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Beginning Catholic: How to Pray the Rosary: Contemplating Christ With Mary [Ecumenical]
BeginningCatholic.com ^ | not given | BeginningCatholic.com

Posted on 12/29/2008 5:52:01 PM PST by Salvation

 

How to Pray the Rosary:
Contemplating Christ
With Mary

Learn how to pray the Rosary — it will change your life!

I admit: I used to think it was a quaint, old-fashioned, outdated devotion. Old ladies said the Rosary. But serious people didn't find it useful anymore. Right?

Wrong!

Once I learned how to pray the Rosary, I was hooked.

The Rosary is an incredible prayer. It's deceptively simple, and profoundly deep. A simple vocal prayer, and a school of silent contemplation. It's as small as a palm full of beads, and as wide as the Gospels.

The Rosary taught me about Mary. She used the Rosary to teach me about Christ.

Give a huge boost to your faith: learn how to pray the Rosary.

This article with teach you step by step.

With pictures!

What is the Rosary?

The term "The Rosary" refers to both a prayer and a physical object.

I'll use the term "Rosary beads" to refer to the physical object, and "the Rosary" to refer to the prayer.

The Rosary is a simple prayer. It takes just a couple of minutes to learn how to pray the Rosary. Its basic structure is:

  1. An introduction (a few brief prayers)
  2. A series of five decades, each contemplating a mystery of the Christian faith
  3. A conclusion (another few brief prayers)

What's a "decade"?

Well, it'll be easier to show you in the picture, in just a second. (See the downloadable, one-page sheet on how to pray the Rosary.) But for now...

The main loop of a set of Rosary beads is divided into five decades. Each decade has a single bead, a space, and then ten beads.

You follow the beads with your fingers as you say each prayer.

When you start a decade, you name the mystery for it. (Don't worry — there's a list of them you'll follow!) Then you say an Our Father on the single bead, followed by ten Hail Marys, one for each of the ten beads. Then you end the decade with a Glory Be.

Simple!

But what's the point?

Well, it's all about the mystery for that decade. These are the central mysteries of the Christian faith: the Nativity, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, etc.

When you learn how to pray the Rosary, you learn about prayer itself.

As you say the prayers, you think about the current decade's mystery. The Rosary is actually a combination of all three main forms of Christian prayer: vocal, meditation, and contemplation.

The beauty of the Rosary is that it easily lets you move back and forth among these three types of prayer. When the vocal prayer becomes routine, you let your mind wander to the mystery. When your attention wanders in meditation, you can fix its focus on the words of the prayers. All the while, your fingers move in a slow rhythm over the beads, keeping track of where you are, leading you to the next vocal prayer.

It is a deeply peaceful prayer.

Learning how to pray the Rosary will bring a beautiful period of peace into your daily life.

So how do I learn
How to pray the Rosary?

Print out the one page visual guide to the Rosary, and follow it.

You'll be an expert in no time!

That one-page guide was written by a terrific Catholic website, newadvent.org. I've made it available here, too, for your convenience (the instructions on the sheet say to freely copy & distribute it):

(Of course, you can also get it from their own home page — here's a link to newadvent.org for you, and look for their text about how to pray the Rosary.)

There's one more thing you need that's not in the New Advent guide to the Rosary...

The graces for each mystery

It's traditional to pray for a specific grace for each mystery. We ask God to grant us that grace — to help us grow in some virtue related to that mystery.

When I learned how to pray the Rosary, I needed a second sheet so I could keep track of the graces for each mystery.

So I've created another printable sheet for you:

Just try it!

I encourage you to give it a try.

If it takes too long at first, you can shorten it. Some ways to shorten it are to say just one full decade a day, or to say all five decades but with only one Hail Mary per decade.

The Rosary is one of the most beautiful Catholic prayers. With Mary, we watch the mysteries of Christ's life unfold. In the Rosary, Mary teaches us about Christ, leads us to Christ, and prays with us in Christ.

So give yourself an incredible gift: Learn how to pray the Rosary!




TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; prayer
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To: All
From Archbishop Fulton Sheen


Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, "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."


How To Pray the Rosary:

While the rosary and the indulgences attached to it by the Church essentially concerns the decades and the meditation upon the mysteries only, the following is a customary way of preparing for the rosary and concluding it.


1. Preparation

Start by making the sign of the Cross:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then recite 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; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Sprit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

Then say 1 Our Father, 3 Hail Marys (for the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity) and then 1 Glory Be:

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.



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 death. Amen.

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.


