Devotion to the Seven Joys of Mary

St. Francis of Assisi was a saint overflowing with Christian joy, who enjoyed transmitting it. And it was precisely by transmitting it that he made it grow in his heart. It is therefore not surprising that he was the originator of the Nativity scenes and that his order was the propagator of the feast of the Visitation, a joyful feast if ever there was one.

The Franciscans, sons of St. Francis, were also the first to contemplate, meditate and spread the earthly joys of Mary, which they gathered in a devotional practice called the Seraphic Rosary, a chaplet of the joys of Mary also known as the Franciscan crown.

The joys contemplated in the Seraphic Rosary differed over the centuries, both in the mysteries and in their number, until they were finally settled on seven, like the sorrows of Mary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Recovery of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Assumption.

This crown, especially used by the Franciscans, met with great success. It was adopted by the greatest minds, who recommended it because of the fruits of holiness that its practice produced in the good people of God. St. Bernardine of Siena said of it: "It is by means of the crown of the seven joys that I have obtained all the graces with which heaven has filled me."

Christian joy is a gift that we receive from God and that grows in us as the Gospel penetrates our lives, as we become like little children again. Are not little children the most joyful among us?

Mary has gathered in herself all the conditions to be constantly filled with a holy joy, the joy that makes one happy, that is lasting, the joy that distinguishes the saints from those who are not saints or are not sufficiently saintly.

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