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The Rosary is a prayer that has been around for centuries. Modeled after the 150 Psalms, the Rosary is a simple way to pray, and you can use it anywhere -- at home, at work or school (if you're allowed), or even while traveling!
The Rosary is made up of two primary prayers:
The Rosary is a powerful prayer that offers many benefits. Here are some of the most common reasons people pray the Rosary:
The rosary is a powerful tool for prayer, but it's also one that can be misunderstood. As you learn more about the Rosary, you may find yourself with questions about its history and purpose.
In this guide, we'll take a look at what Catholics believe about this ancient practice as well as how other Christians view it -- including Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
We'll start with how Catholics see the rosary:
Focus and Meditate: When you're praying the rosary, it's important to focus on what you're saying. If your mind wanders off and starts thinking about something else, bring it back to Jesus and His mother Mary.
Make the Most of Your Prayers: It's easy to get bored when we pray the same thing over and over again--but don't let this happen! Keep an open mind about how God might use this time for good in your life or someone else's.
Memorize the Prayers: Memorizing parts of a prayer helps us internalize them more deeply than just reading from paper would allow us to do; so if possible memorize at least some parts of each decade before moving on (you don't have to memorize all 20 mysteries).
There are more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide, and many of them pray the Rosary. In fact, the Rosary is one of the most popular forms of prayer in Catholicism.
It's also not just Catholics who are praying the Rosary--it's Protestants too! And Eastern Orthodox Christians have their own version called "The Jesus Prayer."
The Rosary Prayer is an important Catholic devotion that dates back to the 15th century. It consists of a series of prayers and meditations on the life of Jesus Christ. The Rosary can be said at any time, but it's most commonly prayed before bedtime or during quiet moments throughout the day.
Why is this prayer so important to many people? There are several reasons:
The rosary prayer is a powerful tool for connecting with God. It can help you to overcome difficulties, and it can even improve your psychological health.
The Rosary is a series of prayers that are said while holding beads in your hands. These beads represent the different parts of this Catholic prayer ritual--the Our Father (or Our Father), Hail Mary (or Ave Maria), Glory Be and/or Fatima Prayer. The purpose of these prayers is to focus on Jesus Christ as well as other important saints such as St. Jude or St. Anthony who have been canonized by the Church (meaning they were officially recognized by it). By praying these words repeatedly over time, Catholics believe they become closer to God because they're focusing their attention on him instead of worldly matters like work or school stressors which may distract them from their faith journey otherwise!
The Rosary Prayer is a powerful way to pray and meditate on the life of Jesus Christ. It's also an excellent way to practice mindfulness and gratitude, as well as increase your faith in God.
The following are some tips on how you can incorporate the Rosary into your daily routine:
Make it part of your daily routine. The best time to do this is right after waking up in the morning or before going to bed at night, but if that doesn't work for you then try incorporating it into another part of your day such as during lunchtime or while commuting home from work/school/etc.. The point here is just make sure that every day has some sort of prayer time built into it so that no matter what happens during those 24 hours there will always be some type of spiritual connection between yourself and God (and hopefully other people too).
Choose one aspect per day (or week) depending on how much time you have available each day/week etc... For example: Monday might be dedicated towards praying about humility; Tuesday could be spent thinking about peace within ourselves first before extending outwardly towards others; Wednesday would focus specifically upon forgiveness--both giving & receiving--and so forth until Sunday which would then allow us all weekend long
https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=3279
Want to learn the Rosary Prayer? Select the language below for instant access to our popular downloadable 1-page Rosary prayer sheet. Fold it up to take it on the go, keep it in your Bible, or to share with others.
[ENGLISH] One-sheet instructions for praying the Rosary step-by-step. Includes Scriptural references for each mystery, text of all the prayers, and easy to follow directions.
[ESPAÑOL] Instrucciones para rezar el rosario paso a paso. Incluye referencias bíblicas para cada misterio, texto de todas las oraciones e instrucciones fáciles de seguir todo en una pagina.
Pray the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Angelus and more with Rosary Army's free audio files. Listen for FREE directly from our website!
The Rosary is a centuries-old prayer rooted in meditating on the life of Jesus Christ. The prayers of the Rosary are to be said while simultaneously contemplating on specific moments in the life of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Rosary is not just "vain repetition." But like the 150 Psalms which inspired the original 150 prayers of the Rosary, the Rosary provides the universal Church with a method of continuously calling out with hope to God, through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God.
There are four different "sets" of mysteries of the Rosary, typically prayed on different days (Sundays and Wednesdays - The Glorious Mysteries, Mondays and Saturdays - The Joyful Mysteries, Tuesdays and Fridays - The Sorrowful Mysteries, Thursdays - The Luminous Mysteries). Each of these Mysteries are based on Scripture.
The Rosary is comprised of 5 decades, that is, 5 sets of 10 knots/beads, which comprise a circle.
Each decade is separated by a larger knot/bead (used to pray the Our Father).
The knots knots/beads outside of the circle are used for opening and closed prayers, provided below.
BLESS YOURSELF:
Holding the Crucifix of your Rosary, bless yourself: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (As you say this, touch your forehead with your right hand when you say Father, touch your breastbone with you say Son, touch your left shoulder when you say Holy, and touch your right shoulder when you say Spirit).
Then, recite THE CREED, as follows:
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. He shall come again 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.
Opening Prayers
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.
For an increase in the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love, pray the Hail Mary three times.
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.
Then pray the following prayers 1 time each:
THE 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.
FATIMA PRAYER - Oh 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.
Pray 5 Decades
A Rosary is comprised of 5 decades (sets of ten) prayers, each proceeded by an Our Father and concluded by The Glory Be and Fatima Prayer.
To pray the first decade, start on the large center knot after the opening prayers and pray The Our Father.
Then, moving to each of the next ten smaller knots/beads, pray a Hail Mary on each knot.
After praying ten Hail Mary prayers, pray The Glory Be followed by The Fatima Prayer.
Repeat this pattern of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be, and one Fatima Prayer until you've gone around all five decades of a full Rosary.
Concluding Prayers
After praying all five decades, recite the following concluding prayers:
HAIL, HOLY QUEEN: 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. Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER: 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 by meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next, for the Pope and the Pope's intentions, pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
Conclude the Rosary with THE MEMORARE, as follows:
Remember oh most Blessed Virgin Mary that never was it known, that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, oh virgin of virgins, our Mother. To you do we come, before you we stand, sinful and sorrowful. Oh mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer them. Amen.
Finally, end by blessing yourself once again as you did at the beginning of the Rosary.
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