Contrition, the desire for God over sin, follows repentance, if it is sincere. It is a burning desire to be cleansed by the fire of God’s forgiveness and mercy.
“What is love but fire; what is sin but rust? Hence it is said, many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much, as though to say, she hath burned away entirely the rust of sin, because she is inflamed with the fire of love.” The Venerable Bede, P.L., XCII, 425.
New to praying the Rosary? Here are the basics you need to know to start. If you have rosary beads to pray with, fine. If not, fine too. God has given us ten fingers to count on!
Introduction
Generally, the Rosary consists of five groups of ten Hail Mary prayers (represented by ten beads evenly spaced from each other), interspersed with one Our Father prayer (represented by one set-apart bead). These groups, or decades, are called Mysteries and relate to stages in the life of Our Lord Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Traditionally, there are three groups of five Mysteries: The Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries, relating respectively to Our Lord Jesus’ birth and youth, His passion and crucifixion, and His resurrexion and ascension. Saint John Paul II added another set of five Mysteries known as the Luminous Mysteries. They relate to incidents in the life of Our Lord Jesus as recorded in the New Testament.
How to Start Praying the Rosary
Naturally, the Rosary has an introduction that we pray before the Mysteries begin. Rosary beads usually have a cross or crucifix and five beads on the bottom (three evenly spaced, framed by two set-apart beads), which we use to pray the introduction as follows:
Make the Sign of the Cross, saying “In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”
Pray the Sanctus (Holy Holy Holy)
Pray the Apostles Creed holding the cross/crucifix.
Pray the Our Father holding a set-apart bead
Pray three times Hail Mary holding one of the evenly spaced beads after the other
On reaching the second set-apar bead, pray a Glory Be and an O My Jesus prayer (also known as the Fatima Prayer)
Then we use the round of beads to keep track of how many Hail Mary prayers we have prayed: Hold the first bead while praying the first Hail Mary, move on to the next while praying the second Hail Mary and so forth. If you have no rosary beads, use your fingers to keep track. After ten Hail Mary prayers we reach the set-apart bead, upon which we again pray a Glory Be and an O My Jesus prayer, then announce the next Mystery, pray an Our Father, and start into the next decade of Hail Mary Prayers. Thus we continue until we have made it around the Rosary.
Praying the Mysteries
These are the Mysteries we ponder while praying the Rosary:
The Joyful Mysteries
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus
The Presentation in the Temple
Finding Our Lord Jesus in the Temple when He was Twelve
The Sorrowful Mysteries
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowning with Thorns
The Carrying of the Cross
The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord Jesus
The Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrexion
The Ascension
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption of Our Lady
The Crowning of Our Lady in Heaven
Good to Know
Many people pray one set of Mysteries per day. If so, the general association of Mysteries and weekdays is that
Mondays and Thursdays the Joyful Mysteries are prayed,
Tuesdays and Fridays the Sorrowful Mysteries, and
Wednesdays and Saturdays the Glorious Mysteries.
Sunday is reserved for the Glorious Mysteries.
During Advent, only the Joyful Mysteries are prayed, and
during Lent, only the Sorrowful Mysteries.
There are also many people who pray all three (or four) sets of Mysteries every day, especially after Our Lady encouraged the three children she appeared to in Fatima to pray the Rosary daily.
While praying each Mystery, we contemplate the situation alluded to in the Mystery, and the virtue this meditation can produce in us. Some people add a short description of the situation into the Hail Mary (following the Name of Jesus) in order to remind themselves which Mystery they are praying at the moment.
Here are collected all the prayers that you need to pray the Rosary in English, in the order in which you will need them.
Our Lady of the Rosary
Sanctus
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Apostles’ 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 from the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell, rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, who will 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 the life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father
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. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hail Mary
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.
Glory Be
Glory 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.
O My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need of your mercy.
Repent by a renewal of your mind: That is what Metanoia means in the Christian context.
The Call to Repentance
How does this definition come about? In Matthew 4:17, we read thus:
”From that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17, KJV
Repent – Μετανοεῖτε – this is a call to action! Now, how do we repent? Is it enough to say “I’m sorry. I will do better next time?” Let us have a quick look at the meaning of the Greek word that we translate “repentance” or “to repent”.
The Greek “mετανοεῖτε” transliterates to “Metanoia”, and taken literally, translates to “Go beyond (meta) your mind (nous).” Thus, it describes an insight that goes far beyond the intellect. It denotes instead a profound understanding, in our case a profound understanding of just how deeply flawed human nature is, of just how grievous our personal and communal sins are, and of just how much in need of cleansing each and every one of us is. Nothing impure will hold its own when face to face with God, and so only a movement of the soul that goes far beyond “I am sorry” or “I’ll never do THAT again” can properly be called metanoia, repentance.
How does one repent properly?
What does it mean, then: to repent? Can we even go beyond our own mind? The most common Scriptural books to go to for such “How to” questions are Paul’s letters. Practical advice seems to be largely (although obviously not exclusively) his domain. Only think of the never-ending discussion about head coverings for women, or familial hierarchy, or the qualifications of elders, to name only three. So let us go to Paul, and let him answer our question of how to repent:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2, KJV
The key phrase here is “be not conformed to this world”. Paul is not the only one who stresses this. James says
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4, KJV
How does he know? Jesus Himself said it:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 KJV
Now, these days, when they are trying to make you believe that it is money that makes the world go ’round, remember one other verse in this context of the renewal of your mind. Remember that
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24, KJV
In short…
The first step on this road is trust in God the Father, trust in Jesus the Son, and trust in
Metanoia starts when you sever yourself from the wisdom of the world and cling to the Wisdom from above. As Paul put it, a renewal of the mind will lead us to “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” And who will assist us in this metanoia?
“… the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 KJV
These are the last days before Holy Week, and they offer a last opportunity for some Lent Meditation. Ponder with us the last journey to Jerusalem. Let us get ready to re-member the last stage of the most important week in the history of mankind.
Passion Sunday is past, Palm Sunday not yet upon us, Lent is slowly but surely coming to a head. Aren’t these days like waiting for a challenging situation you have been preparing for? You want it to come, you know you are ready, but it is not here yet. If only it had already begun! The waiting almost seems to be the worst of it all.
These last days of Lent invite us to meditate on Jesus growing ever more somber in His discourse with the apostles and disciples, ever more sad. And He becomes ever more outspoken with regards to the terrifying suffering that awaits Him in Jerusalem. No Lent Meditation of the last week can be complete without considering Lam 1:12:
“Is it nothing to you, All ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.”
He knows His suffering will be unspeakably great. During His Agony in the Garden, He sees just precisely how unspeakably great it will be! He Himself will suffer most ignominious treatment. His Beloved Mother will inwardly experience His own pain. His beloved friends will watch helplessly while their Lord and their Hope runs the most cruel gauntlet and dies the most shameful death.
And they that longed to see Him die on the cross wag their heads and mock and revile Him with ever growing ferocity. Indeed, His sorrow is nothing to them. And yet, they know not that they are but tools in the toolbox of Someone Greater: The Son’s unparalleled suffering and sorrow is the final nail in the adversary’s coffin. See, He is making something New!
“Not my will but Thine be done.”
Frans Schwartz “Agonie in the Garden” 1898, detail
