The Joyful Mysteries

The Annunciation

The Silent Way

“I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me”.

So often God performs His greatest works in silence. Mary is alone as  the Holy Spirit comes upon her and the power of the Most High covers her with its shadow she conceives the Holy one to be called the Son of God. The whole world was to be affected by this event which God worked in seclusion and silence. So, too, does His grace work in one’s soul. Mary’s was a secret joy until God willed to reveal it to others.

Mother Mary, pray for us that we may always allow God’s grace to work silently in our soul.

The Visitation

The Blessed Way

“Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth knows what God has done for Mary and for all mankind. What greater blessing than to be chosen by the Father to be the mother of all of us. Through it, all glory and honor are given to the Father. “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are Yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever”. No two women ever shared in a joy like that of Elizabeth and Mary.

Mother Mary, pray for us that our souls may be blessed with all the graces that Jesus has merited for our salvation.

Wings Dulce María Loynaz

“You have wings and I don’t. You flit through the air like a butterfly, while I go off to learn, from every last road on earth, what it means to be sad”. 

“Within you there is the weariness of a wing that has been stretched a long time”. 

Two prose pieces from Dulce María Loynez ‘Absolute Solitude’. The introduction to the first two Joyful Mysteries are taken from the Saturday afternoon prayer guide we utilize at St Paul Shrine, put together by extern Poor Clare Sister Regina.

An image of seven-fold grace.