Can I split my Rosary in half?

[beonthelevel]

Hi, sometimes I like to say my Rosary in 2 parts. I say 3 decades when I get up, and the remaining 2 before bed. Is there any problem with that? I did this a lot when I was very young, (8-13 years old) as a whole Rosary at that age seemed a bit long. My mother says it has to be said all at once or it doesn’t “count”. What do you think?

 

[LilyM]

If you want to gain an indulgence for saying the Rosary (which is a jolly good idea if you can) then you do indeed have to say five decades in one sitting.

Apart from that, if you say it in two sittings it’s fine and certainly ‘counts’ - heck, if you say one Hail Mary at a time it’s still fine. I’ve done the latter when doing telephone work - a ‘Hail Mary’ is the perfect length of time to allow a call to ring out

 

[lil_flower_luv]

Hm, I’ve never heard of doing that before! Interesting! But I agree with LilyM. God Bless!

 

[LilyM]

Hm, I’ve never heard of doing that before! Interesting! But I agree with LilyM. God Bless!

Well, it certainly helps you stay calm and sane - it’s easy to go crazy in that sort of a job. Not to mention that it’s a way of bringing God into the workplace :heaven:

 

[MissMichal]

No, there’s no problem doing it that way. In fact, five decades of the Rosary is technically only part of it anyway, so I don’t see any reason why you would lose indulgences or anything (I’ll consult my literature on this later). I like to go to weekday Mass and say my Rosary in the pew before the service starts, but sometimes I don’t make it all the way through before the priest walks in, and I just finish later. I also carry a single-decade in my pocket for the purpose of praying a mystery when I have time, e.g. waiting for a train or walking down the street. That said, it’s great if I can do five mysteries at once, because the 30-45 minutes that I spend on it seems to be the perfect length of time to spend in prayer morning or evening. Just a thought…

 

[LilyM]

No, there’s no problem doing it that way. In fact, five decades of the Rosary is technically only part of it anyway, so I don’t see any reason why you would lose indulgences or anything (I’ll consult my literature on this later). I like to go to weekday Mass and say my Rosary in the pew before the service starts, but sometimes I don’t make it all the way through before the priest walks in, and I just finish later. I also carry a single-decade in my pocket for the purpose of praying a mystery when I have time, e.g. waiting for a train or walking down the street. That said, it’s great if I can do five mysteries at once, because the 30-45 minutes that I spend on it seems to be the perfect length of time to spend in prayer morning or evening. Just a thought…

For the Plenary indulgence you would indeed lose the indulgence because it’s a condition of gaining it that five decades be said in one sitting! From the Enchiridion of Indulgences:

"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 continuously. … "

It’s like the indulgence for venerating (kissing) the Cross on Good Friday - you couldn’t gain that indulgence by doing the act on any other day, because it’s part of the conditions that it be done on Good Friday.

 

[beonthelevel]

I have a hard time swallowing the idea of “indulgences”. It means God forgives us for ours sins, but we still have to go to purgatory for a while for punishment. Unless, we have enough indulgences to cover our debt. I wonder how a person on earth can decide how many days indulgence we obtain, but after every prayer (written by a earthly hand) there is an assigned number of days indulgence. How can they know for sure?

 

[LilyM]

I have a hard time swallowing the idea of “indulgences”. It means God forgives us for ours sins, but we still have to go to purgatory for a while for punishment. Unless, we have enough indulgences to cover our debt. I wonder how a person on earth can decide how many days indulgence we obtain, but after every prayer (written by a earthly hand) there is an assigned number of days indulgence. How can they know for sure?

For starters we don’t use the system of ‘days’ any more - all indulgences are now simply described as plenary or partial. To do with people getting confused about what the ‘days’ were that are referred to. Hint - it doesn’t mean days off purgatory!

For seconds - of course they can discern such things, the same way they could discern in times past which writings (of human hands) are scriptural and which are not, that the Eucharist is really the Body and Blood of Christ, that there are seven sacraments and so on.

