The Seven Joys of Mary

Was visiting in church this week, and picked up a pretty leaflet describing the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Just as a reference these events are (from Wikipedia):

1. The Prophecy of Simeon: Simeon prophesied that "a sword will pierce your own soul" (Luke 2:34-35), foreshadowing Mary's future suffering.
2. The Flight into Egypt: Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape King Herod's wrath (Matthew 2:13-21).
3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple: Mary and Joseph searched for the young Jesus for three days in Jerusalem after he stayed behind in the Temple (Luke 2:41-50).
4. Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary: Mary saw her Son, carrying his cross, on his way to crucifixion.
5. The Crucifixion of Jesus: Mary stood at the foot of the cross, witnessing the agonizing death of her divine Son.
6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross: Mary received the lifeless body of Jesus in her arms after his death.
7. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb: Mary's grief was profound as she saw her Son placed in the tomb.

Pondering a bit over the next few hours, I found myself thinking about how people have chosen to highlight Mary’s sorrows over the centuries. Perhaps in an attempt to allow us to identify more fully with her in a human way – as we do with Jesus in his Passion. And this is a good thing. An excellent thing.

But the “doom-and-gloom” nature of these Sorrows is unsettling. It may not present a “balanced” view of reality. Surely there were joyful moments in Our Lady’s life also! What about those?

In a moment’s resolve, I thought about drafting a new list – “The Seven Joys of Mary” to counteract the “gloom-and-doom” nature of the “Seven Sorrows”. Fortunately I checked google first – before attempting to publish my own manifesto – and found the following more legitimate offering (I was unaware of these in all my years of Catholic education):

Seven Joys of Mary (courtesy of AI):

1. The Annunciation: Mary's joy upon learning from the Archangel Gabriel that she would conceive Jesus. 
2. The Visitation: The joy she experienced while visiting her cousin, Elizabeth. 
3. The Nativity of Jesus: The joy of giving birth to the Son of God. 
4. The Adoration of the Magi: The happiness she felt when the wise men came to worship Jesus. 
5. The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple: Her jubilation when she found the Child Jesus in the temple after he was lost. 
6. The Resurrection of Christ: The profound joy of seeing her resurrected Son. 
7. The Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin: Her final and greatest joy at being taken into heaven and crowned Queen. 

The Process of Prayer...

 What can one say about prayer? Many talented saints like Teresa of Avila have done wonderfully and written whole books about it. What more can I add? Even the Lord himself gave us the Lord's Prayer, if that's not enough! But thought I would write down a simple approach, borrowed and pieced-together from various sources. Take it for what it's worth! (grin)

Let us start by telling God that we love him. We enjoy spending time with him. We recognize who God is, and who we are in relation to God.
I love you, Jesus.

We continue by thanking God. For all the good things in life. For the beauty of creation. For the gift of good friends and the company of those we know.
Thank you, Jesus.

Then we move on to telling the Lord how we’re sorry. How we’ve fallen short. How we’ve offended God and our fellow human beings.
Forgive me, Jesus.

We ask God to look after the people we know who are hurting – who are in need of assisstance.
Take care of them, Jesus.

We ask God for healing for ourselves. We bring any particular problems we are having to God’s attention.
Help me, Jesus.

We tell the Lord that we surrender our lives to him. We trust him for our health and well-being.
I surrender myself to you, Jesus. I trust in you, Jesus.

Finally, we ask the Lord to be with us, to guide us, and to protect us in the coming days ahead.
Stay with me, Jesus!

Amen.