Mystery by Mystery: A Rosary Prayer Companion
Windows & Linux: GitHub Releases
The Problem: Losing Your Place in Prayer
About five years ago, I prayed the rosary daily for a year—at least 365 times. I used a prayer book with a bookmark. It worked—until it didn’t. I’d get interrupted, lose my place, and not know whether I was on the third decade or the fourth. The prayer book also didn’t include the full Bible passages for each mystery, just brief titles. If I wanted to meditate on the actual scripture, I had to look it up separately.
There are also times when you want to pray but don’t have your beads—waiting at an appointment, sitting quietly before Mass, on a lunch break. The rosary is a prayer you can pray anywhere, and a digital companion can make that easier.
Mystery by Mystery solves both problems. It tracks your progress decade by decade—so you never lose your place—and includes a beadless mode so you can pray a rosary wherever you are, at any time.
What the App Does
Decade-by-Decade Tracking
The core of the app is a simple counter. Large +/- buttons advance you through the five decades of the rosary. The current mystery name, its scripture passage, and your position are always visible. If you need to stop after the second decade and come back later, your place is saved. No more lost bookmarks.
This is the feature I built the app around. You don’t have to pray all five decades in one sitting. Life interrupts. Mystery by Mystery lets you pick up exactly where you left off.
Full Scripture Passages
Each of the twenty mysteries includes the full Bible passage for meditation—not just a title like “The Agony in the Garden,” but the actual verses. Two public domain translations are available: the Catholic Public Domain Version (default) and the Douay-Rheims. Scripture text is collapsible so it’s there when you want it and out of the way when you don’t.
Beadless Mode
A virtual bead counter lets you pray without a physical rosary. The app tracks each Hail Mary within a decade, so you always know where you are. This is what makes the rosary truly portable—you can pray it with just your phone.
Prayer Text
All the prayers are built in: the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Hail Holy Queen, and the optional Fatima Prayer. Opening and closing prayer sections are collapsible and remember your preference. If you have the prayers memorized, collapse them. If you want the text visible, expand them. The app supports both traditional language (”thee/thy”) and modern language (”you/your”).
Two Progression Modes
Daily Schedule follows the traditional Catholic liturgical calendar—Joyful Mysteries on Monday, Sorrowful on Tuesday, and so on. Continuous Cycle moves through all four mystery sets in order: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, Glorious, then repeats. Choose whichever fits your practice.
History and Statistics
Every completed rosary is logged. The history screen shows your completions grouped by date, with statistics: total rosaries prayed, breakdown by mystery set, and current streak. Export your history as CSV or JSON if you want to keep records outside the app.
Designed for Accessibility
The primary audience for a rosary app skews older. The design reflects that: tap targets are 60+ points, text uses Georgia serif for readability, color schemes all pass WCAG AA contrast standards, and dark mode is fully supported. Three color themes—Parchment (warm prayer book aesthetic), Chapel (stone and stained glass), and Garden (peaceful greens)—let you choose what feels right.
Who It’s For
If you pray the rosary and have ever lost your place, wanted the scripture text at hand, or wished you could pray without beads, this app is for you. It’s simple by design. No social features, no gamification, no accounts. Just a quiet tool for prayer.
Download: iOS & macOS App Store | Google Play Store | Windows & Linux (GitHub Releases)
Related: PropaneTracker, HayTracker, and DevHours - other Code Pasture apps built with Planning-Driven Development
For the methodology behind building apps with AI, see Planning-Driven Development: The Single Biggest Productivity Multiplier with GenAI Agents.