God has given us such a precious gift in Our Blessed Mother and the most holy Rosary! Next to the holy sacrifice of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary is the most powerful prayer that exists on this earth. The church even grants a plenary indulgence to those who pray the Rosary in the presence of the Eucharist. Following are the 15 promises Our Lady has made to those who pray her Rosary.
"The Rosary is my favorite prayer. It is a marvelous prayer!"
(Pope John Paul II)#395c. "Those who piously recite a third part of the Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament publicly exposed or even in the tabernacle, as often as they do this, may gain: A plenary indulgence, on condition of confession and Communion"
(Apostolic Brief, Sept. 4, 1927). (This was granted by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences. See Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, A Manual of Indulgences, published by the Vatican Press, 1950)
"If you desire peace in your hearts,
in your homes, in your country,
recite the Rosary." (Pope Pius IX)
The Fifteen Promises of Mary to those who pray the Rosary
1. To all those who pray the Rosary devoutly, she promises her special protection and very great graces.
2. Those who persevere in the praying of the Rosary will receive some signal grace.
3. The Rosary will be very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy.
4. The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, and elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal good. O, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.
6. Those who pray my Rosary piously, meditating on these mysteries, will not be overwhelmed by misfortune, nor die a bad death. The sinner will be converted; the just will grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary will not die without the consolations of the church, or without grace.
8. Those who shall recite my Rosary will find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of his grace, and will share in the merits of the blessed.
9. I will deliver very promptly from Purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.
10. The true children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.
11. What you ask through my Rosary you shall obtain.
12. Those who propagate my Rosary will obtain through me aid in all their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Son that all confreres of the Rosary shall have their brethren in life and death the saints in heaven.
14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
"These mysteries--which present themselves as scenes, pictures and stories, one after another--lead you to an intellectual vision of the facts of the life of Jesus and Mary recorded in the mysteries, and to an understanding of the most sublime truths of our religion; the Incarnation of the Lord, the Redemption, and the Christian life, present and future""Your rosary is a stairway, and you climb it together, step by step, towards an encounter with the Blessed Virgin--which means an encounter with Jesus" (Pope Paul VI).
The Joyful MysteriesThe Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary The complete rosary consists of fifteen decades, but it is divided into three distinct parts, each containing five decades. The first part is called the Five Joyful Mysteries, the second part the Five Sorrowful Mysteries, and the third part the Five Glorious Mysteries.
The Luminous
Mysteries
(To be prayed on Thursday)
1. The Baptism of
Jesus (Jn 1:29-33)
2. The Wedding at
Cana (Jn 2:5)
3. The Proclamation
of The Kingdom (Mt 10:7-8)
4. The Transfiguration
(Mt 17:5-7)
5. The Institution
of The Eucharist (Mt 26:26-28)
The Sorrowful
Mysteries
(To be prayed on Tuesday
& Friday)
1. The Agony in the
Garden (Matt 26, 36 & 39)
2. The Scourging at
the Pillar (Matt 27, 25-26)
3. The Crowning with
Thorns (Matt 27, 28-29)
4. The Carrying of
the Cross (John 19, 17-18)
5. The Crucifixion
(Luke 23, 45-46)
The Glorious
Mysteries
(To be prayed on Sunday
& Wednesday)
1. The Resurrection
(Matt 28, 5-6)
2. The Ascension (Luke
24, 50-51)
3. The Descent of
the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, 3-4)
4. The Assumption
(Judith 13, 18)
5. The Coronation
(Rev 12, 1)
1. Make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed.How to Pray the Rosary
2. Say the Our Father.
3. Say three Hail Marys.
4. Say the Glory be to the Father.
5. Optional: Fatima Prayer and O Sacrament Most Holy.
6. Announce the first Mystery; then say the Our Father.
7. Say ten Hail Marys.
8. Say the Glory be to the Father.
9. Optional: Fatima Prayer and O Sacrament Most Holy.
10. Announce the second Mystery; then say the Our Father.
11. Say ten Hail Marys.
12. Say the Glory be to the Father.
13. Optional: Fatima Prayer and O Sacrament Most Holy.
14. Announce the third Mystery; then say the Our Father.
15. Say ten Hail Marys.
16. Say the Glory be to the Father.
17. Optional: Fatima Prayer and O Sacrament Most Holy.
18. Announce the fourth Mystery; then say the Our Father.
19. Say ten Hail Marys.
20. Say the Glory be to the Father.
21. Announce the fifth Mystery; then say the Our Father.
22. Say ten Hail Marys.
23. Say the Glory be to the Father.
24. Optional: Fatima Prayer and O Sacrament Most Holy.
25. Say the Hail Holy Queen.
26. Optional: Prayer After the Rosary, the Memorare and Prayer to St. Joseph.
Apostles' CreedRosary Prayers
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
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.
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.
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
O my Jesus, forgive
us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven,
especially those who are most in need of Thy mercy.
O Sacrament Most
Holy
O Sacrament most holy,
O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!
Salve Regina
(Hail, Holy Queen)
Hail, Holy Queen,
Mother of Mercy. Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope! To you
do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs;
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn then, most gracious
Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show
unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus! O clement, O loving,
O sweet virgin Mary!
Prayer After
the Rosary
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.
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious
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 with this confidence, I fly to you O Virgin of virgins, my mother.
To you I come; before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother
of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear
and answer me. Amen.
Our Lady of the
Most Holy Rosary, please pray that there may be Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration
of your Son Jesus in every parish throughout the world!
Prayer to St. Joseph--Patron Saint of the Universal Church
To you, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of your thrice Holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence earnestly beg you also to take us under your protection. By that charity wherewith you were united to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by that fatherly love, with which you cherished the Child Jesus, we beseech you and humbly pray that you will look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His Blood, and will help us in our need by your power and strength.
Defend, O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen offspring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old you rescued the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under your patronage, that, imitating your example and strengthened by your help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death and attain to everlasting bliss in heaven. Amen.
"In places and nations in which the Rosary of Mary retains its ancient honor, the loss of faith through ignorance and vicious error need not be feared." (Pope Leo XIII)A little pair of Rosary Beads, as plain as plain can be,
Rev. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the Rosary priest, says:
The Family that prays together stays together
My Rosary Beads
Hildena Walton
I have them always
with me at every step I take,
At evening when I
slumber, at morn when I awake.
In bright and cloudy
weather, in sunshine or in rain,
In happiness or sorrow,
in pleasure or in pain.
It helps me in my struggle,
it reproves me when I sin,
It's look of gentle
patience rebukes the strife within.
In days of pain and
anguish, the greatest help I knew
Was to hold my rosary
beads until I calmer grew.
So when the time approaches
when I will have to die,
I hope my little rosary
beads will close beside me lie.
That the holy name
of Jesus may be the last I say,
And kissing my sweet
Rosary Beads, my soul may pass away.