Meditations for the Joyful, Sorrowful & Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
The Joyful Mysteries:
THE ANNUNCIATION
1. The Blessed Virgin withdraws to a corner of the house to meditate on the Scriptures.
2. She reads the passage from Isaiah (7:14), “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a child…” and she begs the Lord to send the Messiah.
3. The Angel Gabriel appears and greets her by saying, “Hail full of grace.”
4. “Full of grace means she was preserved from all sin from the first moment of her existence.
5. She was conceived without original sin and never committed the slightest fault, even venial, neither through weakness, nor through surprise, nor through negligence.
6. The Blessed Virgin, who understands the meanings of his words, is troubled.
7. She knows that she is sinless, but it would be unthinkable for her to glorify herself.
8. It would be unthinkable for her to be greeted by an angel; who is by nature superior to men.
9. The angel says to her, “Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shall bring forth a son…And of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
10. She understands that she has been chosen to be the Mother of God.
THE VISITATION
1. The Angel Gabriel announces that Elizabeth has also conceived a child.
2. The Blessed Virgin, not thinking of herself, thinks only of her aged cousin.
3. She begins the tiring journey under the watchful protection of St. Joseph.
4. On arrival, the Blessed Virgin greets her cousin.
5. At the sound of the Blessed Virgin’s voice, St. John the Baptist is cleansed of original sin, and he leaps in the womb.
6. St. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, exclaims: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb…”
7. The Blessed Virgin gives all the glory to God.
8. “My soul magnifies the Lord….”
9. The more we glorify the Blessed Virgin, the more God is glorified.
10. The Blessed Virgin remains three months in humble service to her cousin.
THE BIRTH OF JESUS
1. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph travel to Bethlehem for the census.
2. Because the crowds come to be enrolled, there is no room in any inn.
3. Thinking back to his youth, St. Joseph remembers a cave away from the city.
4. He sweeps the ground a little and puts things in order, then he leaves to go search for firewood.
5. During his absence, the Blessed Virgin prays deeply, waiting for the great mystery about to happen.
6. She enters into a state of ecstasy.
7. She awakens and there in her arms she sees the most beautiful baby the world has ever seen.
8. She has experienced no pain. Her soul is filled with unspeakable joy.
9. She contemplates the radiant Child, and she recognizes there her own features.
10. St. Joseph returns; upon seeing the Child, he falls to his knees to adore Him.
PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
1. Forty days after His birth, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph carry the Infant Jesus to the Temple to present Him to the Lord.
2. They give five shekels of silver to “redeem” the Child. (Numbers 1 8:16).
3. They also bring a pair of turtledoves for the sacrifice prescribed to women after birth. (Leviticus 12: 1 et seq.)
4. The old man Simeon, moved by the Holy Ghost, goes to the Temple.
5. He sees the Holy Family and recognizes Jesus as the awaited Messiah.
6. “Now thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
7. Simeon blesses the Holy Family.
8. He prophesizes: “Behold this Child is set…for a sign which shall be contradicted,” that is to say, now every man will be either for Him or against Him.
9. To Our Lady he says, “A sword will pierce your soul.”
10. The Blessed Virgin keeps all these things in her heart.
THE FINDING OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
1. As Jesus is now twelve years old, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph have taken Him to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
2. They are part of a group of pilgrims from Nazareth. Men and women and walk separately during the day.
3. During the return trip, St. Joseph thinks that Jesus is with the Blessed Virgin, and Our Lady thinks that Jesus is with St. Joseph.
4. In the evening, after having searched among all the pilgrims and not finding Jesus, they retrace their steps.
5. The Blessed Virgin knows that Jesus must suffer and die, but she does not know when.
6. This uncertainty is torture for her.
7. Jesus asks questions of the rabbis about the coming Messiah.
8. It was not to learn anything, but rather to show them that they themselves had misconceptions about the subject.
9. He quotes passages of Scripture that teach that the Messiah will have to die to save us from our sins, and not to assure world domination by the Jews. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph find Jesus among the amazed and confused rabbis.
The Sorrowful Mysteries:
THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES
1: On the eve of His Passion, Jesus celebrated the first Mass.
2: Before leaving the world, He wanted to leave us a pledge of His love, by giving us the Eucharist.
