Doesn't Matthew 6:7 contradict litanies and the rosary?

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Paul1998

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The gospels says in Mathew 6:7:
“And when praying, do not choose many words, as the pagans do. For they think that by their excess of words they might be heeded.
(Matthew 6:7 CPDV)”.

In the KJV verison is even more clearly illustrated:
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
(Matthew 6:7 KJV)”

For me, the Bible contradicts the practice of litanies and the rosary…
What is the Catholic point of view?
 
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I believe the gospel is speaking of excess words that are of little importance, having no real value. I don’t believe it is referring to the words of the rosary or litanies.
 
Yes, if these words were not from our blessed Mother or through the Holy Spirit. I can testify as millions of others the fruit from which the rosary and the inspired so graciously give us.
 
Paul1998 said:
For me, the Bible contradicts the practice of litanies and the rosary…
What is the Catholic point of view?
Click to expand...
The key phrase in the passage is “as the pagans do”. They had a practice whereby they called their deity by every possible title possible in the hopes to control him. The idea is much like the children’s story “Rumplestiltskin” – when his name was known, it gave power over him to the person who spoke it. So, they had elaborate litanies whose purpose it was to gain power over the pagan gods.

That’s not at all what Catholics do when they pray. (If, of course, people are praying litanies or the rosary in order to control God, then that’s a different story – and it’s a severe deficiency in catechesis!)

When Catholics pray, they are not saying “God will pay attention to me more if I repeat a prayer, or if I use lots of fancy titles for Him.”

So… no. The Bible doesn’t contradict Catholic prayer styles.
 
My children have this habit that I think every child has at some point in time. They’ll stand next to one of us while we’re preoccupied with something else and say, “Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom…” or “Dad, dad, hey dad, dad, daddy, dad…” until we finally turn from what we’re doing out of near exasperation and ask what they need (which is usually of little gravity - or even they can barely remember by that point).

The point is, they wanted our attention and needed to be persistent to get it. God is better than a distracted or inattentive parent, but nonetheless sometimes we feel the need to persist in calling his name, even if it’s just a matter of expressing our love rather than trying to gain attention or favor.

As stated above, the quoted verse isn’t about repetition or wordiness - it’s about intent.
 
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Vain repetitions is like those distracted prayers that don’t are rushed. The adjective is probably the main point.
 
Gorgias said:
The key phrase in the passage is “as the pagans do”. They had a practice whereby they called their deity by every possible title possible in the hopes to control him .
Click to expand...
I do think the passage gives us a warning against a type of prayer that might be in this category. When we start to treat prayer as a superstitious way of binding God to our will, whether it be a Novena, or the Prayer of Jabez, we are praying like pagans.
 
Well, if you’re married you’ve probably told your wife you love her more than once. You probably told your mother that you love her more than once. The reason we repeat this is because “I love you” are powerful words. The rosary is not vain repetitions, but rather very powerful and meaningful repetitions, telling our Blessed Mother that we love her and asking her to guide us to her most holy son.
 
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