Defending the Rosary

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It sounds as though you have explained as well as you can.
As stated above, not every devotion is for everyone.

I understand the objections that some have to intercessory prayer. I do not use it very often myself.
However I do pray the rosary for a couple of reasons.
  1. I grew up with it and am comfortable with it.
  2. It is relaxing and helps me to focus.
  3. It provides me with something to hold when I need to hold onto something.
Some just feel that anything not directed directly to God is ungodly. That is unfortunate in that it creates a barrier. On the other hand praying for the intercession of any saint, while common in the Catholic Church is not a requirement.

Blessings

James
 
misslollipops said:
READ matt 6:7
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“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words…”

*The key words here are “empty” and “Gentiles.” The Gentiles prayed to pagan Gods, their prayers were empty, insincere and blasphemous. The verse is a condemnation of empty prayers to pagan Gods. I don’t think this passage is a condemnation of repetition. In fact the word “repetition” is not even mentioned in the verse. One could “heap up” empty “free form” praises that don’t repeat (such as those found in Evangelical services) as easily as one could “heap up” a repeating phrase from Scripture. The crucial thing is not whether a phrase repeats, but rather whether it is sincere.

Two verses later Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer (Mat 6:9). This is a main prayer in the Rosary. It is neither empty or pagan. It is Holy and honorable and worth repeating because it has meaning.

Are not many of the beautiful traditional Protestant hymns repetitious? What about the repetition of “Praise God” during free form worship in Assemblies? Even the angels are eternally in the presence of God repeating "Holy, Holy, Holy (Rev 4:8). This is not empty nor pagan is it? It pleases God. When I do the Rosary, I’m sincere. I’m saying very meaningful prayers that come from Scripture. I think this makes Jesus immensely happy and He has given me the experience of his love consistently during the Rosary to prove it.*

Full article here.
 
misslollipops said:
Dan3 ends at30
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It didn’t when Jesus read it. 😉

51Then these three in the furnace with one voice sang, glorifying and blessing God:
52 “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
55 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.
57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
58 Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
59 You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
60 All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
61 All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
65 All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
67 Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
68 Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
69 Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
70 Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
71 Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
72 Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
73 Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
74 Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
75 Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
76 Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
77 You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
78 Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
79 You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
80 All you birds of the air, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
81 All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
82 You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
83 O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
84 Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
85 Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
86 Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
87 Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
88 Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the nether world, and saved us from the power of death; He has freed us from the raging flame and delivered us from the fire.
89 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
90 Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord; praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endures forever.”
 
Here is a statistical view of the Rosary from David Mac website.

The Rosary is 65% directly to Jesus and about him. It is 35% honouring and requesting prayers from Mary, his Mother.

88% of the Rosary is directly from the Bible, 12% is from the wisdom of early Christians.

The Meditation Layer
Each decade of the Rosary focuses on a section of Scripture as a meditation. These are called the mysteries. Out of 20 meditation decades (5 are done each day) 18 of them follow Jesus through the Bible and two are related to Mary (Assumption and Coronation).

Meditations are 20 Mysteries: 18 Excerpts from the Bible (0.9) + 1 Based on the Bible (Coronation) (0.05) + 1 From the catholic tradition (Assumption) (0.05).

That is:

Jesus 90%
Mary 10%
(95% is right out of the Bible)

“Joyful Mysteries”(Mon & Sat)

First Decade: The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38)
Second Decade: The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)
Third Decade: The Birth of Our Lord (Luke 2:1-21)
Fourth Decade: The Presentation of Our Lord (Luke 2:22-38)
Fifth Decade: The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)

“Luminous Mysteries”(Thurs.)

First Decade: The Baptism of Our Lord in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-16)
Second Decade: The Wedding at Cana, when Christ manifested Himself (Jn 2:1-11)
Third Decade: The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15)
Fourth Decade: The Transfiguration of Our Lord (Matthew 17:1-8)
Fifth Decade: The Last Supper, when Our Lord gave us the Holy Eucharist (Mt 26)

“Sorrowful Mysteries”(Tues & Fri)

First Decade: The Agony of Our Lord in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-56)
Second Decade: Our Lord is Scourged at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26)
Third Decade: Our Lord is Crowned with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-31)
Fourth Decade: Our Lord Carries the Cross to Calvary (Matthew 27:32)
Fifth Decade: The Crucifixion of Our Lord (Matthew 27:33-56)

