The origin of the rosary dates back to the year 800, but it has evolved over the centuries resulting in the Rosary we know today. Praying the rosary correctly guides us to make a beautiful meditation on the life of Jesus and the Holy Virgin Mary.
or in a group, but most importantly, prayers can be made for many intentions. The Rosary, as we know it today, was delivered by the Virgin Mary to Santo Domingo de Guzmán in the year 1214. He gave it to him to fight against the heretics and sinners of the time, and he also asked him to do so.
teach people how to pray and spread this devotion throughout the world. Spreading the devotion to the Holy Rosary remains a responsibility of all Catholics. Since those times, Christians pray the Rosary.
A powerful prayer with the rosary
Before praying the rosary, create a beautiful prayer environment first. You can make the Our Father and put some incense so that the environment takes on the spiritual aura that deserves to be done. Also, rosaries can be prayed at spiritual gatheringsat funerals, or in your day to day life.
The first thing we have to do is start with the sign of the cross and recite the Apostles’ Creed. Then we go to the first bead, and on it, we must recite the Our Father. In the following, we must pray the Hail Mary, three times in total, one for each bead.
Next, we must recite the prayer of Glory. We now turn to the first of the five decades. The day of the week determines which mystery we meditate on. Announce the mystery and then say the Our Father. You must pray the Hail Mary while you meditate on the mystery. In total we recited the Ave Maria ten times. It ends with the prayer of Gloria. You must repeat this for each decade. Some say the Fatima prayer after each decade, like this:
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell;
lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who most need your mercy”
After completing the five decades, recite the Hail, Holy Queen, followed by the following prayer:
“God save you, Holy Queen,
Mother of mercy, our life,
our sweetness and our hope”
In this way until completing the rest of the prayer that is the one that accompanies the Rosary when you are praying it. Finally, you must end with the sign of the cross.
The mysteries of the rosary
The mysteries of the Rosary focus on events in the life of Christ. We pray four sets of mysteries: Joyful, Sad, Glorious, and Bright.
The Five Joyful Mysteries
Prayed on Mondays, Saturdays and, during the Advent season, on Sundays. The Five Joyful Mysteries are as follows:
- the annunciation
- the visitation
- the nativity
- The presentation in the temple
- The find in the temple
The five painful mysteries
Prayed on Tuesdays, Fridays and, during the Advent season, on Sundays. The five sorrowful mysteries are as follows:
- The agony in the garden.
- The flagellation at the pillar
- The crowning with thorns
- The burden of the cross
- The crucifixion and death
The five glorious mysteries
Prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays, except during Advent and Lent.
- The resurrection
- Ascension
- The descent of the Holy Spirit
- the assumption
- The Coronation of Mary
The five luminous mysteries
- prayed on thursdays
- The baptism of Christ in the Jordan
- The wedding feast at Cana
- Jesus’ proclamation of the coming of the kingdom of God
- the transfiguration
- The Institution of the Eucharist.
The mysteries of the rosary
Traditionally, the mysteries are prayed according to the day of the week. Begin by announcing the corresponding mystery, followed by a meditation on that moment in the life of Our Lord or Mary.
After having announced the mystery, we pray an Our Father followed by 10 Hail Marias, and we end with a Gloria. The Joyful Mysteries (Monday and Saturday). The painful ones (Tuesday and Friday). The glorious mysteries (Wednesday and Sunday). The luminous mysteries (Thursday).
We finish the Rosary after we have prayed As a closing prayer, hold up the Rosary medal and say Hail, Holy Queen, as a sign of praise and recognition to Our Mother.