How To Pray The Rosary

The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events in the history of our salvation. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful Mysteries (said on Monday and Saturday), the five Luminous Mysteries (said on Thursday), the five Sorrowful Mysteries (said on Tuesday and Friday), and the five Glorious Mysteries (said on Wednesday and Sunday).

As an exception, the Joyful Mysteries are said on Sundays during Christmas, while the Sorrowful Mysteries are said on the Sundays of Lent. The question is sometimes asked, why, of all the incidents in our Lord’s life, the Rosary only considers these particular twenty. The mysteries of the Rosary are based on the incidents in the life of Our Lord and His Mother that are celebrated in the Liturgy.

There is a parallel between the main feasts honoring our Lord and his Mother in the liturgical year, and the twenty mysteries of the Rosary. Consequently, one who recites the twenty mysteries of the Rosary in one day reflects on the whole liturgical cycle that the Church commemorates during the course of each year. That is why some of the Popes have referred to the Rosary as a compendium of the Gospel. One cannot change the mysteries of the Rosary without losing the indulgences that the Church grants for the recitation of the Rosary. (taken from here)

The steps to praying the Rosary are:

Make the Sign of the Cross and say the “Apostles’ Creed”
Say the “Our Father”
Say three “Hail Marys” for Faith, Hope, and Charity
Say the “Glory Be”
Announce the First Mystery and then say the “Our Father”
Say ten “Hail Marys” while meditating on the Mystery
Say the “Glory Be” (Optional: Say the “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven, especially those who most need thy mercy” prayer requested by Mary at Fatima)
Announce the Second Mystery; then say the “Our Father” and repeat these steps as you continue through the remaining Mysteries.
Say the “Hail Holy Queen” and verse
Say the “Final Prayer”

15 Promises of the Rosary

Besides the Indulgences attached to the Rosary, Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche additional benefits for those who devoutly pray the Rosary.

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces. [A signal grace may be a simple sign in daily life that answers a question made in prayer or points towards God’s will. For example, seeing a rose after finishing a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux could be considered a signal grace. Signal graces are often subtle or seemingly coincidental.]


2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.


3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.


4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!


5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. [Anyone who faithfully prays the Rosary and asks for Mary’s intercession will be saved from hell.]


6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life. [An unprovided death means dying while not in a state of grace (that is, in dying with unconfessed mortal sin in the soul). The Blessed Mother promises that anyone who regularly prays the Rosary, and earnestly tries to live according to God’s will, will be spiritually prepared when their time of death comes.]


7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. [Our Lady ensures that the soul will receive sanctifying grace through the Sacraments prior to its departure from the body.]


8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.


9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.


10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.


11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.


12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.


13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.


14. All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.


15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination. [By this the Blessed Mother means that a devotion to the Rosary is a good indication that the devotee is on the path to Heaven.]