Connecting with Mary

MaryandJesus · Feb 23, 2011

Okay, I’m 13 and I recently became very interested in being Catholic and wanting to be
commited to my Faith more than ever. I started praying the Rosary each day, but I’ve
been having struggles with it. I think I am simply too focused on trying to meditate on the mysteries that I cannot truly open my heart to God and be in the spiritual presence of my Blessed Mother, who I feel a strong love and honor for. It’s highly discouraging. I always mess up and end up saying 11 or 9 Hail Mary’s instead of the 10. It makes me doubt Mary’s existence and I know how awful that is. I want to be Her Child, to talk with Her and be under her loving care, and let Her bring me closer to the Lord. But I cannot do this - I’ve been at it for 4 1/2 months. Can you please help me and encourage me? Any stories like my own would help me

Barbkw · Feb 23, 2011

I’ve never been able to meditate on the life of Christ and mentally pray at the same time.

I prefer to read the Scriptural Rosary in which a passage is spoken or read and then one Hail Mary is recited.

holyspiritinteractive.net/prayers/therosary/sr_thejoyfulmysteries.asp

Or, I mediate on a section of Christ’s life and later I’ll say a Hail Mary.

RosaryFan · Feb 23, 2011

Your dilemma is quite common. Most of the time, I have trouble concentrating when I’m saying the Rosary. Life has a lot of distractions, so it is normal. And our Blessed Mother understands that! Don’t doubt her existence - she’s there! Really!! Just try your best and if a day or two pass and you find that you haven’t meditated on the mysteries as deeply as you could have, don’t let it get you down. Just remember that tomorrow is another day.

It may help to try and say your Rosary at a quiet time of the day when you have some time to sit and concentrate. If you’re always saying the Rosary while you’re on the run, distractions will get the best of you.

Also, there are those few instances (and I mean “few”) when I feel like I’ve really contemplated the life of our Lord and actually feel like I’m there with Him throughout the entire Rosary. This cannot happen every day. It is a special gift and wouldn’t be nearly as special if it were so common. So you are not alone. Every human being on earth suffers what you’ve described. Please don’t let it discourage you.

millersatthefar · Feb 23, 2011

Relax! These things take time. Congratulations and keep it up.

ThankUMaria · Feb 23, 2011

Quit your stupid whining.

roveau · Feb 23, 2011

You are doing very well actually. If you find it is a trial, go for a while where you do one decade of the rosary every day. It’s better to do one decade well than struggle through five decades and end up being frustrated.

I quite often lose track and may add an extra Hail Mary if I am not sure, I know that I must have dropped a Hail Mary so now and then too.

I found scriptural passages available on the internet for the Rosary (google it). One scriptural passage for each Hail Mary for all the Mysteries. This helps with the meditation, the counting and keeps the mind on the job… but…

My mind often wanders. So now every time an intrusive subject pops into my mind I stop to say a quick prayer about whatever the topic my brain thought up and then carry on the Rosary. For example if something that happened during the day intrudes I will ask God to help me with that situation in the future; if the subject of a person comes up, I ask God to bless that person. I find this cuts short the brain intrusions plus I get extra prayers in to God to aid myself or help others.

I pray that God will assist you in this good cause.

po18guy · Feb 23, 2011

You might try some of the Mp3 Rosaries on this site. Better yet, try Come Pray The Rosary for the experience of praying with others worldwide. When you allow others to lead, it frees you up to contemplate. Also, you could try placing yourself in God’s presence before you begin, so that you need not concern yourself with it during contemplation.

Yes, also relax, as the Lord knows your heart and does not expect you to master prayer or become a mystic in such a short time. Many Saints felt that their prayers were not offered correctly. Have patience with yourself just as God has patience with you.

May the Lord bless you.

mark_a · Feb 23, 2011

You are doing awesomely well for a 13 year old. Congrats!!

UnityofTrinity · Feb 23, 2011

What I’ve found while praying the rosary recently is that instead of trying and use all your mental energy to think and imagining, I simply try to pray. St. Louis de Monfort in his work “The Secret of the Rosary” said that praying the rosary does not require much thoughts nor extensive imaginations, but just a good intention Faith alone is sufficient. When I stop trying to meditate, yet try to pray, the images and the meditation came to me and flowed through me naturally, so great that sometimes I teared my eyes or even lost in time.

simple_soul · Feb 23, 2011

*I agree with mark a.
This is awesome. My heart sung when my daughter asked me to teach her how to pray other prayers and so we started to pray the Rosary together. Now we have dragged her brothers along for the ride.

I do not know if this will help but, in regards to your struggles, when I was young and just learning the rosary I also found it very frustrating to try and contemplate/meditate on the mysteries. So what I started to do was site the mystery that I was on, think about it for a second and then concentrate on the prayers instead. Like the Hail Mary and the Our Father, I reflect on what I am actually saying to them through these prayers.
To this day I believe I still pray the rosary this way but I have also added in the scripture quotes like someone else mentioned earlier.

To me just the fact that you want to be Our Blessed Mother Mary’s child and under her care tells me that you already are. You already know something about her loving and nurturing care that you desire it. Just keep following the desire…

I hope this helps and even though you may be discouraged just try to say it as much as you can the best way that you can. God and His Mother know we are not perfect and that we are works in progress.
God bless you and be with you always… *

PrayHarder · Feb 23, 2011

Good job praying the rosary for 4.5 months. Remember, God works according to His time, not yours. Perhaps it will be more months, years, or an entire lifetime before you feel comfortable, open, and at peace while praying the rosary. But it all works according to God’s plan.

