29th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Dear Marian Devotees of the Parish of the Epiphany of the Lord

A Rosary for Life: The Joyful Mysteries [Mysteria Gaudiosi]
To meditate upon the Joyful Mysteries, then, is to enter into the
ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. It is to
focus on the realism of the mystery of the incarnation and on the
obscure foreshadowing of the mystery of the saving Passion. Mary
leads us to discover the mystery of Christian joy, reminding us that
Christianity is, first and foremost, evangelion, good news, which has
as its heart and its whole content the person of Jesus Christ, the
Word made flesh, the one savior of the world.
(Saint Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Paragraph 20)

The Joyful Mysteries are, namely: The Annunciation (Mathew 1:18), the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56), the Nativity of our Lord (Luke 2:6-19), the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple (Luke 2: 21-39) and the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51). The Joyful Mysteries are prayed on: Monday, Saturday and on Sundays of Advent and Christmas. The first five decades of the Joyful Mysteries, are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation. This is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: Rejoice, Mary. This is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: Rejoice, Mary.

The whole of salvation history, in some sense the entire history of the world, has led up to this greeting. If it is the Father’s plan to unite all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10), then the whole of the universe is in some way touched by the divine favor with which the Father looks upon Mary and makes her the mother of his Son. The whole of humanity, in turn, is embraced by the fiat with which she readily agrees to the will of God. Exultation is the keynote of the encounter with Elizabeth, where the sound of Mary’s voice and the presence of Christ in her womb cause John to leap for joy (Luke 1:44). Gladness also fills the scene in Bethlehem, when the birth of the divine Child, the Savior of the world, is announced by the song of the angels and proclaimed to the shepherds as news of great joy (Luke 2:10).

The final two mysteries, while preserving this climate of joy, already point to the drama yet to come. The Presentation in the Temple not only expresses the joy of the Child’s consecration and the ecstasy of the aged Simeon; it also records the prophecy that Christ will be a sign of contradiction for Israel and that a sword will pierce his mother’s heart (Luke2:34-35). Joy mixed with drama marks the fifth mystery, the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. Here he appears in his divine wisdom as he listens and raises questions, already in effect one who teaches. The revelation of his mystery as the Son wholly dedicated to his Father’s affairs proclaims the radical nature of the Gospel, in which even the closest of human relationships are challenged by the absolute demands of the Kingdom. Mary and Joseph, fearful and anxious, did not understand his words (Luke 2:50).

Each of these prayers is a powerful reminder of God’s love for us, and they can be a source of great comfort and strength during difficult times. Praying the joyful mysteries invite us to reflect on the incarnation and the hidden life of Jesus Christ. In other words, the Joyful Mysteries are a true Doorway to the depths of the Heart of Jesus Christ, who is the Ocean of joy. Jesus 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). The Joyful Mysteries celebrate when Joy entered the world, when God entered into the mess of the world because of his incredible love for us.

The world would tell us that joy and peace are possible only when everything is perfect, when all tasks are finished. However, if we look at the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph reflected in the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, we know that the greatest joys came through struggle, through suffering, when everything was far from perfect. Through the joyful mysteries, God gives us a glimpse into how to face the trails each of us faces in the world.

It is the task of every Marian Devotee of our Parish to be a Joyful Witness to the Good News. Let all of us in our Parish continue to pray and live the meaning of the Joyful Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.

Yours Fraternally,
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC , & Fr. Clement Sahaya Anand SAC