Christ promised the Holy Spirit to guide the Apostles and His church thereafter into all truth, including these sorts of truths about indulgences. He wouldn’t be doing His job if the Church got it wrong

 

[MissMichal]

For the Plenary indulgence you would indeed lose the indulgence because it’s a condition of gaining it that five decades be said in one sitting! From the Enchiridion of Indulgences:

"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 continuously. … "

It’s like the indulgence for venerating (kissing) the Cross on Good Friday - you couldn’t gain that indulgence by doing the act on any other day, because it’s part of the conditions that it be done on Good Friday.

Ah, I was thinking of a different set of indulgences, given to members of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary (more info at www.rosary-center.org):

ROSARY INDULGENCES
For members of the Rosary Confraternity, a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, is granted:
on the day of enrollment. (When application is made, a certificate of membership is sent, indicating the day of the enrollment.)
on the following feast days: Christmas, Easter, Annunciation, Purification, Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary, and Immaculate Conception.
For those who pray the Rosary, a plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions, when the Rosary is prayed in Church, or in a Public Oratory, in a family (family Rosary), Religious Community, or Pious Association. Otherwise a partial indulgence is granted.

This is an explanation of indulgences from the same website:

INDULGENCES IN GENERAL
An indulgence is the cancellation of temporal punishment due for sin, when the sin’s guilt has already been pardoned.
An indulgence is partial if it frees the Christian partially from the temporal punishment due for his sins, plenary if it frees him wholly.
Both partial and plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead, but only by way of suffrage.
Since the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI on Indulgences, a partial indulgence is no longer expressed in reference to time, i.e. days or years.
A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day, except by those on the threshold of death.
To gain a plenary indulgence the person must perform the indulgenced act, and satisfy these conditions: Sacramental Confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope’s intention, and freedom from all attachment to sin, even venial sin. If this detachment is not present, or if any of the above conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence is partial.

 

[MarieVeronica]

The Rosary, in it’s entirety is composed of 15-20 decades. The original 15 decades… being the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. And later, Pope John Paul II added another 5 decades… known as the Luminous Mysteries.

Technically… the Rosary is already “broken up” into the praying of 5 decades a day. In other words, most people pray (5) certain Mysterys… on certain days.

In his book “The Secret of the Rosary” by St. Louis De Montfort… (page 15)… he recommends to children, that they try to say at least 5 decades of the Rosary. He doesn’t mention “breaking them up”… so, I think he means… all at once. Of course, he also makes a sort of assumption that adults are saying a full 15.

But my understanding of prayer… is that ALL prayers “count”. I would suggest that you do your best. And perhaps over time, you will be able to say the entire 5 decades together. Personally, I have found that rising a little earlier in the morning… so that I have the time for 5 decades… has been tremendously helpful. I hope one day, to actually have the time (and discipline) to sit and say all 20 decades at once. But I know that my current efforts “count”. As yours do.

God bless you, dear soul.

 

[goforgoal]

Hi, sometimes I like to say my Rosary in 2 parts. I say 3 decades when I get up, and the remaining 2 before bed. Is there any problem with that? I did this a lot when I was very young, (8-13 years old) as a whole Rosary at that age seemed a bit long. My mother says it has to be said all at once or it doesn’t “count”. What do you think?

When I was at a weekend retreat at the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. Sister explained to us that you don’t have to Pray the Rosary in one sitting. You can say a decade or two in the morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one before going to bed.

Hmm, I think what counts is your dedicating your time, love, and devotion to Our Blessed Mother and Our Lord whether it is one sitting or if you Pray the Rosary in two parts.

My Uncle informed some of my family members that you have to kneel to Pray or it doesn’t “count.” What about our Saintly friends who when ill or/and dying could no longer kneel but still Prayed?

associatedcontent.com/article/1667243/seven_tips_for_praying_the_rosary.html

Keep Praying the Rosary & God bless,
goforgoal