“Glorious Mysteries”(Wed & Sun)

First Decade: The Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord (John 20:1-29)
Second Decade: The Ascension of Our Lord (Luke 24:36-53)
Third Decade: The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41)
Fourth Decade: The Assumption of Mary into Heaven (Sg 2:2,10-11)
Fifth Decade: The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth (Gn 3:15a) (Jdt 13:18) (Jdt 15:9) (Rv 12:1) (Sir 24:4) (Sir 14:9) (Cor 4:17) (Lk 8:21)(Gal 4:19)

http://www.davidmacd.com/images/s_rosa2.gif

http://www.davidmacd.com/images/s_rosa1b.jpg

http://www.davidmacd.com/images/s_rosa3.gif

As much as I like to quote the cite. I can’t but here is the reference.

davidmacd.com/catholic/mary_counting_rosary.htm

The conclusion: The Rosary is more about Jesus than Mary.
 
misslollipops said:
He seems to be begging the Father to take the cup from Him if it were possible. I don’t see how this compares to saying thousands of Hail Marys.
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The point being made was that Jesus prayed in the same way three times in the Garden of Gethesemane. In other words, Jesus Himself prayed “repetitive prayers.”

Which comes as no surprise, because as a devout Jew, Jesus would have prayed many repetitive prayers during His lifetime on earth.

Only VAIN repetition is forbidden. Certainly I try to concentrate on what I am praying every time I say the rosary, or pray any prayer.

In heaven I will be praying many repetitive prayers. Praise God!
 
misslollipops said:
He seems to be begging the Father to take the cup from Him if it were possible. I don’t see how this compares to saying thousands of Hail Marys.
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saying an entire Rosary with the Hail Mary’s isn’t anywhere close to saying 1000’s of Hail Mary’s. The point is that is isn’t mindless repetition. (If that is the case, you shouldn’t tell anyone you love, “I love you” more than once. That might be considered mindless repetition.):rolleyes:
 
misslollipops said:
He seems to be begging the Father to take the cup from Him if it were possible. I don’t see how this compares to saying thousands of Hail Marys.
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How consider these passages:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (Revelations 4:8), and is un-ending. Vain and repetitious prayer is bad if it’s not prayed from the heart. Saying the rosary and reciting the Hail Mary prayer, and mediating on the mysteries of the Life of Christ, is the proper way to pray it.
 
Gamera said:
In heaven I will be praying many repetitive prayers. Praise God!
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Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and round about and within they are full of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.

That’s a lot of repetitions. 😃
 
I shall quote the Great Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE.

The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness. It blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life, which, after two thousand years, has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to “set out into the deep” (duc in altum!) in order once more to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the desires of history and civilization turn”.

The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.2 It is an** echo of the prayerof Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb**. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.

catholic.com/library/Apostolic_Letter_Rosarium_Virginis_Mariae.asp
 
Cairisti said:
saying an entire Rosary with the Hail Mary’s isn’t anywhere close to saying 1000’s of Hail Mary’s. The point is that is isn’t mindless repetition. (If that is the case, you shouldn’t tell anyone you love, “I love you” more than once. That might be considered mindless repetition.):rolleyes:
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I know I’ve said thousands of hail Marys in my day.
It became rote.
It was so bad that I could be planning my next days breakfast while praying the rosary. My mind would just wander because I didn’t have to even think about what I was saying.
Sure I would count off the beads. But my mind would be elsewhere.
 
misslollipops said:
I know I’ve said thousands of hail Marys in my day.
It became rote.
It was so bad that I could be planning my next days breakfast while praying the rosary. My mind would just wander because I didn’t have to even think about what I was saying.
Sure I would count off the beads. But my mind would be elsewhere.
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Yeah, that’s no good. Certainly that isn’t what God wants from us.

But repeating a scripted prayer doesn’t always make it mere recitation – actually it sometimes helps when words are beautifully crafted instead of just spontaneously sputtered. Wedding vows are a good example — my wedding vows were written in advance by someone else generations ago, I didn’t think them up on the spot, but I still meant every word, and they expressed my thoughts better than I would have on my own.
 
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