The wonderful story of our Salvation begins with the joy of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God… The Joyful Mysteries, as well as those of the Light, are a preparation for the “definitive hour”: the Death and Resurrection of our Savior…

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1^st) «God sent the angel Gabriel to (…) Mary» (Lk 1:26.27). In the Joyful Mysteries the figure of the Virgin Mary appears in the foreground. However, the protagonist is always Jesus Christ (read more: «You shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call him Jesus»), the «Son of God» (Lk 1:35), whose Kingdom —as heir to the throne of David— will have no end (cf. Lk 1:32-33). In fact, the “Angel's announcement to Mary” is, above all, the mystery of “The Incarnation of the Son of God”. Our task is, precisely, to put ourselves in the place of the Virgin and to contemplate Jesus through the eyes of Mary (read more: Wherever Mary arrives, Jesus is present).

2^nd) «Greetings, Mary» (Lk 1:28). The initial greeting of the archangel is symptomatic. The usual among Jews was to greet wishing peace “Shalom”. Literally translated, Gabriel said to Mary: “Rejoice!” which was rather typical of Greek culture. But it is not a matter of cultures, but of the Gospel: the Good News. The hallmark of the New Testament is joy; the hallmark of the authentic Christian is joy (read more: “Rejoice”: beginning of the New Testament). Christ on the Cross redeems us with joy, expressed in an attitude of peace and mercy in the midst of the most devastating pain. Saint Teresa of Jesus said precisely: «A sad saint is a sad saint».

3^rd) «Full of grace, the Lord is with you» (Lk 1:28). Joy has its profound reason for being: the proximity of God; the Emmanuel is “the God-is-here, with us”. This proximity implies an abundance of Grace —divine help— as never seen before. For this, at the wedding at Cana, Jesus transformed a huge amount of water into wine (of the highest quality!). Abundance is another of the messianic signs (read more: Jesus transforms the human wedding-feast into an image of the divine wedding-feast).

4^th) «May it be done to me according to your word» (Lk 1:38). God-Son is incarnated through the “YES” of Mary (read more: An act of faith lived in obedience; Mary becomes Mother of God through her “Yes” to the divine will). Here is the “Method” of Redemption: obedience: Christ on his Cross suffers, but above all, He obeys. To whom? To God-Father! («Not my will but yours be done»: Lk 22:42) (read more: The “power” of Jesus: obedience to His Father). We can see many efforts and works all over the world, but not all effort and not all work save man, but only that which is done in obedience and love to God. "Obedience is the best sacrifice" (1Sam 15:22; see also Heb 10) (read more: Obedience in Jesus is the true cult to God).

5^th) «Betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David» (Lk 1:27). Saint Joseph is —together with his wife— the best example of obedience to the Will of God (read more: «Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife»). We do not know a word about Joseph, but we do know facts that do not need words: «When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him» (Mt 1:24) (read more: Joseph’s capacity to perceive the divine). He stepped forward to defend his family when it was necessary, but without outshining the mystery of the Incarnation: it is God himself who conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary. «(...) Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus» (Mt 1:16): that is to say, Saint Joseph appears just the necessary for Jesus to be of the House of David and at the same time, fades enough not to obscure the divine fatherhood of Jesus: His father is directly God! (read more: Only God is Jesus’ "Father" in the proper sense).