The prayers of the rosary

The Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The oldest gesture of Christian prayer: we begin and end in the name of the Trinity, tracing the cross over ourselves.

The Apostles’ Creed

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 Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will 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 life everlasting. Amen.

A short summary of the faith. A beloved tradition says the twelve Apostles each gave a line of it; in fact it grew from the questions put to those about to be baptized, and its direct forebear is the Old Roman Creed. The legend is old and lovely — the creed truly is the Apostles’ faith, handed on.

The Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Lord’s own prayer, given by Jesus himself in the Gospel (Matthew 6, Luke 11) — the one prayer he taught his disciples.

The Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Two prayers joined at the name of Jesus. The first half is the greeting of Scripture — the angel Gabriel’s words and Elizabeth’s (Luke 1); the second half is the Church’s own petition, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us,” which grew in the late Middle Ages and took its fixed form in the Roman Breviary of 1568.

The Glory Be

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.

The Church’s small doxology, ancient in root. Its threefold form — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — became the norm in the fourth century: a quiet confession of the Trinity at the close of every decade.

The Fatima Prayer

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Amen.

Prayed by many after each decade. According to the children of Fátima, Our Lady taught it to them in July 1917; it is offered, not required.

The Hail Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.

A Marian antiphon of the eleventh century, by tradition the work of Hermann of Reichenau — though the author is not certain. The rosary ends, fittingly, in her arms.

These are the words. The rosary is simply praying them slowly, with Mary, through the life of Christ.