Reflect
By December 31st each year, I set a few intentional goals and choose a word to focus on throughout the coming year. My word for 2020 was joy. How little I knew of what was to come and how much work fighting for joy would be in the months ahead.
But God knew. He knew, when He put the word “joy” on my heart, that He was challenging me to choose joy in the midst of many things.
It can be hard—sometimes seemingly impossible—to find joy in dark places. We cannot do it by our own strength. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a gift our loving God will not refuse us when we ask for it.
We stand at the start of a new year, a fresh start in many ways. Have you felt joy was in short supply over the past months? Choose it for 2021. Claim in. Pray for it. Meditate on the Joyful Mysteries again and again, and watch the Lord and our Blessed Mother transform your heart, filling it with joy that is unchanging, no matter the circumstances of the world.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7).
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus, we bless and thank You for the joy you have brought us in Your Incarnation. Send Your Holy Spirit with His fruit of joy to renew the face of the earth. Amen.
For Discussion
Talk with the Lord about the times you have found joy in Him during the past week. Discuss those with your prayer partner. How can you be more on the lookout for His joy in the coming week?
How has your heart been moved closer to Jesus while meditating on the Fruits of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary? Which Fruit stuck out to you most?
Praying the Rosary
Throughout the Prayer Pledge and beyond, we really encourage you to pray the Rosary! Since we will be looking at the fruits of the Mysteries of the Rosary, it only makes sense to actually pray it!
Here is a guide on how to pray the Rosary.
I like this podcast and this podcast for praying the Rosary.
Hallow also has a marvelous Rosary meditation.
And if you want to go even deeper in to the Rosary, check out Mystery!
By Their Fruits: The 2021 Prayer Pledge // Day 9 #BISblog #prayerpledge //Click to tweet
Lisa Kirk is a regular contributor to the BIS blog. New York City-born and internationally raised, she now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her study-abroad-crush-turned-husband and their two children. A former wedding magazine editor and fashion copywriter, she now writes primarily for Something Pretty, the Catholic living and classic style blog she began in 2010. She loves learning about the Saints, wandering the city with coffee in hand, and making new friends on Instagram. Read all of Lisa's posts here.
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