Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, Glorious
The Mysteries of the Rosary
A mystery of the Rosary is an event in the life of Jesus and of Mary. While your lips say the Hail Mary, your mind and heart stay with that event. In this way, the Rosary becomes what Saint John Paul II called contemplating the face of Christ with Mary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, no. 3).
There are twenty mysteries, in four sets of five. Each mystery below has a Scripture passage to read and a fruit, a virtue or grace that people traditionally ask for in that decade.
The Joyful Mysteries
They turn our attention to the Incarnation and the hidden life of Jesus.
First: The Annunciation
The angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear the Son of God. She answers with a free and complete yes: “Let it be done to me according to your word.”
Second: The Visitation
Mary goes in haste to help her cousin Elizabeth. The child John leaps in the womb, and Mary praises God in the Magnificat.
Third: The Nativity
Jesus is born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. Shepherds, the poor of the land, are the first to come and adore him.
Fourth: The Presentation
Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the Temple. Simeon calls him a light for the nations and tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul.
Fifth: The Finding in the Temple
After three days of search, Mary and Joseph find the twelve-year-old Jesus among the teachers, in his Father’s house.
The Luminous Mysteries
Saint John Paul II proposed them in 2002. They cover the public ministry of Jesus, between his Baptism and his Passion.
First: The Baptism in the Jordan
Jesus is baptized by John. The Spirit descends on him, and the voice of the Father calls him the beloved Son.
Second: The Wedding at Cana
At a wedding, Mary tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus changes water into wine, the first of his signs.
Third: The Proclamation of the Kingdom
Jesus announces that the Kingdom of God is near. He calls all people to conversion and forgives the sins of those who come to him in faith.
Fourth: The Transfiguration
On the mountain, the glory of Jesus shines before Peter, James and John. The Father says, “Listen to him.”
Fifth: The Institution of the Eucharist
At the Last Supper, Jesus gives his Body and Blood under the signs of bread and wine, and tells the apostles to do this in memory of him.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
They follow Jesus through his Passion and death.
First: The Agony in the Garden
In Gethsemane, Jesus is in anguish before his Passion. He prays, “Not my will, but yours, be done.”
Second: The Scourging at the Pillar
Pilate has Jesus scourged. He bears the blows in silence for the sins of the world.
Third: The Crowning with Thorns
The soldiers press a crown of thorns on his head and mock him as a king. He is the King whose kingdom is not of this world.
Fourth: The Carrying of the Cross
Jesus carries the cross to Calvary. Simon of Cyrene is made to help him.
Fifth: The Crucifixion
Jesus is nailed to the cross. He forgives those who crucify him, gives his Mother to the beloved disciple, and dies.
The Glorious Mysteries
They show the triumph of Christ and the share that Mary has in it.
First: The Resurrection
On the third day, the tomb is empty. Jesus is risen, and he appears to Mary Magdalene and to the disciples.
Second: The Ascension
Forty days after Easter, Jesus ascends to the Father and promises the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Third: The Descent of the Holy Spirit
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes on the apostles, who are gathered in prayer with Mary. The Church goes out to all nations.
Fourth: The Assumption
At the end of her earthly life, Mary is taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. Pope Pius XII defined this as a dogma of faith in 1950 (see CCC 966).
Fifth: The Coronation of Mary
Mary is honoured as Queen of heaven and earth. Her queenship is a share in the reign of her Son, and she prays for the Church (see CCC 966 and 969).
Where the mysteries come from
The Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries have been prayed in their present form for centuries. In 1569, Pope Saint Pius V set down the form of the Rosary with these fifteen mysteries. In 2002, Pope Saint John Paul II proposed five more, the Mysteries of Light, so that the Rosary could be more fully a summary of the Gospel (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, nos. 19 and 21). Their use is left to the freedom of each person and community.
Most of the mysteries are taken directly from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The Assumption and the Coronation of Mary come from the faith and Tradition of the Church, read in the light of passages such as Revelation 12:1.