The Holy Rosary has twenty mysteries total, divided into four sets of five mysteries each. (The word “mystery” here refers to something that’s not easy to understand by intellect alone, such as the Resurrection.) The mysteries of the Rosary focus on the events of the life of Jesus and Mary.
This article will explore the Joyful Mysteries, which focus on the events surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood:
Below, you’ll find Scripture passages for each of the mysteries. If you don’t know yet how to pray the Rosary—or if you could just use a quick refresher—you’ll find a brief guide for praying the Rosary here.
A different set of mysteries is prayed each day of the week, following this schedule:
Monday Rosary: Joyful Mysteries
Tuesday Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesday Rosary: Glorious Mysteries
Thursday Rosary: Luminous Mysteries
Friday Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturday Rosary: Joyful Mysteries
Sunday Rosary: Glorious Mysteries
The Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Mondays and Saturdays. This a great way to start the workweek as well as a fitting way to observe Saturday, the day the Church traditionally honors Mary with a memorial.
There are plenty of reasons to pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary (or any set of mysteries!):
1. It will help you grow closer to Our Lord and Our Lady.
2. It will give you deeper insight into the events surrounding Jesus’ Incarnation.
3. It will help you grow in your faith and make progress on the path to holiness.
4. It will provide you with special graces and Our Lady’s protection.
But don’t just take our word for it—see for yourself the graces you’ll experience when you pray the Joyful Mysteries with a sincere heart. (Again, if you need a quick guide on how to pray the Rosary, check out this article.)
The Annunciation by Philippe de Champaigne
“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 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.’... Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.”
Luke 1:30–33, 38
The Visitation by Giotto
“During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.’”
Luke 1:39–45
Adoration of the Shepherds by Giorgione
“And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and 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 2:4–7
The Presentation in the Temple by Alvaro Pirez d’Evora
“When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,’ and to offer the sacrifice of ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,’ in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Luke 1:22–24
Jesus Among the Doctors by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.’ And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’”
Luke 2:46–49
Pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary on CathtolicTV’s YouTube channel, recorded at beautiful sacred locations from around the world. Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!
All Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the New American Bible.
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