The Rosary – Joyful Mysteries
(Mondays & Saturdays)
The use of “prayer beads” and repeated recitation of prayers started in the earliest days
of the Church, and by the Middle Ages, these beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Eventually, 150 Hail Marys were linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. Tradition has it that in the 13th century, St. Dominic organized these beads around the Mysteries that we have today, and it became known as the Rosary, which means “crown or garden of roses.”
Whenever we say a Rosary, we offer our Heavenly Mother Mary a bouquet or crown of spiritual roses, and Mary leads us to her Son Jesus. The Rosary is also the spiritual sword of Mary, who has crushed evil many times throughout the centuries. Even now, Mary asks us to say the Rosary daily in reparation for all our sins and to help defeat the evil that has invaded our Church and world.
“The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.“ – Venerable Fulton Sheen
Begin with the Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On Crucifix, say 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.
On large bead, say 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.
On next three small beads, say the Hail Mary: 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.
Finish with a Glory Be: 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.
and the Fatima Prayer: 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. Amen.
For each decade, say:
1 Our Father on the large bead,
10 Hail Mary’s on the small beads,
and finish with 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima Prayer
1) The Annunciation (Lk 1:26,28)
The Angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary and said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you and blessed are you among women.”
2) The Visitation (Lk 1:41, 42)
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
3) The Birth of Jesus (Lk 2:7)
She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
4) The Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:22)
When the days for their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.
5) Finding Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:46)
It came to pass, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
Conclude rosary with: 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. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; 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, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen