Pro-Life Rosary: Joyful Mysteries--and Another Marian Feast Day! Yay!

It's Columbus Day, and no one in our house is going to school or work today. I have a long list of tasks on my mental to-do list (including figuring out how to celebrate Moe's ninth birthday, which is sneaking up on us too quickly), but I'm feeling inspired to blog at the moment.

This morning as I was praying the Rosary, I decided to dig up my copies of the Pro-Life mysteries that are posted on Priests for Life's web site. I began to think to myself, October is considered the Month of the Holy Rosary (we just celebrated the Feast of the Holy Rosary on Oct. 7), and since we're in the middle of the Fall 2009 40 Days for Life campaign, why not post those beautiful mysteries here? (And it was fun searching for pictures to go with each mystery!) Today I'm posting the Joyful Mysteries, and hopefully between now and the end of this month I'll post the Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous ones as well. These are great meditations for when we pray for an end to abortion:

JOYFUL MYSTERIES

The Annunciation

Mary is troubled by the angel's greeting, yet rejoices to do God's will. Let us pray that those who are troubled by their pregnancy may have the grace to trust in God's will.







The Visitation

John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb. We pray that people may realize that abortion is not about children who "might" come into the world, but is about children who are already in the world, living and growing in the womb, and are scheduled to be killed.






The Nativity

God Himself was born as a child. The greatness of a person does not depend on size, for the newborn King is very small. Let us pray for an end to prejudice against the tiny babies threatened by abortion.



The Presentation

The Child is presented in the Temple because the Child belongs to God. Children are not the property of their parents, nor of the government. they--and we--belong to God himself.








The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

The boy Jesus was filled with wisdom, because He is God. Let us pray that all people may see the wisdom of His teachings about the dignity of life, and may understand that this teaching is not an opinion, but the truth.








I also learned this morning that today is the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, considered one of the earliest devotions to the Blessed Mother. According to tradition, Our Lady, even before her assumption into Heaven, appeared to St. James while he was in Spain. She appeared by bi-location atop a jasper pillar, and handed him a statue of herself and asked him to build a chapel in her honor. You can read more about this devotion here and here. There's a recipe for a beautiful cake honoring Our Lady of the Pillar on Catholic Cuisine. (Today is also the Feast of St. Seraphin of Montegranaro, and you can find out more about him here.)

I think I put more links in this post than I ever have. I hope it isn't too many. Have a great Monday!