The Joyful Mysteries

Joy is the special kind of happiness that comes from being in the presence of one we love. The rosary, and the Joyful Mysteries in particular, allow us to experience the greatest of joys, that of being with Our Lord Who loves us above all things, Who longs to shower us with graces as we pray. Let us join with Our Blessed Mother and St. Louis Marie de Montfort to find this blessed fruit in the five Joyful Mysteries.

Reflections written by a Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa

The First Joyful Mystery:
The Annunciation
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of the Annunciation and Thy Incarnation in Mary’s womb; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of a profound humility. Amen.

“Hail, rejoice, full of grace; the Lord is with thee,” the angel Gabriel announces to Mary in this first mystery of Our Lord’s human life. Though at first she is troubled by the greeting, the angel consoles her by reminding her that by her humility she has drawn to herself the favor of the Lord. Mary, ever the humble handmaid of the Lord, is filled with the joy that comes from His presence, since she is open to receiving God however He comes to her. The angel departs from her after he delivers his message, but the Lord will never depart from her, and so her joy will always be full.

​O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Grant us the grace of humility, that the Lord may come to us and our joy, too, may always be full.

The Second Joyful Mystery: 
The Visitation
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Holy Mother’s Visitation to her cousin St. Elizabeth, and the sanctification of St. John the Baptist; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of true charity towards our neighbors. Amen.

The joy of the Lord is not limited to the one who receives it; as with all good, it is diffusive of itself and spreads to all those around. As Mary approaches the house of her kinsfolk Zechariah and Elizabeth, she greets her cousin, and Elizabeth exclaims in her mirth, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.” As Mary is filled with the joy that comes from the presence of God within her womb and her soul, she brings that fullness of joy to share, in true charity, with her neighbor. There is no better gift that we can offer to another than to Him Who is Joy.
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O Mary, ever rejoicing in God Our Savior, grant us the grace to bring the Lord and His joy to others in our acts of charity.

The Third Joyful Mystery:
The Nativity of Our Lord
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Nativity in the stable of Bethlehem; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, detachment from the things of this world, contempt of riches, and love of holy poverty. Amen.​

Though at first this mystery seems to tell of hardships rather than joys – Mary and Joseph are far from home, with no place to sleep for the night – it is a reminder to us of where true joy is found. Although the Holy Family may lack the goods of the earth, they are with each other; and in the presence of the One Who is Love, there is no lack of joy. And this joy is not just theirs; as the angel announced to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people,” this joy can be shared by all who place God in their hearts as their highest treasure.

​O Mary, Mother of God, grant us always to remember that true joy is found in the presence of the Lord Who loves us with an everlasting love.
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The Fourth Joyful Mystery:
The Presentation in the Temple
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Presentation in the Temple, and the Purification of Mary; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, purity of body and soul. Amen.

“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Mary, conceived without sin, possessed this purity of heart, this single-heartedness, from the first moment of her conception. All she desired was to see the face of God, and she found her joy in beholding the face of her Divine Child. Simeon, too, was single-hearted in wanting to see the Christ of the Lord, and the Lord blessed his desire by allowing him to see Jesus in the flesh before he died; and when he had seen the face of his Lord, Simeon cried out in the joy that is the fruit of those who are pure of heart.
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O Mary most pure, grant us the grace to desire the Lord above all things, that we too may be pure in heart, and thereby see the face of God Who is our joy.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery:
The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this decade in honor of Thy Holy Mother’s Finding of Thee in the Temple; and we ask of Thee, through this mystery, and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the gift of true wisdom. Amen.

If joy is being in the presence of the one we love, then what a hardship it is to be absent from the beloved! After three days of anxious searching, Mary and Joseph find the Child Jesus in the Temple. Though at the time, she did not understand her Child’s seeming absence, she continued to ponder His words in her heart, gaining the true wisdom of God; and though He later would be absent from her during His public ministry, because of her pondering she began to understand that the Lord was always with her when she fulfilled the will of the Father. In God’s will is our peace, and our joy.

O Mary, who continuously pondered God’s word and will, grant us the grace to always seek God and to do His will, that we may always possess Him and be filled with His joy.
O God, Whose Only-Begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mary, Cause of Our Joy, ora pro nobis!