Families that pray together

[kittery]

…stay together, right? So it’s been on my heart the for the past week now to regain a prayer life with my husband. I think that the lack of a good prayer life is leaving me and my family very vulnerable to all kinds of spiritual attacks.

With that said, I have a Protestant background, and am a 4-year old convert. My husband has pressed me to pray the rosary together in the past, and I did not “submit” very well I don’t feel natural/sincere when saying a rosary, and I don’t sense any connectedness with God in it. My prayer life has always been very “conversational”, and the rosary feels very “plastic” to me. Please, don’t anyone take offense to this last statement- I’m looking for help to understand what the rosary means and how I can grow in faith through it.

What I’m wondering is, what does the rosary mean to you and in what ways has it helped you to grow in faith? Also, what other ways have you established a good prayer life with your families? Novenas? Chaplet of Divine Mercy?

Thank you in advance for sharing

 

[Claymont79]

I am also a convert and had a tough time with the Rosary at first. My DH expected me to just be able to sit down and do it without any thought as to how I was used to praying.
Since I started Homeschooling the kids I wanted them to have that experience and we try to do at least a decade a day together. That has helped me get used to it and learn it’s history and it’s prayers. It’s been about 2 years and I finally really love the Rosary (I even have a Pray the Rosary every day bumper sticker on our van)
Hang in there and read up on it so your understanding deepens and helps your faith journey.
That being said, some folks never ‘get’ the Rosary or other scripted prayers and just stay ‘conversational’ with God/Mary/ Saints, which is fine too. I’d say do what you are comfortable with and work into some of the scripted ones for educational purposes, you’d be surprised at what you’ll like.
Have fun!

 

[CatholicSam]

I have to run, but just wanted to suggest that maybe you start out just praying 1 decade together at a time.

 

[sanctamaria17]

It was hard for me to get the hang of saying the rosary for awhile and I converted 3 years ago. I usually say it before going to sleep, because I’m relaxed and focused enough to do it. I’ve also been learning about Our Lady of Fatima which really increased my devotion to saying the rosary every day. Definitely start out small, so you get used to it

 

[BigFeet]

My wife and I, and our four children pray the Rosary every day together (we also attend daily Mass together). There are many wonderful books out there to guide you and to help you to meditate on each mystery.

The Rosary is very Biblical. Each prayer and each mystery is based on scripture. Once you learn about it, I’m sure you not only won’t have a problem saying it, you’ll look forward to saying it. And as Fr. Corapi says, it’s our number one weapon against the devil.

God bless!

 

[FLCathMom]

My husband has pressed me to pray the rosary together in the past, and I did not “submit” very well :

LOL, Kittery!

I think you should really try to get a video of the Fatima story, or at least read about it. There was a movie made, and there is a documentary I watched, but I don’t know the names, maybe someone here can help you. The ladies from the Legion of Mary brought over a statue of the BVM to my house along with videos. I started praying the Rosary at first, but then dropped off, but I began again, and now I am really enjoying it. I like praying the mysteries chronological order so I pray the Joyful (having to do with the Birth of Christ), the Luminous (Christ on Earth), the Sorrowful (Christ’s Death), and the Glorious (Christ returning to Heaven and the BVM’s Assumption and Coronation). You may find it helpful to get some beautiful pictures corresponding to each Mystery to help you focus on each Mystery while you say the prayers. You can make your own prayer book for the Rosary this way, or get one from a store. I have found that as I focus on these mysteries, I have grown in the virtues corresponding to them. I have especially grown in purity. I grew up in the CC, was confirmed, married in the Church, went to pre-cana, and I never knew that the CC forbade contraception. No one I knew practiced this teaching, so when I found out about it, I was surprised, but I thought it wasn’t a big deal, since “no one else does it anyway.” Praying the Rosary really changed my heart and gave me the courage to stand up to my husband on this matter. You should also look into doing the Consecration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your home. You are so fortunate to have a husband who wants to pray the Rosary with you.

Also, for the children, I got a video called “The Rosary for Little Children.” My kids really like it- it goes through the Rosary using the Joyful Mysteries. They sing the prayers.

 

[kage_ar]

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is so wonderful.

When I was a new convert - I had similar issues with the Rosary. Scott Hahn’s “Hail Holy Queen” changed all that.

I’d also suggest you listen to Fr. Corapi’s series on Fatima, it has a great Rosary teaching.