries, I enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. I focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the obscure foreshadowing of the mystery of Your saving Passion. Your Blessed Mother Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that Christianity is, first and foremost good news, which has as its heart and its whole content the person, You, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Savior of the world.

Amen

Reflect:  Jesus you came so we could be immersed in complete joy: “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete” (John 15:11).

Only in you can I find joy, the kind that makes my heart sing.  The kind that despite my external circumstances lets me rest and have peace.  With so much uncertainty in our world today many are losing hope. We rely on ourselves and forget to look to you. You give us hope and a future. I pray we look to you, our savior, as our hope and comfort.  I think about how You came to rescue us from ourselves and the struggles with our humanity. I think about your humble beginnings and reflect on the many who are displaced from their homes as you were whether it be from conflict, terrorism, or natural disasters.  I pray for an end to the conflict and the and conditions that force people to flee their homes.  

Act: Today I choose You, I choose joy!

Inspire with your life. Words convince the mind but actions change the heart.