Rosary Guide Prayer
Melanie Wendelberger
The Rosary begins with the Apostles Creed, followed by one Our Father, three Hail Marys (traditionally offered for an increase in faith, hope, and charity for those praying the Rosary), then the Glory Be. Next come the five decades, each consisting of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, a Glory Be, and the brief Fatima Prayer. Conclude with the Hail Holy Queen followed by a prayer for the Pope (traditionally, at least one Hail Mary).
Meditation means bringing to mind, as you pray the Our Father and Hail Marys during each decade, the various scenes from the life Jesus and his mother from Gospel accounts. Meditating on all twenty mysteries is akin to contemplating the entire life of Jesus, from his conception and birth, through his childhood, into his public ministry, his teachings, his establishment of the sacraments, and then his suffering, death, resurrection, and triumphant return to heaven.
It is also okay to meditate on the meaning of the words of the prayers as you pray them. Some people focus on a single word (for example, try contemplating the meaning of the word now in the Hail Mary). It is okay to bring to mind the people for whom you are offering the Rosary and your desire for God to help them.
The traditional approach is to offer the Joyful Mysteries on Monday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday, the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday, and start again with the Joyful Mysteries on Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday. The Glorious Mysteries are then prayed on Saturday and Sunday. Now that the Luminous Mysteries have been promulgated by Saint John Paul II, one has the option to follow a new schedule:
It is widely known that Our Lady answers seemingly impossible intentions to those who are first beginning to pray the Rosary. This is her way of drawing you closer to Her and to Jesus. If you are praying your first Rosary, or returning to the Rosary after years of not talking to Our Lady, ask for something big, spectacular, "impossible." She'll often surprise you.
In recent years, the traditional practice of contemplating what are referred to as the "fruits" of each mystery has grown in popularity. These fruits are virtues or gifts exemplified, embodied, or manifested in each Mystery. The fruits should be memorized and will deeply enhance your meditation on the mysteries.
The Catholic Church, exercising its authority to "bind and loose on heaven and earth," and in perfect accord with God's boundless Mercy, has set the following conditions for the granting of a plenary indulgence for those who pray the Rosary:
By fulfilling these simple (but often difficult) conditions, you merit the grace to release one soul from Purgatory. While we are free to ask God to apply this grace to a particular soul, God can do as he pleases, according to holy will and merciful nature. You can also ask God to apply this special grace to your own soul. A plenary indulgence will relieve the temporal punishment due to sin (it will not absolve the sin or cause the sin to be forgiven).
A "full Rosary," however, consists of offering all fifteen decades (Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries) in one day. One can also offer all twenty decades in one day by including the newly promulgated Luminous mysteries.
There are two ways to pray a full Rosary in one day. The most common method is offering three separate "single" five-mystery Rosaries in the morning, midday, and evening. The second method consists of praying all fifteen Mysteries consecutively at one time.With either approach, when you pray a full Rosary it is not necessary to repeat the opening or concluding prayers between the second and third sets of Mysteries. In other words, start with the opening prayers (Apostles Creed, Our Father, three Hail Marys, Glory Be) before the first Joyful Mystery the same way as you would with a "single" Rosary. After the fifteenth and final Glorious mystery, conclude with Hail Holy Queen and a prayer for the pope's intentions.
The Family Rosary is usually prayed out loud after dinner or before going to bed, although it can be prayed at any time of day. Family members can take turns "leading" the decades (with one person praying the beginning of the prayers, and all the others praying the endings).
Some families announce intentions before they begin the Rosary; others take turns announcing special intentions before they begin the Rosary; others take turns announcing special intentions before the beginning of each decade. Many families add favorite prayers at the end of the Rosary, or call upon favorite saints and angels to pray for them at the very end.
There are many Catholic novenas, and several involve the Rosary. The most common is to pray the Rosary for nine straight days. One can also pray a Rosary for nine consecutive Saturdays, or, at the beginning of nine consecutive hours in one day.
If you foster the habit of praying the Rosary every day, as the saints and popes have encouraged (and practiced themselves), your opportunities to make novenas will become plentiful, along with the chance to offer the following and particularly powerful novena a handful of times a year...
Perhaps the most powerful novena is the 54 Day Rosary Novena, which is a series of six consecutive nine-day novenas. The first three novenas are offered for the intention or favor, while the last three are offered in gratitude to God in anticipation of granting the favor.
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, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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.
O God, whose only begotten Son,
by his life, death, and resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life,
grant, we beseech thee,
that by meditating on these mysteries
of the most holy Rosary
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may imitate what they contain,
and obtain what they promise,
through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Leader: Upon this Rock He will build His Church...
Response: ...and the jaws of death shall not prevail against her.
Leader: O Mother of the Redeemer...
Response: ...and Living Tabernacle of the Eucharist, with humble confidence we ask you to grant the Holy Father's worthy intentions while bestowing upon him all the graces and blessings reserved for him by the Holy Trinity from all eternity. Amen.
Leader: Help his friends...
Response: ...and convert his enemies.
Leader: Saint Joseph...
All: Pray for us. Amen.
The Unlikely History of this Guide
With millions of readers since 1996, this is the most widely-read Rosary guide in modern times, and it was adapted from a very tiny booklet originally provided along with a simple Rosary recording that itself became the most popular in history. It was composed by Bud Macfarlane, the well-known Catholic novelist and founder of the Mary Foundation.
Years before the inspiration to write the Beginners Guide came to him, Mr. Macfarlane had become frustrated by well-meaning Rosary booklets that merely presented an unexplained list of something called "mysteries," a drawing of rosary beads highlighted with arrows, and the prayers themselves. These did not attempt to explain obscure or confusing Rosary practices such as novenas, mysteries, meditation, offering intentions, "full" rosaries, indulgences, or even whether using actual rosary beads was required.
It was someone else's idea to put the guide online at the dawn of the Internet. Bud updated the online version in 2002 when Pope John Paul II promulgated the Luminous Mysteries, and again in 2023. It has never been copyrighted and anyone is welcome to reproduce it with his blessing, in any format.
As an author, editor, or publisher responsible for reaching tens of millions through books, booklets, recordings, and digital publications, Bud is humbled that this little treatise, dashed off on deadline for insertion into a cassette case, is the most widely-read work he has ever written and has helped so many people.
Ironically, Bud never wanted to be a writer. His full name is William Noble Macfarlane II, yet he was called Buddy Boy as a child. He is the antithesis of a much more famous Boy, the also-oddly-nicknamed John-Boy from that wonderful television series, The Waltons. Put off by the lead character's overarching ambition to become a writer, Buddy Boy once wandered into his town library in Verona, New Jersey, and concluded, upon seeing the many shelves of books not being read, that writing was a foolish pursuit.
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But the idea persisted. I felt guilty for not wanting to do it while at the same time feeling like I did want to do it. Not wanting it to be an obligation; I wanted to do it in love. I started with a weekly Rosary and began having some lovely prayer experiences. This summer when I found my life upended, I started praying it daily. It became an important part of each day.
Newly pregnant, Mary walks several days to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth greets her with great joy and Mary exclaims her Magnificat. While knowing that all will call her blessed, she spends several months serving Elizabeth. I imagine her performing the tasks of life so that Elizabeth, in her third trimester when the physical burden of pregnancy is greatest, can rest. Despite her own possible exhaustion and morning sickness, she serves her cousin. I imagine them at the end of the day sitting together and sharing their feelings about these two miraculous babies. I pray that I can serve as Mary did.
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