Rosary Mysteries and Virtues

Q: Are there special virtues attached to the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary?

A: Custom attaches specific virtues to each one of the mysteries of the Rosary. They are in tune with the message of each mystery and represent the most salient attitudes requested of the actors of the event, for example, Mary's love of neighbor which she showed by visiting Elizabeth. Praying and meditating the rosary we are challenged to make ours the attitudes practiced by Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Here are the various mysteries with the corresponding virtues:

Joyful mysteries (recited habitually on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays from Advent to Lent)

1. Annunciation (Lk 1,28) - Love of Humility

2. Visitation (Lk: 1,42) - Love of Neighbor

3. Nativity (Lk 2,7) - Spirit of Poverty

4. Presentation (Lk 2,28) - Virtue of Obedience

5. Finding in the Temple (Lk 2, 46) - Virtue of Piety

Sorrowful Mysteries (Said habitually on Tuesdays, Fridays, and every day during Lent)

1. Agony in the Garden (Mk 14,35) - True Contrition

2. Scourging at the Pillar (Mk 15,15) - Virtue of Purity

3. Crowning with Thorns (Mk 15,17) - Moral Courage

4. Carrying of the Cross (Jn 19, 17) - Virtue of Patience

5. Crucifixion (Lk 13, 33) - Final Perseverance

Glorious Mysteries (For Wednesdays and Saturdays, and for Sundays from Easter to Advent)

1. Resurrection (Mk 16,6) - Virtue of Faith

2. Ascension (Mk 16,19) - Virtue of Hope

3. Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2,4) - Love of God

4. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Devotion to Our Lady

5. Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Eternal Happiness

This entry in All About Mary is a response to a question submitted prior to the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, therefore it predates the addition of the Luminous Mysteries.