Advice for meditating during the Hail Mary's?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TK421
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TK421

Guest
Okay, please be generous with me.

I have started using the Hail Mary on different occasions and of course while doing the 5 decades of the rosary. The problem I’m facing is that I honestly don’t experience much closeness when I’m doing a Hail Mary versus an Our Father.

Whenever I say the Our Father prayer I feel comforted and closer to God without fail. It touches on everything from reverence to God (first part), to obedience to His will (second part) to prayer for continued aid and sustenance (third part) to forgiveness of sins (fourth part) to defense from future temptations and ultimate salvation (final part). It covers every base in a highly compressed, deeply rich prayer that never gets old.

Hail Mary is something new for me. It is not an issue of faith that I’m having with it (I believe in intercession), but the prayer simply doesn’t resonate in my heart the way the Our Father does, and many other prayers, to the point that saying it during the rosary almost feels like a distraction while I’m attempting to meditate on the mysteries. I know obedience trumps feelings, but I generally have the gift of experiencing intense closeness to God while I’m praying or meditating. The content of the Hail Mary doesn’t feel like it has any “moral theology” to it. I’m just repeating an introduction from Gabriel and then asking her to prayer for me over and over. Should I be looking at it a different way? Do you think this is just because I’m new at it and it’s not 2nd nature to me yet?
 
I try to think of (or look at) images of Jesus and imagine Mary sitting literally right next to me praying with me and thinking about the same thing. Imagine her sitting or kneeling and holding her own rosary.

Another thing that I have read is to imagine seeing Jesus during the different mysteries from the perspective of Mary. Imagine holding him as a baby or seeing him crucified from her vantage point and experience the emotions that she must have felt at the time.

Try to read the books written by or about Saints who had special devotion to Mary or read about the approved apparitions and imagine those. Imagine you are there and Mary appeared asking you to pray with her. After reading The Song of Bernadette, I will never make the sign of the cross the same again. The first thing she did in the book was to make a majestic/grand sign with meaning rather than mindlessly crossing.
 
When praying a rosary, you are combining vocal and mental prayer. You really don’t have to focus on the words of the Hail Mary…you are focusing on that particular mystery for the amount of time it takes you to pray those ten Hail Mary’s.

The Rosary Center www.rosary-center.org puts out a great little booklet called Praying the Rosary Without Distractions. I find it very helpful for meditating while praying the rosary. I believe it was only a couple of dollars. You might want to check it out.
 
Your spirit is teaching you how to pray…could there be a reason you’re not connecting with the hail mary prayer when saying the rosary ?

I believe so.

Mary NEVER wants to be in the way…she points you to her Son (just have faith that while you’re praying the hail mary…it’s a loving Mother that is working with you and holding your hand). She is so intimately connected to her Son ( a part of being a mother )…in her rosary… you are looking at Jesus from her eyes and her heart and meditating on His life, sacrifice and his connection to you and those you pray for.

I usually begin my rosary speaking to Mother for a few moments and asking her to open my mind and heart to see Jesus and the beautiful mysteries of His life (that she "ponderd in her heart) and ask her to pray for you the the holy spirit will come to you.

THe hail marys are “repetitious” in that they calm your breathing, clear your mind and help you to begin meditating on the GOOD STUFF…Jesus. The hail marys are simply aids and "I love you’s " that you repeat.

Use the hail marys to calm and center yourself and so you can look at the mysteries through Mary’s eyes. Place yourself in the mysteries from time to time and meet Jesus, you can even speak with Him there (remember that you’re dealing with an eternal God that sees past, present and future all at once…and so at each of these mysteries YOU WERE a part of them!..so by the same token, place yourself within them as you pray !)

THIS CAN BECOME VERY DEEP!
GOd bless
 
Id like to make one more point.

Mother, like any other mother…is VERY patient and really wants to teach and guide us into deeper relationship with God and a life of prayer.

