Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary for the Jubilee Year of Hope
“Let us entrust to Mary this Jubilee Year. Let us entrust to her our questions, our worries, our sufferings, our joys and all the concerns that we bear in our hearts. Let us entrust to her the whole world, so that hope may be reborn and peace may finally spring up for all the peoples of the earth.”
(Pope Francis. Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, 1 January 2025)
The Rosary
2025 is a Jubilee Year in the Church, with the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’
Surrounded by violence, poverty, environmental destruction and the personal challenges each of us face, at times it can be hard to hold onto hope. Yet we are called to trust in God’s loving presence with us.
Guided by Mary, mother of Jesus and mother of all, may we be open to let these mysteries penetrate deep within us and respond with renewed hope and action.
Begin by making the Sign of the Cross and saying the Apostles’ Creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen
Pray one Our Father on the single bead nearest the cross.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Pray one Hail Mary on each of the next three beads for an increase in faith, hope, and charity.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
On the next single bead, pray the Glory Be.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
The Annunciation
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)
“Do not be afraid.” This is the most often repeated message in the Bible. Nearly every time an angel from God appears, they speak or sing the same message: do not be afraid. Constant reminders that, whatever difficulties we experience, we are created for faith rather than fear.
It is a message heeded by Mary in this mystery, who shows great trust in the Lord even in the face of uncertainty and risk. In Mary’s example, we can see what it means to journey through life as a pilgrim of hope. As Pope Francis writes, “Hope finds its supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naive optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life.” (Spes non confundit, #24)
This same unwavering hope characterised the life of Saint Oscar Romero, martyred 45 years ago this year. In his final homily, just moments before he was assassinated, he emphasised the importance of Christian hope, stating, "We must not love our lives so much that we avoid taking the risks that history calls for...For we have the assurance that we will never fail in all the work we do on earth if we infuse it with Christian hope."
As we contemplate this mystery, may we hear the angel's words, 'Do not be afraid,' echoing in our hearts. Inspired by the examples of Mary and Romero, may we journey together bravely in this Jubilee Year, trusting in the power of God with us.
Pray the Our Father.
Pray a Hail Mary on each of the ten beads of the decade.
Pray the Glory Be. You may also want to add the Fatima invocation:
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.
The Visitation
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:39-55)
In this mystery we recall the meeting between an expectant Elizabeth, who never thought she would bear a child, and Mary, who is to give birth to God’s own Son.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth exclaims: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Words that we continue to pray today.
Mary responds with her great song of God’s liberating justice and compassion, which we know as the Magnificat. She sings praise of God, whose concern is for those who are poor and marginalised and whose kingdom turns the worldly order upside down.
These words will soon find fulfilment as her Son announces his mission to bring good news to those who are poor, freedom to the oppressed and to proclaim Jubilee - the year of the Lord’s favour.
As we pray this decade of the rosary, we ask that Mary’s song of joy and justice will be our song in this Jubilee Year. And we pray to be blessed with the boldness to work for Mary’s transformative vision of a world made new.
Pray the Our Father.
Pray a Hail Mary on the each of the ten beads of the decade.
Pray the Glory Be. You may also want to add the Fatima invocation.
Birth of Jesus
The time came for Mary to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2: 6-12)
For centuries, God called his people to justice. The commandments invited them to live together in loving community. The Jubilee every fifty years allowed a reset so that no-one was trapped in poverty or debt. Through the prophets, God urged them to care for the vulnerable and marginalised.
Finally, God made himself poor, coming to share our life completely. In Jesus, God was born among us as a vulnerable baby, amid poverty and persecution. The first to hear the good news were the humble shepherds, on the fringes of society, surprised by the song of the angels. From the very beginning the long-awaited Messiah shows that the way of his kingdom is based not on power and privilege, but rather on love and justice.
As we reflect on this mystery, may we look for the ways Jesus is born and lives among us today, especially in those often rejected and marginalised.
Pray the Our Father.
Pray a Hail Mary on the each of the ten beads of the decade.
Pray the Glory Be. You may also want to add the Fatima invocation.
Presentation of Jesus
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marvelled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:25-38)
In Simeon and Anna, we have models of persistent and patient hope to accompany us in this Jubilee Year.
Like many people in our world today, they lived in challenging times. The land was under military occupation, with many people enduring hardship and oppression. Yet, these two elderly people held on tightly to God’s promises, faithfully waiting for the coming of the light.
Father Nacho, a parish priest in western Guatemala, also knows what it means to hold onto hope in difficult circumstances. A CAFOD partner for more than thirty years, he works to support sustainable farming among rural indigenous communities, in an area where the climate crisis has caused droughts and food shortages. Reflecting on hope, Father Nacho told us:
“Christian hope is, fundamentally, that profound experience of feeling accompanied by God who walks with us and that, little by little, we are building the kingdom of God.”
As we pray this decade, let’s join Anna, Simeon and Fr Nacho and seek to place our trust in God’s promises and presence with us. And let’s continue to work, little by little, to build God’s kingdom and shine the light of hope in our wounded world.
Pray the Our Father.
Pray a Hail Mary on the each of the ten beads of the decade.
Pray the Glory Be. You may also want to add the Fatima invocation.
Finding of the child Jesus
The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.
(Luke 2:41-52)
The gospels are clear that children and young people have something important to teach us. Jesus welcomes and blesses children, identifies them as the ones to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs and instructs adults to become more like them.
In this story, the only account of Christ as a child, we witness Jesus’ developing sense of identity and mission, as he spends time in his Father’s house. A striking reminder of the importance of listening to young people’s voice and experience.
One such young voice is that of Ashley, who works for the Jesuit Hakimani Centre, one of CAFOD’s partners based in Kenya. The centre supports local communities in speaking up for their rights, as well as providing training in a variety of issues such as climate justice and sustainable farming.
Ashley offers these powerful words on the centrality of faith in her life:
“Faith to me is the foundation of my life. It is both my anchor and my guide and basically shapes every aspect of how I live… My faith motivates me to continually grow in wisdom and character, because each day it provides an opportunity for me to learn and deepen my relationship with God.”
In this Jubilee Year, let’s pay attention to younger people, remembering that they have something valuable to teach us. May praying this mystery, help us to grow in wisdom and understanding of God’s call in our lives.
Pray the Our Father.
Pray a Hail Mary on the each of the ten beads of the decade.
Pray the Glory Be. You may also want to add the Fatima invocation.
We end our Jubilee rosary with a final invocation to our blessed Virgin Mary, and ask her to be our companion as we walk as pilgrims of hope:
Mary, Mother of hope,
accompany us on our Jubilee journey.
Pray for us, that our meditation on these mysteries,
may renew our hope and courage
as we seek to build the Kingdom to which your Son calls us.
Amen.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Scripture texts taken from ESV Catholic Edition.
