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I.
Joyful Mystery
Annunciation
In the sixth
month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in
Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named
Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The
angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly
favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of
greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not
be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with
child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He 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,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom
will never end." (Lk 1,
26-28; 31-33).
Therefore the
Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Iz 7,
14)
She will give
birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins." All this took
place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and they will call him Immanuel" -- which means,
"God with us." (Mt 1, 21-23).
The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth. (Jn 1, 14).
This is how God
showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son
[2]
into the world that we might live through him. (1 Jn 4, 9).
Meditating the
mystery of Annunciation we pray one Our Father, ten Hail
Maries. After that we pray Glory Be. This set ends with The
Fatima Prayer.
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II.
Joyful Mystery
Visitation
In a loud voice
she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of
your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for
joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said
to her will be accomplished!"
And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble
state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me
blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy
is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from
generation to generation. (Lk 1, 42-43; 46-50).
But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his
control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be
like his glorious body. (Phil 3, 20; 4, 5).
Meditating this
mystery we pray one Our Father, ten Hail Maries, Glory
Be and The Fatima Prayer.
------------------------- III.
Joyful Mystery
Nativity
In those
days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be
taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that
took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone
went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town
of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He
went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married
to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the
time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her
firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Lk 2,
1-7).
Even in darkness
light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate
and righteous man. (Ps 112, 4).
On coming to the
house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed
down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and
presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. (Mt 2, 11).
Meditating this
mystery we pray one Our Father, ten Hail Maries, Glory
Be and The Fatima Prayer.
------------------------- IV.
Joyful Mystery
Presentation
at the Temple
When the time of
their purification according to the Law of Moses had been
completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,
"Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the
Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is
said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young
pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem
called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for
the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It
had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not
die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit,
he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the
child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss
[4]
your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your
people Israel." The child's father and mother marveled at
what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to
Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the
falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will
be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be
revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." There
was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband
seven years after her marriage,
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.
[5]
She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting
and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave
thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking
forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of
the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of
Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled
with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. (Lk 2, 22-40).
Meditating this
mystery we pray one Our Father, ten Hail Maries, Glory
Be and The Fatima Prayer.
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V.
Joyful Mystery
Finding
in the Temple
Every year his
parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.
When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast,
according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his
parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.
Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day.
Then they began looking for him among their relatives and
friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem
to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple
courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking
them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his
understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they
were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you
treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously
searching for you." "Why were you searching for
me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my
Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was
saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was
obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in
her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor
with God and men. (Lk 2, 41-52).
While he was
still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from
the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased. Listen to him!" (Mt 17, 5).
Meditating this mystery we
pray one Our Father, ten Hail Maries, Glory Be
and The Fatima Prayer.
At the end of the Rosary
it is recommended to pray one Our Father, Hail Mary and
Glory Be, and the Litanies of Loreto and The
Hail, Holy Queen.
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