The Rosary with the Great Painters: the Joyful Mysteries

The Virgin Mary, El Greco, 1590s

Musée del Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg

'The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayerof Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.' [St John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, No 1.] 

The Rosary here is the formula prayed by members of the Legion of Mary, the way I prefer. There are various ways of beginning and ending the Rosary but the Five Mysteries are the heart of the prayer. The most common formula of the Rosary is here.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love.

v. Send forth Your Spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created.

R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

God our Father, pour out the gifts of Your Holy Spirit on the world. You sent the Spirit on Your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel: now let the Spirit continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

v. You, O Lord, will open my lips.

R. And my tongue shall announce Your praise.

v. Incline unto my aid, O God.

R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

v. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. 

The Joyful Mysteries (Monday and Saturday)

First Mystery
The Annunciation

The Annunciation, El Greco, 1600s

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be

Second Mystery
The Visitation

The Visitation, El Greco, 1610-13

Dumbarton Oaks, Washington

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be

Third Mystery
The Nativity

The Adoration of the Shepherds, El Greco, c.1610

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be

Fourth Mystery
The Presentation in the Temple

Simeon and Anna Recognize the Lord in Jesus, Rembrandt, 1627

Kuntshalle, Hamburg

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be

Fifth Mystery
The Finding in the Temple

Christ among the Doctors, Master of the Catholic Kings, 1495-97

National Gallery of Art, Washington

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory be

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

v. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech You, that meditating upon these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen. 

v. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

R. Have mercy on us.

v. Immaculate Heart of Mary

R. Pray for us.

v. St Joseph

R. Pray for us.

v. St John the Evangelist

R. Pray for us.

v. St Louis-Marie deMontfort

R. Pray for us. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; 

hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. 

To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve,

 to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping 

in this valley of tears. 

Turn then, O most gracious advocate, 

your eyes of mercy towards us, 

and after this our exile, 

show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. 

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

The Lord's Prayer

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.

Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary,

Full of Grace,

The Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit

of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary,

Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Glory be to the Father

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.

All paintings from Web Gallery of Art

The Mysteries of Light.

The Sorrowful Mysteries.

The Glorious Mysteries.