Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

Gabriel announces the arrival of the Saviour

This first mystery of the Rosary is called the “Annunciation” because in it the Archangel Gabriel “announced” to the Virgin Mary the arrival of Jesus the Messiah (or Christ in Greek which means Saviour). His arrival was the annunciation of Grace and Life for Mankind. In this Mystery we remember this visit by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. Gabriel was sent to her by God to ask her to become the Mother of the Eternal “Son of God”. God wanted her to use her free will to obey Him. St Gabriel was sent to Mary in the sixth month of St Elizabeth’s pregnancy and he asked Mary to give her Child the name “Jesus” which means “God saves”. Only God can save us from the punishment our sins deserve. This Mystery is very similar to the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. On that day the evil angel Satan in the form of the Serpent had his victory over mankind. He persuaded the sinless virgin Eve to disobey God by taking and eating the fruit from the tree and then Eve helped the sinless virgin Adam to also disobey God by taking and eating the fruit also. Their Sin of disobedience caused the fall of Mankind. In a sense that day was Satan’s secret annunciation of sin and death to Mankind. In this present Mystery of the Rosary we remember the beginning of God’s Victory for mankind over sin and death when He sent Jesus His only Son to bring us Grace and Life by His death on the Tree of the Cross. Jesus is the New Adam who came to Redeem all Mankind. The first Adam caused the Fall of all mankind. Mary was asked by the Angel Gabriel to receive Jesus and He is the Eternal Fruit (or Son) of God. The Sinless Virgin Mary is the New Eve who through the Angel obeyed God. She helped the Sinless Virgin Jesus who is the Divine New Adam to Redeem mankind. He will do this later by His own obedience to His Heavenly Father. Two sinless virgins (Adam and Eve) used their free will to sin by disobeying God and so they brought death into the world and two sinless virgins (Jesus and Mary) used their free will to obey God and so they brought Eternal Life into the world. Only Jesus the God-man could save mankind but He used Mary the woman to help Him.)

B ) Jesus the Eternal Fruit

Jesus is both the New Adam and also the New Fruit to redeem Mankind. He is the Eternal “Son of God” and is the second person of the Trinity. He is also called the “Eternal Wisdom” or the “Eternal Word” of God. The word “Wisdom” means “Knowledge of good and evil”. The “Son of God” or the “Eternal Wisdom” of God then is God’s Eternal “Knowledge of His own goodness”. Jesus the “Son of God” is the Father’s only “Eternal Fruit” and that Fruit is the Father’s “Knowledge of His own Goodness”. The “Son” is God’s Eternal “Fruit of the Knowledge of Good (and evil)” (See the similarities of Genesis 2; 17 where God forbid Adam to eat the temporal “fruit of the knowledge of good and evil” which was on the tree). There is no “evil” in God, but there is in His creatures that reject Him. In the Garden of Eden Adam ate the “fruit” and it became part of his human nature but in this mystery the Son of God who is the Eternal Fruit of God receives a man’s body and nature into His own Divine Nature. First the man Adam absorbed the fruit into his human nature then in this mystery God’s Eternal Fruit absorbs a man’s nature into His Divine Nature. Eve listened to the voice of Satan the Serpent and received his words into her heart, but Mary listened to the voice of Gabriel and received the “Eternal Word” or “Fruit” of God into her heart and her womb. God is Spirit by nature, so it was even more important that the Virgin Mary should be more “Virgin” in “Heart” (or “Sinless”) in “Heart” than in body because Jesus is the infinitely Holy God.

C ) “Free will”

The most powerful gift God gave to man is “free will”. With our free will we can make decisions to do evil, that is “to Sin” and reject God or we can decide to Love God and do good. If we sin we are really only rejecting ourselves from God’s presence, so we see that free will only gives us great power over ourselves because with our free will we can banish ourselves from God’s presence for all Eternity. We can use our free will to obey or to disobey God. Adam and Eve abused their free will by disobeying God and caused the Fall of Mankind. As Adam was the physical head of the human race his disobedience alone caused the fall and death of the human race but Eve disobeyed God’s command to Adam and was the instrument used to help bring sin into the world. Jesus and Mary used their free will to obey the Father. Jesus is God and He is the spiritual Head of the human race and so His obedience alone saved mankind but Mary was the instrument God used to help Him to bring Jesus and therefore all grace into the world. Eve by helping Adam to sin opened the door to all sin, Mary helped Jesus to come into the world to redeem us and she is the continuous Mediatrix and channel of all His Graces to us. The Devil used the woman for his victory so God wants us to use Mary the New Woman for all our victories over the Devil and sin. In complete obedience and with courage that no other person could have Mary replies “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word”. Frank Duff who founded the Legion of Mary said that Mary’s “Yes” was the most Heroic decision ever made by any mortal human being, probably because Mary fully realised that her “Yes” would mean living in the perhaps terrifying presence of God.

