ROSARY
The rosary is perhaps the most popular devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. The central part of the rosary consists of the recitation of five sets of ten Hail Marys (each set is called a decade). Each new decade begins by saying an Our Father, and each decade concludes with a Glory Be. The pray-er keeps track of the prayers said by moving from one bead to the next in order.
How to recite the Rosary?
The recitation of the rosary begins with a series of prayers, said in the following order while using as a guide a small chain of beads and a crucifix:
After these introductory prayers, the recitation of the decades, as described above, begins.
The saying of a five-decade rosary is connected with meditation on what are called the mysteries of the life of Jesus. These mysteries too are collected into series of five -- five joyful, five sorrowfu1, five glorious, and five luminous. The mysteries of the rosary are listed below. The prayer devotes one recitation of the rosary to each set of mysteries. She or he chooses which set of mysteries to meditate on while saying the decades of Hail Marys. Therefore, the complete rosary consists of twenty decades.
With a little practice, the regular praying of the rosary can become a source of great inspiration and consolation for the Christian.
Joyful Mysteries
Sorrowful Mysteries
Glorious Mysteries
Luminous Mysteries – Mysteries of Light