Hi Whatevergirl,
there is also an organized way of praying the Rosary, based on membership in a Rosary prayer group or society. You need at least 20 members since there are 20 mysteries in the Rosary, and each member of the prayer group prays one decade focusing on one mystery, for one week. Then, they rotate the decade that they pray, each week. To keep track of who prays which mystery (which decade), each member keeps the illustration (a small picture) of the mystery that he/she prays during the week, and the members of the prayer group rotate these pictures among themselves every week. Praying one decade a day takes very little time, but membership in such a prayer group involves the commitment to pray your part, every day, for as long as you are part of the prayer group (society), and usually membership is for lifetime. Of course, the members of this Rosary society may pray more than one decade, such as perhaps 5 decades a day as their time permits, but they are bound by a commitment they made to pray their share of one decade a day. My mom, aunt, and sister have been members of the society for as long as I can remember, meaning that they made this commitment and have been praying their share of one decade (one mystery) every day. Although I also pray the Rosary occasionally, I did not enroll in the prayer group (society), because I know I lack the discipline to do something so regularly, i.e. daily for the rest of my life.
Praying the Rosary in this form I guess means perseverence, and is associated with great promises, the 15 promises for the person who prays it, but there’s yet more to it. Because whenever we pray the Rosary, we obtain graces not only for ourselves, but also for other people - see “O my Jesus, forgive our sins, save us from the fire of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy!” This little prayer which is recited at the end of each decade, was given by Our Lady to the seers of Fatima (Portugal) in 1917, and shows how the Rosary is a great prayer of intercession through which we will obtain graces for other people, too. My mom and aunt prayed the Rosary throughout the godless years of Communism (1944-1989) in Eastern Europe, and probably we should pray it now with a heightened fervor, here in the USA.
Yet another promise linked to the Rosary is this: whoever goes to Mass and takes Holy Communion in a state of grace, is free of attachment to all sin, and also recites loudly one full Rosary (5 decades) in the form of communal prayer (2 or more people praying together loudly in the Church), and also prays a prayer for the intention of the Pope, will obtain a full indulgence for his/her sins. Moreover, one can also choose to do this on behalf of a deceased person and obtain a full indulgence (release from the Purgatory) for the deceased person. If one prays less than 5 decades, or prays alone (not in community and aloud), or the person is not totally free from attachment to all sins (even venial), he/she will obtain a partial indulgence. For what I understand, if you pray the Rosary aloud in the Church or Chapel, together with at least one other person, that’s communal prayer as opposed to private prayer.