D ) The Trinity

We see in this Mystery that the Holy Trinity is first revealed to mankind through Mary (See Legion of Mary handbook by Frank Duff) when she asks “But how shall this come about?” and the Angel replies “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High (the Father) will overshadow you;; therefore the Child to be born of you will be called Holy, the Son of God”. At the Annunciation Mary became the Mother of God (the Son of God) and she became our Mother too because Jesus is our Head and we are His Mystical Body.

E ) The Meaning of “Six”

There are a few repetitions of the number “six” in the Gospels about the life of Jesus. In this Mystery of the Rosary Gabriel appears to Mary in the “sixth month” of St Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Perhaps the reason for that was to confirm for us that Jesus the “Son of God” is the Divine New Adam because God created the first Adam on the “sixth” day. It may also be to show us that Jesus is also a real “Son of Adam” or a real “Son of Man”. Perhaps Jesus often referred to Himself as the “Son of man” for the same reason. The number “six” may be a symbol of all humankind whose parents according to the bible were created on the sixth day. The phrase “Sixth month” refers to the time between the conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus.

F ) Immaculate Conceptions

The Feast of the Annunciation (25th March) is a celebration of the Angel’s Announcement of the arrival of the promised Messiah but it is also the day of His Immaculate Conception and on the 8th of December we celebrate Mary’s “Immaculate Conception” which was achieved by the grace of God. We see that Adam and Eve were also Immaculate Conceptions but they were conceived or created as adults and not in the womb and they did not remain sinless. This Feast remembers the “Incarnation” (which means the taking on of flesh) by Jesus the Son of God. Catholics usually remember this Mystery when saying the “Hail Mary” prayer and also the “Angelus” at six and twelve o’clock daily.

The Visitation Luke 1;39-45 Feast day 31st May

A ) Bring Jesus to others

Mary goes to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth

In this Mystery of the Rosary we reflect on Mary’s visit to her kinswoman Elizabeth in the Hill country of Judea. This was a long journey of about 70 miles from Nazareth. Mary is the first Christian Lay Apostle. Mary is unlike Eve who disobeyed God by stealing the fruit and then bringing it to Adam, because she obeyed God and received Jesus the Divine Fruit and then brought Him to her cousin Elizabeth. Eve brought words from an evil source (satan) to Adam but Mary brought Jesus the Eternal Word Who is the source of all goodness to Elizabeth. Mary says that her “Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” because she was saved from original sin in advance by God Who became her Son. She was saved free from sin at her conception and she remained sinless by the grace of her Son. Mary used the graces she received from God to properly direct her free will. When we say the “Hail Mary” we join “all the generations who call her blessed”. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion we too receive Him into our heart and if we receive Him in union with Mary we too can bring Him to our neighbours who are in need. We can then proclaim her Magnificat (Luke 1; 46-55). Mary had Jesus in her heart and brings Him to others so she is the first example of the Lay Apostolate. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and her presence there also meant the Presence of Jesus in John the Baptist’s home and we can easily believe that Mary prayed much to her Son for John His future “Herald”. Mary helps to prepare those who want to prepare the way for her Son.

B ) Meeting of two Eves

Mary’s greeting fills Elizabeth and her unborn baby John the Baptist with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth full of the Holy Spirit recognizes that Mary is carrying God in her womb and she humbles herself before the Mother of God. Mary the “New Eve” meets Elizabeth in the “sixth” month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy which may be a reference to the first Adam and Eve who were created on the “sixth” day. This old woman Elizabeth symbolises the first Eve of old because she is both “old” and “barren” and can remind us of Eve in a barren wilderness waiting for the Messiah. This meeting of Elizabeth and Mary is like a meeting of the first Eve and Mary the Sinless New second Eve. Elizabeth exclaims “Of all women you are the most blessed and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?” and also she said “Blessed is she who believed the promise made to her by the Lord” unlike Eve who disbelieved the promise made to Adam and her by the Lord. It is as if the first Eve was talking through Elizabeth to Mary the sinless New Eve. It is as if Eve was saying “Blessed are you Mary and Blessed is your Fruit unlike I who was cursed and all the fruit of my womb also. We can say that Elizabeth symbolises the whole Church which itself is the New Eve because it is the “Bride of Christ” who is the New Adam. The Church fulfils Mary’s prophecy of “All ages will call me Blessed” because many members of the Church say the “Hail Mary”. The Church (New Eve) also produces “forerunners” (Popes, Bishops, Priests and Lay people) who “prepare the way of the Lord” like St John the Baptist. Elizabeth hides herself for five months and then in her sixth month shows herself which reminds us of Eve hiding from God after her sin. Elizabeth comes out of hiding saying that “now it has pleased the Lord to take away my reproach among men” which shows that now the fullness of time has come and that God has given the children of Eve a “Redeemer”. Eve’s shame is about to be blotted out. The children of Eve could never redeem mankind but God in His mercy gives Elizabeth a child who symbolises the divine New Adam and prepares the way before Him. It is no coincidence that Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation that “She who people call barren is now in her sixth month” because Gabriel was showing that Elizabeth symbolises the first Eve now on the verge of redemption..

