Can non-Catholics explain what the Rosary focuses on?

[Andruschak]

Well,You hail Mary 50 times and you oh my Jesus 5 times. Sounds like the focus is on Mary.

This overlooks the meditive aspect of the rosary. One meditates on the mysteries. But how long should you meditate? The HMs function very much as a pacing device. They slow down the pace of going through the rosary.

Yup, I was a Protestent who didn’t understand that. But now that I recite the rosary daily, with one hand moving the beads, the other hand petting a cat, speaking the prayers, and focusing on the Life Of Jesus, I understand better what St. Montfort was talking about

I’ve heard some say the Rosary takes about 14 minutes to recite. I seem to take 30 minutes, which includes a couple of optional prayers.

 

[Jeanette_L]

I’ve heard some say the Rosary takes about 14 minutes to recite. I seem to take 30 minutes, which includes a couple of optional prayers.

I’ve been know to spend an hour at times, I get caught up in one or two of the mysteries and linger there awhile. That’s the beauty of it. The beads are a guide, not a chain. You are as free as you are in any prayer. God doesn’t mind if you stay a while longer. As a matter of fact, I think He said that it is choosing the better part.

People seem to be so anxious to criticize or tear down the Rosary, they don’t stop and really think about what it actually is. Sometimes they simply don’t want to.

 

[Zooey]

The rosary is about the life of Christ. The problem with a lot of non-Catholics, IMHO, is that they don’t *want *to believe that, because it would mean giving up a favorite prejudice…
I loved the rosary long before I understood it…I found my first one recently. I bought it when I was a teen, & thought it had long since been sucked into the vortex of time & space that I call a house…The crucifix is showing age–badly; its gilding has worn off, & brass is not a pretty color! But the rest seems to have been made from that gold-colored aluminum that you used to be able to find all over back then (when Wild Poodles Roamed The Earth). It looks fine. So do the beads ( white plastic).
I wondered, when I saw it, what made me choose that one, over any other. I honestly can’t remember…
I only know that I am glad to see that rosary, to remind me that even when I was very young & very, very foolish, my instincts were right on something!!

 

[LilyM]

I’ve been know to spend an hour at times, I get caught up in one or two of the mysteries and linger there awhile. That’s the beauty of it. The beads are a guide, not a chain. You are as free as you are in any prayer. God doesn’t mind if you stay a while longer. As a matter of fact, I think He said that it is choosing the better part.

People seem to be so anxious to criticize or tear down the Rosary, they don’t stop and really think about what it actually is. Sometimes they simply don’t want to.

Lately I’ve been spending 5 decades meditating on each mystery rather than just one - seems to be a good way for me to go deeper into each one. I can take anywhere from about 20 to 25 minutes to say a Rosary (not that I’ve got a stopwatch by me) - that includes the beginning prayers and a Memorare and Prayer to St Michael at the end.

 

[Lampo]

Fr. John Corapi says, “that the prayer of the Rosary is the prayer of the Gospel. That is why it is so powerful. When we pray the Rosary, we are praying the Gospel. The Gospel or “Good News” is Jesus Christ: Infinite Power!”

 

[bella5110]

Fr. John Corapi says, “that the prayer of the Rosary is the prayer of the Gospel. That is why it is so powerful. When we pray the Rosary, we are praying the Gospel. The Gospel or “Good News” is Jesus Christ: Infinite Power!”

I love Father Corapi Now his is a story for all non-believers, because he too was one. Do you know his story?? I have his tapes.

 

[Steadfast]

The meditations of the Rosary focus on events from the life of Christ and His Mother.

Protestants don’t have a problem with this part of it, or, they shouldn’t anyway.

 

[Lampo]

I love Father Corapi Now his is a story for all non-believers, because he too was one. Do you know his story?? I have his tapes.

I listen to him a lot on Catholic radio.

 

[JimO]

Well,You hail Mary 50 times and you oh my Jesus 5 times. Sounds like the focus is on Mary.

We don’t “hail Mary”, the angel Gabriel (God’s messenger) hailed Mary. It is a quote from Scripture, repeating what Gabriel said and what Elizabeth (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said. Think about it, both God’s messenger and a woman whom Scripture said was inspired by the Holy Spirit both said “blessed are you among women”.

