The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. Starting to pray the Rosary may seem like a difficult task at first but it is actually quite simple.
Most people who pray the Rosary will pray it throughout the day and do one decade at a time when they are able to. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful Mysteries, the five Luminous Mysteries, the five Sorrowful Mysteries, and the five Glorious Mysteries. A Decade is to pray one Our Father and Ten Hail Mary's while meditating on one of the Twenty Mysteries.
You could start a decade while going to work, when you have a break, before bed or any time which suits you. Remember, "the family that prays together, stays together."
Always do your best to at least pray five decades a day and you will get closer to Jesus through Mary. Then, increase decades when you feel more confident and appropriate.
In order to animate all the faithful often to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin by using this devotion, Pope Benedict XIII granted, by his Brief, Sanctissimus, of April 13, 1726, to all who say with contrition the whole Rosary of fifteen decades, or the third part of it of five decades: -
To gain these Indulgences it is requisite that the Rosaries should be blessed by religious of the order of Friar Preachers, and meditation be made on the mysteries and / or saying the Rosary devoutly.
A Step-to-step Guide on How to Pray The Rosary
1) Make the sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(As you say this, with your right hand touch your
forehead when you say Father, touch your
breastbone when you say Son, touch your left
shoulder when you say Holy, and touch your right
shoulder when you say Spirit.)
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. The third day He rose
again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God, the Father
almighty. He shall come again 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.
2) Our Father: (x1)
Our Father, Thou 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.
3) Hail Mary: (x3)
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.
4) 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.
Fatima Prayer:
O my Jesus, forgive us our
sins, save us from the fires of Hell; bring all souls into Heaven,
especially those who most in need of your mercy.
i) Announce:
Announce each mystery by saying eg, “The third Joyful Mystery is the Birth of Our Lord.”
ii) Praying:
Our Father (big bead), Hail Mary (10x small beads), Glory be and Fatima Prayer.
iii) Announce the Second
Mystery; then repeat (ii) and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth
Mysteries in the same manner.
iv) After the Rosary:
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
vale 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!
Verse: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
Response: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
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 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.
v) Saint Michael's Prayer:
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in our days of battle; protect us against the
deceit and wickedness of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O
prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, banish into Hell, Satan and all of his evil
spirits, who roam through the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
The Twenty Mysteries
The Luminous Mysteries
Mysteries for Certain Weekdays
Traditionally, many people say the Joyful Mysteries on Monday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on
Tuesday, the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday, and start again with the Joyful Mysteries on
Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday. The Glorious Mysteries are then prayed on
Saturday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful;
Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful). Now that the Luminous Mysteries have recently been added, the
schedule is:
The Joyful Mysterious
Monday
Saturday
The Luminous Mysteries
Thursday
The Sorrowful Mysteries
Tuesday
Friday
The Glorious Mysteries
Wednesday
Sunday
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