Pray the Rosary

The Rosary

"Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world." Our Lady of Fatima

"The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

The Rosary is a devotional meditation in honor of the Virgin Mary, typically prayed silently while holding a beaded rosary. The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland or crown of roses, whose flower is used to symbolize the Virgin Mary.

The Rosary consists of a number of specific prayers - the Apostles’ Creed, The Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Glory to the Father, and Hail, Holy Queen. As you say each prayer, you advance from one bead to the next with your rosary, and meditate on the Mysteries.

The traditional Rosary includes three categories of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious. Each contains five individual Mysteries.

In his 25th year as spiritual leader of the Church, Pope John Paul II added a fourth set of Mysteries: the Luminous Mysteries or “Mysteries of Light.”

Each Mystery is considered while reciting the Rosary according to a set schedule:

* Monday – Joyful Mysteries
* Tuesday – Sorrowful Mysteries
* Wednesday – Glorious Mysteries
* Thursday – Luminous Mysteries
* Friday – Sorrowful Mysteries
* Saturday – Joyful Mysteries
* Sunday – Glorious Mysteries

For those who prefer to follow the traditional order of the days it is:

* Monday – Joyful Mysteries
* Tuesday – Sorrowful Mysteries
* Wednesday – Glorious Mysteries
* Thursday – Joyful Mysteries
* Friday – Sorrowful Mysteries
* Saturday – Glorious Mysteries
* Sunday – Glorious Mysteries

How to Pray the Rosary

While meditating on each Mystery, you recite a decade: one The Lord's Prayer (large bead), ten Hail Marys (small beads) and one Glory to the Father (before the next large bead). After each decade the Fátima Prayer may also be said (Pope Pius XII).

Fatima Prayer
Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.

Concluding Prayers

After the completion of five mysteries (5 decades), or 15 or 20, the following is customarily said:

Hail Holy Queen (or Salve Regina may be sung)
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 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.

Rosary Prayer

V: Let us pray,
R: O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

For the Intentions of the Holy Father

Catholics who say the rosary in a group, or, individually before the Blessed Sacrament,
may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, which includes prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

For the intentions of the Holy Father.
Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.