The Rosary is a method of prayer which engages the whole person, body and soul. Words are recited, beads fingered, scenes imagined, affections awakened, doctrines pondered and virtues willed. Like the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Rosary is threefold, because of its joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. It is a devotion for the simple and the intellectual, the young and the old, the busy and the free, the lay and the religious. A blessed Rosary is a sacramental that can be carried around, held or kissed, even when not recited. It can be prayed in community or alone, as a whole or in part. The Rosary includes the perfect prayer which our Lord taught to the Apostles, the Our Father. It also includes the Hail Mary, which draws from pivotal events recorded in Scripture. It praises God and helps His People in need. Certainly, the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours are superior forms of prayer, but the Rosary is called "Our Lady's Psalter" because, instead of 150 Psalms, it has 150 Hail Marys. The Rosary is the only method of prayer which is celebrated throughout the universal Church with a Liturgy, namely, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Jesus warned us not to pray vain repetitions, like pagans who multiply empty words (Matthew 6:7), and Protestant controversialists have often charged Catholics with violating this divine command, but there is nothing essentially vain about the repetition of prayers. It only becomes vain if the internal acts of the mind and heart oppose the external act. Repetition is simply a way of engaging the body in a subconscious habit of prayer while the higher powers of the soul concentrate freely and consciously on the mysteries of salvation. Now, of course, everyone gets distracted, so it is enough to intend to meditate with some discipline.
The most common form of the Rosary begins with the sign of the Cross. It is not necessary to do this with the Crucifix in one's right hand, but a person always gains an indulgence from kissing the Crucifix lovingly. While holding the Crucifix, recite the Apostles' Creed. If one cannot remember it, another prayer may replace it, such as the Nicene Creed or an Act of Contrition. On the first bead above the Crucifix, recite the Lord's Prayer. If the Rosary is said within a community, the leader can say the first half, and the others can say the second half. A Hail Mary is then said at each of the next three beads, and a Glory Be at the single bead below the medallion or knot. The way Rosaries are usually made, the larger beads are for the Our Fathers and doxologies, and the smaller ones for the Hail Marys.
One should not pray any slower or faster than calm, normal speech. Groups maintain better unity, when they breathe after each major phrase.
Now, you are ready to begin the mysteries, one for each decade. Some Rosaries have all fifteen decades, but for convenience sake, most have five. A "chaplet" of the Rosary is five decades instead of all fifteen. Unless you are required by a religious rule, you are not obligated to pray any number of mysteries. Besides, the efficacy of the prayer is not related to quantity.
Consider the title of the first mystery, or if you are leading the Rosary in a community, announce it. The titles are not carved in stone, so you can exercise some freedom. Rephrasing can often spur a new thought, as long as it is not bothersome to others. Once the title of the mystery is considered privately or announced publicly, pray the Our Father. On the next ten beads, pray ten Hail Marys. While your lips pronounce these prayers, either audibly or silently, think about the mystery, about the event, who was there, what was said or done, and all the implications. It is not wrong to wander in your meditation to other events of sacred history, to other saints, doctrines and salvific deeds. Your mind may even meditate on the same mystery while your fingers move to other decades. When you get to the larger individual bead at the end of the decade, pray the Glory Be. It is also recommended that you add the Fatima Prayer at this time. Then, without moving yet, consider or announce the next mystery, and begin another Our Father. Move to the first small bead of the next decade, and continue with the Hail Mary. This process continues until you return to the medallion, where you pray the Glory Be, and hopefully the Fatima Prayer as well.
Now it is time to recite the concluding prayers. First, pray the Hail, Holy Queen. Notice below that the Dominican Order says the word "hail" twice, but most people do not say the second one. Notice too that the Dominican Order says "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us" in the verse at the end, while others might say, "Pray for us, O holy Mother of God." The response, in either case, is the same. You may end the Rosary there with a Sign of the Cross, or you can add one final prayer. In groups, it is common for the leader to say, "Let us pray," while one or all follows with the Rosary Prayer (O God, whose Only-Begotten Son). Some people say the Rosary Prayer at the beginning as a preparation instead of the end. Finally, make the Sign of the Cross, and if the leader is a priest, he ought to bless you.
