Pray the Rosary
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.
1. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the “Apostles’ Creed.”
2. Say the “Our Father.”
3. Say three “Hail Marys.”
4. Say the “Glory be to the Father.”
5. Announce the First Mystery; then say the “Our Father.”
6. Say ten “Hail Marys,” while meditating on the Mystery.
7. Say the “Glory be to the Father.”
Announce the Second Mystery; then say the “Our Father.”
Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner.
The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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
The Our Father
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is inHeaven. 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
The 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
According to custom, the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season -Joyful; Sundays of Lent-Sorrowful)
The Joyful Mysteries
In these Mysteries, we reflect on the Incarnation. We think about the way in which Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, came to be born. The scenes of his early life come to mind, when he grew up in Nazareth, a young boy, learning the normal skills of a village youth of his time. We remember that Mary and Joseph taught him his prayers. Joseph passed on his skills as a carpenter, so that, to the end of his life, Jesus was known as “the son of the carpenter.”
· The annunciation
· The visitation
· The nativity
· The presentation in the temple
· The finding in the temple
The Sorrowful Mysteries
In these Mysteries, our thoughts centre on the Passion and death of Jesus. He challenged the religious and secular authorities of his time. It was inevitable that they would want to eliminate Jesus from their midst, so they chose the most subtle, most painful method possible: the betrayal by a close friend. Yet, even as he hung dying, Jesus remembered his mother, asked His Father’s forgiveness for his killers and promised paradise to a repentant thief.
· The agony in the garden
· The crowning with thorns
· The carrying of the Cross
· The crucifixion
· Jesus dies on the Cross
The Glorious Mysteries
These Mysteries tell the story of the very early Church, from the days of the Resurrection, through the early proclamation of the Good News by the Spirit-filled Apostles. We see Mary rewarded for her faithfulness, crowned Queen of Heaven and, as Mother of the Saviour, also the Mother of the Church.
· The Resurrection
· The Ascension
· The descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles
· The Assumption
· The crowning of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven
The Luminous Mysteries
There were moments in the life of Jesus that were unique signs of the meaning of the Kingdom of God, moments when Heaven and earth were linked by an unbreakable bond. The Luminous Mysteries, initiated by Pope John Paul, tell of the public life of Jesus.
· The baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
· The wedding feast of Cana
· The proclamation of the Kingdom of God
· The Transfiguration
· The Last Supper: the Holy Eucharist
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 valley 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!
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. 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.