The Rosary is one of the Catholic Church’s most widespread and beloved prayers. It takes its name from the many times we say the Hail Mary and the Our Father, joined together like a garland of roses in honour of the Virgin Mary. The Rosary consists of a series of decades (an Our Father + ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be), and five such decades make up a rosary. The Rosary is a meditative (contemplative) prayer, because in each decade one dwells on one of the mysteries of our faith. In the Joyful Mysteries we gather around the mysteries of Jesus’ childhood; in the Sorrowful Mysteries we dwell on Jesus’ suffering and death; and in the Glorious Mysteries we open ourselves to the mystery of the resurrection in all its fullness: like the Virgin Mary we are to be taken up and crowned in heaven. When we pray the Rosary, the many repetitions help us not only to let the mind grow still and listen to God. They also help us to a steadily deeper understanding of the inexhaustible mysteries of salvation and their meaning for our own life. When we pray the first Joyful Mystery, for example, we think not only that the angel brought Mary the glad tidings that she would bear Jesus, but also whether we, like Mary, say “yes” to God.
How to pray the Rosary
The Rosary is equally suited to being prayed alone and in common, and there are several ways of praying it. After the Sign of the Cross one begins the Rosary by praying:
The Creed
Our Father
Three Hail Marys (for faith, hope and charity respectively)
Glory Be
Then one prays one or more decades of the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries or the Glorious Mysteries. Each decade consists of:
Our Father
Ten Hail Marys
Glory Be
Each rosary consists of five such decades, and to each decade belongs a mystery from the life of Jesus and Mary. While praying, one may insert a number of short additions, and this is very common when the Rosary is prayed in common (see below). One may also pray the Rosary without these insertions and simply name the mystery before each decade:
The Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation
The angel comes to the Virgin Mary and tells her that she is to be the mother of the Son of God. Although Mary does not understand how this will happen, she says yes to God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel also tells her that her relative Elizabeth has conceived in her old age and is now in her sixth month: “nothing is impossible for God”.
2. The Visitation
Mary visits Elizabeth and stays there some months to help her. When Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice, she is filled with the Holy Spirit and cries out: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” Mary answers by praising God: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour! He has looked upon his lowly handmaid: from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me.”
3. The Nativity
Mary gives birth to Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem, for there was no room for them elsewhere. She wraps him and lays him in a manger. The Son of God, the Saviour, has become man for our sake. Angels tell the glad tidings to shepherds in the fields, and they come and praise God.
4. The Presentation in the Temple
Together with Joseph, Mary goes to the Temple in Jerusalem and offers two doves, as the Law of Moses commands. In the Temple they meet an old man named Simeon, who takes the child in his arms and thanks God that he has been allowed to see the Saviour. An old woman, Anna, also praises God and tells everyone about the child.
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Every year Joseph, Mary and Jesus go to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When Jesus is twelve years old, he is lost from Mary and Joseph on the way home from Jerusalem. When three days later they find him in the Temple and speak to him with reproach, Jesus answers: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary does not understand, but keeps all these words in her heart.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1. The Agony in the Garden
After the Last Supper Jesus goes with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knows that he will soon die, and he asks the disciples to watch and pray with him. But the disciples fall asleep, and Jesus is alone with his agony: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done.”
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
Jesus is taken prisoner and led to Pontius Pilate, who questions him. Pilate does not find Jesus guilty, but nevertheless allows himself to condemn him to death and have him scourged.
3. The Crowning with Thorns
The soldiers weave a crown of thorns and set it on Jesus’ head. They hang a purple cloak about his shoulders, strike him and mock him.
4. The Carrying of the Cross
Jesus is condemned to die on the cross. He must himself carry it to Golgotha, where he is to be crucified. The soldiers compel a man named Simon to help Jesus carry the cross.
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
The soldiers crucify Jesus together with two robbers, one on each side of him. When Jesus is about to die, he says: “It is finished”, bows his head and gives up his spirit.
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection
Three days after the crucifixion Jesus rises from the dead. He appears first to Mary Magdalene and then to all the disciples.
2. The Ascension
Jesus ascends into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and to prepare a place for all who believe in him.
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
On Pentecost the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem. Suddenly there is a violent rushing sound, and tongues as of fire appear and rest on each of them. This is the coming of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had foretold. Filled with the Holy Spirit the disciples preach without fear about Jesus Christ to all people.
4. The Assumption of Mary
That Mary might be worthy to be the mother of Jesus, God protected her from original sin. Throughout her earthly life Mary was closely united with Jesus. To complete this union, Jesus takes his mother, body and soul, into heaven.
5. The Coronation of Mary
Jesus crowns his mother Mary in heaven. That is, she is the first to share fully in the glory of his resurrection. As Queen of Heaven she now intercedes for us with her Son.
The Rosary with insertions
When the Rosary is prayed in this way, one adds in each Hail Mary a short phrase after the words: “the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”:
The Sign of the Cross
The Creed
Our Father
Three Hail Marys with the following insertions after “the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”:
1) that he may increase our faith.
2) that he may strengthen our hope
3) that he may enkindle our charity
(“Increase”, “strengthen” and “enkindle” mean: “May he increase”, and so on.)
Glory Be
Then the Our Father, ten Hail Marys (with insertions) and the Glory Be.
The Joyful Mysteries
1) whom you conceived by the Holy Spirit
2) whom you carried on your visit to Elizabeth
3) whom you bore in the stable at Bethlehem
4) whom you presented in the Temple
5) whom you found in the Temple
The Sorrowful Mysteries
1) who sweated blood for us
2) who was scourged for us
3) who was crowned with thorns for us
4) who carried the heavy cross for us
5) who was crucified for us
The Glorious Mysteries
1) who rose from the dead
2) who ascended into heaven
3) who sent the Holy Spirit
4) who took you into heaven
5) who crowned you in heaven
If the Rosary is prayed in common, the leader says the first part of the Hail Mary up to and including the insertion after “the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”. Then the rest is said together. Of the Our Father the leader says as far as “on earth as it is in heaven”, and of the Glory Be as far as “and to the Holy Spirit”. The Creed is said together.