The Joyful Mysteries - Meditations by St. Josemaría Escrivá
The Annunciation
Do not forget, my Friend, that we are children. Mary, the Lady of the sweet name, is immersed in prayer. You can be anyone you like in this house: a friend, a servant, an onlooker, a neighbor... As for me, I do not dare to be any of them. I will simply hide behind you and, full of wonder, contemplate what is happening. And behold, the Archangel arrives and brings a message...
Quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? - How shall this be done, because I know not man? (Lk 1:34)
The words spoken by our Mother bring to my mind, by contrast, the countless impure actions of men... including my own. How I hate these wretched earthly weaknesses now...! What a lot of resolutions.
Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum - Be it done to me according to thy word (Lk 1:38). As if in answer to this cry of the Virgin, the Word becomes Flesh.
The first decade is coming to an end... I still have a moment left to say to my God, before anyone else says it: Jesus, I love You.
The Visitation
By now, my little Friend, you surely know how to manage on your own. Keep Joseph and Mary company with joy then... and you will learn about the customs of the House of David.
You will hear about Elizabeth and Zechariah, you will be moved by the pure love of Joseph, and your heart will beat faster every time there is talk of the Child who is to be born in Bethlehem... We hasten up into the hill country, to a town in the tribe of Judah.
We arrive at our destination. And behold the house where John the Baptist is to be born. Elizabeth gratefully pays homage to the Mother of her Redeemer: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:42-43)
The unborn Baptist leaped in her womb... Mary's humility finds expression in the Magnificat... And you and I, who are proud, who have been proud, promise to be humble.
The Nativity of Jesus
A decree has been issued by Emperor Augustus, ordering a census of the whole empire. Everyone must therefore go to the city of their ancestors. And since Joseph is of the house and family of David, he goes with the Virgin Mary from Nazareth to the city of King David, Bethlehem in Judea. And in Bethlehem, our Savior, Jesus Christ, comes into the world! There is no room for Him at the inn; He is born in a stable. And His Mother wraps Him in swaddling clothes and lays Him in a manger.
It is cold. It is poor. I am Joseph's little servant. How good Joseph is! He treats me like a son. He even forgives me when I take the Child in my arms and spend hours repeating words full of sweetness and tenderness to Him!
And I kiss Him-you kiss Him too! And I dance for Him, I sing to Him, and I call Him King, Love, my God, my Only One, my All! How beautiful the Child is... and how short this decade is!
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
When the time comes for the purification of the Mother according to the Law of Moses, it is necessary to bring the Child to Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord. This time, my Friend, you will be the one to carry the cage with the doves.
Look at Her-the Immaculate One!-she submits to the Law as if she were indeed a defiled person. Does this example not teach you, foolish child, that the holy Law of God must be fulfilled regardless of one's own sacrifice?
Purify yourself! We both certainly need purification! Atonement, and above atonement, Love, which like a hot iron will be able to burn away all the filth of our souls and will be like a fire, kindling a Divine flame in the wretched abyss of our hearts.
A certain just and devout man came into the temple, led by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit-for it had been revealed to him that he should not see death until we see the Christ; he takes the Messiah into his arms and says to Him: “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation.”
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Mary: Where is Jesus?... where has He gone?
Mary is weeping. In vain you and I run from group to group, from caravan to caravan: no one has seen Him. Joseph, who tries to hold back his tears, but he too is weeping... And you are weeping too... and so am I.
I, a small and simple man, cry my eyes out and lift my pleas to heaven... to beg forgiveness for all those times when I lost Him through my own fault and did not weep. Jesus, may I never lose You again... Misfortunes and sorrow have united us now, just as sin united us before. And from the depths of our being comes a torrent of sincere grief and burning protestations, which it is impossible and unseemly to describe here.
And when consolation and joy come because of finding Jesus-He was gone for three days, because He was debating with the teachers of Israel-there remains deeply engraved in your soul and mine the duty to leave our family home in order to serve our Heavenly Father.