C ) Magnificat

Luke 1; 46-55
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

In her “Magnificat” (Luke 1; 46-55) it is as if Mary was talking to Eve because she says “Henceforth all the generations will call me blessed”. What Mary proclaims in this Magnificat is the opposite to what Eve would say about herself. We see in the “Redemption” that there is a similar but opposite pattern, to the “Fall”. Frank Duff said that what happened between Jesus and Mary was the opposite to what happened between Adam and Eve and that is because Eve helped Adam to cause the Fall of mankind but Mary helped Jesus to cause the Redemption.

D ) John the Baptist symbolises the first Adam

Mary is the new (Sinless) Human Eve and John is like a new human Adam who prefigures Jesus the Divine New Adam. It is fitting that Mary the New Eve by “the sound of her greeting” sparked the Holy Spirit in John the new Adam because Eve by her “voice” helped Adam to disobey God but Mary by the words of her “greeting” spiritually helped John who symbolises Adam to receive the Holy Spirit even in his mother’s womb. Mary had the “Word of God” in her womb and Heart. Mary’s great vocation was to help prepare Jesus the New Adam to redeem mankind. Elizabeth hid John’s conception for five months and then revealed it in the sixth month (See Luke 1;24). Humanly speaking John is six months older than Jesus and when John finishes his public life Jesus begins His own with the same words “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand” (See Mathew 3; 2 and 4; 17 ).
Adam was banished from Paradise to the wilderness of the world, Jesus the New Adam exiled Himself in a sense from the Paradise of Heaven to the wilderness of Earth for our sake for 33 years. John too will banish himself to the “wilderness” of Israel and feed on “Locusts and wild honey”, he will wear a tunic made of “camel skin and a leather girdle around his waist” (See Mark 1; 6 and Genesis 3; 21 where “God made tunics of skins for the man” after the Fall. John is like a penitential new human Adam who preaches repentance to his fellow men. He prepares the way for Jesus the Penential Divine New Adam who alone can “redeem” humankind. Adam sinned and lost the grace of the Holy Spirit because as God explained to him (See Genesis 3; 17) “because you listened to the voice of your wife, and ate from the tree”, but in this mystery John who is like a new Human Adam hears the voice of Mary the new Human Eve and receives a plentitude of grace from the Holy Spirit. He receives this through Jesus the Divine New Adam. St Luke alternates the two annunciations (by Gabriel) and births of Jesus and John to show us that they are both connected. John is the new human Adam, Jesus is the Divine New Adam. John baptised with water but Jesus will baptise with the Divine Water which is the Holy Spirit and Who will wash away sins. Later in the Gospels we see that John dies but he does not rise from the dead and this shows us that no man can redeem man not even John of who Jesus said “Of all the men born of women there is none greater than John”.

E ) The Church

The Church is the New Eve because it is the Bride of Jesus the New Adam. John himself seems to have understood that Jesus was the New Adam because he referred to Him as the “Bridegroom” (See John 3; 29). The “Church” which means ÜAssembly” is also called the “people of God”. Mary the Sinless Virgin is the most perfect member of the Church and she is an image of what the whole Church is destined to one day be in Heaven. Mary unlike Eve helps to bring Life and not Death into the world and because Mary is the “mother of (the) Lord” she is also the Spiritual Virgin Mother of all who will “Live eternally” and Eve is the physical mother, grandmother, great grandmother etc “of all the living” but who have to die. Eve was cursed because she believed the evil Angel and the father of lies Satan. All “ages will call Mary blessed” because she believed Gabriel the Angel of Truth. No doubt on her long journey to Elizabeth’s house Mary was praying to the Son of God in her womb for Elizabeth and her baby and those prayers helped obtain the tremendous graces of the Holy Spirit which John and Elizabeth received. Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Spiritual Mother of the Church.