2. The Rosary Proper

The Rosary is essentially the decades and their associated mysteries, and only these must be prayed to "pray the rosary", either in satisfaction of Our Lady's requests, or, to gain the indulgences attached to praying the rosary. 

The traditional Rosary is divided into three parts, each having five mysteries: Glorious, Joyful and Sorrowful. In his apostolic letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II proposed a new set of mysteries, which he called the Luminous, and which concern the period of the public life of Our Lord. For those who wish to say all 20 decades at once during the course of a day, they may be said in the following order: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. 

For those who wish to say only 5 decades per day, the Holy Father proposed the following schedule:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday  Friday Saturday Sunday
Joyful Sorrowful

Glorious

Luminous Sorrowful

Joyful

Glorious

For those who prefer to follow the traditional order of the days it is:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday  Friday Saturday Sunday
Joyful Sorrowful

Glorious

Joyful Sorrowful

Glorious

Glorious

While meditating on the Mysteries, recite:

One Our Father (large beads),  10 Hail Marys (small beads) and  1 Glory Be (before the next large bead) to make a complete decade of the rosary. 

After each decade the Fátima Prayer may also be said (Pope Pius XII).

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.


3. Concluding Prayers

After the completion of five mysteries (5 decades), or 15 or 20, the following is customarily said:

Hail Holy Queen (or Salve Regina may be sung)

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 us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

(Verse) Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.  

(Response) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Rosary Prayer

(Verse) Let us pray, 

(Response) 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 while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.



4. For the Intentions of the Holy Father

Catholics who say the rosary in a group, or, individually before the Blessed Sacrament, 
may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, which includes prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

For the intentions of the Holy Father.

Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.


In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.


21 posted on 12/29/2008 7:44:13 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

Thank you for the reminder.


22 posted on 12/29/2008 7:47:50 PM PST by Natural Law
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To: steve86

And I just love the Luminous Mysteries because they portray the ministerial life of Christ — the meditation is so profound for me.


23 posted on 12/29/2008 7:47:56 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: steve86

Move into the light — you won’t be sorry.

I say all four sets of mysteries every Friday with a group of friends. It is wonderful.


24 posted on 12/29/2008 7:48:52 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation

What an awesome thread, thanks for posting!


25 posted on 12/29/2008 8:10:58 PM PST by TenthAmendmentChampion (Join us on the best FR thread, 8000+ posts: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1990507/posts)
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To: steve86
LOL! Shorten??? I doubt it!

rosary with numbers
Rosary Prayers in other Languages
Chinese
French
Italian
Polish
Spanish
Croatian
German
Japanese
Portuguese
Swedish
Dutch
Irish-Gaelic
Latin
Russian
Tagalog
Rosary prayers in additional languages.
Vietnamese
  1. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed
  2. Say the Our Father
  3. Say three Hail Marys 
  4. Say the Glory be to the Father, ...
  5. Announce the First Mystery; then say the Our Father.
  6. Say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery.
  7. Say the Glory be to the Father, ...
  8. Announce the Second Mystery; then say the Our Father.   Repeat 6 and 7 and continue with Third, Fourth and Fifth Mysteries in the same manner.
 
After the Rosary:

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.
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 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.

After 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 who have most need of your mercy."

As suggested by the Pope John Paul II the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful)


26 posted on 12/29/2008 8:19:12 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Natural Law

I use it to contemplate the events in the life of Jesus. I love the new Luminous Mysteries, which deal directly with Jesus’s actions during His public ministry. It only takes about 15-20 minutes to say a full Rosary, so it’s a nice amount of time to spend with Jesus during a day, or even once a week.


27 posted on 12/30/2008 3:37:12 AM PST by SuziQ
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To: Salvation

Thank you. It has been years since I prayed the Rosary.


28 posted on 12/30/2008 9:29:14 AM PST by truemiester ((If the U.S. should fail, a veil of darkness will come over the Earth for a thousand years))
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To: Salvation

I just pull the Rosary out of my pocket and get started, it works every time. Then I just ignore my “SELF”, ie. “Brother Ass” and keep on going.


29 posted on 12/30/2008 11:00:43 AM PST by GonzoII ("That they may be one...Father")
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To: Salvation

I love the rosary and pray it every day. It is a tremendous means of meditation and intercession.

One can pray it when driving a car or walking a dog even. I keep a ‘decade’ rosary in my pocket.


30 posted on 12/30/2008 12:54:17 PM PST by magdalen
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To: truemiester

Please pray about starting again!


31 posted on 12/30/2008 6:31:06 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Rosary Resurgence [Ecumenical]
32 posted on 12/30/2008 6:33:45 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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