The Rosary is, after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the most powerful
prayer there is. It is composed of several well known prayers: the Our
Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. It is said this way:

First, make the Sign of the Cross with the crucifix. Then, while hold-
ing the crucifix, recite the Apostle's Creed. On the bead after that,
say the Our Father, then 3 Hail Mary's, then a Glory Be.

Announce the 1st Mystery, then say the Our Father, and 10 Hail Mary's,
followed by a Glory Be.

Generally, after each decade is said the "O my Jesus" prayer.

At the end of the Rosary, it usual to say the "Hail Holy Queen",
followed by another prayer.

The essence of the Rosary is meditation on the Mystery, along with 
the recitation of the Our Father and Hail Mary's.

We think about the Mystery, and its meaning, and how it applies to us
and our lives.

Here are the prayers of the Rosary:

THE APOSTLE'S CREED

 I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, 
and in Jesus Christ His only Son, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, 
died, and was buried. He descened into hell, the third day the rose
from the dead. He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of
God, the Father almighty, and from thence, He shall come to judge the
living and the dead.
 I believe in the Holy Ghost, 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 by 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. Amen.

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 at the hour of our death.
Amen.

THE GLORY BE 

 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.

O MY JESUS

 O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead
all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy.

HAIL HOLY QUEEN

 Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and
our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do
we sigh, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most
gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our 
exile, show unto us the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
 O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O Holy Mother
of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

PRAYER

 O God, Whose only begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grat we beseech 
Thee, that by meditating on these mysteries of the most Holy Rosary
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we may imitate what they contain, and
obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Mysteries of the Rosary

 Joyful:

  The Annunciation

  The Visitation

  The Nativity

  The Presentation

  The Finding in the Temple

 Sorrowful:

  The Agony in the Garden

  The Scourging

  The Crowning with Thorns

  The Carrying of the Cross

  The Crucifixion

 Glorious:

   The Resurrection

   The Ascension

   The Descent of the Holy Ghost

   The Assumption

   The Coronation


THE 15 PROMISES OF OUR LADY TO CHRISTIANS WHO RECITE THE ROSARY 



1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, 
shall receive signal graces. 

2. I promise My special protection and the greatest graces to all who
shall recite the Rosary. 

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy
vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. 

4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means. 

The soul which recommends itself to Me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish. 

Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life. 

Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church. 

Those who are faithful in reciting the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise. 

I shall deliver from purgatory, those who have been devoted to the Rosary. 

The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven. 

You shall obtain all you ask of Me by the recitation of the Rosary. 

All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their necessities. 

I have obtained from My Divine Son, that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors, the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death. 

All who recite the Rosary are My sons, and brothers of My only son Jesus Christ. 

Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of pre-destination. 

 The Rosary is, essentially, a meditation on the lives of Jesus and
Mary. Thirteen of the Mysteries are explicitly mentioned in the Bible,
as well as 2 of the prayers (the Our Father and part of the Hail Mary)
being straight out of the Bible as well.
 Some Protestants object to the Rosary. They say it is "vain repitit-
ion" whic Jesus condemned. They claim that we pray to Mary more than
Jesus because we say the Hail Mary more, they claim it's not biblical
because it's not mentioned in the Bible. 
 There is an article which explains the general common objections to
the Rosary and refutes them, but I am going to address some that are
not so common, but which I have run into:

Objection 1: "It's not mentioned in the Bible."

 True, at least not by name. But then again, where do you find the 
term "Bible" in the Bible? Where do you find the term "Protestant" in
the Bible? Where do you find a direct command of God to worship Him on
Sunday? These are nowhere found in the Bible. So, according this ob-
jection, we must also reject the Bible, the term 'Protestant', and we 
must also stop observing Sunday as the Lord's day. But how many 
Protestants do you see attending Saturday services?

Objection 2: "Catholics pray to Mary more than Jesus, after all, there
 are 10 'Hail Mary's' for every Our Father."

 This is an example of looking at the surface of something, and then
condemning it on the basis of a superficial point. Read the Hail Mary
prayer at the point: "and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
If you pay attention, this prayer is calling Jesus blessed. Now, how
can a Protestant object to that?

Objection 3: "The Rosary is Mary-worship."

 First of all, NO Catholic worships Mary. If a person claiming to be
Catholic sayd he 'worships' Mary, and he means it in the same sense as
worship of God, he is no Catholic. In past centuries, 'worship' was
used in the context of prayer to Mary, but it was never meant in the
literal sense that it means when referring to God.
 Most Protestants object to prayer to mary because they claim that we
see Mary as a mediator with God, and they love to point out the verse
in the Bible which says Jesus is the one mediator between God and man.
But where does the Bible say that it is impossible to have a mediator
between us and Jesus? You will search in vain for such a condemnation.
But that isn't the point. If Jesus is our only mediator, then St. Paul
was guilty of hypocrisy. He proclaimed that there is only one mediator
between God and man, then he also asked people to pray for him, and
said it was good to pray for others. If Jesus is literally the only
mediator between God and man, then St. Paul was anti-Christ, and so
is every single Protestant. Why? Because if Jesus is literally the 
only mediator, then why do Protestants ask other Protestants to pray
for them? If Jesus is literally the only mediator, then YOU ARE GUILTY
OF THE SAME THING YOU ACCUSE CATHOLICS OF BEING. YOU ARE SAYING THAT
JESUS IS NOT THE ONLY MEDIATOR, YOU ARE GOING AGAINST THE VERY BIBLE
YOU SO LOVE TO PROCLAIM YOU BELIEVE IN.
 Now, what is needed is a correct understanding of this mediation.

 

http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/ROSARYDI.HTM
http://www.religion-cults.com/rosary/
http://members.tripod.com/~LaPieta/scap_lar.html
http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/scapular.htm
http://www.sxws.com/charis/talisman.htm