Knowing the Rosary

The Prayers, the Mysteries, the Indulgences

The Rosary is a form of vocal and mental devotion, which includes twenty decades of prayer divided into four groups of five, based on the Mysteries of the Redemption.

The Rosary includes praying the Sign of the Cross, the Apostles' Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, the Fatima Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory, the Hail Holy Queen, and meditation on one of the Mysteries per decade.

Plenary Indulgences can be obtained if the Rosary is prayed in a church, in a family setting, or in a religious community.

The Joyful Mysteries

Through the Joyful Mysteries, we meet Mary in her humble home in Nazareth as she struggles with the message from the Angel Gabriel who told her that she is the Mother of Jesus. We journey with Mary to tell her sister, Elizabeth, and then with her husband, Joseph, to Bethlehem where the Son of God was born. We hear the prophesy of Simeon in the temple and see Jesus as He begins to fulfill that prophesy.

The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation
The Finding in the Temple

The Luminous Mysteries

Through the Luminous Mysteries, we see Jesus moving from His private life in Nazareth to His public ministry. He is baptized by John, affirmed by His Father, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. At Mary's request, He works His first miracle, proclaiming His kingdom to His disciples, and through the Transfiguration, His divinity. In the Eucharist, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood, the ultimate sign of His undying love.

The Baptism of Jesus
The Wedding Feast at Cana
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
The Transfiguration of Jesus
The Institution of the Eucharist

The Sorrowful Mysteries

In the Sorrowful Mysteries, having celebrated the last supper with His apostles, Jesus goes to the Garden to pray and sacrifice. In that prayer, He accepts God's Will. Through the scourging at the pillar, Pilate orders Jesus to be whipped in preparation for His crucifixion. The soldiers crown Jesus with thorns and a scarlet robe, putting a reed in his right hand to mock Him. Kneeling before Him they mocked Him saying, "Hail the King of Jews!"

When Jesus struggles carrying His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, the soldiers compel a passer-by, Simon, to carry His cross to Golgotha. Reaching Calvary, Jesus was crucified and died on the cross for the sins of all mankind.

The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowning with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion and the Death of our Lord

The Glorious Mysteries

In the Glorious Mysteries, we find a new light dawning in Mary's heart as Jesus rises from the dead, a light that continues as she bids farewell in His Ascension, and fills her soul as the Holy Spirit comes to her and the Apostles on the Pentecost. Having lived a life of love and service to God, Mary is assumed into heaven to be coronated as Queen of Heaven and Earth, and reign with Jesus forever.

The Resurrection
The Ascension
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption
The Coronation

The Prayers

The 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 will 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 sin, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

...said on the crucifix

The Fatima Prayer -- O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Your mercy.

...said between decades

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.

...said before Our Father

Our Father, Who 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 delver us from evil.

...said on single bead between decades

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.

...said on beads grouped by 10 (decades)

Hail, Holy Queen (the Salve Regina), 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 onto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

...said on the medal

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.