“Try to pray by reading or reciting a few Psalms and by rousing your will to make acts of resignation, or petition, accompanied by confidence in God who lets us suffer only because he loves us.” –Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat (+ 1865)
Intention: I pray for Your help, Lord, today, in carrying out the work that You have given me to do.
Monday: New Type of Humanity
1st Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation
Scripture:
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and
the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and
he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end.
—Luke 1:32–33
Reflection:
Humanity was born of Adam and Eve. But God loved us so
much that in order to redeem us, He asked Mary to consent
to becoming the mother of Our Lord, creating a new type
of humanity—one freed from sin. But Mary had to freely
choose it.
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus, Abyss of all Virtues, You came to make us part
of Your new humanity, in which sin and death were vanquished
forever. Give parents the inspiration to instruct their children in
the ways of virtue, and so create more human flourishing and
peace in our world. Amen.
Monday: Magnified With Her Soul
2nd Joyful Mystery: The Visitation
Scripture:
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;/
my spirit rejoices in God my savior./ For he has looked upon
his handmaid’s lowliness;/ behold, from now on will all ages
call me blessed.”
—Luke 1:46–48
Reflection:
After Elizabeth greeted Mary, exclaiming that the babe inside
her womb leapt for joy, Mary’s response is called the Magnificat.
In it, she looked backward to the time of Abraham, and also,
she looked forward to the future when all generations would
call her blessed. She magnified the Lord with her human soul.
Prayer:
Mother Mary, Tower of David, despite a life of poverty and
suffering, you described yourself as eternally blessed because
you gave birth to the Savior of the World. Please pray for me to
birth Christ in my heart, so that I too may be blessed beyond
my wildest dreams. Amen.
Monday: God Born as Outcast
3rd Joyful Mystery: The Nativity
Scripture:
She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in
swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was
no room for them in the inn.
—Luke 2:7
Reflection:
There was no place for them in the inn, but there was just
barely a little room in the stable. The inn represents social
respectability; the stable represents the outcast. God Himself
was born as an outcast. Divinity is often found where we least
expect it.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, provide the poorest of the poor in our world—
the faces of Christ – with their daily bread. Amen.
Monday: First Canticle
4th Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple
Scripture:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation
of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him.
—Luke 2:25
Reflection:
Simeon’s canticle was the first song to celebrate Christ’s being
born on the earth. He sang that Jesus was a light to reveal God
to the nations, and the glory of the people of Israel.
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, please heal all
divisions in the Holy Land so that Christians, Jews and Muslims
may live together in blessed accord, and demonstrate peace to
every corner of the world. May the Holy Land become a land
of healing and harmony. Amen.
Monday: What Must I Do?
5th Joyful Mystery: The Finding of
the Child Jesus in the Temple
Scripture:
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents
did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they
journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives
and acquaintances.
—Luke 2:43–44
Reflection:
At twelve years old, Jesus was using the word “must” with
regard to His duty to His Heavenly Father. He was already
steeling Himself in His human nature, to fulfill the “must” of
His divine nature.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, show me what I “must” do to fulfill Your
will, and steel me to do it through my human nature and
through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Help me to endure to
the end. Amen.
