home / worship / the mysteries of the rosary

The Mysteries of the Rosary

The first five decades, the “Joyful Mysteries”, are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation. To meditate upon the “Joyful” mysteries, then, is to enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. It is to focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the foreshadowing of the mystery of the saving passion. Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that Christianity is, first and foremost, evangelion, “good news”, which has as its heart and its whole content the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one savior of the world.

The Annunciation	The Visitation	The Nativity	The Presentation	The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

The Five Luminous Mysteries
Thursday

Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries which may be called in a special way “Mysteries of Light.” Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the “light of the world” (John 8:12).

The Baptism at Jordan	The Wedding at Cana	The Proclamation of the Kingdom	The Transfiguration	The Institution of the Eucharist

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries
Tuesday & Friday

The Gospels give great prominence to the Sorrowful Mysteries of Christ. The Rosary selects certain moments from the Passion, inviting the faithful to contemplate them in their hearts and to relive them. The Sorrowful Mysteries help the believer to relive the death of Jesus, to stand at the foot of the cross beside Mary, to enter with her into the depths of God’s love for man and to experience all its life-giving power.

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

The Five Glorious Mysteries
Sunday & Wednesday

The contemplation of Christ’s face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified one. He is the Risen One! Contemplating the Risen One, Christians rediscover the reasons for their own faith and relive the joy not only of those to whom Christ appeared – but also the joy of Mary who must have had an equally intense experience of the new life of her glorified Son…the Glorious Mysteries lead the faithful to greater hoe for the eschatological goal towards which the journey a members of the pilgrim People of God in history. This can only impel them to bear courageous witness that “good news” which gives meaning to their entire existence.

The Resurrection	The Ascension	The Descent of the Holy Spirit	The Assumption	The Coronation of Our Blessed Mother