How to pray the Rosary
The Rosary is prayed on a string of beads: a crucifix, five introductory beads and five decades of ten Hail Marys. Each decade is spent meditating on one mystery from the life of Jesus and Mary.
- On the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed.
- On the first large bead, pray the Our Father.
- On the next three beads, pray a Hail Mary each, for an increase of faith, hope and charity.
- Pray the Glory Be, announce the first mystery, and pray the Our Father on the large bead.
- Pray ten Hail Marys on the ten small beads while meditating on the mystery.
- Close the decade with the Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer, then announce the next mystery and pray the Our Father. Repeat for all five decades.
- At the centrepiece, pray the Glory Be and Fatima Prayer, the Hail, Holy Queen and the concluding prayer, and end with the Sign of the Cross.
The Mysteries of the Rosary
There are twenty mysteries in four sets of five. By tradition the Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Monday and Saturday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday and Sunday, and the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday.
The Joyful Mysteries
Prayed on Monday & Saturday.
The Annunciation
Luke 1:26-38. Fruit of the mystery: Humility.
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
The angel waits on the answer of a young woman in an obscure town. Mary asks one honest question, then gives her whole life in a single sentence. God still asks, and still waits for a free reply.
The Visitation
Luke 1:39-56. Fruit of the mystery: Love of neighbour.
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Carrying a child no one has yet seen, Mary goes with haste into the hill country to help her elderly cousin. Elizabeth recognizes the Lord before a word is explained, and the child in her womb leaps. Grace does not keep to itself; it travels toward whoever is in need.
The Nativity
Luke 2:1-20. Fruit of the mystery: Poverty of spirit.
And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Word through whom all things were made is laid in a feeding trough because the inn is full. Shepherds, the least regarded of men, are the first to be told. God chose poverty on purpose, and asks us to stop measuring worth the way the world does.
The Presentation in the Temple
Luke 2:22-38. Fruit of the mystery: Obedience.
And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Mary and Joseph keep the law and bring the offering of the poor, a pair of birds. Simeon takes the child in his arms and sees salvation, then tells Mary that a sword will pierce her own soul. Their obedience is not resignation but trust that God keeps His promises.
The Finding in the Temple
Luke 2:41-52. Fruit of the mystery: Joy in finding Jesus.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
For three days Mary and Joseph search Jerusalem with growing fear. They find Jesus in His Father’s house, at ease among the teachers. When He seems lost to us, we look for Him where He said He would be.
The Luminous Mysteries
Prayed on Thursday.
The Baptism of the Lord
Matthew 3:13-17. Fruit of the mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit.
And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The sinless one goes down into the Jordan among sinners waiting to be washed. The heavens open, the Spirit descends, and the Father names Him His beloved Son. At our own baptism the same Spirit was given to us.
The Wedding at Cana
John 2:1-12. Fruit of the mystery: To Jesus through Mary.
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Mary notices that the wine has run out and brings the need to her Son without telling Him what to do. Her only instruction to the servants is to obey Him. The best wine is drawn from water carried in plain obedience.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
Mark 1:14-15. Fruit of the mystery: Repentance and trust in God.
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus walks the roads of Galilee with a short message: the time is fulfilled, turn back, believe. He forgives sins, eats with outcasts, and heals whoever is brought to Him. The kingdom is near enough to enter today.
The Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-8. Fruit of the mystery: Desire for holiness.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light.
On the mountain Peter, James and John see His face shine like the sun and hear the Father say, Listen to Him. They would rather stay, but they must go back down toward Jerusalem and the cross. The glory they saw was given to carry them through what followed.
The Institution of the Eucharist
Luke 22:14-20. Fruit of the mystery: Adoration.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus takes bread and gives it to His friends as His own body. He leaves them not a memory but Himself. Every tabernacle in the world keeps the same gift.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
Prayed on Tuesday & Friday.
The Agony in the Garden
Matthew 26:36-46. Fruit of the mystery: Sorrow for sin.
My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
In the dark of Gethsemane Jesus is in such anguish that His sweat falls like drops of blood. He asks that the cup pass from Him, and then He accepts it. A stone’s throw away, His friends are asleep.
The Scourging at the Pillar
Mark 15:6-15. Fruit of the mystery: Purity.
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Pilate has Him flogged, hoping the sight will be enough for the crowd. The body that touched lepers and opened the eyes of the blind is torn by the whip. By His wounds we are healed.
The Crowning with Thorns
Matthew 27:27-31. Fruit of the mystery: Moral courage.
And plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
The soldiers make a game of His kingship: a scarlet cloak, a reed for a sceptre, thorns pressed into His head. He says nothing in His own defence. Staying faithful while mocked takes a quiet kind of courage.
The Carrying of the Cross
John 19:16-17. Fruit of the mystery: Patience.
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.
Weakened and bleeding, He carries the beam through the streets toward Golgotha. A stranger from Cyrene is pressed into helping Him. Whoever would follow Him is asked to take up a cross each day.
The Crucifixion
Luke 23:33-46. Fruit of the mystery: Perseverance.
Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
He hangs between two thieves, forgiving those who crucify Him and promising paradise to one of the condemned. His mother stands at the foot of the cross. He commends His spirit to the Father, and it is finished.
The Glorious Mysteries
Prayed on Wednesday & Sunday.
The Resurrection
Matthew 28:1-10. Fruit of the mystery: Faith.
He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
At dawn on the first day of the week the women come to the tomb and find the stone rolled back. The one they mourned is alive, and death has lost its hold. Everything we believe rests on this morning.
The Ascension
Acts 1:6-11. Fruit of the mystery: Hope.
And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
Forty days after rising, Jesus blesses His disciples and is taken up out of their sight. Where He has gone, He has gone ahead of us. They return to Jerusalem not in grief but with great joy.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-13. Fruit of the mystery: Love of God.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The disciples are gathered with Mary in one room, praying behind closed doors. The Spirit comes as wind and fire, and frightened men go out into the streets to preach. The same Spirit is given to us so that we may love God and make Him known.
The Assumption
Luke 1:46-55. Fruit of the mystery: Grace of a happy death.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
When the course of her earthly life was finished, Mary was taken up body and soul into heaven. The body that bore the Son of God was not left to corruption. Where she has gone, the whole Church hopes to follow.
The Coronation of Mary
Revelation 12:1. Fruit of the mystery: Trust in Mary’s intercession.
And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Mary is crowned Queen of heaven and earth by the Son she once held in her arms. Her queenship is the service of a mother who still intercedes for her children. Nothing we bring to her is too small.
The prayers of the Rosary
The Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
The Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell,
lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those in most need of Thy mercy.
Hail, Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Concluding Prayer
Let us pray.
O God, whose only begotten Son,
by His life, death, and resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life,
grant, we beseech Thee,
that while meditating on these mysteries
of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise,
through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.