How to recite the Holy Rosary

New Mysteries For Rosary

In an apostolic letter commemorating the beginning of the twenty-fifth year of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II has proposed five new mysteries to be used during the saying of the Rosary. The apostolic letter deals in a general manner with both the theory and the practice of saying the Rosary, so it contains much more than just the proposal of the new mysteries, which are known as the "mysteries of light" or the "luminous mysteries."

These mysteries are as follows:

1. The Baptism in the Jordan

2. The Wedding at Cana

3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom

4. The Transfiguration

5. The Institution of the Eucharist

John Paul II proposed that these mysteries be fitted into the weekly cycle of praying the Rosary in the following manner:

Sunday: The Glorious Mysteries
Monday: The Joyful Mysteries
Tuesday: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Wednesday: The Glorious Mysteries
Thursday: The Luminous Mysteries
Friday: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Saturday: The Joyful Mysteries

However, the Holy Father goes on to note:

This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations. What is really important is that the Rosary should always be seen and experienced as a path of contemplation [ibid.].

For more information about the Luminous Mysteries, as well as the Holy Father's discussion of the meaning of the Rosary and how it is to be prayed, see the text of the apostolic letter itself.