The rosary is a set of beads intended to lead us in prayer. Each bead guides us to reflect upon events and mysteries in the life of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Using the Rosary beads helps us to stay focused and protects us from the many distractions that can rob us of the gift of prayer.
We personally recommend you to pray an act of contrition before you pray the rosary. The scriptures talk about the sins of the heart which can block answered prayer. We don�t want anything to hinder our prayers from being answered, and we want to prepare our hearts to receive all of God�s blessings. (1 Peter 3:7, Mat 5:23-24).
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good. I have sinned against You whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy. Amen With the commitment to do good and with contrition in your heart, you can proceed to lift up your heart to the Lord. We now begin our Rosary with:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen This sign of victory and blessing invokes the presence of the Holy Trinity and professes our redemption. We kiss the crucifix in reverence and respect for the saving act of our Lord. This outward sign is a symbol of total submission and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. While reflecting on Christ�s saving act, we proceed to pray
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will 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. This profession of faith reaffirms in our hearts and minds what we believe as Catholics. We make the same profession of faith that the Apostles, and the early church Fathers did, and has been unbroken since the early centuries of the church. Through Baptism and profession of this faith we are grafted into the family of God. How appropriate it is to proceed to the prayer our Lord taught us and call God 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 Jesus gave us His mother as we are told in the Scriptures. While He was on the cross, Jesus looked to John and said: �Behold your mother.� Imagine Jesus looking at you. Jesus looked to Mary and said: �Mother behold your son.� We proceed to pray three Hail Marys. Traditionally, we have prayed one for the gift of hope, the second one for charity and the third one for an increase gift of faith.
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are you 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. After the three Hail Marys we give God the Glory and Honor by praying:
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.
We are now entering the most reflective part of the rosary. We announce the first Joyful Mystery. The Annunciation. The angel of God appeared to Mary and announced the plan for our salvation. Mary responded, "May it be done to me according to Your will." Now is a good time to pray for a specific grace relating to the Mystery you'll be reflecting on, for example, "Oh Lord, I pray that in the challenges of life I may be ready and quick in accepting Your Will. May it be done to me according to Your will." After a short prayer, offer your rosary or first decade for a specific intention. It is important to be specific so you can see the answers to your prayers. You may pray a rosary in thanksgiving for answered prayer. Then we pray the Our Father. Proceed to the first bead within the circle. Like the angel Gabriel, we say: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. And like her cousin Elizabeth we say: Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And united with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, we pray: �Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.� We go to the second through the tenth beads and repeat the Hail Mary reflecting on the scriptural meditation for that decade. When finishing the decade give Glory to God by praying the Glory Be to the Father. Proceed to pray the prayer that was given to us through Fatima. "O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls into heaven especially those in most need of Your mercy." After this prayer it would be good to have a moment of silence, and ask God for the grace of your reflection. Thank Him. If there were more intentions that came to your mind during this meditation, offer the next decade for these needs. Present them to the Lord at this time. We announce the second Joyful mystery, then we pray the Our Father. Pray the next ten Hail Marys as you place yourself in this meditation. We continue this process (See picture.) until we finish the rosary. After we have finished the fifth decade we pray the Glory be to the Father, O My Jesus, and proceed to the 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 towards 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 worth of the promises of Christ. Amen.
We ask Saint Michael, the Archangel, to defend and protect us in our daily battles:
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
We ask, three times, Sacred Heart of Jesus -Have Mercy on Us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for Us. St. Joseph, Pray for Us. All the Angels and Saints, Pray for Us.
WE CONCLUDE WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS JUST AS WE STARTED, WITH THE PROFESSION OF FAITH AND SUBMISSION TO THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST. We ask God to enlighten our path, to assist us with all that we do and answer all our prayers to the fullness of His will. The earliest rosary had 15 decades. Our traditional rosary has only five decades. A decade is ten Hail Marys. Praying ten Hail Marys is like background music to our meditation. When praying more than one five decade rosary you do not have to repeat the opening and closing prayers. When you are praying the rosary and meditating on the scriptures do not fight the distractions that come to your mind. Just gently pull yourself back into the scene of your meditation. Some of those thoughts can actually be inspirational. Do not get hung up on trying to pray the rosary perfectly. Please read Pray the Rosary for additional information. You can pray the entire rosary for one specific intention or you can stop after each decade and offer the next decade for a different specific need or intention. We can personalize the Hail Marys to help us keep focused on whom and what we are praying for. For example... Holy Mary Mother of God pray for ______ now and at the hour of death Amen. The title Mother of God was given to Mary to proclaim the divinity of Jesus. (Defined in 431 A.D. at the Council of Ephesus.) You can also pray the Rosary, reading a scripture verse after each Hail Mary. This is helpful in keeping you more focused on your meditation. Praying the rosary while reflecting on the mysteries, will slowly transform your heart and deliver you of bitterness and unforgiveness. Once you finish the Joyful Mysteries you can reflect on the Sorrowful, then the Glorious. God DOES lead us to reflect on other specific meditations from the Scriptures too. Some reflections are from the Catholic tradition, sacraments, and liturgy. There are many rosary reflections you can purchase from a Catholic book store.
1. The Annunciation- Luke 1:26-38 2. The Visitation- Luke 1:39-53 3. The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ- Luke 2:6-19 4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple- Lk 2:22-40 5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple- Luke 2:41-52
1. The Baptism of Our Lord in the River Jordan - Matthew 3:13-16
2. The Wedding at Cana, when Christ manifested Himself - John 2:1-11
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God - Mark 1:14-15
4. The Transfiguration of Our Lord - Matthew 17:1-8
5. The Last Supper, when Our Lord gave us the Holy Eucharist - Matthew 26
1.. The Agony of Christ in the Garden- Matt 26:36-41 2. The Scourging of Christ at the Pillar- Jn 19:1 3. The Crowning of Jesus with Thorns - Matt 27:24-30 4. The Carrying of the Cross by Jesus - Luke 23:26 5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord - Lk 23 & Jn 19
1. The Resurrection of Our Lord - Matt 28 2. The Ascension of Our Lord - Lk 24 & Mark 16:19 3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit - Acts 2 4. The Assumption of the Virgin Mary - Rev 11 &12 5. The Coronation of the Virgin Mary - Rev 11 & 12
Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things. They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable. 1-Cor 9:25 Go for the gold! Pray the rosary! 120596
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