The Rosary The Rosary is a Scripture-based prayer. It begins with the Apostles' Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith. The Our Father, which introduces each mystery, is from the Gospels. The first part of the Hail Mary is the angel's words announcing Christ's birth and Elizabeth's greeting to Mary. St. Pius V officially added the second part of the Hail Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary center on the events of Christ's life. There are four sets of Mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and added by Pope John Paul II in 2002 the Luminous. The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ's spirit dwells. The Rosary can be said privately or with a group. How To Pray The Rosary Familiarize yourself and/or your group with the prayers of the rosary. 1. Make the Sign of the Cross. 2. Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed. 3. On the first bead, say an Our Father. 4. Say one Hail Mary on each of the next three beads. 5. Say the Glory Be 6. For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery (perhaps followed by a brief reading from Scripture) then say the Our Father. 7. While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be. (After finishing each decade, some say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. 8. After saying the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Queen, followed by this dialogue and prayer (optional): 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 while meditating on 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. 9. Conclude the Rosary with the Sign of the Cross.
PRAYERS OF THE ROSARY 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; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come 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. 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 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 The Hail Mary Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are 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.
The Glory Be (The Doxology) Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. After finishing each decade say the following prayer, requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, Save us from the fires of hell; Lead all souls to Heaven, Especially those in most need of Thy mercy. The Hail Holy Queen (The Salve Regina) Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. The Five Joyful Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Mondays, Saturdays, and, during the season of Advent, on Sundays: 1. The Annunciation 2. The Visitation 3. The Nativity 4. The Presentation in the Temple 5. The Finding in the Temple The Five Sorrowful Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Tuesdays, Fridays, and, during the season of Lent, on Sundays: 1. The Agony in the Garden 2. The Scourging at the Pillar 3. The Crowning with Thorns 4. The Carrying of the Cross 5. The Crucifixion and Death The Five Glorious Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Wednesdays and, outside the seasons of Advent and Lent, on Sundays: 1. The Resurrection 2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit 4. The Assumption 5. The Coronation of Mary The Five Luminous Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Thursdays: 1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan 2. The Wedding Feast at Cana 3. Jesus' Proclamation of the Coming of the Kingdom of God 4. The Transfiguration 5. The Institution of the Eucharist 15 Promises of Our Lady made to St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche 1) To all those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces. 2) Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace (Signal grace is an extraordinary grace - it may be a simple sign in daily life that answers a question made in prayer or points towards God s will. For example, seeing a rose after finishing a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux could be considered a signal grace. Signal graces are often subtle or seemingly coincidental). 3) The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy. 4) The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, and will lift them to the desire of heavenly and eternal things. How many souls shall sanctify themselves by this means! 5) Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish. 6) Those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, meditating on its mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed by misfortune. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life. 7) Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 8) Those who recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of His graces, and shall share in the merits of the blessed. 9) I shall deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary. 10) The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.
11) What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain. 12) Those who propagate my Rosary shall be aided by me in all their necessities. 13) I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have for their brethren the saints of heaven during their life and at the hour of death. 14) Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. 15) Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. Memorable Quotes St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying is: Pray the Rosary. St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome just on the Hail Mary. St. John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand. "The Rosary is the scourge of the devil", Pope Adrian VI. "The Rosary is a treasure of graces", Pope Paul V. "The Rosary is THE WEAPON." Saint Padre Pio Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world. Blessed Pope Pius IX Blessed Mother told Lucia: I am the Lady of the Rosary. "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way that will lead you to God." The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Our Lady gravely said, "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (looking sadly at the three shepherd children Blessed Mother said) Pray, pray very much. Make sacrifices for sinners. Many souls go to hell, because no one is willing to help them with sacrifice.
Putting up with any sacrifices that are asked of us in our day-to-day lives becomes a slow martyrdom which purifies us and raises us up to the level of the supernatural, through the encounter of our soul with God, in the atmosphere of the presence of the Most Holy Trinity within us. We have here an incomparable spiritual richness! Before her death, Jacinta told Lucia: It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that God wishes to grant us His graces! It is from this Immaculate Heart that we must ask for them! The Heart of Jesus wishes the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated with His own! It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that peace must be asked, because it is to that Heart that the Lord has confided it. How I love the Immaculate Heart of Mary! It is the Heart of Our Heavenly Mother! Oh! If only I could put into all hearts the fire I feel in my own, which makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so much!" Hell is a reality. It is a supernatural fire and not physical. It cannot be compared to fire that burns wood or charcoal Continue preaching about hell because Our Lord himself spoke about hell, and it is in Sacred Scripture. God does not condemn anyone to hell. God gave men the liberty to choose, and God respects this human liberty. [Christus Magazine Interview] Let us all willingly endeavor to follow faithfully the path that He has mapped out for us. Yes, because it was out of love that God sent us this pressing call from his mercy, in order to help us along the way of our salvation. "I am the Lady of the Rosary, I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask for pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it every day. " Sister Lucia wrote, a few years before her death on February 13: There is no shortage of unbelievers in the world who deny these truths, but they are no less true for being denied. Their disbelief does not save unbelievers from the horrors of Hell, should a life of sin lead them there.... At Fatima, (God) sent us His Message as one more proof of these truths. This Message recalls them to us, so that we do not let ourselves be fooled by the false doctrines of unbelievers who deny them, or of deceivers who distort them. To this end, the Message assures us that Hell is a fact, and that the souls of poor sinners end up there." (Calls from the Message of Fatima, 2003, ch. 14) The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be about marriage and the family. Do not be afraid, because anyone who works for the sanctity of marriage and the family will always be fought and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue. However, Our Lady has already crushed his head.