To pray the rosary is to meditate on twenty (previously fifteen) mysteries or events in the life of Jesus and Mary.
The rosary has existed for hundreds of years, it is believed to have first appeared in England in Anglo-Saxon times, around 1300 years ago.
The rosary came into existence as a prayer for the laity. The 150 repetitions of the Hail Mary were intended to mirror the 150 psalms included in the Divine Office. The Divine Office is the constant prayer of the Church, which is said by its priests and religious (monks and nuns). Lay members of the Church can also pray the Divine Office, but are not obliged to.
The exact form of the rosary has continued to develop until the present day. In October 2002, Pope John Paul II, added a further five mysteries to the pre-existing fifteen mysteries.
The mysteries are arranged into four groups of five and are set out below. The Rosary Basilica at Lourdes has side altars dedicated to the fifteen original mysteries of the rosary.
The Luminous Mysteries or the Mysteries of Light are those added by the Pope in October 2002. The Holy Father’s aim was to include mysteries which reflected the ministry of Christ during his lifetime. Previously, the Joyful Mysteries which deal with the birth of Christ, moved on immediately to the Sorrowful Mysteries which deal with Christ’s Passion.
The exact manner of saying the rosary can vary. The method set out below is the most basic. Various additions do exist, notably the addition of the Fatima prayer at the end of each decade.
At the end of the rosary, at least one concluding prayer is said, most frequently the Hail Holy Queen, an alternative would be the Memorare. The Litany of Loreto is frequently added after the concluding prayer.
The physical rosary can likewise vary; the most common form is of a circle of beads with a cross and either, 4 beads hanging from the bead, or 5 beads hanging from the medal, which closes the circle of beads. It is on this form which the method described below is based.
Another common form is a rosary ring, a plain ring with 10 raised dots and a cross, which helps to count a single decade of the rosary.
The rosary can be said so that all 20 Mysteries are said in one go, but most people tend to say one set of 5 Mysteries at a time.
Traditionally, each set of Mysteries was allocated to given days of the week and the Pope has continued this with the Luminous Mysteries, suggesting the following allocation:
Monday: Joyful Mysteries Tuesday: Sorrowful Mysteries Wednesday: Glorious Mysteries Thursday: Luminous Mysteries Friday: Sorrowful Mysteries Saturday: Joyful Mysteries Sunday: Glorious Mysteries
It is not obligatory to follow this order, an alternative would be to recite the mysteries so that the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries follow on consecutive days.
Each mystery has an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be associated with it, this is referred to as a decade (from the ten Hail Marys).