Praying the rosary: the joyful mysteries

Roman Catholics around the world honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus, hand chosen by God to be the Queen of Heaven and an example of feminine joy and strength for men and women alike. The Prayers of the Rosary are recitations of the Hail Mary prayer, the Our Father prayer, and the Glory Be to God prayer, in a specific order, to commemorate fifteen events of Mary's life and to meditate on the lessons we can learn from them.

These events are divided into three groups by Spiritual focus. The first of these groups is the five Joyful Mysteries* (the young Jesus in his family), followed by the Sorrowful (the end of Jesus' life) and the Glorious (immediately following Jesus' death.)

The Joyful Mysteries are the

• Annunciation

• Visitation

• Nativity

• Presentation

• Finding in the Temple

The Rosary is said, or prayed, with the focus on these Joyful Mysteries on Mondays and Thursdays and on other occasions during the ecumenical year when a spirit of Joyousness and Celebration is appropriate.

The first of the Joyful Mysteries of the Roman Catholic rosary is the ANNUNCIATION. More easily understood in lay language as "announcement," this mystery celebrates the Angel Gabriel's appearance to Mary, the fiancé of Joseph, to inform her that, if she consented, she would become the Mother of Jesus, the long-awaited Savior.

Catholics revere the Annunciation as the moment of the conception of Jesus in Mary's womb, also called the Incarnation. This event is the cornerstone of the dogma* of Virgin Birth.

During the saying of this decade* of the rosary, meditations can take the form of:

--acceptance of God's will in our lives, no matter how surprising, unlikely, and inconvenient the path may appear to be.

--humility in its truest sense, which is to acknowledge that we have a purpose in life, have been given the means to accomplish that purpose, and that it would be false humility to deny our skills and opportunities.

--strength in our faith in God's purposeful use of our lives, regardless of how that appears to our families or the culture we live in.

The second Joyful Mystery is the VISITATION. This commemorates that time in Mary's life that she spent with her cousin, Elizabeth --a woman who's first pregnancy came late in life. Tradition tells that Mary, newly expecting, went to stay with Elizabeth to help out during the last three months of Elizabeth's pregnancy. When, in those days before electronic communication, Elizabeth saw the young Mary arrive, she knew without being told that Mary was pregnant with Jesus.

Meditations about the Visitation can focus on:

-- retreating to live apart from our normal life for a time, to focus on our inner, spiritual lives;

-- the gift of our time where it is needed by those not able to do for themselves;

-- trust in our instincts about who the holy people are in our lives, and who are not.

The third Joyful Mystery is the NATIVITY, the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph had risked traveling from Nazareth to their hometown of Bethlehem to meet the Roman Empire's residency requirement for payment of taxes. Because there were so many travelers there, the young couple was unable to find shelter other than in a stable, where Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Meditations about the circumstances of Jesus' birth can focus on:

-- accepting our origins and current circumstances as a beginning point for the rest of our lives, but not being hindered by them;

-- looking into our willingness to respond to others who need help in times of chaos and uncertainty;

-- trusting that we always have shelter from storms in our lives, even if it's not presented as we might have imagined it to be.

The fourth Joyful Mystery is the PRESENTATION in the Temple, or what we would call today, the Baptism. Jewish tradition called for all families to dedicate their first born infant sons to God, and as a symbol of that dedication, to offer a sacrifice of a lamb or two doves. When Mary and Joseph offered their doves at this dedication ceremony, according to Scripture, Jesus was recognized as the long-awaited Savior by Simeon and Anna, two old people recognized in the community for their wisdom.

Meditations on the PRESENTATION can focus on:

-- the power of spiritual community in our lives;

-- the value of ritual and its importance to human spiritual growth;

-- the wisdom of the elders among us;

-- the value of honoring all of our children as sons and daughters of God, and nurturing their inborn spirits.

The fifth Joyful Mystery is the FINDING IN THE TEMPLE. Mary and Joseph had journeyed to Nazareth as members of a large caravan. Traditionally, the men and women traveled separately. Little children stayed with their mothers; young men accompanied their fathers. Jesus was twelve during this journey, and Mary and Joseph each thought he was with the other. Several days into the journey, they discovered that he was nowhere in the caravan, and they returned to Nazareth to find him. After three days of searching, they discovered him in the Temple, studying with the spiritual teachers. According to Scripture, Jesus was surprised at their dismay at losing him; he questioned them, "Do you not know that I must be about my Father's work?"

Meditations on the FINDING can focus on:

-- recognizing and accepting the wisdom of the youth among us;

-- accepting that our children each have their own life path to follow and it may not coincide with our own;

-- gratitude for gifts in our lives that we think we have lost, then re-discovered.

Definitions:

Decade: One section of the rosary beads, made up of one bead slightly separated from the group of ten that follow it.

*Mystery: Basics of the Roman Catholic belief that are accepted on faith rather than on scientific evidence

*Dogma: Teachings that professed Catholics agree to accept without question as the Word of God