3: Jesus, troubled in spirit, said to the Apostles: “One of you shall betray Me.”
4: St. Peter protested, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.”
5: After the Last Supper, Jesus takes Saints Peter, James and John to pray on the Mount of Olives.
6: The Apostles are not able to watch even one hour with Jesus.
7: Jesus sees all the sins for which He is going to atone through His passion; His sweat becomes as drops of blood.
8: Judas arrives and betrays Jesus through a sign of friendship.
9: The Apostles are afraid and flee in all directions.
10: Saint Peter denies Jesus three times.
THE SCOURGING AT THE PILLAR
1: Jesus is taken before the High Priest, where He is falsely accused, slapped and insulted.
2: The Jews drag Him before Pilate, because Pilate alone can declare the death penalty.
3: The crowd demands the release of Barabbas, a murderer.
4. Pilate does not find Jesus guilty of any crime, but he orders Him to be flogged to appease the Jews.
5: The soldiers first use a whip with metal balls at the end of the strips.
6: When Jesus’ body is swollen and red, they then change to a whip topped with tiny bones that tear the skin.
7: Jesus is covered with blood from head to foot. His skin is in shreds.
8: In this way, Jesus has atoned for our sins of sensuality.
9: “Sins of the flesh send the most souls to hell.” (Our Lady of Fatima to Jacinta)
10: Lord, give us the courage to do a little penance.
THE CROWNING WITH THORNS
1: Pilate asks Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answers, “I am King, but My kingdom is not of this world.”
2: Jesus’ Kingdom “did not come from this world,” but it extends over this world.
3: Jesus is King of all creation and He has the right to be recognized as such by all men and by all governments.
4: He is King by nature, because He is the Creator; and He is King by conquest, because He has redeemed us.
5: The soldiers mock the royalty of Jesus by putting on Him a purple robe, a reed scepter, and a crown of thorns.
6: They spit on Him and beat Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
7: Jesus keeps quiet and offers His suffering for the very people who despise Him.
8: Pilate presents Jesus to the Jews: “Behold the man.”
9: The Jews shout, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
10: The high priests say: “We have no king but Caesar.”
THE CARRYING OF THE CROSS
1: Jesus is condemned to death.
2: Jesus takes up His cross with love.
3: Jesus falls the first time.
4: Jesus meets His Blessed Mother.
5: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross.
6: St. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
7: Jesus falls the second time.
8: Jesus consoles the women of Israel.
9: Jesus falls the third time.
10: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
THE DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS
1: Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
2: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
3: Jesus says to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he says to the beloved disciple, “Behold your mother.”
4: “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.”
5: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
6: “I thirst.”
7: “It is consummated.”
8: Jesus dies, saying: “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”
9: Jesus is taken down from the Cross.
10: Jesus is buried.
The Glorious Mysteries:
THE RESURRECTION
1. Upon His death, Jesus’ soul descends into limbo to the joy of the just of the Old Testament.
2. His lifeless body remains in the tomb, always united to the divinity, without the least corruption.
3. On Easter morning, Jesus’ soul reunites with His body, never to be separated from it again.
4. His body, brilliant with light, imprints a mysterious image on the holy shroud.
5. At the same time, the earth is shaken and an angel rolls away the great stone that closed the tomb.
6. Jesus leaves the tomb in all His glory and appears to the Roman soldiers, who are terrified.
7. Jesus goes to visit the Blessed Virgin to announce His Resurrection to her.
8. The Blessed Virgin is filled with joy, but is by no means surprised, nor troubled; she had been waiting for this moment since Good Friday.
9. Jesus appears to St. Mary Magdalene and tells her, “do not touch me” to test her too sentimental love.
10. Jesus appears several times to the Apostles and the disciples, but some are slow to believe.
THE ASCENSION
1. At Jesus’ resurrection, many of the dead leave their tombs and roam around the city of Jerusalem.
2. During the forty days, they visit their families to proclaim to them that Jesus is the Messiah announced by the prophets.
3. Jesus appears only to His Apostles and disciples.
4. Jesus “opens the minds” of His Apostles so that, little by little, they come to understand Holy Scripture.
5. A little before ascending to heaven, Jesus orders His Apostles to “teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20)
6. The nations must render public honor to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and all of society’s laws must be in harmony with His teachings.
