Can the Rosary be prayed during the EF Low Mass Liturgy?

[TrueLight]

I think that we have to take this in tiny steps or we’ll end up all over the place here.

1. The rosary is much younger than the mass. For centuries, the mass existed before the rosary. The rosary does not become popular until the 14th century. For 14 centuries the faithful would not have prayed the rosary during mass.
2. Now we have to examine where it became common practice. Praying the rosary during mass became a common practice among Latin Catholic laypeople. It has always been prohibited in seminaries, monasteries, friaries, convents, priories and any other house where people are expected to have basic theological understanding of the mass.
3. Here is the crux of the matter. The Church never approved of the recitation of the rosary during mass. The lay faithful did it and the clergy looked the other way, because “the laity don’t know any better”. That was the attitude.
4. How do we know this was the attitude? If it had not been the case, every Latin Catholic would have been allowed to do so. This was not the case. Seminarians, clergy, friars, monks, nuns, religious brothers and sisters were not allowed, because they were expected to now more about the liturgy. Knowing more meant that they were expected to understand what the liturgy is really about.
5. This was really an attitude that had its roots in the fact that the lay faithful were not well educated in liturgy. They were taught the rubrics, the rites, the prayers and given a rote summary of what the mass is, “the unbloody sacrifice of Calvary.” The truth is this statement is part of a summary statement. The theology of the mass involves much more than this single sentence.
6. When we look at the theology of the mass, we realize that it’s a public prayer, whether you’re at a low mass that is quiet or an Ordinary Form mass which is interactive. Our attention should be focused on each part of the mass as we go along.
7. The rosary, on the other hand, is a private devotion, which is not even commonly shared by the universal Church. It is more common in the Latin Church. When you pray the rosary during the mass, you enter into another mode of prayer that is not shared prayer. Nor is the rosary the prayer of the Church. The prayer of the Church is liturgical prayer, the mass and the LOTH. In reality, you’re breaking communion with those around you.
8. We go to the altar as one people before one God to hear the one Word, offer the one sacrifice and receive the one Lord in the Eucharist.
9. While the rosary is a very powerful prayer, it is not liturgical.
10. Finally, we no longer live in an era where the Church looks the other way, because the layman doesn’t know better or can’t know better. Such an attitude today is condescending and offensive. The laity has the capacity to understand the difference between liturgy and private devotion, between public and private prayer, and it has the capacity to understand the full theology behind that simple statement that we learned in the Baltimore Catechism.
11. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of appropriateness. The mass is not the appropriate time for private devotion.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Sticky please! What an excellent explanation!

MartyrforJesus, thanks for starting this thread.

 

[MartyrForJesus]

Sticky please! What an excellent explanation!

MartyrforJesus, thanks for starting this thread.

Had no idea it would get to 60 replies!

 

[agnes_therese]

Pretty girls, the car repair bill, they guy behind me who didn’t brush his teeth. They all take away from attention. It’s not black and white. We can’t read people’s hearts.
-Tim-

True, there will always be accidental distractions. But that’s different. As much as I love the Rosary, I would feel I was being disrespectful to the Mass if I prayed it during Mass.

 

[JReducation]

Thanks all, especially Br. Jr, who clarified the situation.

I decided not to pray the Rosary during Low Mass today, because I opened the mini-Missal and on the first page was a quote from Pope St. Pius X saying:

I doubt that was a coincidence.

I have always liked that quote. Thanks for reminding me of it.

Sticky please! What an excellent explanation!

Would you settle for scotch tape?

True, there will always be accidental distractions. But that’s different. As much as I love the Rosary, I would feel I was being disrespectful to the Mass if I prayed it during Mass.

I don’t know if disrespectful is quite the word that I would use. As I said to a novice whom I observed with the rosary at mass.

“When mass is being celebrated, even Mary pays attention.”

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[agnes_therese]

I don’t know if disrespectful is quite the word that I would use. As I said to a novice whom I observed with the rosary at mass.

“When mass is being celebrated, even Mary pays attention.”

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

As I said, that’s how*** I*** would feel; and for that purpose, the word is a perfect description.
Again, speaking only for myself.

 

[ProVobis]

The Rosary has often been used by modern Martyrs and victims of persecution to give them the distance from their pains and suffering, so that they might struggle on and/or face their upcoming demise. It is a good, pious practice to say it before the mass, after the mass.

There are gaps in the OF, such as between readings, after the sermon, after the communion, sometimes as long as 5 minutes where one could easily pray at least a decade of the rosary. I’ve often wondered myself what proper meditation meant at these points. I know this, that I wouldn’t think of bringing rosary beads to church, but I can’t say I will never ever pray the rosary or a decade during Mass.

 

[Big_Feet]

The Rosary can be prayed at Holy Mass. That doesn’t mean it should be prayed at Holy Mass. The best way to pray the Holy Mass was told by Pope St. Pius X, who wrote “Don’t pray at Holy Mass, but pray the Holy Mass. The Holy Mass is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is the Sacrifice, dedicated by our Redeemer at the Cross, and repeated every day on the altar. If you wish to hear Mass as it should be heard, you must follow with eye, heart and mouth all that happens at the altar. Further, you must pray with the priest the holy words said by him in the Name of Christ and which Christ says by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens at the altar. When acting in this way, you have prayed Holy Mass.”

