Today's prayer: Devotion to the seven joys of Mary

The Seven Joys of the Virgin (or of Mary, the Mother of Jesus) is a popular devotion to the events of the life of the Virgin Mary, deriving from a trope of literature and medieval devotional art.

The Seven Joys were often depicted in medieval devotional literature and art. The seven joys are generally listed as:

The Annunciation
The Nativity of Jesus
Adoration of the Magi
The resurrection of Christ
The ascension of Christ to heaven
Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Mary
The coronation of the Virgin in heaven
Alternative choices have been made and could include the Visitation and the finding in the Temple, as in the form of the Rosary of the Franciscan Crown, which uses the Seven Joys, but omits Ascension and Pentecost. The representation in the Assumption of Mary can replace or be combined with the coronation, especially from the fifteenth century onwards; by the 17th century it is the norm. As with other series of scenes, the different practical implications of depictions in different media such as painting, miniature ivory carving, liturgical drama and music led to different conventions by means, as well as other factors such as geography and l influence of different religious orders. There is a corresponding set of seven Virgin's pains; both sets influenced the selection of scenes in the depictions of the Life of the Virgin.
Originally, there were five joys of the Virgin. Later, that number increased to seven, nine and even fifteen in medieval literature, although seven remained the most common number, while others are rarely found in art. Mary's five joys are mentioned in the 1462th century poem, Sir Gawain and the green knight, as a source of Gawain's strength. Devotion was especially popular in the English pre-reformation. The French writer Antoine de la Sale completed a satire called Les Quinze Joies de Mariage ("The Fifteen Joys of Marriage") in about XNUMX, which parodied in part the form of Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame ("The Fifteen Joys of Our Lady" ), a popular litany.