7. Jesus appears one last time in Jerusalem and eats with His Apostles.
8. He promises to send them the Holy Ghost.
9. He leads them to the Mount of Olives.
10. Jesus raises His hands and blesses His Apostles, all while moving away from them up to heaven.
PENTECOST
1. The Apostles are distraught.
2. Everyone returns to the Cenacle to pray and wait for the Holy Ghost.
3. The Apostles, the disciples and the holy women number about 120 persons.
4. Matthias is elected to replace the traitor Judas.
5. St. Peter says Mass each day. All receive communion and passes the day in prayer.
6. During this time, an innumerable crowd of Jews from throughout the world is assembling in the city to celebrate the feast of the Jewish Pentecost.
7. Suddenly, accompanied by the sound of trumpets, a violent wind opens the windows of the Cenacle.
8. Tongues of fire descend upon the heads of the Apostles, and, in the blink of an eye, they understand all of Jesus’ teachings.
9. Immediately they descend into the street to announce to the crowd the forgiveness of their sins, upon the condition of doing penance and being baptized.
10. Around 3,000 people ask to be baptized.
THE ASSUMPTION
1. Each day more and more people ask for baptism so as to be saved, but the jealous Jews try to exterminate the Christians.
2. St. Stephen, St. James the Lesser and many others are killed in hatred of the faith.
3. Mary supports the nascent Church through her prayers.
4. St. Luke questions the Blessed Virgin on the details of Jesus’ infancy.
5. The Blessed Virgin receives daily communion at St. John’s Masses.
6. She appears to St. James the Greater in Spain to encourage him.
7. She enlightens and encourages all those who come to see her at St. John’s home.
8. She so ardently desires to be with her divine Son, that her body can no longer retain her soul.
9. Her soul and her body separate, but her body suffers no trace of corruption.
10. A little afterward, her body rejoins her soul and the Blessed Virgin is assumed entirely into heaven.
THE CORONATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
1. At the moment of her Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin exceeded in grace all the angels and saints combined.
2. During each moment of her existence, she made an act of love which multiplied in an extraordinary way the degree of grace in her soul.
3. Thus, at the moment of her entry into heaven, the Blessed Virgin was raised in glory higher than one can imagine.
4. Her glory is quasi-infinite; she touches the “confines of the divinity.”
5. Our Lord places a mysterious crown on the head of His Blessed Mother.
6. This crown symbolizes the total power with which the Blessed Virgin is invested from that point on.
7. Jesus proclaims the Blessed Virgin, “Queen of Heaven and Earth.”
8. All the angels and saints acclaim her as their queen and mistress.
9. Jesus desires that all the graces that we receive pass through Mary’s hands.
10. Mary now distributes all the graces that she has merited with and through Jesus at the foot of the Cross.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kathryn Cecelia Hart on
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In case you all are interested, attached is something I was working on as a meditation on the rosary. It is not perfect, but it is kind of interesting. The 15 decades are a chiasm (I tried to explain what a chiasm is at the beginning of the attached paper, but you can contact me if it doesn't make sense. It is a kind of Hebrew poetry. From chiasms you can get a deeper meaning. I was taught about them in a Scripture course, although I found one in the rosary.)
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Permalink Reply by Bill on
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Kathryn, that is really thought provoking, and a very challenging meditation. Thank you!
I am familiar with what we were taught decades ago as "chiasmic parallelism" in the Old Testament, and it was nice to be brought back to my younger days. I'm off on Thursday and will use your attachment as a good meditation on the Ascension.
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Permalink Reply by Flavia Talladen Schott on
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Wonderful! Thank you for sharing! God bless.
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Permalink Reply by Kate Jackson on
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Please could anyone tell me where the image for the sorrowful mysteries comes from?
Regards
Kate
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Marie on
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Dear Katie,
I just happened upon it one day looking for pictures of Our Lady of Sorrows. Not sure where it came from exactly...what link or source.
DM
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OK - thanks.
Dawn Marie said:Dear Katie,
I just happened upon it one day looking for pictures of Our Lady of Sorrows. Not sure where it came from exactly...what link or source.
DM
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