The Rosary

 

is a devotion in honour of Our Lady in which we use familiar prayers in a particular way while meditating on a series of events or mysteries in the lives of Our Lord.
The prayers used are: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.
In addition, the Apostles Creed is said at the very beginning and the Salve Regina, along with the Rosary prayer, are recited at the end.
A typical rosary looks like this:

Rosary

You can see that it is in two parts. The first part consists of a crucifix, a single bead followed by a group of three beads. The next single bead properly belongs to the second part, or chaplet, which makes up the rest of the rosary.
How to pray the Rosary:

• 1. Begin by making the sign of the cross. Then say the Apostle's Creed.
• 2. Recite the Our Father.
• 3. Recite a Hail Mary on each of these three beads asking for faith, hope, and charity.
• 4. Recite the Glory Be.
• 5. Announce or focus on the first mystery depending on the day of the week as explained below.
• 6. Say the Our Father on the single bead, followed by 10 Hail Mary's, one for each bead of the decade.
• 7. Say a Glory Be.
• 8. Announce  or meditate on the second mystery.
• 9. Say the Our Father on the single bead, followed by 10 Hail Mary's, one for each bead of the decade.
• 10. Glory Be.
• 11. Announce  or meditate on the third mystery.
• 12. Say the Our Father on the single bead, followed by 10 Hail Mary's, one for each bead of the decade.
• 13. Glory Be
• 14. Announce or meditate on the fourth Mystery.
• 15. Say the Our Father on the single bead, followed by 10 Hail Mary's, one for each bead of the decade.
• 16. Glory Be.
• 17. Announce or meditate on the fifth Mystery.
• 18. Say the Our Father on the single bead, followed by 10 Hail Mary's, one for each bead of the decade.
• 19. Glory be.
• 20. Hail Holy Queen, and then the Rosary Prayer. End with making the Sign of the Cross.

 

The Mysteries of the Rosary

 

The Rosary is made up of twenty "mysteries" (significant events or moments in the life of Jesus and Mary), which are grouped into four series.

The first contains joyful mysteries (recited on Mondays and Saturdays); the second, the mysteries of light (Thursdays); the third, the sorrowful mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays); and the fourth, the glorious mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays).

The Five Joyful Mysteries
Said on Monday and Saturday
            1. The Annunciation
            2. The Visitation
            3. The Nativity
            4. The Presentation
            5. The Finding in the Temple

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries
Said on Tuesday and Friday
            1. The Agony in the Garden
            2. The Scourging at the Pillar
            3. The Crowning of Thorns
            4. The Carrying of the Cross
            5. The Crucifixion

The Five Glorious Mysteries
Said on Wednesday and Sunday
            1. The Resurrection
            2. The Ascension
            3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
            4. The Assumption
            5. The Crowning of the Blessed Virgin

In October 2002, the month of the Holy Rosary, Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, issued a special apostolic letter in which he announced the creation of a new set of Mysteries to be used in praying the Rosary.

Our Holy Father states: "The Rosary clearly belongs to the kind of veneration of the Mother of God described by the Second Vatican Council: a devotion directed to the Christological center of the Christian faith, in such a way that when the Mother is honored, the Son...is duly known, loved and glorified."

The new Mysteries center around decisive events in the life of Christ. Our Holy Father calls them "The Mysteries of Light" because Christ in his public life manifests himself as the "Mystery of Light." These events are:

The Five Mysteries of Light
Said on Thursday
            1.  His Baptism in the Jordan
            2.  His self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana,
            3.  His proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to             conversion.
            4.  His transfiguration,
            5.  His institution of the Eucharist.

Prayers used in the Rosary:

 

Apostle's Creed
I BELIEVE IN GOD, the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty. He shall 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.

Lord's Prayer
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.

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.

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.

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 vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward 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 worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Rosary Prayer (Recited at the end of a Rosary)
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation. Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.