The Joyful Mysteries

Mary is the third woman in the Bible to be told she is 'blessed among women'. Jael, who killed Sisera by hammering a tent peg through his temple, is addressed in this way (Judges 5:24). So too is Judith, who killed Holofernes and cut off his head (Judith 13:18). It is all very gory and bloody, the company Mary keeps. These women are champions of Israel, great heroines of the people, larger than life figures from Israel's heroic age. There are many echoes of that heroic age - the time of the judges and the kings - in the infancy narratives of the gospels.

Frères et Sœurs,

Dans la célébration de la Pâque juive, la liturgie du premier soir commence toujours par une question, posée par le plus jeune garçon présent : « En quoi cette nuit est-elle différente des autres nuits ? » et le père de famille répond en racontant la sortie d’Egypte.