Defending the Rosary

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Randy_Carson said:
Duh…I just said I’m concentrating on the meditation and not on the Hail Mary.

Are you concentrating on what I’m saying? 😛
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Then why are you saying the hail mary in the first place if you are not concentrating on it?
That’s when it becomes rote.
 
misslollipops said:
I do occasionally
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Gee, why?

It’s just vain repetition…saying the same tired old words again and again.

Frankly, I can hardly believe Jesus even told us to pray them.

He should have just told the disciples to make up something new each day - like you did - when they asked him to teach them to pray.

Giving them the exact words without qualifying his statement certainly set a bad precedent, don’t you think?
 
misslollipops said:
Then why are you saying the hail mary in the first place if you are not concentrating on it?
That’s when it becomes rote.
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Because the Hail Mary facilitates the focus on the meditation.

Honestly, you can do both at once. Why did you skip over my TV and phone analogy? Because it made my point too obvious? 👍
 
Randy_Carson said:
Gee, why?

It’s just vain repetition…saying the same tired old words again and again.

Frankly, I can hardly believe Jesus even told us to pray them.

He should have just told the disciples to make up something new each day - like you did - when they asked him to teach them to pray.

Giving them the exact words without qualifying his statement certainly set a bad precedent, don’t you think?
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It is a model prayer. We can change it up if we want
 
Randy_Carson said:
Because the Hail Mary facilitates the focus on the meditation.

Honestly, you can do both at once. Why did you skip over my TV and phone analogy? Because it made my point too obvious? 👍
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I know when I am on my laptop and the phone at the same time, the person on the other end notices because I am not giving them 100% of my attention. Sometimes they even make a comment and get offended. Maybe your brain works different than mine. I know when I pray to God, He gets 100%. When I pray to Jesus, He gets100%. If 50/50 works for you, great.For me, I try to put nothing before my God.
 
I always think of the scriptural fact that Our Lord prayed the same prayer 3 time in the Garden of Gethsemane.
 
misslollipops said:
It is a model prayer. We can change it up if we want
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And the same is true with the Rosary.

I can change the order of the mysteries or meditations, if I want. I can spend the entire Rosary on a single mystery if that seems appropriate. John Paul the Great added five mysteries called the Luminous Mysteries during his pontificate.

The important thing is to pray, and I think God is pleased when we make the effort because he knows that there is a certain amount of dying to self that occurs when we turn off the TV, close our bedroom door, and spend time alone with Him.

Don’t you?
 
misslollipops said:
I know when I am on my laptop and the phone at the same time, the person on the other end notices because I am not giving them 100% of my attention. Sometimes they even make a comment and get offended. Maybe your brain works different than mine. I know when I pray to God, He gets 100%. When I pray to Jesus, He gets100%. If 50/50 works for you, great.For me, I try to put nothing before my God.
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Ah, but in this case, both of my activities are prayer. I’m not typing on my computer (which is really talking with you) and praying (which is talking with God) at the same time. I’m saying one prayer while thinking of an event from the life of Christ.

Since there are 20 mysteries from the gospels contained in the meditations, the rosary provides a great way for us to keep Jesus before our minds.

Do you often think of the Annunciation or the Presentation at the Temple, for example? These events (and others from the gospels) tend to be neglected by most non-Catholics who are either fixated on either Calvary or Pentecost depending upon their denominational orientation.
 
Randy_Carson said:
The important thing is to pray, and I think God is pleased when we make the effort because he knows that there is a certain amount of dying to self that occurs when we turn off the TV, close our bedroom door, and spend time alone with Him.

Don’t you?
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I know how I felt praying all those rosaries and not being able to keep my mind on what I was saying.
It was a form of Godliness.
I thought it somehow made me holy although I was living in my flesh.
I don’t pray like that any more.
 
