How do you pray the Rosary?

A Gospel prayer

The Rosary walks through the life of Jesus with Mary. Pope Saint John Paul II called it "a compendium of the Gospel." The repeated Hail Marys are the background music; the mysteries are the substance.

Step by step

1. On the crucifix: Sign of the Cross and the Apostles' Creed.
2. First large bead: Our Father.
3. Three small beads: three Hail Marys (for faith, hope and charity).
4. Glory Be.
5. Announce the first mystery; pray Our Father.
6. Ten small beads: ten Hail Marys, meditating on the mystery.
7. Glory Be (many add the Fatima Prayer: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins…").
8. Repeat steps 5-7 for the remaining four decades.
9. Close with the Hail, Holy Queen and the Sign of the Cross.

The mysteries and their traditional days

• Joyful (Monday, Saturday): Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation, Finding in the Temple
• Sorrowful (Tuesday, Friday): Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion
• Glorious (Wednesday, Sunday): Resurrection, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption, Coronation of Mary
• Luminous (Thursday): Baptism in the Jordan, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom, Transfiguration, Institution of the Eucharist

Isn't it vain repetition?

Jesus warned against "babbling" like the pagans, who thought many words would force the gods to listen (Matthew 6:7). The Rosary's repetition is not a technique to persuade God; it quiets the mind for meditation, like the repeated refrain of Psalm 136 — "for his mercy endures forever."