The Rosary is a garden of prayer. Its name comes from the Latin rosarium, a rose garden, and each prayer is like a rose offered to God. Bead by bead, it walks us through the life of Jesus, almost entirely in words taken from the Bible.
A short history of the Rosary
- The early Church
Monks prayed all 150 Psalms each week. Desert monks kept count of their prayers with pebbles and knotted cords, the same roots as the Eastern prayer rope.
- The Middle Ages
Many people couldn’t read the Psalms, so they prayed 150 Our Fathers instead, counted on strings of beads called paternosters. Over time the angel’s greeting to Mary, the Hail Mary, was prayed the same way.
- The 1200s
A long tradition links the Rosary to St. Dominic, and his Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, spread it across Europe.
- The 1400s
Monks began joining each prayer to a moment in the life of Jesus. The Rosary became a way to meditate on the Gospel, not only to repeat words.
- 1569
Pope St. Pius V set the familiar form of fifteen mysteries. October 7 became the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
- 2002
St. John Paul II added the five Luminous Mysteries from Jesus’ public life, and called the Rosary a summary of the whole Gospel.
How the Rosary comes from the Bible
Almost every word of the Rosary is Scripture, or grows straight out of it:
The Our Father
The prayer Jesus himself taught his disciples (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
The Hail Mary
The angel Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28), and Elizabeth’s words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42). The second half asks Mary to pray for us.
The Glory Be
Praise of the Trinity, echoing Jesus’ words to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
The Mysteries
Twenty scenes, most taken straight from the Gospels: Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The Our Father
One day the disciples watched Jesus praying, and one of them asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). This is the prayer He gave them, the prayer every Christian shares:
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 debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:9-13
Our Father
We speak to God as His children, and as brothers and sisters to one another.
Thy will be done
We hand over our plans and trust His goodness.
Daily bread
We ask only for today, and receive it with thanks.
Forgive us
We receive mercy, and promise to share it.
In the Rosary and at Mass, Catholics pray it with the familiar words “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
How to pray the Rosary
Begin at the crucifix
Make the sign of the cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed.
The first beads
Pray one Our Father, three Hail Marys (for faith, hope, and love), and a Glory Be.
Announce a mystery
Name the first mystery and picture the scene from the Gospel.
Pray a decade
One Our Father on the large bead, ten Hail Marys on the small beads, then a Glory Be.
Go around the circle
Repeat for all five mysteries, and close with the Hail, Holy Queen.
The 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.
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.
The four sets of mysteries
Joyful
Mondays and Saturdays
- The Annunciation Luke 1:26-38
- The Visitation Luke 1:39-56
- The Nativity Luke 2:1-20
- The Presentation Luke 2:22-38
- Finding Jesus in the Temple Luke 2:41-52
Luminous
Thursdays
- The Baptism of Jesus Matthew 3:13-17
- The Wedding at Cana John 2:1-11
- The Kingdom proclaimed Mark 1:14-15
- The Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-8
- The Last Supper Matthew 26:26-29
Sorrowful
Tuesdays and Fridays
- The Agony in the Garden Matthew 26:36-46
- The Scourging Mark 15:15
- The Crowning with Thorns Matthew 27:27-31
- Carrying the Cross John 19:17
- The Crucifixion Luke 23:33-46
Glorious
Wednesdays and Sundays
- The Resurrection Luke 24:1-12
- The Ascension Acts 1:6-11
- Pentecost Acts 2:1-4
- The Assumption of Mary Church tradition
- Mary crowned in heaven Church tradition; see Revelation 12:1
Just one decade
You don’t have to pray all five at once. Take a walk in the garden or sit by a window. Read one mystery from the Gospel, then pray one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and a Glory Be. It takes about five minutes.
Whatever church you call home, the Our Father belongs to every Christian. If Marian prayers aren’t part of your tradition, you can still walk through the Gospel scenes with the Our Father and the Jesus Prayer.
Keep going
Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
