Fast rosaries

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Hipster_Doofus

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I keep noticing at before mass that whoever leads the rosary praying invariably recites at a speed akin to that of an auctioneer at a livestock auction. It’s very frustrating. I can’t mutter along with them at that speed, and I feel I’m not doing it right if I only say part of the words of the prayers.

On the other hand, those reciting are usually so loud that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on different prayers if I tried to pray them.

I’d like to pray the rosary with the group, but I neither speak nor hear things quickly.

Any ideas?
 
Talk to whoever leads the rosary. Maybe they don’t realize they are going too fast. If you don’t know them, the pastor probably does- mention it to him. Some people are fast-paced people. They speak fast, often without realizing it. I have heard rosaries that I think are too slow, and ones I think are too fast…but I’m glad someone is praying it. Also, if they are going too fast for you to follow, hold the beads, meditate on the mysteries, and make your intention for that rosary that the leader would slow down.
 
I love public recitation of the Rosary. But I have several “pet peeves” about the way the Rosary is publicly recited. Here goes:
  • Reciting it too fast (as you described)
  • Reciting it T-O-O S-L-O-W-L-Y so that it drags on forever
  • When the leader says the first half of each prayer in an overly dramatized fashion, which distracts me and calls my attention to the leader rather than to the prayer itself
  • When people “pad” the Rosary with all sorts of extra prayers and private devotions which distract from the Rosary itself (extra prayers between the mysteries, etc.). Sometimes the “extra” prayers trail at the end: an Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be for this intention, another Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be for another intention, another Our Father/Hail Mary/Glory Be for yet another intention, etc. By this time, I’m thinking about the appointment I have to get to, or my stomach is growling because I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, etc., but I feel awkward about leaving “early” …
I suppose I should be more patient! Sometimes when any of the things listed above happen, my actual prayer is to offer to God the little “suffering” I endure.

But as regards your original question, and your desire to slow the pace a bit, you have support from the late Pope John Paul II, who wrote in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (emphasis added):
  1. The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas … By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord.”
 
Hipster_Doofus said:
I keep noticing at before mass that whoever leads the rosary praying invariably recites at a speed akin to that of an auctioneer at a livestock auction. It’s very frustrating.?
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that is the reason why I avoid public recitations of the rosary, at least around here, unless in a group I know such as our cenacle where it will be slow and meditative. Rosary in Spanish is even worse, they do not even take a breath, and response begins while leader is still talking and vice versa.
 
This is like universal problem. 😃 I don’t know how it happened, but I did hear people praying the Rosary in my mother language with a speed of a Coyote.
 
The one at our parish has been accused both of being too fast (by a new convert) and of being too slow (by an older lady who has been Catholic all her life) - I suspect that means it’s just right. 🙂

It takes us about 20-25 minutes to do five decades, along with some added prayers - we start with a Prayer for Vocations (the one that starts “Why stand ye here at the gate? Go ye into my vineyard …”), we do the O My Jesus after every Glory Be, and we finish with the Hail Holy Queen, the Rosary prayer, the St. Michael prayer, three invocations of the Sacred Heart, and we end with the prayer for the dead (“Eternal rest grant unto them …”) and the Sign of the Cross.

We do it exactly the same way every time, so everyone who comes regularly knows what to expect.
 
I prefer to pray the rosary with others, but I agree, it can be very distracting when the group is too fast, too slow, etc. In situations like that, I find another group to pray with and even have found a couple of rosary cds that are wonderful. Not the same as with a group, but much easier to focus prayerfully on the mysteries.

I have tried to pray the rosary in an online chatroom and the leader kept losing count and always forgot to announce the next mystery. I didn’t make it past the first three as I don’t like to be annoyed when I’m praying!

Kelly
 
The average time it takes to pray the Rosary is between 15-20 min.
 
I already have way too much trouble trying to keep ahold of my wandering mind for even a portion of a decade without having to zip through it. And I know what you mean about people not stopping for breath.
 
Hipster_Doofus said:
I already have way too much trouble trying to keep ahold of my wandering mind for even a portion of a decade without having to zip through it. And I know what you mean about people not stopping for breath.
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Hipster:

I know what you’re talking about. I’ve had to talk to the priests at my parish several times about how quickly they do The Angelus and other devotionals. I have had an acustic tumor (resulting in a facial palsy) and I’ve had TMJ Syndrome for the last 20+ years. The combo means that I can’t speak very fast without tripping over the words or sounding like a drunk. So, If I want to say these devotionals with them, they have to accommodate me and my slower pace, because I can’t accommodate them and their faster pace.

See if you can find EWTN on your Cable network. If you can, pray the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet with them - I’m sure that you will find their pacing to be much more reverent and contemplative.

June & July Schedules:

Holy Rosary W/ Mother Angelica & the Nuns of OLAM - 8:30 am. PT / 11:30 am ET Repeated at 6:30 pm PT / 9:30pm ET
Chaplet of Divine Mercy / Reflections - 12:00 pm PT/ 3:00 pm ET

ewtn.com/tv/grids.asp?satellite=DOM&month=06&day=01&year=1945&FirstSunday=6/24/2007&LastSunday=6/24/2007
ewtn.com/tv/grids.asp?satellite=DOM&month=07&day=01&year=1945&FirstSunday=7/1/2007&LastSunday=7/29/2007

Downloadable Schedules
ewtn.com/tv/download_satellites/DOM_download.asp

If you don’t get EWTN, Go to ewtn.com/ Click Television and Go down to LiveTV-English>, Then choose the viewer you want to use (RealVideo or Windows Media).

This is an easy way for you to pray the Rosary and other devotions while you negotiate with the people who lead the Rosary group at your parish, and/or you look for one that prays the Rosary in a more contemplative fashion.

Just remember, you want to figure out how to get the leaders of the group to WANT TO accommodate you, to include you in the group and to make you feel welcome.

Your Brother in Christ, Michael
 
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