An old Christmas carol that I was introduced to a few years back is ‘The Seven Joys that Mary Had’. In this carol there are seven joys listed that it is believed Mary experienced. These are as follows:
The first good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of one,
To see her own son Jesus
To suck at her breast-bone.
The second joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of two,
To see her own son jesus
To make the lame to go.
The third joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of three,
To see her own son Jesus
As made the blind to see.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of four;
To see her own Son Jesus Christ
Reading the Bible o’er.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of five,
To see her own son Jesus
As raised the dead to life.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of six,
To see her own son Jesus
To bear the crucifix.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of seven,
To see her own son Jesus
To wear the crown of Heaven.
A friend this week was reminding me the difference between happiness and joy, something I often confuse. Happiness being a temporary feeling on an occasion, whereas joy is focused more on life and living in general. Happiness are those moments of spending time with a friend, enjoying a favourite past time. Joy is one’s attitude toward life when one awakes each morning. These definitions and themes I find a bit confusing in this Christmas Carol, but as I look at the lyrics more closely it starts to make a bit more sense. Mary’s first great joy is to be a mother with a baby nursing, signifying motherhood and health; in the second and third Jesus is helping and healing; the fourth Jesus is learning; the fifth healing/miracle worker; the sixth as a servant carrying a crucifix; and finally in the seventh she sees her child rewarded. While initially they seem like just an experience, it can be seen that these things indicate something more, something larger. Similarly, in our lives moments make up our existence, holidays make up our year, and religious experiences can make up our life’s direction like stepping stones along the way. In this season of preparation I invite you to pause and see what great joys make up your life. In the same way that this popular devotion to Mary considers hers.