The Rosary

"Step-By-Step" Instructions for Praying The Rosary

1. Beginning with the Rosary's Cross: Begin in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. (making the sign of the Cross while doing that)
2. On the single bead just above the cross, pray the Apostles Creed. This and all prayers of the rosary are meditative prayers
3. The next cluster of beads are 3 bead, the "Hail Mary" prayer is said on these three beads.  You pray the 3 Hail Marys while meditating on the three divine virtues of faith, hope, and love.
4. On the next bead, which is a single bead, you announce the first divine mystery of contemplation.  For example, if it were a Monday, you would say the first Joyful Mystery is "The Annunciation", at this point you pray the "Our Father" prayer.
5. Now this will bring you to the first decade, or set of 10 beads of the Rosary.  You will then pray 10 Hail Marys while contemplating the first mystery, example: The Annunciation.
6. After the 10th Hail Mary, you now come to another single bead, at this point, you pray the... Glory be to the Father... then (on the same bead) pray the O My Jesus... then (on the same bead) announce the next or second mystery. For example: if its Monday and your praying the Joyful Mysteries, the second Joyful Mystery is The Visitation. At this point you pray the Our Father for the next decade...
7. You will now come to the second decade or group of 10 beads, you will now pray the 10 Hail Marys while contemplating the appropriate mystery.
8. You continue to pray the rosary the same way throughout. If your intention is to pray a Chaplet (a single set of mysteries) at the end of the fifth mystery you will come back to the joiner, this is where the decades all join with the lower part of the rosary which contains the cross.  When you come to the joiner, you decide whether or not you wish to say another Chaplet or end.  If you decide to say another Chaplet you simply announce the next mystery and continue. If you wish to end, you simply say the Glory Be To The Father, the O My Jesus, the Our Father and end the rosary with the Hail Holy Queen and then the sign of the Cross.

The Rosary Prayers (In Approximate Order)

THE APOSTLE’S 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 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.


GLORY BE
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.


FATIMA PRAYER
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially, those most in need of thy mercy. Amen.


HAIL HOLY QUEEN
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.
 

The Fifteen Promises of Mary to Christians Who Recite the Rosary

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary, shall receive signal graces.
    
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
    
3. The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
    
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the heart of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.  Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
    
5. The soul which recommend itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
    
6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
    
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
    
8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
    
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
    
10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
     
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
     
12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
     
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
     
14. All who recite the rosary are my son, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
     
15. Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

WHY Pray the Rosary Daily?

• Our Lady has 117 titles. She selected this title at Fatima: "I am the Lady of the Rosary."
   
• St. Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying IS- Pray the Rosary.
   
• St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just 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
   
• Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said: "The Rosary is THE WEAPON"
   
• Pope Leo XIII wrote 9 encyclicals on the rosary.
   
• Pope John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. he prayed 15 decades daily.
   
• St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote: "The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who so loves His Mother.