Why Pray the Rosary?

The Rosary offers a depth of prayer which is not offered by many other devotions. It encompasses vocal, meditative, and contemplative prayer. This is why many saints have acclaimed it as an invaluable resource in order to grow in relationship with God. Unfortunately, however, the Rosary also has the reputation of being a mindless and vapid way of praying. This is because, without being attentive to the divine mysteries, and without being mindful of the gift being offered to Mary, what could have been a beautiful crown of roses becomes a withered crown of weeds.

Vocally praying the Rosary does not mean simply rattling off sentences. The Catechism highlights the importance of vocal prayer, saying: “By words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes flesh. Yet it is most important that the heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in prayer: ‘Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls’” (2700). 

The Rosary is also a form of Christian meditation, or prayer that “engages our thoughts, imaginations, emotions, and desires” (CCC 2708). The Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries are means of engaging with Jesus and Mary as they actually lived and interacted with others. Considering their way of life in comparison with our own helps bring about a deeper transformation in our hearts. This is why in concluding the Rosary we say “grant, we beseech Thee, that by 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.”

Finally, the Rosary can be a type of contemplative prayer as well. In contemplative prayer “We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed” (CCC 2711). Contemplative prayer is, to a certain extent, a prayer of silence. However, it can more accurately be defined as prayer in which God acts and draws us to Himself in a profound way. It is a type of prayer which cannot be achieved through one’s own efforts but only through love. Through vocal prayer and meditation, the Rosary strives to make our hearts free to receive God’s Love and grace without any obstruction.

How to Pray the Rosary

Sign of the Cross

On the Crucifix:

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; 
from there He shall 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.

On the First Bead:

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.

On the next three beads

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. 
Amen.

(These are said in petition for Faith, Hope, and Charity)

On the next bead:

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.

End of Introductory Prayers

Joyful Mysteries: Monday and Saturday. Sundays of Advent and Christmas.
The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity of Our Lord, The Presentation in the Temple, The Finding of the Child Jesus.

Luminous Mysteries: Thursdays
The Baptism in the Jordan, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven, The Transfiguration, The Institution of the Eucharist.

Sorrowful Mysteries: Tuesdays and Fridays. Sundays of Lent.
The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion.

Glorious Mysteries: Sundays and Wednesdays.
The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Descent of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of Mary, The Coronation of Mary.

To pray the first decade, begin by announcing the first Mystery. Then let this be your meditation throughout the decade. Using Scripture can be a useful way of sustaining this reflection without becoming distracted by other thoughts. Also click <<here>> to view our collection of images which may also be meditated on while praying each decade.

History of the Holy Rosary

The Rosary was given as an instrument to St. Dominic in 1208 to help combat the Albigensian heresy which he was sent to preach against. After several fruitless missions to convert members of this sect, he withdrew to a forest, seeking refuge in prayer. During this time of prayer, silence and fasting, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic and told him to preach her Psalter in order to convert the heretics.

Artistic representations of this moment usually show Mary handing Dominic a set of Rosary beads. St. Dominic, accepting it, preached it with great success, seeing for himself the fall of the Albigensian heresy in France. Dominicans throughout the centuries have been far and wide the most passionate promoters of this devotion passed on by the Blessed Mother.

While it is true that St. Dominic received the Rosary from Mary for the purpose of evangelizing and converting the heretics, there is also evidence that the Rosary existed in a simpler form in prior years as a substitute for the Divine Office among the illiterate laity. While it was impossible for most people to read and memorize Psalms in Latin, prayers such as the Hail Mary and Our Father could be repeated in succession to create a simple prayer routine. When 150 Hail Marys were repeated in succession, it was known as Mary’s Psalter (as it corresponded to the number of Psalms in the Bible). Therefore, when St. Dominic was told to preach Mary’s Psalter, he transformed what was previously simple and unremarkable into a beautiful method of prayer combining meditation on Sacred Mysteries with vocal prayer.

The Rosary in the lives of Saints

“From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. I was powerfully reminded of this during my recent visit to Poland, and in particular at the Shrine of Kalwaria. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: ‘The Rosary is my favorite prayer. A marvelous prayer! Marvelous in its simplicity and its depth.’” 

St. John Paul II