(Recite on Tuesdays and Fridays, & on the Sundays of Lent)

The Rosary is made up of praying twenty decades (groups of ten) of Hail Marys, each introduced by the Lord's Prayer and finished with the doxology (Glory Be and O My Jesus).                                                                                                 (Read "Hail Holy Queen" only once, At the Conclusion of the Rosary & End with Closing Prayers).

Each decade is connected with a mystery, a meditation on an important event or moment in the life of Jesus or Mary.

 These reflections are divided into four groups of five mysteries. The first contains joyful mysteries (recited on Mondays and Saturdays); the second, the mysteries of light or luminous mysteries (Thursdays); the third, the sorrowful mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays); and the fourth, the glorious mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays). To help memory, the prayers are usually counted on a string of beads.

The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

I: Jesus is in Agony in the Garden

A reading from the Gospel According to Luke:

 Then Jesus came out and proceeded, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives; followed by His disciples. Then He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began praying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”  Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. So great was His agony and so fervent His prayer that His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

II: Jesus is Scourged

A reading from the Gospel According to John:

 Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged.

III: Jesus is Crowned with Thorns

A reading from the Gospel According to Mark

 Then the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the entire Roman cohort. They dressed Him up in a purple cloak, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on His head; then they began to mock Him by acclaiming, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  They repeatedly beat His head with a reed while spitting on Him. They mockingly paid Him homage by kneeling and bowing before Him. 

IV: Jesus Carries His Cross

A reading from the Gospel According to Mark:

Then they led Jesus out to crucify Him. They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross. Then they brought Him to the place of execution known as Golgotha, which translated means “Place of the Skull.”

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V: Jesus is Crucified

Then they crucified Jesus, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”   Standing near the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that very hour this disciple took her into his own household.

 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”  A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Then when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come 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.

Glory be, 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.

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O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of your Mercy. Amen

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All: That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

(Leader): Let us pray.
 

All: 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 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.