The Fourth Joyful Mystery // The Presentation in the Temple
Fruit of the Mystery // Obedience
Reflect
Sharing my children doesn’t come easily to me. Perhaps it’s because we live far away from our family members and go about our day-to-day lives pretty independently, or perhaps it’s because of my own pride or selfishness. It’s probably a little bit of both. Either way, this is something I’ve struggled with since the first time I passed my newborn son to one of his eager grandparents.
From the moment of His birth, Jesus belonged to all of us. I can’t help but wonder how this made our Blessed Mother feel.
Dirty shepherds crowded into the barn shortly after she gave birth. And now, she held her just-over-a-month-old baby in her arms as one person after another approached them in the temple. They had been waiting for Him. The whole world had been waiting for Him.
When Our Lady told the angel Gabriel, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), she was not only saying yes to becoming the mother of Jesus. She was saying yes to sharing Him with the world as its Savior and Redeemer. She was saying yes to having a Son who would die for our salvation, a prophesy she was intimately familiar with. She didn’t just say yes to the joys; she said yes to the swords that would pierce her heart (Luke 2:35).
Saint Francis de Sales said, “Obedience is a consecration of the heart, chastity of the body, and poverty of all worldly goods to the love and service of God. Blessed indeed are the obedient, for God will never permit them to go astray.” It is far easier to walk in obedience when it brings us joy or peace than when it brings us pain or sorrow. The Christian life promises both. Just as God gave Mary the strength to be obedient, no matter what it cost her, He generously gives the same to us.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father, You provide us with commandments, guidance, and instructions to lead us closer to You and to Heaven. Help us to be ever-obedient to You and to those You have ordained to help us in our journeys of faith. Amen.
For Discussion
Does obedience tend to come easily for you or hard for you? How has that played out in your spiritual life?
Share an experience when God gave you the grace to be obedient when it was difficult.
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 7 #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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