THE HISTORY OF CHRIST IN THE ROSARY
When the Rosary is recited in full, the mysteries of the Rosary provide a brief but robust review of salvation history.
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
The Joyful Mysteries invite us to consider the wonderfully simple beginning of the story of our salvation. They focus on the conception, birth, and childhood of the Lord in His Incarnation and remind us of the joy that can be found in quiet humility.
The Annunciation marks the beginning of the ultimate phase of salvation history: the angel Gabriel informs Mary that she has been chosen to become the Christ-bearer and she responds with her incomparable fiat: “Be it done to me according to thy will.”
The Visitation offers a greater understanding of the events which had started to take place: Elizabeth cries out, of Mary, “Blessed are you among women… Blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
The Nativity transports us to that wondrous night when Our Lord Himself burst into our world in the most unassuming form possible: the Virgin Mary gives birth to the Infant who has been sent to redeem the world.
The Presentation at the Temple provides a foretaste of Our Lord’s divine mission: Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus to the Lord in the Temple, ratifying their divine son’s consecration to His Father, and are given a troubling prediction of His future.
The Finding in the Temple foreshadows both the teaching ministry and death of Our Lord: at the tender age of twelve, Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the Temple, teaching the elders, after believing Him lost for three days.
THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
The Luminous Mysteries invite us to consider the Lord’s miraculous entrance into the public sphere. They focus on the ways in which Jesus’ true identity is revealed, both through great signs and through His everyday ministry.
The Baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Our Lord’s ministry: The heavens open as Jesus is baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, and the voice of God the Father acknowledges that Jesus is His Beloved Son.
The Wedding at Cana reflects both the first of the signs and miracles performed by Our Lord and the power of Our Lady’s intercession: Jesus changes water into wine at the request of his mother, Mary.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God presents the teaching at the heart of Our Lord’s earthly ministry: Jesus calls us to repent and proclaims the coming of the Kingdom.
The Transfiguration reveals, for the first time, Our Lord’s true nature: the glory of God shines through the face of Jesus, and His Apostles are instructed to “listen to Him.”
The Institution of the Eucharist introduces Our Lord’s plan to give Himself fully as a gift to restore life to humanity: Jesus offers His own Body and Blood to His Apostles as food under the signs of bread and wine.
THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
The Sorrowful Mysteries invite us to consider the sorrow and brutality of the Lord’s Passion. They focus on the final days of Jesus’ life and portray, with shocking intensity, the ultimate sacrifice through which He willingly bore the sin of all humanity.
The Agony in the Garden begins the record of Our Lord’s Passion: Jesus agonizes over His upcoming death, yet prays that the Father’s will be done rather than His own.
The Scourging at the Pillar draws us further into the darkness that Our Lord endured for us: the full cruelty of humanity is unleashed on Jesus as He is lashed nearly to the point of death.
The Crowning with Thorns forces us to consider the depths of Our Lord’s humiliation: the soldiers mock Him by making a crown of a thorny branch and placing it on His head.
The Carrying of the Cross depicts Our Lord fully engaged in conflict with the forces arrayed against him as He painfully struggled along the streets of Jerusalem bearing a heavy wooden Cross on the way to Calvary.
The Crucifixion and Death represents the climactic moment in salvation history when Our Lord Jesus — with the Holy Mother at His feet — was stripped of His clothes, nailed to His Cross, and left to hang in agony for three hours until the work of our salvation was complete.
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
The Glorious Mysteries invite us to consider the divine majesty unleashed through the Lord’s victory over death. They focus on the ways in which Jesus opened the gates of heaven for humanity and offered a foretaste of the plans He has for all those who believe in and follow Him.
The Resurrection reminds us of the single greatest surprise in human history — when Our Lord rose from the dead after three days, confirming the truth of all of His works and teachings and offering the ultimate proof of his divine authority.
The Ascension completes the narrative of Our Lord’s earthly ministry, portraying the entry of His humanity into the Divine Glory of Heaven.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit reflects the immediate consequence of Our Lord’s saving action as the promised Comforter descends upon Mary and the Apostles “through a strong, driving wind and tongues of fire” (Acts 2:2-3) and marks the beginning of a new creation — the renewal of humanity through the Holy Spirit.
The Assumption of Our Lord’s mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, simultaneously depicts Mary’s singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and offers a foretaste of Our Lord’s ultimate plan for humanity.
The Coronation affirms Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth, reminding us that Our Lord has granted His graces to a loving mother who always seeks to help us to do God’s will as we await the conclusion of salvation history.