Mysteries of the Rosary
- Joyful Mysteries
- Luminous Mysteries
- Sorrowful Mysteries
- Glorious Mysteries
- Concluding Prayer – Prayer for Priests
Joyful Mysteries
Joyful ** Luminous ** Sorrowful ** Glorious
The Annunciation
The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary, a virgin, that she will become the Mother of God, Word made Flesh. For all centuries to come, Jesus will become flesh in the Holy Eucharist to nourish us in a most intimate union with Him.
We pray for all priests who daily bring us the Body and Blood of Christ through the Consecration of the Eucharist and through Holy Communion.
We pray for all future priests now being formed in the wombs of their mothers, that they may be safe from physical and spiritual harm, and come to Ordination as God intends.
We pray for all future generations of priests and also that priests may treasure the gift of celibacy.
The Visitation
Mary visits Elizabeth, who recognizes Mary as the living tabernacle for their Divine Lord.
We pray especially for priests who bring Holy Communion to the sick, the shut-ins, and Viaticum to the dying.
We pray for all the priests who minister to the sick in other ways, counsel, comfort and console them.
The Nativity of Jesus
Jesus is born in Bethlehem. The angels announce His birth; kings and shepherds come to adore Him.
We pray that all seminarians grow in knowledge and love of God to become holy priests.
We pray especially for those who will be ordained soon, that they may remain faithful all their lives to the sublime privilege of being “other Christs” among us.
We pray that everyone will come to value the Eucharistic Feast and the Priesthood as among God’s greatest gifts to us.
We pray that every priest will consider himself a member of the Holy Family, a true son of Mary and Joseph, and a brother-priest of Jesus, the great High Priest.
The Presentation in the Temple
Mary and Joseph, in obedience to the Law, bring Jesus to the temple to be dedicated to God. Simeon expresses his gratitude to God for revealing the
Messiah to him before he dies.
We thank God for all priests who, like Simeon, have given us decades of faithful service. We pray that they may be rewarded for their generosity and self-sacrifice.
We pray also for all priests whose hearts are pierced by loneliness, depression and rejection.
Finding Jesus in the Temple
Jesus is found among the teachers in the temple. He returns home and is obedient to Mary and Joseph.
We pray that priests will always be found going about their Father’s business, and will be obedient to the teaching magisterium of the Church, our Holy Father and the bishops in communion with him.
We pray for all young priests that the love and dedication they experience in the first years of their priesthood may increase with time.
We pray for all priests who teach the Faith to children and adults.
Conclude with “Prayer for Priests”
Luminous Mysteries
Joyful ** Luminous ** Sorrowful ** Glorious
The Baptism of the Lord
John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan; the Holy Spirit descends on Him and the Voice of the Father is heard.
We pray that priests may be shining lamps pointing to Jesus, illuminating the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. We pray that all priests may practice humble self-forgetfulness and seek only that our Lord be known and honored. We pray that priests may pour the life-giving waters of baptism over countless souls and help all those entrusted to their care to live holy lives and attain eternal salvation.
The Wedding of Cana
Jesus performs His first miracle at the request of His Mother, thereby manifesting His Divinity.
We pray that priests will confidently turn to Mary in all their needs, particularly when they feel they have nothing left to share, and following her example, do whatever Jesus tells them to do. We pray that all priests may grow in their faith that just as Jesus turned water into wine, He changes wine into His Precious Blood.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom
Jesus places before us His plan of salvation for all mankind. He explains His Law of Love, particularly the necessity of repentance and forgiveness as the means of living out the Gospel.
We pray that priests will fearlessly and lovingly proclaim the truths of our faith, in season and out of season, particularly by the example of their own daily conversion. May all priests become Apostles of the Confessional by extending God’s Divine Mercy and healing to all those who humbly seek pardon of their sins.
The Transfiguration
Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, where He was transfigured before their eyes. He appeared with Moses and Elijah, who spoke to Him of His death. The Voice of the Father was heard, “This is My Son, My Beloved. Listen to Him.”
We pray for perseverance and spiritual joy for all priests who find themselves undergoing their own passion in Christ’s name. May they find strength in the radiance of Christ’s life-giving light. We pray that all priests may look up and see only Jesus in all whom they serve. May their faith in the divinity of Jesus be so strong that they may never lose hope and in turn may strengthen their brothers and sisters in their times of distress.
The Institution of the Eucharist
Jesus gives us Himself, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in order that we may have life. His institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood perpetuates His eternal Sacrifice for all mankind.
We pray that all priests will appreciate their oneness with Jesus, Priest and Victim, and that every Holy Communion will transform them more and more into His likeness. We pray that all priests will offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with deep love, faith, and reverence, and be generous in the time they spend in adoring, thanking and making reparation to our Eucharistic Lord.
Conclude with “Prayer for Priests”
Sorrowful Mysteries
Joyful ** Luminous ** Sorrowful ** Glorious
The Agony in the Garden
The Apostles fall asleep. Jesus sweats blood at the thought of His coming passion and death. Angels come to comfort Him.
We pray that all priests who are suffering and on the way to Calvary may be comforted by God’s presence; those who have betrayed or denied the faith
through weakness may repent and return to the warmth of God’s love.
We pray that all priests may live only to do our Father’s will. Jesus always did.
Jesus Is Scourged
Jesus is cruelly scourged and beaten by the soldiers.
We pray for priests who are persecuted, physically or mentally abused; those who are imprisoned or prevented from offering the Holy Eucharist or receiving Holy Communion.
We pray for those priests living under Communist oppression.
Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns
Jesus is mocked as king and His precious Head is cruelly pierced by thorns.
We pray for priests who suffer for defending authentic Catholic doctrine.
We pray that all Bishops will uphold the true teachings of the Catholic Church and resist temptations to compromise doctrine.
Jesus Carries His Cross
Bruised, bleeding, and exhausted, Jesus is forced to drag Himself and His cross up the hill to Calvary.
We pray for all priests with heavy crosses; those who are weak, lonely, or have fallen from God’s grace in some way.
We pray for the Holy Father, who perhaps has the heaviest of crosses: the widespread persecution and abandonment of the Church from within or without.
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Jesus sheds His last drops of Precious Blood to redeem us from sin and eternal death.
We pray for all priests who are in their last agony and those who will die today.
We pray for those who thirst for the salvation of souls.
We pray that the crucifixion of their wills may accomplish God’s designs for the salvation of the whole world.
We pray that priests may take Mary into their hearts, as Saint John the Apostle, one of the first priests, took Mary into his home.
Conclude with “Prayer for Priests”
Glorious Mysteries
Joyful ** Luminous ** Sorrowful ** Glorious
The Resurrection
Jesus arises from the dead and appears to the Apostles.
At times, priests may suffer from depression and despair that plague them when they see so little from their labors.
We pray that priests will remember: the Crucifixion is followed by the Resurrection; darkness is always followed by the Light.
We pray that all priests may share the joy of the Risen Christ.
The Ascension
Jesus instructs His Apostles and returns to His Father in Heaven.
We pray that priests may carry out Jesus’ instructions to evangelize the whole world, instructing and baptizing countless people. We pray for missionaries who live lives of utter poverty and deprivation to bring the Gospel to all the people.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit comes down upon the Apostles, who are gathered with Mary and other holy women and men.
We pray that priests may be open to the grace of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them for the task of bringing souls to God and God to souls.
We pray that they may be on fire to convert the most hardened sinners, and to bring God’s love to the whole world.
The Assumption
Mary is taken, body and soul, to Heaven. While she was on earth, she loved and prayed for the Apostles, the first priests.
We pray that priests will be devoted to Mary and find in her the love and comfort of a mother, the most powerful intercession of our greatest Saint, and the surest refuge against Satan and his cohorts who seek the destruction of priests and the priesthood.
The Coronation
Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven and earth; she is rewarded for her faithfulness to God.
We pray that Mary, Queen of the Clergy, will be their model of faith and joy, and constant guide until they reach Heaven where a crown, jeweled with the many souls entrusted to them on the day of Ordination, will be their reward for faithful and loving service.
Conclude with “Prayer for Priests”
Joyful ** Luminous ** Sorrowful ** Glorious
Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, our great High Priest, hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priests.
Give them a deep faith, a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life.
In their loneliness, comfort them.
In their sorrows, strengthen them.
In their frustrations, point out to them that it is through suffering that the soul is purified, and show them that they are needed by the Church;
they are needed by souls; they are needed for the work of redemption.
O Loving Mother Mary, Mother of Priests, take to your heart your sons who are close to you because of their priestly ordination and because of the power which they have received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs them so much.
Be their comfort,
be their joy,
be their strength,
and especially help them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy.
AMEN.