For the Five First Saturdays the full rosary is said with one group of mysteries (usually Joyful because the Joyful Mysteries are said on Saturday). Then 15 minutes are spent meditating on all 15 mysteries preferably in order.

A great history of the rosary can be found here, at the Dominican rosary center.

To prepare:
1. On the stem of the rosary, starting at the cross, make the sign of the cross, say the Creed, an Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, a Glory Be.
   
   The Basic Rosary:
2. For the 5 sets of 11 beads, meditate on the mystery for that 'decade' and then say: an Our Father, 10 Hail Marys. End with a Glory Be and Petition to Jesus (there are no beads for these prayers).
3. Optionally finish by saying the Hail Holy Queen.
4. Make the sign of the cross and kiss the precious Jesus on the crucifix.

Sacristan: She said, "The Lord does not like prayers we make in a rush or mechanically." Because of that She recommended praying of the Rosary with the reading of bible citations and that we put into practice the Word of God. ~ Our Lady of Nicaragua, 1980****

1. Sign of the Cross (with the cross)
2. Preparation on the cross: Apostle's Creed
3. Preparation on the 5 beads of the stem: One Our Father and 3 Hail Marys* and a Glory Be
4. The 5 decades of beads**:
Meditation on the Mystery of the decade
Our Father,
10 Hail Mary's
Glory Be
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee
Oh My Jesus (Fatima Prayer)

5. Optional Hail Holy Queen and the Memorare 6. Prayer After the Rosary: O God, Whose only-begotten So....

*(for Faith, Hope, and Charity - the theological virtues which must be given by God)
**It's actually a decade plus an extra bead surrounded by spaces for an Our Father.

Those who have been saying the rosary daily for a while will say there is no going back. That time with our heavenly mother for counsel, comfort and guidance is, at first, wonderful, and later, essential.

I don't want [the Rosary] prayed only in the month of May. I want it to be prayed permanently, within the family, including the children old enough to understand; to be prayed [every day] at a set hour when there are no problems with the work or in the home. ~ Our Lady of Nicaragua, 1980****

Fifteen promises of Our Lady to Christians who recite the rosary (from the Sisters of Carmel, Given to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan)

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
3. The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

I saw another group ...with some luminous rosaries in their hands....One of them carried a very large open book. He would read, and after listening they silently meditated. They appeared to be as if in prayer. After this period of prayer in silencethey then prayed the Our Father and ten Hail Mary's. I prayed with them. When the Rosary was finished, Our Lady said to me: "These are the first one to whom I gave the Rosary. That is the way that I want all of you to pray the Rosary." (Read a scripture, meditate, then pray) ~ Our Lady of Nicaragua, 1980****

There is a plenary (full) indulgence (remission of punishment due to God) granted for the recitation of the rosary in a group at home or in public.

From the Enchiridion of Indulgences :
A plenary indulgence is granted if the Rosary is recited in a church or public oratory or in a family group, a religious Community or pious Association; a partial indulgence is granted in other circumstances (such as saying it alone or silently).

The gaining of the plenary indulgence is regulated by the following norms:
1) The recitation of a third part only of the Rosary suffices; but the five decades must be recited [aloud] continuously.
2) The vocal recitation must be accompanied by pious meditation on the mysteries.
3) In public recitation the mysteries must be announced in the manner customary in the place; for private recitation, however, it suffices if the vocal recitation is accompanied by meditation on the mysteries.

Also required are:
1) Be free from attachment to any venial sin.
2) REceive Communion on the day you gain the Plenary Indulgence
3) Go to Confession 7 days before or after the day of the Plenary Indulgence
4) Say some prayers for the Pope's intentions (like an Our Father and a Hail Mary)

Many churches have group rosary times.

Some convents opens their chapels to the public for group rosaries ( the dioceses don't necessarily know about them).

People often form block or neighborhood rosaries where they meet once a week to pray the rosary together.

And, of course, there is nothing more powerful and more beautiful than the family that says the rosary together.

The rosary is a wonderful way to end the evening, doing an examination of conscience with the sweetest most loving mother, one who will help you get to heaven and give you grace in the areas where you are weak or failed that day.

Here, from www.audiosancto.org, a priest quotes St. Louis de Monfort from the Secret of the Rosary and talks about the power of Group Prayer:

"God is very pleased to have people gathered together in prayer. All the angels and the blessed unite to praise him unceasingly. Our Lord expressly recommended this practice to his apostles and disciples and He promised that whenever there would be two or three gathered in His name He would be there in the midst of them. That is why the first Christians met so often to pray together in spite of the persecutions of the emperors who had forbidden them to assemble...they preferred to risk death rather than miss their gatherings where the Lord was present.

"Praying in common is of the greatest benefit to us because, when we pray in common, the prayer of each one belongs to the whole group to make all together one prayer. So that if one person is not praying well, someone else in the same gathering who is praying better makes up for his deficiency.

"One who says his rosary alone only gains the merits of one rosary, but if he says it with 30 other people he gains the merit of 30 rosaries. That's the law of public prayer. How profitable. How advantageous this is...

"Public prayer is more powerful than private prayer to appease the anger of God, to call down His mercy. "...

Listen to the whole sermon from http://www.audiosancto.org on mp3. Download it here.

Love each other. Fulfill your obligations. Make peace. Don't ask our Lord for peace because if you do not make it there will be no peace. Renew the Five First Saturdays. You received many graces when all of you did this. Sacristan: "Before the war we used to do this. --- We went to Confession and Communion every First Saturday of the month. --- But since the Lord already had freed us from the shedding of blood in Cuapa, we no longer continued this practice. Then She said: "Nicaragua has suffered much since the earthquake. She is threatened with even more suffering. She will continue to suffer if you don?t change. --- Pray! Pray, my son, the Rosary for all the world. Tell believers and non-believers that the world is threatened by grave dangers. I ask the Lord to appease His Justice, but if you don't change, you will hasten the arrival of a Third World War." ~ Our Lady of Nicaragua, 1980****

Words to The Prayers of the Rosary

The Apostles' Creed (a short creed):

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

The Hail Mary - The Psalter Plus:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

This short prayer is simply the praise-filled greetings of the angel followed by a short plea for her intercession for us.

The Our Father:

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

The Glory Be (Gloria Patri, a doxology):

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

A doxology is a short prayer of praise of God.

Fatima Prayer:

Oh my Jesus, Forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven especially those most in need of your mercy.

This short ejaculation was added to the end of the decades at the request of the Blessed Mother at Fatima. She asked for the beginning up to "lead all souls to heaven" and the church authorities asked the children to ask her if they could add "especially those most in need of your mercy" to which she agreed.

Hail Holy Queen (optional ending prayer):

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile, show unto 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.
If in a group, the above can split between leader and group. In private the person praying says both.

Prayer After the Rosary:

O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His Life, Death and Resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech You, that, meditating upon these Mysteries of 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. May the divine assistance remain always with us.
R. Amen.

V. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.



More Links

History of the Rosary

Sisters of Carmel on the Rosary

The Dominicans on the Origins and Development of the Rosary

>Catholic Encyclopedia's article on the Rosary

>Message of Fatima

Other Versions of the Mysteries

Completely Scriptural Mysteries

Mysteries from the Marian Bible

EWTN's Mysteries and Article on the Rosary

Truly Lovely Scriptural Versions of Rosary Mysteries

Rick Salbato's dramatic retellings of the Mysteries include revelations

Rosary-center.org's Article on Fatima, on the Five First Saturdays and their Mysteries with pretty pictures. Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous, Glorious