Detail: Fra Angelico, The Annunciation (c. 1440)
Joyful Mystery 1 of 5.
Scripture
And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.’
Luke 1:26–38
Meditation
The story of our salvation begins not with an army or a king on a throne, but with one young woman saying yes. The angel Gabriel comes to a quiet town and asks a question. He does not compel her; he waits. When Mary speaks her fiat — ‘let it be done to me according to your word’ — heaven and earth meet inside her. The God who made the stars takes his first cell from her body. Every Rosary begins by remembering this: that grace works first by invitation, and that the smallest yes can carry the world.
Fruit of the mystery
Humility