I believe the rosary is set up specifically as it is for a reason! It’s outward appearance may seem very superficial, repetitious etc etc…but I think it is that way for a reason. The outside is “training wheels”. If you were to just say the prayers…THERE’S STILL MERIT. And some souls are only ready to go this far at first…AND that’s ok! There’s merit because the soul is taking the time to pray in their day, it can be boring so they may be making a sacrifice and dying to self, as they practice the rosary regularly…they begin to make prayer a regular part of the day. They then can begin going further…since they may not have the mind to meditate yet…they can at least say their hail marys while reading several biblical verses or looking at pictures of the mystery in the hopes of deepening their understanding of the mysteries so they will be able to meditate at some point…this continues until the soul “grows” and learns a contemplative spirit.

So , my point is… wherever you are … it’s very pleasing to god to see you working on this and I can promise you your Mother who loves you very much will help you grow and become more and more like her son!
 
If you truly love Mary and count on her her intercession you should love to pray the Hail Mary.
 
I often find my thoughts drifting to my intentions when praying the Rosary (of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary).

Recently I’ve begun to meditate on the Mysteries in a slightly different way. I view Mary (now) as timeless (as Her SON JESUS CHRIST), but I picture myself as praying to Her in Her time, through each of the Mysteries, it often puts my prayers and needs into perspective and (often) makes my needs seem petty and my prayers an intrusion, but I also often more connected and grateful.

I have [literally] placed lives (including, very often, my own) into Her care, and she has given them all back to me.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our seetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show us the blessed fruit of they womb, JESUS. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
 
Persevere in praying the Rosary every day (or night), no matter how unprofitable it may seem.
I’ve often been tempted to give up the Rosary, sometimes very badly.

I thank God that I’ve continued with it in recent years.
 
My Mom always said (from back when I was very young) that praying the Rosary was so important, that if you started it, and failed to finish, that Angels would complete it for you.

I regret leaving them to it many times, but I still pray the Rosary.
 
“When the Hail Mary is well said, that is, with attention, devotion and humility, it is, according to the saints, the enemy of Satan, putting him to flight; it is the hammer that crushes him, a source of holiness for souls, a joy to the angels and a sweet melody for the devout. It is the Canticle of the New Testament, a delight for Mary and glory for the most Blessed Trinity. The Hail Mary is dew falling from heaven to make the soul fruitful. It is a pure kiss of love we give to Mary. It is a crimson rose, a precious pearl that we offer to her. It is a cup of ambrosia, a divine nectar that we offer her. These are comparisons made by the saints.”
Paragraph 253 of Treatise On True Devotion To The Blessed Virgin by Saint Louis de Montfort
 
TK421 said:
I’m just repeating an introduction from Gabriel and then asking her to prayer for me over and over. Should I be looking at it a different way? Do you think this is just because I’m new at it and it’s not 2nd nature to me yet?
Click to expand...
’

The first half of the rosary comes from St. Gabriel and Mary’s cousin St. Elizabeth. There is plenty of theology in the prayer – we even refer to Mary as Mother of God and recognize ourselves as sinners in need of her intercession both now and at the hour of our death when the devils will be even more at us. When St. Gabriel says “Hail Mary” he is speaking as a messenger of God. God was the One Who gave Mary the specific name of Mary. God greeted Mary through his messenger St. Gabriel, so He was the first One ever to say the first part of the “Hail Mary” prayer (Gabriel just repeated His message: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou amongst women!). Love Blessed Mary with deepest devotion whenever you pray your Rosary, and soon praying the Rosary will become natural to you. Repeat the Hail Mary throughout your day. Our Lady told St. Mechtilde that hearing us say the Ave Maria to her gives her the greatest joy. God bless you.
 
I felt the same (actually with other prayers too), until I started to really focus, clear my mind, and read every single word very carefully. The ‘pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death’ is something really very powerful to me. As humans, we sin everyday. I know I do, and I see people around me; people who are close to me and strangers, also do something that is not pleasing to God. And as a catholic we’re taught not to condemn, not to hate, but to pray for sinners. Pray for them so they turn to God, so we can all be together in heaven 🙂 Think of people who are close to you, won’t you feel the joy having the blessed mother praying for you and those who are close to you?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top