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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.

How to pray the Rosary

  1. Holding the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed.
  2. On the first bead, say one Our Father.
  3. On the next three beads, say three Hail Marys, for an increase of faith, hope, and charity.
  4. Say one Glory Be.
  5. Announce the first mystery, and on the large bead say one Our Father.
  6. On each of the ten beads of the decade, say a Hail Mary while meditating upon the mystery.
  7. Say a Glory Be, and then the Fatima Prayer.
  8. Announce the next mystery and repeat, through all five decades.
  9. After the fifth decade, say the Hail Holy Queen with the versicle and prayer below.
  10. Make the Sign of the Cross.

Mysteria GaudiosaThe Joyful Mysteries

Prayed on Mondays and Thursdays

  1. First Joyful Mystery

    AnnuntiatioThe Annunciation

    Saint Luke 1:26-38 Fruit: Humility

    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.

  2. Second Joyful Mystery

    VisitatioThe Visitation

    Saint Luke 1:39-56 Fruit: Love 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.

  3. Third Joyful Mystery

    Nativitas DominiThe Nativity

    Saint Luke 2:1-20 Fruit: Holy 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.

  4. Fourth Joyful Mystery

    Praesentatio DominiThe Presentation in the Temple

    Saint Luke 2:22-39 Fruit: Obedience

    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.

  5. Fifth Joyful Mystery

    Inventio in TemploThe Finding in the Temple

    Saint Luke 2:41-52 Fruit: Piety

    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.

Mysteria DolorosaThe Sorrowful Mysteries

Prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays

  1. First Sorrowful Mystery

    Agonia in HortoThe Agony in the Garden

    Saint Luke 22:39-46 Fruit: Sorrow 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.

  2. Second Sorrowful Mystery

    FlagellatioThe Scourging at the Pillar

    Saint Matthew 27:26 Fruit: Purity

    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.

  3. Third Sorrowful Mystery

    Coronatio SpineaThe Crowning with Thorns

    Saint Matthew 27:27-31 Fruit: Moral 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.

  4. Fourth Sorrowful Mystery

    Baiulatio CrucisThe Carrying of the Cross

    Saint Matthew 27:31-32 Fruit: Patience

    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.

  5. Fifth Sorrowful Mystery

    CrucifixioThe Crucifixion

    Saint Luke 23:33-46 Fruit: Final 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.

Mysteria GloriosaThe Glorious Mysteries

Prayed on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays

  1. First Glorious Mystery

    ResurrectioThe Resurrection

    Saint Matthew 28:1-10 Fruit: Faith

    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.

  2. Second Glorious Mystery

    AscensioThe Ascension

    The Acts of the Apostles 1:9-11 Fruit: Hope

    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.

  3. Third Glorious Mystery

    Descensus Spiritus SanctiThe Descent of the Holy Ghost

    The Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13 Fruit: Love 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.

  4. Fourth Glorious Mystery

    Assumptio Beatae Mariae VirginisThe Assumption

    Catholic Tradition Fruit: A 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.

  5. Fifth Glorious Mystery

    Coronatio Beatae Mariae VirginisThe Coronation

    Catholic Tradition Fruit: Devotion 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

After the five decades, conclude with these in order:

  1. Say the Hail Holy Queen.

  2. 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.

  3. 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. Amen.

    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. Amen.