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How to Say the Seven Sorrows Rosary

We recently heard Immaculee Ilagaziba speak at the Catholic Womens Conference in Columbus, OH. She is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Her talk was truly inspiring. Our newest rosary, the Our Lady of Kibeho Rosary, was inspired by Immaculee and the apparition of Our Lady in Kibeho, Rwanda.

This devotion to the Our Sorrowful Mother was originated in the Thirteenth century. It recalls the Sorrows the Virgin Mother of God endured in compassion for the suffering and death of her Divine Son. How to pray the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows An Act of Contrition: O, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, behold me before your divine presence, all in confusion at the thought of the many grievous injuries I have done you. I ask pardon for them with my whole heart, repenting of them for love of you, hating them above every other evil and ready to lose my life rather than offend you again. And do you, most tender Virgin, mother of mercy and refuge of sinners, obtain for me the pardon of all my sins by virtue of your bitter pains and help me to so pray as to gain the indulgences attached to this, your most holy Rosary. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of you divine love. Send forth you spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth. Enlighten our minds , we beseech you, O Lord, with the light of your brightness, that we might see what we ought to do and be able to do what is right, through Christ, Our Lord. Announce the First Sorrow; then say the "Our Father." Say seven "Hail Marys," while meditating on the Sorrow. Repeat 1 and 2 continuing through all seven Sorrows. Three "Hail Marys" are said at the end in honor of the Tears of Our Sorrowful Mother. Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father, for the intention of the Pope. Say "Virgin most Sorrowful, pray for us" three times. Meditate on the following while reciting the prayers The First Sorrow: Let us meditate on the first Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin, when she presented her only son in the temple, laid him in the arms of holy Simeon, and heard the prophetic words, "This one shall be a sword of sorrow to pierce your own heart." The Second Sorrow: Mary flees into Egypt with Jesus and Joseph- Forced to endure the hardships of a long journey, and becoming a foreigner in a strange land, Mary and her family flee to protect the child Jesus from those who would destroy him. The Third Sorrow: Mary seeks Jesus lost in Jerusalem- Jesus disappeared for three days in Jerusalem at the age of twelve, causing his parents, especially Mary, agonizing sorrow. The Fourth Sorrow: Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary- As Jesus makes his way to Calvary, condemned to crucifixion, He meets His mother, Mary. He is bruised, derided, cursed and defiled and her sorrow is absolute as Jesus drags His own cross up the hill of His crucifixion. The Fifth Sorrow: Mary stands near the cross of her Son- Mary stands near her dying Son unable to minister to him as he cries "I thirst". She hears him promise heaven to a thief and forgive his enemies. His last words, "Behold your mother," charge us to look on Mary as our mother. The Sixth Sorrow: Mary received the body of Jesus taken down from the cross- The passion and death are over but for his mother, grief continues. She holds His body in her arms. The Seventh Sorrow: Mary places the body of Jesus in the tomb, awaiting the resurrection- The most tragic day in history ends, Mary alone in sorrow, as she lays the body of her Son, in the tomb. 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. 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. Glory Be Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Compliments!

Wow! We have received a lot of compliments in recent weeks. We are so grateful that that so many of you take the time to let us know that you are happy with our rosaries! We consider ourselves very blessed to have such wonderful customer! Here are a few of the nice things people have been telling us:

"We received the order a couple of weeks ago. Just wanted to say that we are very pleased with it. Perfect. Thanks so much, and thanks for getting this to us so fast." Tim from the UK

"I just received my beautiful Holy Family rosary. This was the first rosary I ever chose for myself. It feels so "right" in my hands and the subdued colors and textures of the beads are wonderful. Thank you for this design, I will cherish it always. Gail, Westwood, NJ

"The second order is due to your high quality. I was very pleased with the workmanship of your product. . .I sent out an email today to my friend to check out your site. June, Skokie, IL

How To Pray a Chaplet

Chaplets are like "mini-rosaries" -- they are designed to be small so you can carry them easily and pray them discreetly if you like. Some chaplets are devoted to saints and prayed with special prayers. Our chaplets use the same prayers as a traditional rosary. They are not devoted to saints; rather, they are named for saints to honor them.

A chaplet is prayed the same way as a rosary (see How to Pray the Rosary archived on this site). In the interest of keeping our chaplets small, they require several prayers to be prayed on the same bead. Say both of The Apostles Creed and the Our Father prayers on the crucifix. Then, pray The Hail Mary on the next three beads. Pray the Our Father prayer on the center bead at the beginning of each decade.

With practice, praying a chaplet becomes second nature!

How To Pray the Rosary

Many of our customers have forgotten how to pray the rosary -- or they never learned. No worries. It is easy to pray! Simply follow the steps below.

Steps

1. Begin by holding the crucifix in your fingers while making the Sign of the Cross. Then say the Apostle's Creed.
2. Moving to the first bead after the crucifix, say the Lord's Prayer.

3. Moving to the group of three beads after that, say three Hail Marys.

   
   

   Traditionally these 3 prayers are offered to obtain an increase in the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity and for the intentions of the Pope.

4. Moving to the chain or cord between the three Hail Mary beads and the next bead, say the Doxology.

5. The next bead is an Our Father, and is the bead which begins the first decade of the mysteries you will be praying. You then arrive at the "centre", the tiny medallion separating this first part of the rosary from the main section, which consists of five groups of ten beads each, separated by another "Our Father" bead between each group.
6. Begin reciting the "Hail Mary" for each bead in the first decade.

7. As you complete the first decade, proceed to the chain or cord that separates it from the next Our Father bead, and say the Doxology. Optionally, at this point you can add the Fatima prayer or/and the prayer for priests; this is done without moving along the beads.

8. Proceed then to the Our Father bead and say the Lord's prayer.

   Continue until you have gone all the way around the chain of beads and meditated on all five Mysteries in the set you have chosen.

9. Reached the center medallion again say the Salve Regina and made the Sign of the Cross again to finish the Rosary.

   
   

   You're done!
   

   
   

   Catholic tradition lets you add prayers at the end. You can make it a personal prayer, or any prayer that appeals to you.

Rosary Prayers

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; 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 life everlasting. Amen."

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."

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 in the hour of our death. Amen."

The Doxology: "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 Salve Regina: "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!"

Fatima Prayer: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy".

Prayer for Priests: "God, our Father, please send us holy priests, all for the sacred and eucharistic heart of Jesus, all for the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, in union with saint Joseph. Amen."

The Mysteries of the Rosary

1. The Five Joyful Mysteries

   Monday & Saturday

   1. The Annunciation: Humility
   2. The Visitation: Charity
   3. The Birth of Our Lord: Poverty, or detachment from the world
   4. The Presentation of Our Lord: Purity of heart, obedience
   5. The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple: Piety

2. The Five Sorrowful Mysteries

   Tuesday & Friday

   1. The Agony in the Garden: Contrition for our sins
   2. The Scourging at the Pillar: Mortification of our senses
   3. The Crowning with Thorns: Interior mortification
   4. The Carrying of the Cross: Patience under crosses
   5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord: That we may die to ourselves

3. The Five Glorious Mysteries

   Sunday & Wednesday

   1. The Resurrection: Conversion of heart
   2. The Ascension: A desire for heaven
   3. The Coming of the Holy Ghost: The Gifts of the Holy Ghost
   4. The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven: Devotion to Mary
   5. The Coronation of our Blessed Mother: Eternal happiness

4. The Five Luminous Mysteries (New)

   Thursday

   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