Anyway, the prayers of the rosary (most of the Hail Mary and the Our Father) are direct quotes from Scripture. But, the point of the rosary is to enter into an extended meditative prayer on Jesus and His work of salvation. It is one of the few ways that I know of to remain in an extended state of prayer that allows me to focus my attention on the Lord.

 

[bella5110]

I listen to him a lot on Catholic radio.

You must send away for his tapes. They tell an interesting story of what led him to the priesthood and to Our Lord.
Do you have the television station EWTN? He is on there every night at 8:00 Eastern time.

 

[jmcrae]

Yesterday, I led the Rosary in public for the first time in my life, so I was very conscious of the timing (it has to be completed before the Angelus bell starts to ring) - I started at precisely 20 minutes before 12, and we finished with two minutes to spare before the Angelus - so it takes us 18 minutes, with the additional prayers that we use in our particular setting - we begin with the Prayer for Vocations - the one that starts “Why stand ye here all the day idle? Ask the Lord of the harvest …” and we finish with the Hail Holy Queen, Rosary prayer, St. Michael prayer, Invocation of the Sacred Heart, and the shorter prayer for the dead (“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord …”).

It could be shorter, but we have a lot of ESL people in our group, and we take it a bit slower than I’ve heard elsewhere, for their sake. (Some places I go, I can’t even understand what they’re saying, they go so fast, and I’m a native English speaker.)

 

[Lampo]

You must send away for his tapes. They tell an interesting story of what led him to the priesthood and to Our Lord.
Do you have the television station EWTN? He is on there every night at 8:00 Eastern time.

I might get his tapes sometime. No, I don’t get to watch him on EWTN. We haven’t had cable or satellite in over four years.

 

[bella5110]

I might get his tapes sometime. No, I don’t get to watch him on EWTN.

We haven’t had cable or satellite in over four years.

Why not??

 

[joshua_b]

We don’t “hail Mary”, the angel Gabriel (God’s messenger) hailed Mary. It is a quote from Scripture, repeating what Gabriel said and what Elizabeth (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said. .

I felt this was worth repeating. I find it rather odd that “Bible-only” christians, who claim to put so much merit into the Scriptures, completely miss the point of the Hail Mary. If they love the Scripture as the Word of God, then why is it that they seem to react as if these words are “less important”, because the Hail Mary is pretty much a direct meditation on God’s Word ?

 

[Steadfast]

I felt this was worth repeating. I find it rather odd that “Bible-only” christians, who claim to put so much merit into the Scriptures, completely miss the point of the Hail Mary. If they love the Scripture as the Word of God, then why is it that they seem to react as if these words are “less important”, because the Hail Mary is pretty much a direct meditation on God’s Word ?

Hang on, let me check my Bible for the part that says, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.”

 

[seeker_b]

When I was a Protestant, I was told that the Rosary was a repetitious prayer to Mary and was a form of worship of her. The Rosary beads were considered idols of Marian worship, which we ultimately believed was devil worship. We believed that Catholics were deceived by Satan into worshipping a demonic spirit in the form of Mary.

We never, ever bothered to look into what the Rosary actually was. We believed everything we were told, and rejected Catholics and their practices as non Christians.

Once I started researching all things Catholic for myself, I felt that I had been extremely betrayed by all those who had taught me Christianity up to this point, it was horrifying all that I had been taught that was completely false and a lot was vicious, and that’s being generous.

I find the Rosary absolutely beautiful now. I find new things in each of the mysteries each time I meditate on them. I am very grateful that I haven’t lived my whole life and into the grave without knowing the truth about the great Catholic devotions that I had been missing, and am able to benefit from them now.

Truth is always better than a lie.

I loved your story. A lot of it rang true with me. I still think that people I know would rather be put in a vat of hot oil than walk into a Catholic Church. I don’t know why they are so afraid of exploring other faiths. I’m glad I did and found out the truth for myself not what I had been taught.

 

[Jeanette_L]

Hang on, let me check my Bible for the part that says, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.”

So, if a prayer is predominately scripture, but one phrase isn’t, that makes the whole prayer null and void or somehow not appropriate? So, how many times have you prayed and added something that was not a direct quote from the Bible?

