Joyful Mysteries · 1 of 5
The Annunciation
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "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." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Spiritual fruit: Humility
Traditionally prayed on: Monday and Saturday
The Annunciation of the Lord is the first of the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. It commemorates the moment recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke (1:26-38) when the Archangel Gabriel was sent from God to the Virgin Mary at Nazareth to announce that she had been chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God.
The mystery
The Annunciation is, in the Catholic tradition, the moment of the Incarnation: the moment at which the Word, who is God from all eternity, takes flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. The fiat of Mary ("May it be done to me according to your word") is the consenting human word that opens the way for God to enter human history in human form. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, in his fourth homily on the Annunciation, observes that the entire created order awaited Mary's response in stillness, because the salvation of all turned upon her free consent.1
The mystery is celebrated as a solemnity in the Catholic liturgical calendar on March 25, exactly nine months before the Nativity on December 25. The placement underscores the doctrinal point: from the moment of the Annunciation, the Son of God has entered fully into human nature, taking on flesh in the womb of the Virgin.
Meditation on humility
The traditional spiritual fruit of the Annunciation is humility. The mystery offers two distinct images of humility: the humility of God, who consents to become man and to be conceived in the womb of a created woman; and the humility of Mary, who responds to the angelic announcement with the simple identification, "I am the handmaid of the Lord." Saint Augustine, in his commentary on the Annunciation, observes that Mary's humility was such that, having been told she would be the mother of God, she immediately set out to serve her elderly cousin Elizabeth (the next mystery, the Visitation).2
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Annunciation is "the most decisive event of human history" because in it the eternal Son of God begins his human life within the womb of his mother.3
Praying the Annunciation
To pray the first Joyful Mystery, on the large bead announce the mystery: "The first Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation." Pray an Our Father on the large bead, then ten Hail Marys on the ten small beads while meditating on the angel's announcement and Mary's fiat. Conclude the decade with a Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer ("O my Jesus...").
The Joyful Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Mondays and Saturdays. For the next mystery, see the Visitation. For the foundation prayers used in praying the rosary, see the Hail Mary, the Our Father, and the Glory Be.
Sources
Footnotes
Last reviewed: May 1, 2026. Sources verified.