Hey Sharon

Things have been just a little

So to start you make the "sign of the cross", pick up the cross on the rosary, make your "profession of Faith" (again lemme know), then the next bead up is an "Our Father", then three "Hail Marys", then in between the last "Hail Mary" bead and what obviously should be an "Our Father" bead (it is), say your "Glory Be" and your "Oh my Jesus" (again just lemme know), THEN do your "Our Father", then sorta skip the metal piece that's an image of Mary and go all the way around in the normal way (ten Hail Marys and an Our Father etc.) till you're "done" and get back to the metal piece. Then say another "Glory Be" and another "Oh my Jesus", then finish off with your "Hail Holy Queen" and you're done

So I figured I'd just offer the variation I grew up with.

On the Crucifix you make the sign of the cross followed by the Apostle's Creed. On the first bead you pray the Our Father. On the middle three beads you pray the Hail Mary. On the last bead you pray the Glory Be (Some people pray the Fatima Prayer, I was never taught to do so).On this bead you also announce the first Mystery of the Rosary (There are 4 sets of Mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous) Each set has 5 Mysteries. Each decade of the rosary is supposed to be dedicated to a different Mystery.) Once the first Mystery is announced you use the same bead to pray the Our Father. You then following the decade praying the Hail Mary 10 times. The beads in between decades are used to finish the decade by praying the Glory Be, announce the next Mystery, and begin the next decade by praying the Our Father. The Rosary itself is finished off praying the Hail Holy Queen and the sign of the cross.

At the Catholic school I went to, every year in May we formed a human Rosary and prayed the whole Rosary, all 20 Mysteries/Decades, outside for the Parish. It was essentially grade schoolers and senior citizens, and boy was it a spectacle to behold. Especially when the second graders, who were on the verge of making their first communions, forgot the words to the prayers. Come to think of it we used to Pray the Rosary every day during May, (Possibly October?), Lent, and Advent.

You actually expect me to remember all that?? Hello !!! Swiss cheese brain here...

It looks a lot harder than it actually is.