The Rosary is the most common of Catholic devotional prayers. The term derives from the Latin rosarium [rose garden], which by the fourteenth century had come to mean a collection of devotional texts. The Rosary as we know it received its present form in the sixteenth century.
On the other hand, its roots extend into the distant past. The custom of using knotted strings as a device for keeping count of prayers is found in many religious traditions. Christians also used such means to help in the continuous repetition of biblical passages or other text. By the eleventh century, the custom of saying 150 Our Fathers as a substitute for the psalms was widespread among the devout laity. This "poor person's breviary" was often was divided, as was the Psalter, into three sets of fifty; the strings of beads used to count them were called "pater nosters" [Our Fathers].
In the twelfth century, as Marian piety increased, the Angelic Salutation from Luke's Gospel was added to these, and soon the words of Elizabeth at Mary's Visitation as well. The development of a "rosary" consisting primarily of Hail Mary's took place. The friars of the Dominican Order did the most to make it a general, popular prayer by propagating it through their preaching and the foundation of rosary confraternities, as well as by introducing a number of simplifications that standardized the prayer in its present form. Because of its practical simplicity and warmth it remains a widely popular prayer.

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THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY...

The Joyful Mysteries [Monday and Thursday]

1.The Annunciation (the angel announces to Mary she is to be the Mother of God)
2.The Visitation (Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth)
3.The Nativity (Jesus is born at Bethlehem)
4.The Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Temple
5.The Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple

Sorrowful Mysteries [Tuesday and Friday]

1.The Agony in the Garden
2.The Scourging at the Pillar
3.The Crowning with Thorns
4.Jesus Carries His Cross
5.The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

Glorious Mysteries [Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday]

1.The Resurrection of Our Lord from the Dead
2.The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven
3.The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
4.The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
5.The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven.

You may of course use any set of mysteries on any day,
but traditionally they are alternated depending on the day of the week as listed above.

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