Saints LightHow Do You Pray the Rosary?
The Rosary is a set of prayers counted on beads while you picture scenes from the life of Jesus, with Mary as your companion, in four sets of mysteries spread across the week.
What this lesson teaches
- The Rosary joins vocal prayer with meditation on the lives of Jesus and Mary.
- There are four sets of five mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous.
- The usual days: Joyful Monday and Saturday, Sorrowful Tuesday and Friday, Glorious Wednesday and Sunday, Luminous Thursday.
- Mary is honored, never worshiped; every mystery points to Christ.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 971
- CCC 2678
- CCC 2708
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Luke 1:28; Luke 1:42.
A sample question from this lesson
Which mysteries are traditionally prayed on Tuesday and Friday?
- The Joyful Mysteries
- The Glorious Mysteries
- The Sorrowful Mysteries
- The Luminous Mysteries
Show the answer
The Sorrowful Mysteries. The Sorrowful Mysteries, about the Passion, are prayed on Tuesday and Friday, Friday being the day of the Crucifixion.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Decade
- One set of an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be in the Rosary.
- Mystery
- An event in the life of Jesus or Mary that we meditate on during a decade.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"How Do You Pray the Rosary?" is lesson 4 of Learning to Pray. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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