Let's face it...the beads of the Most Holy Rosary can be intimidating if you've never prayed them before. We understand.
And just because you were born Catholic does not mean that you know instinctively or by some form of osmosis the correct way to pray the Most Holy Rosary. Don't feel bad if that describes you.
Is It Right To Say That There Are Rules?
We definitely follow a prescribed pattern of prayers when we say the Rosary.
Think of the prayers combined with the physical, tangible Rosary as a complete recipe handed to us by the Blessed Mother. That recipe nourishes your soul, gives honor to God, and makes reparation.
The Rosary is Our Lady's recipe handed down through the centuries with the substance intact and only minor tweaks, including Our Lady's request to add the Fatima prayer.
If you associate the food your mother made you growing up at Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter with the most positive and loving feelings, how much more so this holy recipe that feeds your soul if you learn it and pray it with devotion?
So What Are The Rules?
We're going to give the recipe in both written, detailed steps in the toggle boxes below and pictures. Follow the steps literally as you follow along with your fingers on the beads or use the pictures to guide.
1. Rosary Beads
Rosary beads are easy to acquire but should be blessed by a priest before use. A set of beads includes a crucifix, 6 Our Father beads, 53 Hail Mary beads, a medallion joining the beads together, and many small beads separating the Our Father and Hail Mary beads.
2. Mysteries
Every Rosary is a meditation on Sacred Scripture. We use elements of Our Lord's and Our Lady's lives as a way to focus that meditation. A complete rosary is said to have 15 decades. So one third of that Rosary is 5 decades. Most people mean the 5 decades when they refer to praying the Rosary.
What mysteries you say depends upon the day of the week and the liturgical season.
Meditation on each mystery bears great fruit in your soul and the world, so we pair a request for a particular grace with each mystery.
3. Fixed Intentions
Decide an intention or intentions for your Rosary. For example, you could recite the Rosary with intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Or you could include prayer requests as your intentions.
4. Sign of the Cross
Every prayer of the Rosary begins and ends by making the Sign of the Cross.
5. Apostles Creed
At the beginning of the Rosary (but NOT at the end), recite the Apostles Creed on the crucifix.
6. Our Father
The first bead after the crucifix is a large bead that is also known as an Our Father bead. Immediately after saying the Apostles Creed on the crucifix, slide your fingers along to this first large bead and recite the Our Father.
7. Hail Mary
The 3 small beads that follow the first large bead are Hail Mary beads. Slide your fingers onto each as you recite a separate Hail Mary on each bead.
8. Glory Be
Immediately after the first 3 Hail Mary prayers recited on the small beads, slide your fingers to the connecting space between the first 3 Hail Mary beads and the second large Our Father bead. On this connecting space, recite the Glory Be.
9. Mystery and Our Father
After reciting the Glory Be, move your fingers to the second large Our Father bead. This bead begins the announcement of the first of the 5 mysteries for that day. Announce the mystery and the fruit that goes with that mystery.
On each of the Our Father beads that you come to going around the 5 decades, announce the next mystery and its companion virtue.
10. Hail Mary
Once you recite the mystery and its companion virtue and after praying the Our Father, slide your fingers to the first Hail Mary bead that comprise the 10 Hail Mary beads of each mystery. You repeat that process for each of the 5 decades.
11. Glory Be
For each decade, when you have said the 10 Hail Mary prayers on each Hail Mary bead, slide your fingers to the space between the last Hail Mary bead and the next Our Father bead. Here recite the Glory Be prayer.
You recite the Glory Be prayer after each decade of the Rosary.
12. Fatima Prayer
In her apparitions at Fatima, Our Lady asked us to recite a prayer after each Glory Be. You keep your fingers on the space between the last Hail Mary bead and the next Our Father bead while reciting the Fatima Prayer.
13. Hail Holy Queen
Once you make you way through all of the 5 decades and have said your fifth Fatima Prayer, slide your fingers to the medallion at the center of the Rosary. Here pray the Hail Holy Queen.
Final Thoughts
The Rosary is a spiritual weapon that changes the course of human events and leads souls to Heaven. We encourage you to join the millions around the world who daily take up their crosses and do so with the Rosary in their hands. Only in Heaven will we know the good we do on this earth by the devout recitation of one Holy Rosary a day.
As always, we'd love to hear about you and your relationship with Our Lord and Our Lady through the Holy Rosary.
God bless!
Lynne
