A Proposed Devotion: Seven Joys of Mary

I had earlier posted about St. Bridget of Sweden - a Secular Franciscan - and her  "Seven Sorrows of Mary," a daily devotion involving meditating on the sorrows, and reciting a Hail Mary with each. There are also promises that go along with this devotion that I detail in that earlier post.

The Seven Sorrows are:

 First Sorrow: Simeon's prophecy that a sword will pierce Mary's heart. 

Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt. 

Third Sorrow: The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. 

Fourth Sorrow: The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross. 

Fifth Sorrow: Mary witnesses the Crucifixion and the death of Jesus on the Cross.  

Sixth Sorrow: The dead Body of Jesus is taken down and laid in the arms of His Holy Mother. 

Seventh Sorrow: The Burial of Jesus

I’ve gladly added that devotion to my daily prayer life.

But as I was saying it the other day, it struck me that as good as it is for my spiritual life, what if instead of focusing on “sorrows,” we focus on “joyful” or “glorious” moments in Mary’s life, as in the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries when saying the rosary. I wondered what “joys” we might include, and then I remembered the Franciscan Crown Rosary with its seven joys of Mary.

Those joys are:

The Annunciation 

The Visitation 

The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The Adoration of the Magi

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

The Appearance of Christ to Mary after the Resurrection

The Assumption and Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven 

 I propose that we therefore supplement St. Bridget’s “Seven Sorrows” with a Franciscan “Seven Joys.”  It can be a daily devotion involving meditating on the joys, and reciting a Hail Mary with each.

There are no promises with this joyful devotion – I’m not a saint, after all – but it offers another simple way to add to our daily prayer lives

Pax et bonum