The best way to pray the Holy Mass is to follow the sacrifice and implore God to send down the graces of Calvary to your intention. The Rosary can definitely distract from this.

Why lower yourself to pray a prayer lesser than the one that you are already a part of?
Say a rosary before or after, but attend to the higher form when you are able. You would think even Mary would do this, right?

 

[JReducation]

I think that we’re all trying to say the same thing, but we’re failing to use the language of the Church.

The Church recognizes that the rosary is a powerful prayer and encourages it as a devotion for all Christians.

The Church does not acknowledge the rosary as public prayer. Even when it’s said in public with one million people at the same time, it remains private prayer.

The Church does not recognize the rosary as liturgical prayer.

The Church prohibits the inclusion of non-liturgical prayer into the mass.

The Church encourages the faithful in attendance at mass, to pray the mass, Latin Rite, Eastern Rites and any of their respective forms.

Praying the mass excludes private forms of prayer and devotions. The purpose of the silent spots in the OF is for reflection and recollection. These moments are deliberately built into the form for the purpose of reflecting on what is happening at that moment in the mass. The Church does not want the congregation to move forward to the next part or slip back to the previous part, because it breaks the communion of the body. The entire body is united in prayer. It’s not the priest and I. The “us” in the mass, in any form or any rite is everyone, including those who are not there, because the mass transcends space and time. Therefore, it includes you, the congregation around you, the priest, the saints and angels in heaven, the souls in purgatory, the little old lady who attended mass in Nebraska 200 years ago and the young mass who will be at mass on the Planet Venus in 300 years.

It is because of the breadth and scope of the mass that the rosary during the mass is inappropriate. The rosary does not equate to the same transcending reality. The rosary is you and Our Lady in prayer together. Our Lady does not want to pray with one person during the mass. At the mass, she too is united to the universal Church throughout the world and through time.

Disconnecting from the mass to pray the rosary is not logical, because you’re disconnecting from this eternal transcendent reality where the entire Mystical Body is united as one to enter into an intimate dialogue between you and the Mother of God. It becomes illogical, because you’re already linked to her through the mass. Remember, she was in the front row when the Gospel was being proclaimed. It was proclaimed to her first, before Jesus was conceived. She was in the front row on Calvary. She was on the front row at every Eucharist celebrated by the early Church.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Alfonsus]

There are gaps in the OF, such as between readings, after the sermon, after the communion, sometimes as long as 5 minutes where one could easily pray at least a decade of the rosary. I’ve often wondered myself what proper meditation meant at these points. I know this, that I wouldn’t think of bringing rosary beads to church, but I can’t say I will never ever pray the rosary or a decade during Mass.

My suggestion, be familiar with Lectio Divina, often.
You will see that Mass structure and Lectio Divina is almost exact paralel.
Mass is saturated with Word of God, those long silence moments are the most fruitful moments as during Lectio Divina.
Then suddenly, you will crave for those silent moments during Mass…

 

[gator1582]

The Church prohibits the inclusion of non-liturgical prayer into the mass.

Br. JR, OSF

Where exactly is this prohibition?

Pius XII says quite the opposite

papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12MEDIA.HTM

1. Many of the faithful are unable to use the Roman missal even though it is written in the vernacular; nor are all capable of understanding correctly the liturgical rites and formulas. So varied and diverse are men’s talents and characters that it is impossible for all to be moved and attracted to the same extent by community prayers, hymns and liturgical services. Moreover, the needs and inclinations of all are not the same, nor are they always constant in the same individual. Who, then, would say, on account of such a prejudice, that all these Christians cannot participate in the Mass nor share its fruits? On the contrary, they can adopt some other method which proves easier for certain people; for instance, they can lovingly meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ or perform other exercises of piety or recite prayers which, though they differ from the sacred rites, are still essentially in harmony with them.

 

[JReducation]

Where exactly is this prohibition?

Pius XII says quite the opposite

papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12MEDIA.HTM

This was Pope Pius’ opinion. The Congregation for Divine Worship overrules his opinion, since it is the more recent authority on liturgical matters and its position was approved by Bl. John Paul II. In the Breviary and in the Missal, the CDW is very clear as to what may be included in the mass or done during the mass and teh LOTH.

We have to be very careful in going back to things said by previous popes. Most their statements were made in a specific context. This particular statement was made at a time when most people did not understand the mass, because it was in Latin. This statement was actually made only for the Latin Church. It was never for the Universal Church. Since it was not for the Universal Church, but only for the Latin Church and it was to address a situation of his day, it is not binding on the Church. This gives the CDW the power and authority to specify what may or may not form part of the mass. Anything that is not liturgical prayer can be added or done during the mass or during the Divine Office. The pope signed off on those directives.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Thomas_Casey]

Question answered.

CLOSED