The Rosary for Children
When we pray the Rosary, we say certain prayers, like the Our Father and Hail Mary. But we also remember stories that are called "mysteries."
Mysteries are stories about God, and so we never know enough about them. They never get old, because they keep telling us things we never knew before.
The Rosary tells the story of Jesus, The first part is called the Joyful Mysteries, which are happy stories.
The Joyful Mysteries
The Joyful Mysteries begin with the angel Gabriel saying to Mary that she is going to be the mother of Jesus.
Mary then visits her cousin Elizabeth to tell her how happy she is that she is going to have a baby. That's the Second Joyful Mystery.
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem -- everybody knows that story -- is the Third Joyful Mystery.
The Fourth Joyful Mystery tells us that Mary and Joseph brought their little baby to the Temple, to offer him to God.
The Fifth Joyful Mystery is about something that happened to Jesus when he was a little boy. He got lost on a trip he took with his parents to Jerusalem. But they found him and were happy to bring him home.
In these joyful stories, God tells us to be glad for all the good things we have in life. How good God is to let us to born!
The Luminous Mysteries
We begin with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. From then on, Jesus began to do great things.
In the Second Luminous Mystery we go to Cana in Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine so that the people could have a good time. Mary said "Do whatever Jesus tells you."
The Third Luminous Mystery calls us to go with Jesus through the towns and cities of his own country. The light of his love shined on everyone he met, especially the poor and the sick and those that others looked down on.
On one of those journeys, Jesus led his friends up a high mountain. They saw him shining in light, and he promised they would share his light too. This mystery is called the Transfiguration.
Just before he died, Jesus had supper with his friends and he gave himself to them in bread and wine. "This is my body," he said. "This is my Blood." In the Fifth Luminous Mystery we remember the Holy Eucharist.
Let's always go to supper with Jesus and receive him in the signs of the Eucharist.
The Luminous Mysteries remind us to follow Jesus, the light of the world.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
The second part of the Rosary is about the Sorrowful Mysteries. They tell what happened to Jesus when some people decided to put him to death on a Cross. He really hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, he was always good to people, especially people who were sick or poor.
The First Sorrowful Mystery brings us to the Garden of Gethsemani in Jerusalem. There, Jesus was afraid and prayed for God's help, because he knew what was going to happen to him.
The Second Sorrowful Mystery takes us to the place where the soldiers beat him with whips.
After beating him, the soldiers put a crown of thorns on his head and made fun of him. That's the Third Sorrowful Mystery.
Jesus then was made to carry a heavy cross on his back to Calvary -- the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery.
Finally, Jesus dies on the Cross, which is the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery.
These stories of Jesus tell us not to give up -- even when things are very bad. God will help us through; God will make us strong enough to go on.
They call Good Friday "good" because God finally brings good to us -- no matter how bad things are.
The Glorious Mysteries
The Glorious Mysteries tell us what happened after Jesus died. The First Glorious Mystery brings us to Jesus' grave where he was buried after dying on the Cross. On Easter Sunday, his friends found his grave empty. Jesus had risen from the dead.
In the Second Glorious Mystery, we watch Jesus going up into heaven to return to His Father in Heaven.
The Third Glorious Mystery tells the story of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent from heaven to lead people in this life and into the next life.
The Fourth Glorious Mystery is about Mary, the Mother of Jesus. He loved her so much that he brought her to heaven immediately after she died.
The Fifth Glorious Mystery pictures Mary being crowned by Jesus as queen of the angels and saints in heaven. Jesus honored her because she was a person who had great faith.
