Catholic Conscience Rosary: the Annunciation

https://catholicinsight.com/2026/01/27/catholic-conscience-rosary-the-annunciation/

By Matthew Marquardt

In the first installment of a series of Rosary reflections highlighting the principles, values, and virtues of Catholic Social Teaching, the civic evangelization organization Catholic Conscience considers the Annunciation.This reflection was first posted on the Catholic Conscience website.

The first Joyful Mystery beautifully illustrates application of the principle of subsidiarity in humility and a profound spirit of stewardship.

Scriptural Reference: St Luke 1:26-38

CST Reflection

The Rosary opens with a striking example of one of the most important and least understood of all Catholic social concepts: subsidiarity.

The confusion surrounding this principle appears to arise from its name. It is not actually difficult to understand, however, particularly when illustrated by example or when thought of as a Catholic form of “empowerment.”

In simple terms, the principle of subsidiarity states that each element of society should serve its own proper purpose, and support others in serving theirs, with the over-arching goal of encouraging and enabling authentic human development for the whole of society. All social elements are called to support one another by providing any required help, or “subsidium.” This includes staying out of the way of other, properly responsible social elements. One consequence of the principle is that each individual, and all smaller groups of people, should be allowed to make for themselves all the decisions that can responsibly be left to them, while rightfully being able to look to higher authorities for help, if and when help is required.

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Fruits of the Mystery

Mother of God, we pray in the name of your divine Son that by contemplating your faithful answer to God’s call we might grow in faithful and selfless attention to our own duties, recognizing the help God sends us in our own missions and following faithfully the example you provided of impeccable stewardship of the gift of life.