Rosary Mysteries Help #1 - The Annunciation

[Flopfoot]

Hi all.
I thought I would start a series of threads about the mysteries of the rosary - what they are about and what people meditiate on when praying those mysteries - as many people often ask for explanations and what they should think about and etc. about the mysteries of the rosary.
I’m no expert on the mysteries myself so I too would appreciate anyone who can give suggestions and explain things in depth. Any little interesting points that grab you about this mystery, what authors have written about it etc.

So, this first thread is about the first joyful mystery - The Annunciation.

Here is the main relevant bible passage for this mystery - Luke 1:26-38 (below is ESV translation)

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**26 ******In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, **27 **to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. **28 **And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” **29 **But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. **30 **And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. **31 **And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. **32 **He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, **33 **and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

**34 **And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

**35 **And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. **36 **And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. **37 **For nothing will be impossible with God.” **38 **And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from herAny thoughts on this mystery? Anything special you think about? Please let us know - share the joy (-:

So that we don’t flood the forum with these threads, lets wait 3 days between starting a thread on each mystery. So someone can start the thread on the Visitation on Saturday if they like.

 

[Lapsed]

Great topic!

I truly love the Rosary as a devotion. Of all the practisies within the Catholic faith, I must credit the Rosary with having the greatest pull of all as I have begun to return to the Church.

One of my favourite aids to contemplating the mysteries is to gaze upon a classic painting depicting some aspect of the mystery. With so many paintings by masters to be found all over the internet, anyone with a colour printer can print copies of great paintings to reflect on as they pray the Rosary. This has the advantage of giving focus to our attention while still allowing our thoughts to be directed by the Holy Spirit.

Another approach I have used is contemplating a line of relevant scripture with each of the Aves.

One thing I’ve done is to meditate on a specific virtue in the context of the mystery and what lessons the mystery offers in how I can apply or develop that virtue in my own life.

For example, the Annunciation demonstrates humility, submission to God’s will, faith, and others. In contemplating Mary’s willingness to submit to God in such extrodinary circumstances, I examine my own unwillingness to submit in ordinary circumstances.

I find that by using various ways of focussing on the mysteries, I keep the Rosary much more alive as a devotion and slip less and less into a mindless repetition.

 

[CatholicSam]

When praying this mystery, I like to think about how much Jesus loves us–that He would become a tiny little cell inside Mary’s womb for us!

 

[Fergal]

My favourite though about this mystery is that if Mary’s ‘Yes’ to God brought about the greatest miracle of all time, theh each and every ‘yes’ to God said with faith from our heart brings about a miracle somewhere.