To meditate upon the “joyful” mysteries, then, is to enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. It is to focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the obscure foreshadowing of the mystery of the saving Passion. Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that Christianity is, first and foremost, euangelion, “good news”, which has as its heart and its whole content the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Saviour of the world.



The promulgation of the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae and Pope John Paul II's commendation of a series of meditations on the public life of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Luminous Mysteries inaugurated what His Holiness envisions as a year of devotional renewal. Viewed in this light, tomorrow evening's presentation at The International Institute for Culture, the inaugural concert of its Music Program and Schola Nova, featuring choral music inspired by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary by Schütz, Monteverdi, Lassus and others, should be an even richer experience than it already promised.



As October is the month of the Holy Rosary, it also marks the inauguration of the Music Program at the International Institute for Culture. To celebrate this auspicious confluence, the IIC is pleased to present its brand new resident music ensemble in a debut concert featuring choral works inspired by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Since the Middle Ages, the joyful events in the early life of Jesus have inspired artists, musicians and dramatists to create an inestimable treasury of masterworks, forever fused with the sacred mysteries of the Christ-event. Likewise, the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary has provided Christians of countless generations a prayer window into these intimate moments in lives of Our Lord and his Holy Mother.