Randy_Carson said:
Do you often think of the Annunciation or the Presentation at the Temple, for example? These events (and others from the gospels) tend to be neglected by most non-Catholics who are either fixated on either Calvary or Pentecost depending upon their denominational orientation.
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I don’t pray like that anymore.
I’m not thinking of the annunciation or presentation
I’m on my knees begging the Father to forgive my weekness and give me strength.
I pray the Holy Spirit fill me with boldness to share the Gospel!
I pray the Father sends those lost souls into my path so I can share the Gospel.
That is how I pray.
No more hail marys
 
misslollipops said:
I know how I felt praying all those rosaries and not being able to keep my mind on what I was saying.
It was a form of Godliness.
I thought it somehow made me holy although I was living in my flesh.
I don’t pray like that any more.
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Then don’t. The Rosary is just one devotion among many.

Find the one that works for you.

However, there is nothing unscriptural about the Rosary.

To the contrary, the Rosary with all of its prayers and meditations is VERY scriptural since even the Hail Mary itself is taken from the angel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”

Hope this helps. :tiphat:
 
Randy_Carson said:
Then don’t. The Rosary is just one devotion among many.

Find the one that works for you.

However, there is nothing unscriptural about the Rosary.

To the contrary, the Rosary with all of its prayers and meditations is VERY scriptural since even the Hail Mary itself is taken from the angel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”

Hope this helps. :tiphat:
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If you want to say words to Mary while somehow thinking of Jesus go right ahead.
Could you do it the other way around?
Say words to Jesus while thinking of the good things Mary did?
 
Miserissima said:
One deciding not to recite the Hail Mary “because its repetitive” is like deciding that if one has read the bible once, one cannot read it again, or recite a scripture passage – especially in prayer – because it would be vain repetition!
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misslollipops said:
I don’t pray like that anymore.
I’m not thinking of the annunciation or presentation
I’m on my knees begging the Father to forgive my weekness and give me strength.
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So am I. I take examples from the life of Christ and place myself in various locales: if I were Mary, or if I were at the Crucifixion, or how I can apply the Biblical scene to my life. Meditating on these scenes from the Bible – since they come from the Bible – are reading the Bible itself.
misslollipops said:
I pray the Holy Spirit fill me with boldness to share the Gospel!
I pray the Father sends those lost souls into my path so I can share the Gospel.
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So do I, especially when I pray the Glorious Mystery of the descent of the Holy Spirit. The meditations are directly from the Gospels.
misslollipops said:
If you want to say words to Mary while somehow thinking of Jesus go right ahead.
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It’s called Meditating on the Mysteries…you envision them. You ask for guidance and comfort from the scenes from the Bible.
misslollipops said:
Could you do it the other way around? Say words to Jesus while thinking of the good things Mary did?
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Yes. When we thank God for the Incarnation of His Son, we are thinking of the Joyful Mysteries.

The meditations that go along with the prayers are a) fully scriptural and b) about important events from Christ’s life.
 
Being That Mary’s only desire is to lead us to Jesus the words of the Hail Mary in the Rosary is a lens through which to totally focus on the life of Christ. For instance when I pray the Sorrowful mysteries I picture Jesus sweating blood, and being scourged etc. and How amazing, loving, and immense that sacrifice is. the words don’t detract from that contemplation, they enhance it.
 
cranster said:
Being That Mary’s only desire is to lead us to Jesus the words of the Hail Mary in the Rosary is a lens through which to totally focus on the life of Christ. For instance when I pray the Sorrowful mysteries I picture Jesus sweating blood, and being scourged etc. and How amazing, loving, and immense that sacrifice is. the words don’t detract from that contemplation, they enhance it.
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How do you know what Mary’s desire is?
Did she say it somewhere in the bible
 
With regard to Matthew 6:7, there is a historical context that I’m afraid that many modern day Christians don’t know about. Nor, it would seem, do they care to find out. Christ refers to the babbling of pagans that they might be heard. Certain Christians eagerly apply that expression to Catholics without really even knowing what it means. As has been posted, Jesus prayed repetitively in the Garden; and no one seems to think that is a problem. So is it repetition that bothers God? NO!!! It is vain repetition. What is vain repetition? Well, it is the kind that the pagans back in Jesus’ time were using. Back then, pagans literally believed that the more words you used in a prayer, the more likely their god would be willing to hear them and grant their prayer. Pretty dumb, huh? But that is not the least bit what Catholics do in the Rosary or other chaplets. We use repetitive prayer for meditative purposes. So that we can focus on the Mysteries more fully.
 
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