Praying The Rosary – The First Joyful Mystery
[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”B005JXZETK” locale=”us” height=”369″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51t8WzWuhyL.jpg” width=”375″]We we are into the month of Mary, the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Praying the Rosary is the second most powerful prayer in the Catholic Church after the Holy Eucharist. When we pray the Holy Rosary, we are asking Mother Mary to intercede for us, and because she is sinless, her prayers are most powerful. I have already written in detail about Mary Our Model And Mother, and The Role Of Mary In The Salvation Of The Human Race. What we will do – by the Grace of God – for the rest of October, is to look at how to pray the Rosary.
The Rosary is one of the most monotonous prayer, but yet is is one of the most powerful prayer there is for two reasons:
- It contemplates the life of Jesus
- It asks for Mother Mary’s intercession
When we pray the Holy Rosary, we should not just mutter a number of Our Fathers and Hail Marys; but rather deeply contemplate what each mystery is presenting.
The First Joyful Mystery – The Annunciation
This decade contemplates the angel Gabriel appearing to the Virgin Mary in Luke’s Gospel, and it reads:-
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[1] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.37For nothing is impossible with God.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.(Luke 1: 26-38)
Meditation on The First Joyful Mystery
With our fast paced, ever-changing world, where much of good morals and standards seems lost to a world of sexual perversion and immorality, the Virgin Mary stands out as a symbol of purity. Her innocence and purity are qualities that should be desirous in our world. Virginity, purity and chastity are not things of the past! Rather they are desirable qualities of the now. While these are qualities to be greatly admired in Mother Mary, there is an even greater quality on display here; it is Mary’s complete trust in God. She trusted God with her life and was willing to do whatever He asked. Mary knew that in her time, when a woman was found to be with child outside of marriage, there was only one thing that was done to her – she was stoned to death. Yet her yes and her complete trust in God says, “Lord, I know the law of the day can get me in a lot of trouble, but Lord I trust you with my life and I know that you will take care of me. Let what you have said Lord be done to me according to your will.”
Sometimes life challenges us in ways that we never would have expected, be it through personal illness, or some tragedy that hits home. I cannot help but remember my dear brother (God rest his soul), who found out last April that he had cancer in his kidney. We prayed and prayed and believed that God would heal him – and heal him He did for I saw my brother come back to Christ. Even though God called him to himself, we had to accept God’s will – as difficult and painful as it was. Like Mother Mary, we all had to say to God, ‘God you know all things. You know what is best for our beloved brother Joe. Let your will be done Lord. Let your will be done.’
Prayer
Mother Mary, it is so hard to live pure and holy lives today. But with God, all things are possible. Please pray for me and for all who will read this post, to receive the grace to live a pure and holy lives, and to trust God totally and completely even though what He may be asking of us is very difficult to accept.
