The Joyful Mysteries – Pray on Mondays & Saturdays
Rediscover the Rosary – How to Pray the Rosary
Step 1: While holding the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed.
Step 2: On the first large bead, pray the Our Father, typically for the intentions of the pope.
Step 3: On the next three small beads, pray the Hail Mary. These Hail Marys are often prayed for an increase in faith, hope and love.
Step 4: In the space after the third Hail Mary, pray the Glory Be.
Step 5: On the next large bead, pray the Our Father.
Step 6: On each small bead in the decade, pray the Hail Mary.
Step 7: In the space after the 10th bead, pray the Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer.
Step 8: Pray the Hail, Holy Queen and the Rosary Prayer.
Step 9: While holding the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross.
Rediscover the Rosary
Our world is full of noise, busyness, and people competing for our attention. Amid all the chaos and confusion, we yearn for peace and clarity. God wants us to be happy, he wants us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves, and he wants us to take one step closer to him each day. The Rosary is a spiritual exercise designed to help us hear the voice of God more clearly in our lives.
Today: In a journal, on a piece of paper, or on your phone, take five minutes today to make a list of all the sources of “noise” in your life – anything that might be distracting you from the peace and clarity you long for.
Rediscover the Rosary – The Seasons of Life
There are different seasons in our lives. There are different seasons in our spiritual journeys. The Rosary has played varying roles in my life and in my spirituality, but it has always had a place. When I have had the desire, discipline, or grace to pray the Rosary, it has always borne fruit. The Rosary teaches us how to just be, and that is not a small or insignificant lesson. In some ways, it is the perfect prayer for busy people in a busy, noisy, confused world.
Today: Think about what season of life you are in. Describe the season of your spiritual journey. Growing in awareness of where you are now is a great starting point for this program.
Rediscover the Rosary – Beyond the Prayers
There is more to praying the Rosary than just saying the prayers. Anyone can say the Rosary—just teach them the words and they can rattle them off. But authentic prayer requires mindfulness and intentionality. There are many ways to pray the Rosary. You may choose to focus on a word or a phrase. Another way to pray the Rosary is with the Scriptures. I also find it very fruitful to offer each decade for a person or a special intention. But whatever you choose, remember: the mind can only focus on one thing at a time. Trying to focus on more
than one thing at a time most likely will make the Rosary an exhausting exercise.
Today: Reflect on the different ways that you can go deeper than just saying the prayers of the Rosary and choose one way to start.
Rediscover the Rosary – What are the Mysteries?
Twenty of the important events in the lives of Jesus and Mary are captured in what we call the mysteries of the rosary. These mysteries are grouped into four sets: joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious. Each set of mysteries is prayed on specific days of the week. They serve as a backdrop to the decades of the rosary and hold incredible insights worthy of reflection.
Today: As you read more about these mysteries on our website, place yourself in the scene, not as a fly on the wall, but as a very specific person, so you can fully immerse yourself in the situation and explore what you would have been thinking and feeling if you were there.
Rediscover the Rosary – Joyful Mysteries: The Annunciation
Are we willing to say yes to God? All too often I find myself saying yes to God begrudgingly. It isn’t a generous yes. I know that, and I know God knows it. Mary puts me to shame. Her humble words of surrender, “Let it be done unto me according to your word,” echo throughout history. We should be a people of yes, generously saying yes to everything God calls us to. Let’s begin again right now—a new beginning, a fresh commitment to say yes to God. And may these words never be
far from our lips: “God, what do you think I should do in this situation?”
Today: Decide when and where you will set aside time to pray the Rosary during the remainder of this program.
Rediscover the Rosary – Joyful Mysteries: The Visitation
When is the last time you responded to your spouse, parents, or customers “with all haste”? When your husband or wife asks you to do a chore, or when your manager at work asks you to do a little extra, do you respond with an enthusiasm to serve? We live in an age of meaninglessness, because we have lost sight of the fact that our very purpose is to serve God and others. God wants to fill us with a holy sense of urgency. Mary wants to teach us to love God and neighbor with this holy sense of urgency. It’s
time to strive again to recognize God and his invitation to serve in life’s ordinary moments.
Today: Pray one decade of the Rosary at the time and place you decided on yesterday.
Rediscover the Rosary – Joyful Mysteries: The Birth of Jesus
I love Christmas. People are different during this season. There seems to be more of a spirit of goodwill in the world. I am different. There is a peace and a joy that are unattainable through the things of this world, and we find it in the nativity with Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus. God gives us a new beginning, a fresh start, freely and without merit.
Today: Let’s exercise our spiritual senses and imagine that it is the night when Jesus is born. Place yourself there in Bethlehem on that holy night. Who will you imagine yourself as?