When Catholics claim that the Rosary is a meditation from the Scriptures and most of what is repeated comes directly from the Bible, and then you pick out one phrase that isn’t from the Bible, is that supposed to disqualify all the other Scriptures in that prayer? Do you understand how unreasonable this is and how it makes your arguments look?

 

[Jeanette_L]

I loved your story. A lot of it rang true with me. I still think that people I know would rather be put in a vat of hot oil than walk into a Catholic Church. I don’t know why they are so afraid of exploring other faiths. I’m glad I did and found out the truth for myself not what I had been taught.

It’s funny, when I have in the past tried to talk to my family about the Rosary, they get this glazed over look in their eyes and their faces go blank and I can tell they completely shut down their brains so they don’t have to process what I’m trying to explain. They then go into the same old prepared arguments, no real thinking on their parts, not even in response to anything remotely that I have just said, it’s just like they were reading it all out of the standard play book.

It always reminds me of that girl years ago on Saturday Night Live who used to stick her fingers in her ears and say “lalalalalalalalalalala” real loud so she didn’t have to hear what people were saying to her and she could go on living her life thinking and believing what she wanted.

So, I just don’t bother discussing anything anymore, including the Rosary. I have to make sure I don’t have one lying around or out in the open when I’m in their presence or the day can turn very chilly.

So, if they want to know anything, they know where to find me. They’re simply more comfortable not knowing. So I just pray the Rosary even more than I would have before. That’ll get 'em! There’s power in that prayer!

 

[Steadfast]

So, if a prayer is predominately scripture, but one phrase isn’t, that makes the whole prayer null and void or somehow not appropriate? So, how many times have you prayed and added something that was not a direct quote from the Bible?

Not at all, and it wasn’t my point to suggest that it was.

My point was that it’s a bit disengenuous to say,
"JimO:

We don’t “hail Mary”, the angel Gabriel (God’s messenger) hailed Mary. It is a quote from Scripture, repeating what Gabriel said and what Elizabeth (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said. Think about it, both God’s messenger and a woman whom Scripture said was inspired by the Holy Spirit both said “blessed are you among women”.

and,

joshua_b:

I find it rather odd that “Bible-only” christians, who claim to put so much merit into the Scriptures, completely miss the point of the Hail Mary. If they love the Scripture as the Word of God, then why is it that they seem to react as if these words are “less important”, because the Hail Mary is pretty much a direct meditation on God’s Word ?

When Catholics claim that the Rosary is a meditation from the Scriptures and most of what is repeated comes directly from the Bible, and then you pick out one phrase that isn’t from the Bible, is that supposed to disqualify all the other Scriptures in that prayer? Do you understand how unreasonable this is and how it makes your arguments look?

In my post #27 I acknowledged that the mysteries are meditations upon events recorded in the Gospels and furthermore that, as such, no Protestant should have any difficulty them them.

So, it would appear that the “unreasonable argument” you’ve adduced is not even mine since it rests on an assumption of what I meant and what I said when, in reality, I neither said nor meant anything like what you assume.

 

[dosdog]

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.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.Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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.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.O my Jesus, forgive us of our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.

Joyful Mysteries: (Mondays and Saturdays. Also Sundays in Advent). [1] Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin and the Incarnation of Our Lord. [2] Visitation of the Blessed Virgin to Her Cousin, St. Elizabeth. [3] Birth of Our Lord. [4] Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of the Our Lady. [5] The Child Jesus Lost and Found in the Temple.

Luminous Mysteries: (Thursdays). [1] The Baptism of Our Lord. [2] The Wedding at Cana. [3] The Proclamation of the Kingdom. [4] The Transfiguration of Our Lord. [5] The Institution of the Eucharist.

Sorrowful Mysteries: (Tuesdays and Fridays. Also Sundays in Lent). [1] The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden. [2] The Scourging of Our Lord at the Pillar. [3] The Crowning of Our Lord with Thorns. [4] The Carrying of the Cross. [5] The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord.

Glorious Mysteries: (Wednesdays and ordinary Sundays). [1] Resurrection of Our Lord. [2] Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven. [3] Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Our Blessed Mother. [4] Assumption of Our Blessed Mother into Heaven. [5] Coronation of Our Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven.