To make the recitation of the Holy Rosary easier for you, there follows several methods which will help you to say it in a good and holy way, together with meditation on the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of Jesus and Mary. Choose whichever method pleases you and helps you the most: you can make one up yourself, if you like, as several holy people have done before now.
First Method
First, say the "Come, Holy Ghost" and then make your Offering of the Rosary:
I unite myself with all the Saints in Heaven, and with all the just on earth; I unite myself with Thee, my Jesus, in order to praise Thy Holy Mother worthily and to praise Thee in her and by her. I renounce all the distractions that may come to me while I am saying this Rosary.
Oh, Blessed Virgin Mary, we offer thee this Creed in order to honor the faith that thou didst have upon earth and to ask thee to have us share in the same faith.
Oh Lord, we offer Thee this Our Father so as to adore Thee in Thy oneness and to recognize Thee as the first cause and the last end of all things.
Most Holy Trinity, we offer Thee these three Hail Marys so as to thank Thee for all the graces which Thou hast given to Mary and those which Thou hast given us through her intercession.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father. . . .
How to Offer Each Decade
The Joyful Mysteries
First Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this first decade in honor of Thy Incarnation and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy most Holy Mother, a profound humility.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Incarnation, come down into my soul and make it truly humble.
Second Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this second decade in honor of the Visitation of Thy Holy Mother to her cousin Saint Elizabeth, and we ask of Thee through this mystery and through Mary's intercession, a perfect charity towards our neighbor.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Visitation come down into my soul and make it really charitable.
Third Decade: We offer Thee, O Child Jesus, this third decade in honor of Thy Blessed Nativity, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, detachment from things of this world, love of poverty and love of the poor.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Nativity come down into my soul and make me truly poor in spirit.
Fourth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fourth decade in honor of Thy Presentation in the temple by the hands of Mary, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, the gift of wisdom and purity of heart and body.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Purification, come down into my soul and make it really wise and really pure.
Fifth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fifth decade in honor of Thy Finding in the Temple among the learned men by Our Lady, after she had lost Thee, and we ask Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, to convert us and help us amend our lives, and also to convert all sinners, heretics, schismatics and idolaters.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple, come down into my soul and truly convert me.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
Sixth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this sixth decade in honor of Thy mortal Agony in the Garden of Olives and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, perfect sorrow for our sins and the virtue of perfect obedience to Thy Holy Will.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of Our Lord's Agony, come down into my soul and make me truly contrite and perfectly obedient to Thy Will.
Seventh Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this seventh decade in honor of Thy Bloody Scourging and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, the grace to mortify our senses perfectly.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of Our Lord's Scourging, come down into my soul and make me truly mortified.
Eighth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this eighth decade in honor of Thy cruel crowning with thorns, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, a great contempt of the world.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of Our Lord's crowning with Thorns, come down into my soul and make me despise the world.
Ninth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this ninth decade in honor of Thy carrying Thy Cross and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, to give us great patience in carrying our cross in Thy footsteps every day of our life.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the carrying of the Cross, come down into my soul and make me truly patient.
Tenth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this tenth decade in honor of Thy Crucifixion on Mount Calvary, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, a great horror of sin, a love of the Cross and the grace of a holy death for us and for those who are now in their last agony.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Death and Passion of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, come down into my soul and make me truly holy.
The Glorious Mysteries
Eleventh Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this eleventh decade in honor of Thy triumphant Resurrection and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, a lively faith.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the Resurrection come down into my soul and make me really faithful.
Twelfth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this twelfth decade in honor of Thy glorious Ascension, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Thy Blessed Mother, a firm hope and a great longing for Heaven.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the mystery of the Ascension of Our Lord, come down into my soul and make me ready for Heaven.
Thirteenth Decade: We offer Thee, O Holy Spirit, this thirteenth decade in honor of the mystery of Pentecost, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through the intercession of Mary, Thy most faithful Spouse, Thy holy wisdom so that we may know, really love and practice Thy truth, and make all others share in it.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of Pentecost, come down into my soul and make me really wise in the eyes of Almighty God.
Fourteenth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fourteenth decade in honor of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Thy holy and Blessed Mother, body and soul, into Heaven, and we ask of Thee, through these two mysteries and through her intercession, the gift of true devotion to her to help us live and die holily.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
Grace of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary, come down into my soul and make me truly devoted to her.
Fifteenth Decade: We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fifteenth and last decade in honor of the glorious crowning of Thy Blessed Mother in Heaven, and we ask of Thee, through this mystery and through Her intercession, the grace of perseverance and increase of virtue until the very moment of death and after that the eternal crown that is prepared for us. We ask the same grace for all the just and for all our benefactors.
One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be to the Father ...
We beseech Thee, dear Lord Jesus, by the fifteen mysteries of Thy life, passion and death, by Thy glory and by the merits of Thy Blessed Mother, to convert sinners and help the dying, to deliver the Holy Souls from Purgatory and to give us all Thy grace so that we may live well and die well—and please give us the Light of Thy glory later on so that we may see Thee face to face and love Thee for all eternity. Amen. So be it.
Second Method
A Shorter Way of Commemorating The Life, Death and Glory of Jesus and Mary In The Most Holy Rosary, and A Way to Curb Our Imagination and to Lessen Distractions
In order to do this we must add a word or two to each Hail Mary (depending upon the decade) and this will help remind us which mystery we are commemorating. This word or words should be added after the word "Jesus." "And blessed is the fruit of Thy Womb":
At the 1st Decade .... "Jesus incarnate";
At the 2nd Decade .... "Jesus sanctifying";
At the 3rd Decade .... "Jesus born in poverty";
At the 4th Decade .... "Jesus sacrificed";
At the 5th Decade .... "Jesus, Saint among saints";
At the 6th Decade .... "Jesus in His agony";
At the 7th Decade .... "Jesus scourged";
At the 8th Decade .... "Jesus crowned with thorns";
At the 9th Decade .... "Jesus carrying His Cross";
At the 10th Decade .... "Jesus crucified";
At the 11th Decade .... "Jesus risen from the dead"
At the 12th Decade .... "Jesus ascending to Heaven";
At the 13th Decade .... "Jesus filling Thee with the Holy Spirit";
At the 14th Decade .... "Jesus raising Thee up";
At the 15th Decade .... "Jesus crowning Thee."
At the end of the first five mysteries, we say:
"Grace of the Joyful Mysteries, come down into our souls and make them really holy";
At the end of the second:
"Grace of the Sorrowful Mysteries, come down into our souls and make them truly patient";
And at the end of the third:
"Grace of the Glorious Mysteries, come down into our souls and make them everlastingly happy. Amen."
- from The Secret of the Rosary, bySaint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort