Today's Rosary

The usual weekly schedule

The weekly table above follows the distribution proposed by Saint John Paul II in Rosarium Virginis Mariae: Joyful on Monday and Saturday, Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday, and Luminous on Thursday. These assignments are customary and can be adapted for a feast or a particular gathering.

Each row opens to show its five mysteries. The mysteries collection provides Scripture and reflections for all twenty.

Sundays and feast days

One seasonal Sunday custom is:

• Sundays during Advent and Christmas: Joyful Mysteries.
• Sundays during Lent: Sorrowful Mysteries.
• Sundays during Easter and Ordinary Time: Glorious Mysteries.

Saint John Paul II's letter allows pastoral adaptations; it does not prescribe this particular seasonal table. Families and parishes may follow another Sunday custom.

On celebrations closely associated with a mystery, the suggestion follows the feast. Christmas is Joyful; the Baptism of the Lord and Corpus Christi are Luminous; Ascension and the Assumption are Glorious. The Easter Octave is also Glorious. Holy Saturday is Sorrowful, with Glorious Mysteries appropriate from the Easter Vigil.

An asterisk marks a suggestion that differs from the usual weekday schedule. The accompanying note names the reason. These are devotional recommendations, not a required Church calendar of mysteries.

Which date and calendar does Today use?

Today's suggestion uses your local civil date. The calendar follows the General Roman Calendar, with Epiphany on 6 January and Ascension and Corpus Christi on Thursday. A transferred celebration uses its actual date within that convention.

Some countries celebrate these feasts on Sunday and have additional local observances. Your parish calendar gives the celebrations where you worship. The calendar companion explains the universal dates and local variations.

Beginning the Rosary

Choose an intention, then follow the Rosary guide for the opening prayers and five decades. Each decade combines the familiar prayers with contemplation of one mystery. A Scripture passage read beforehand can help you remain with the scene.

When praying one decade, begin with a mystery from the chosen set. The remaining decades can be continued later. The practical questions explain the beads, timing, and ways to follow the prayer without a physical Rosary.

Why older prayerbooks give different days

Before the Luminous Mysteries were proposed in 2002, the familiar schedule assigned Joyful to Monday and Thursday, Sorrowful to Tuesday and Friday, and Glorious to Wednesday and Saturday, with Sunday varying by custom. In the newer arrangement, Saturday receives the Joyful Mysteries and Thursday the Luminous Mysteries.

Communities using the older fifteen-mystery Rosary may retain that schedule. When joining a group, the leader's choice gives everyone the same mysteries to contemplate.