How to pray
The Holy Rosary
Rosarium Beatae Mariae Virginis
The Holy Rosary is a meditation upon the mysteries of our redemption, prayed upon a string of beads while the Angelic Salutation is repeated again and again. The Fathers have called it a compendium of the Gospel, for in its fifteen mysteries the whole life of Christ is contemplated in the company of His Mother, from the message of the angel at Nazareth to the crowning of Our Lady in heaven.
Tradition holds that Our Lady gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic in the thirteenth century, to be a weapon against heresy and a school of prayer for the simple and the learned alike. Spread by the Dominicans and confirmed by the Sovereign Pontiffs, it was credited with the victory of Christendom at Lepanto in 1571, in thanksgiving for which Pope Saint Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, kept on the seventh of October. Pope Leo XIII, the Rosary Pope, devoted many encyclicals to it and bade the faithful pray it through October.
At Fatima in 1917 the Blessed Virgin herself asked that the Rosary be prayed every day, for peace and for the conversion of sinners, calling herself the Lady of the Rosary. The Church enriches its devout recitation with indulgences, above all when it is prayed in the family or before the Blessed Sacrament. What follows is the traditional manner of praying it, and the fifteen mysteries in their three sets.
Step-by-step
- Holding the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed.
- On the first bead, say one Our Father.
- On the next three beads, say three Hail Marys, for an increase of faith, hope, and charity.
- Say one Glory Be.
- Announce the first mystery, and on the large bead say one Our Father.
- On each of the ten beads of the decade, say a Hail Mary while meditating upon the mystery.
- Say a Glory Be, and then the Fatima Prayer.
- Announce the next mystery and repeat, through all five decades.
- After the fifth decade, say the concluding prayers.
The Fifteen Mysteries
For each day of the week, the Church sets before us one of the three sets of mysteries to contemplate. Choose a set to read its five mysteries, with their Scripture and spiritual fruits.
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First Mystery
The Annunciation
Saint Luke 1:26-38Humility
The Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she shall conceive the Son of God, and at her humble word, "Be it done unto me according to thy word," the Word is made flesh. We ask the grace of humility, that we too may submit wholly to the will of God.
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Second Mystery
The Visitation
Saint Luke 1:39-56Love of neighbour
Mary hastens into the hill country to serve her cousin Elizabeth, who greets her as the Mother of the Lord, and Our Lady answers with the Magnificat. We ask a generous love of neighbour, that we may carry Christ to others as she did.
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Third Mystery
The Nativity
Saint Luke 2:1-20Holy poverty
In the poverty of a stable at Bethlehem the Virgin brings forth her firstborn Son and lays Him in a manger, while the glory of God shines round about the shepherds. We ask the spirit of holy poverty, and a heart detached from the things of this world.
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Fourth Mystery
The Presentation in the Temple
Saint Luke 2:22-39Obedience
In obedience to the Law, Mary and Joseph present the Child Jesus in the Temple, where holy Simeon takes Him into his arms and foretells the sword that shall pierce His Mother's soul. We ask the grace of obedience to the will of God in all things.
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Fifth Mystery
The Finding in the Temple
Saint Luke 2:41-52Piety
After three days of sorrowful searching, Mary and Joseph find the boy Jesus in the Temple, about His Father's business. We ask the gift of piety, and the grace never to lose Jesus through sin, but to seek Him without ceasing until He is found.
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First Mystery
The Agony in the Garden
Saint Luke 22:39-46Sorrow for sin
In the Garden of Gethsemane, beneath the weight of the sins of the world, Our Lord sweats blood and prays, "Not my will, but thine be done." We ask a true sorrow for our sins, which laid this agony upon Him.
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Second Mystery
The Scourging at the Pillar
Saint Matthew 27:26Purity
Bound to the pillar, the innocent Lamb of God is torn by the scourges for our sins. We ask the grace of purity and the spirit of mortification.
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Third Mystery
The Crowning with Thorns
Saint Matthew 27:27-31Moral courage
The soldiers plait a crown of thorns and press it upon the head of the King of Kings, mocking Him in scorn. We ask the moral courage to confess Christ before men and to despise the mockery of the world.
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Fourth Mystery
The Carrying of the Cross
Saint Matthew 27:31-32Patience
Jesus takes up His Cross and bears it toward Calvary, falling beneath its weight yet rising again for love of us. We ask the grace of patience under every cross that God permits.
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Fifth Mystery
The Crucifixion
Saint Luke 23:33-46Final perseverance
Lifted up between two thieves, Our Lord gives His Mother to us in the person of Saint John, and bowing His head, commends His spirit to the Father. We ask the grace of final perseverance, to be faithful unto death.
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First Mystery
The Resurrection
Saint Matthew 28:1-10Faith
On the third day Our Lord rises in glory from the tomb, the conqueror of sin and death. We ask an increase of faith in Him who lives and reigns for evermore.
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Second Mystery
The Ascension
The Acts of the Apostles 1:9-11Hope
Forty days after His Resurrection, Christ ascends into heaven and takes His seat at the right hand of the Father, to prepare a place for us. We ask the grace of hope, and a longing for the things that are above.
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Third Mystery
The Descent of the Holy Ghost
The Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13Love of God
The Holy Ghost descends upon Our Lady and the Apostles in tongues of fire, and the infant Church goes forth to preach Christ to all nations. We ask to be filled with the Holy Ghost and an ardent love of God.
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Fourth Mystery
The Assumption
Catholic TraditionA happy death
At the end of her earthly life the Blessed Virgin is taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. We ask, through her intercession, the grace of a holy and happy death.
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Fifth Mystery
The Coronation
Catholic TraditionDevotion to Mary
Our Lady is crowned Queen of Heaven and earth, and reigns as our Mother and advocate before her Son. We ask a tender devotion to Mary, and her protection at the hour of our death.
Concluding Prayers
When all the five mysteries of the day have been prayed, the Rosary draws to a close with these prayers.
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Say the Hail Holy Queen.
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Then the versicle and response:
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. -
Then the closing prayer:
Deus, cuius Unigenitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectionem suam nobis salutis aeternae praemia comparavit: concede, quaesumus; ut haec mysteria sacratissimo beatae Mariae Virginis Rosario recolentes, et imitemur quod continent, et quod promittunt assequamur. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum.
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 meditating upon 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.
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Finally, make the Sign of the Cross.
