How to Pray
Thanks for joining me again! Like I said on the previous page, I'm going to explain exactly how to pray your Rosary decades. You'll be praying them in no time!
By the way, the Rosary Videos on the "Rosary 4 Kids homepage" are a big help. You can use them to pray your Rosary decades every single day!
Before I explain how to pray, I put a "surprise music video" that I'm featured in for you to see. It's about our beautiful Blessed Mother and it's called "Sweet Mary."
How To Pray Your Rosary Decades
Take the Crucifix at the end of your Rosary in your hand and kiss the image of Jesus on the Cross. Say: "Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the Cross for me!"
Now take the Crucifix in your right hand and make the Sign of the Cross with it on yourself. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,"
#1 If you know the Apostle's Creed by heart you can pray it as you look at the Crucifix. If you don't know it by heart, then you can read it. Real little kids who don't know how to read yet can just listen.
"I believe in God..."
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#2
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#2 Now on the first bead next to the Crucifix pray an Our Father. #3 Then comes three beads close together. On each of these beads pray a Hail Mary. #4 Then on the next bead pray a Glory Be.
You have just prayed the "Introduction" of the Rosary! You have prepared your heart and mind to enter into the "Mysteries of Jesus." In other words, now it's time to pray your decades!
The Decades
Do you know what the word "decade" means? Decade means "ten." For example, if you are ten years old then you can say you have been alive for a decade. Your little brother or sister might divide blocks into decades or groups of ten. In a Rosary decade we pray the Hail Mary ten times.
1. You begin your decade by praying an Our Father on the large bead. 2. Then comes ten small beads close together. You pray a Hail Mary on each of the ten beads. 3. Then you'll come to a large bead and there you pray a Glory Be.
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You are almost done with your first Rosary decade!
There is one last prayer that Our Blessed Mother asked to be added after each Rosary decade when she came to Fatima, Portugal in 1917. (You pray it on the bead you just held for your Glory Be - #3.) The prayer goes like this: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy."
Now keep holding that big bead to start your next decade! Pray an Our Father on the big bead. Then the Hail Mary ten times keeping track on the ten smaller beads. Then finish your decade on the next big bead with the Glory Be and the O My Jesus prayer.
Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her Heart.
Luke 2:19
Now if you just prayed the Our Father and the Hail Mary prayer over and over, there really wouldn't be anything wrong in that. To tell God that His Name is holy or to say the name of Jesus a bunch of times is a wonderful thing! But our Rosary decades will mean a lot more to us if we also ponder or think about the "Mysteries of Jesus" as we say our prayers.
I explained about this on the "Why the Rosary?" page. You can go back and read it again if you need a little refresher. And there is a page coming up that will help you pray your Rosary decades for each set of Mysteries: The Joyful, The Sorrowful, The Glorious and The Luminous.
The Rosary Videos on the homepage will help you pray your decades every day!
Then when you get to the very end of all your Rosary decades, you pray the Hail Holy Queen prayer. Sometimes you might hear people add a few other prayers at the very end such as the one that starts out: "O God, whose only begotten Son," or the St. Michael the Archangel prayer. That's okay too. There is no one exact set way to end the Rosary.
The important thing is to keep praying your decades! Even if you are only able to pray just one decade a day, that's okay! You can start out small but keep going! It's super important that you don't ever give up! Before you know it, you will have all the Mysteries memorized and you will be pondering them all too!
"We are kids changing the world one decade at a time."
The Prayers of the Rosary
The Apostle's 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; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth 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 live everlasting. Amen.
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.
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.
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.
O My Jesus
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Hail Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy. Hail 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 us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, Whose Only Begotten Son
Let us pray: 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 upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
