Advent Week 4: Stress or Joy?
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb...” Luke 1:41
When I first began praying the Rosary, I thought whoever named the Mysteries was missing a screw or two. At least when it came to the Joyful Mysteries.
Just think about it for a minute.
The first Mystery calls us to contemplate the Annunciation—the hour in which an unmarried virgin, who lives in a culture that stones loose women, learns from one of the mightiest of angels that she’ll conceive a child. The next Mystery reminds us that Mary had to walk across mountains in her first trimester to help her aging and also pregnant cousin. Mystery number three has Mary giving birth in a stable, far from home and far from her own mother. The fourth Joyful Mystery recalls the prophecy spoken to Mary by Simeon: that a sword will pierce her heart. Finally, the last mystery focuses on that time she lost the twelve-year-old Son of God for three days, in a strange large city.
“Joyful Mysteries, my foot,” I remember thinking. “More like the Stressful Mysteries.”
I don’t know if Mary would describe those Mysteries the same way. She had perfect faith and perfect trust, so maybe not. Or maybe so. We don’t know. We can only speculate…although I do hope to learn the answer from her personally someday. Either way, it doesn’t matter. The events the mysteries recall might have been stressful, but they were also joyful. All of them.
You see, I understand now what I didn’t understand when that thought first occurred to me: stressful situations also can be joyful. Because joy isn’t happiness.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion rooted in circumstance. Joy is enduring peace, hope, and confidence, all rolled up into one tightly knit ball. And Jesus is the one who knits that ball together. He is the source of joy, our Savior and God, who sees us, knows us, and loves us completely.
As circumstances change, happiness comes and goes. But where Jesus is, joy endures. Through stress. Through anxiety. Through surprise pregnancies, difficult journeys, and power-mad kings. Also through mounting bills, crazy bosses, and crazier in-laws. Through fussy babies, teething toddlers, and hormonal teenagers. Through global pandemics, paralyzing strokes, and fast-growing tumors. Through shattered expectations, broken dreams, and heart-wrenching loss.
This is why we call the Rosary’s Mysteries “joyful.” Because they recall humanity’s first encounters with Jesus. His mother learning his heart would beat beneath hers. John the Baptist doing somersaults of joy as the unborn Christ drew near. Poor shepherds beholding His face. An old man witnessing the fulfilment of an older promise. Two parents finding their Son and coming to a deeper understanding of their Son’s mission and their own in the process.
This is also why, even as we reflect on darkness, repentance, and the world’s long wait, Advent remains shot through with joy. Not just the third week. But all the weeks. Especially this last one. No matter what struggles or sorrows we carry with us into these final days of the waiting season, Advent ends with Christmas. It ends with Jesus. It leads us, day by day, week by week, to an encounter with the baby in the manger. Which means it leads us to an encounter with joy.
Don’t miss that joy. In these final days, don’t let the weight of worries and loss, cooking and cleaning, wrapping and family, pull you away from Him. Keep your eyes fixed on the manger. Keep inviting Jesus into your heart. Keep trusting in the promises He has made. Remain confident that no matter what sorrow you carry or what grief you fear, He is true, He is faithful, He is stronger than death, and His grace is yours for the asking.
Hold fast to that. Hold fast to Him. If you do, not just Christmas, but the whole of your life will become a joyful mystery, too.
Questions for Reflection
Would you describe yourself as joyful? Why or why not?
Have you ever experienced joy alongside suffering? What made that possible?
Is there a sorrow or fear in your life right now that you think is holding you back from experiencing joy?
What is one thing you could do to draw closer to Christ, the source of joy, in the midst of this sorrow or fear?
Is there anything in your life holding you back from drawing closer to Christ? A person, a habit, an emotion, a fear? Why are you holding on to that?
What is one thing you can do to keep an encounter with Christ at the heart of your Christmas preparations over this next week?
Thank you, Emily. I love what you wrote. I have often thought the same thing about the Joyful Mysteries. Wishing you and your family a joyful Christmas season. God bless you!