The following explanation of the Glorious Mysteries is taken from the October 16, 2002 apostolic letter The Rosary of the Virgin Mary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae) by Pope John Paul II.

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES

“The contemplation of Christ’s face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!” The Rosary has always expressed this knowledge born of faith and invited the believer to pass beyond the darkness of the Passion in order to gaze upon Christ’s glory in the Resurrection and Ascension. Contemplating the Risen One, Christians rediscover the reasons for their own faith (cf. 1 Cor 15:14) and relive the joy not only of those to whom Christ appeared—the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus—but also the joy of Mary, who must have had an equally intense experience of the new life of her glorified Son. In the Ascension, Christ was raised to glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption, enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in glory—as she appears in the last glorious mystery—Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church.

At the centre of this unfolding sequence of the glory of the Son and the Mother, the Rosary sets before us the third glorious mystery, Pentecost, which reveals the face of the Church as a family gathered together with Mary, enlivened by the powerful outpouring of the Spirit and ready for the mission of evangelization. The contemplation of this scene, like that of the other glorious mysteries, ought to lead the faithful to an even greater appreciation of their new life in Christ, lived in the heart of the Church, a life of which the scene of Pentecost itself is the great “icon.” The glorious mysteries thus lead the faithful to greater hope for the eschatological goal towards which they journey as members of the pilgrim People of God in history. This can only impel them to bear courageous witness to that “good news” which gives meaning to their entire existence.

Prayed on: Wednesdays and Sundays

The Resurrection

And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.”

Mark 16:6

Fruit of the Mystery: Faith

The Ascension

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

Mark 16:19

Fruit of the Mystery: Hope

Pentecost: The Descent of the Holy Spirit    

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:4

Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

And when they met her they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, “You are the exaltation of Jerusalem, you are the great glory of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation! You have done all this singlehanded; you have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the Almighty Lord bless you for ever!” And all the people said, “So be it!”

Judith 15:9–10

Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death

The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Revelation 12:1

Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in Mary’s Intercession