You should meditate on the Fourth Joyful Mystery and think of Saint Simeon. He waited in the temple almost his entire life before finally seeing Jesus. This story reminds us that God has His reasons why the road is longer and harder for some of us. Perhaps He knows you’ll ultimately become a stronger person in faith if you keep praying the rosary even when you become distracted.

on_eagles_wingz · Feb 24, 2011

I hope you were just being funny.

on_eagles_wingz · Feb 24, 2011

I admire you for your devotion at such a young age. When I feel great love for Mary while praying the rosary I meditate on her amazing radiance and beauty and her sorrowful heart that loves us all so deeply that words cannot express. I know we should be meditating on the mysteries and I usually do but sometimes I want to just feel that love between me and my blessed mother. It is a very special feeling that always brings tears to my eyes and I can feel her love radiate through my soul. I know that to some that might sound a bit too much but you have to understand that a few years ago I was an empty shell of a person and Mary helped bring me back to God and made me know what it feels like to be loved again. Thank you Mother!

I hope this helps you some.

Gabriel

Also, I don’t know if you believe in this sort of thing but I had one of my rosaries start to turn gold. I also know others whose rosaries have completely turned gold (the chain links only, not the beads). Not everyone believes that its a miracle but I’ve yet to hear the opinion of a metallurgist who has studied this strange phenomenon.

crystal_waters · Feb 24, 2011

i have that problem with meditating and praying too lol

first things first, have you got rosary beads?..they would help you keep count of where you are up to in the rosary?

secondly download free rosary mp3 from the internet, …theres regular and scriptural so you may be better off with scriptural…then you can load it on to an mp3 player or put it on a blank cd and pray along…ewtn have tons of free downloads…

i think you are doing very well…keep up the good work:thumbsup:

puzzleannie · Feb 24, 2011

so what? do you think she cares if you say one prayer more or less?
do you think your own mother would care if you said, “Mom, luv ya” 9 times instead of 10?

Don’t try to pray too long, and don’t make it harder than it is. It is easier to meditate if you read a short section of the scripture about the mystery before you begin a new decade, or just remember the story if you don’t have a bible handy. If you forget the mystery that’s okay, just start praying. If you mind wanders, don’t worry. if you lose track of the beads, don’t worry. The point is you spent some time with your Mother having a conversation about her favorite topic, Her Son, and what He can do for you.

ThankUMaria · Feb 24, 2011

No, I’m darn serious. That stupid kid has no right to complain that Mary won’t answer their selfish little requests (she probably says "Mary, make (boy’s name) like me or Mary, make me have bigger boobs).
Mary doesn’t care for selfish children who don’t even have the maturity to meditate on her properly. This “Blessed Mother” never answered my prayer when I begged her for the healing of my mother, who had cancer, or my heart to accept God. God is a false notion - he may exist, but we’ll never really know and he certainly doesn’t live in the sky.
Shut up, Maryandjesus!!!11

RosaryFan · Feb 24, 2011

Wow! I suppose you were never 13 years old, huh?

Incidentally, I happen to know God exists, but that is for another thread, I suppose.

Nevermore22 · Feb 24, 2011

ThankUMaria, your behavior is rude and unacceptable. While you may have had troubles in the past with God and the Blessed Virgin, that is no reason for you to attack this young woman who has a growing faith.
I strongly suggest you chill out, and leave MaryandJesus alone. If you really want to talk about what is troubling you, start a new thread. Many of us would be more than willing to answer you.

MaryandJesus, I think you are doing a great thing. I am older than you and think that it is awesome that you have prayed the Rosary consistently for over four months! Listen to what the other posters have said. And don’t be afraid to use pictures or images of statues that portray each of the Mysteries! Keep at it, Our Mother loves you very much!

In Christ,
Nevermore

Pieman333272 · Feb 24, 2011

Wow! You’re great! I’ve tried to say the Rosary daily but had to switch to weekly, and I still sometimes (dare I say, often) end up swapping it for a shorter collection of prayers, but I’m trying to get better. Rock on!

Anyway, just try to think of yourself connecting with God. Try talking to the Blessed Virgin Mary and asking her to help you pray. I’ve never had a spiritual experience but used to not really care for Marian devotion. I prayed for that and though I’m nowhere near her biggest fan (as in some people are more devoted than me) I do now sincerely enjoy praying the Rosary and Hail Marys.

Also, try going to Eucharistic Adoration. I always feel really strong when I pray there, and I think it helps my prayer life. You don’t have to go daily or anything, but go when you can.

Maria_Margaret · Feb 24, 2011

It’s so awesome what you’re doing, MaryandJesus. I’m around the same age and I try and say the rosary everyday, but I forget! My suggestion is for a while, just focus on saying the prayers and saying the mysteries. That’s all I can get at yet. With prayer, especially prayer like the rosary, you have to start small and simple, then go bigger. I finally learned this. Once you feel like you have the hang of just saying the prayers and mysteries, then try moving on to meditating them in a deeper manner, using your imagination. It’ll help. For now, just be comforted in the sweet repetitiveness of the prayers, of knowing that they proclaim glory and ask for help. And maybe as you pray each prayer, just think about the mystery, very gently, instead of trying to force yourself to understand it at some level. Or you can get a booklet that for each prayer, it has a line from scripture to think about.

If what I said was confusing, let me know, and I can clarify.
~Maria

Connecting with Mary

MaryandJesus

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