How do we pray the rosary?

[PapistGirl]

I started praying the rosary two years ago and initially started with five decades everyday, then decreased to two, then to none. Now I’m trying to get back to praying it everyday again, but I realized one of the things I never liked about how I prayed it was having to meditate on the mysteries while I was saying my Hail Mary’s, which made me dread saying it. So today I just announced the mystery, thought about the event for a second, then proceeded to say my Hail Mary’s and focused on the prayer itself, which made it very enjoyable. I’m just wondering if this is alright? Or is meditating on the mysteries during the Hail Mary’s kinda the point of the devotion?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

First of all, saying the Rosary in any kind of reverent or thoughtful way is better than not saying it. So if you are needing to just announce the mystery, think about it for a minute or two - you can think about a scripture passage referring to it, a painting of it, some aspect of it that touches your heart (for example I always relate to Jesus’ friends falling asleep on him or running away rather than being there for him) - and then pray the decade, that is OK.

Second, meditation is kind of a “learned art”. It is hard to quiet one’s mind and concentrate on meditating and it is a skill that many people have to develop over time. So don’t be feeling bad because you have some trouble and DON’T let it stop you from saying the Rosary, that’s just the Devil working his evil tricks.

As you say more Rosaries you can work your way up to thinking more about the mystery or finding ways to integrate it more fully into the decade. Some people for example insert a line of scripture about the mystery between each Hail Mary or somewhere in the middle of the decade. Some people look at a picture. Some people use a meditation book where there are some guided meditations to think about for the mysteries while you are saying the Rosary. You can try all these things later. For now, just get in the habit of praying the Rosary and not being scared of “doing it wrong”. God bless you for making the effort.

 

[ClearWater]

I started praying the rosary two years ago and initially started with five decades everyday, then decreased to two, then to none. Now I’m trying to get back to praying it everyday again, but I realized one of the things I never liked about how I prayed it was having to meditate on the mysteries while I was saying my Hail Mary’s, which made me dread saying it. So today I just announced the mystery, thought about the event for a second, then proceeded to say my Hail Mary’s and focused on the prayer itself, which made it very enjoyable. I’m just wondering if this is alright? Or is meditating on the mysteries during the Hail Mary’s kinda the point of the devotion?

I just announce the mystery, think about it for a moment and go on, and I didn’t realize there was anything wrong with that. I pray in church, and that’s how they do it, too.

 

[Cathoholic]

PapistGirl:

So today I just announced the mystery, thought about the event for a second, then proceeded to say my Hail Mary’s and focused on the prayer itself, which made it very enjoyable. I’m just wondering if this is alright?

The Rosary can be a prayer for the greatest contemplitives.

The Rosary can also be a prayer for distractible simpletons like me.

I like to put on the audio Scritural Rosary in the background when I am doing something. (Its kind of my version of “ora et labora”).

Here is the Scriptural Rosary in audio.

The same one here . . . .

mycatholicstore.com/scro.html

There is a free version from Google Play from students from Franciscan University of Steubenville too.

I think you have the right idea.

Just pray it every day how you see fit for you (even if its just a couple of decades), and take it from there.

Or is meditating on the mysteries during the Hail Mary’s kinda the point of the devotion?

It can be, but if you are missing that aspect of deeper meditation, persevere anyway and don’t fret over it.

Enjoy your special time with Jesus and Mary, and don’t spend too much concern over gettting caught up in how “good” you are praying it.

A deeper dimension MAY come with time and persistence.

Keep up the good work.

God bless.

Cathoholic

(**Please consider saying a decade for me too if you don’t mind. **

I get the sense that your humble prayers mean a lot more than you realize.

I get the sense you are a devout power prayer that has no idea about the heights you are reaching in your prayer.)

 

[Crusaderbear]

It’s a persqnal devotion. Say it any way you want. You can even contemplate your own mysteries. The idea is to bring you closer to God, not scare you away! Good Luck!

Our Father
Hail Mary x10
Glory Be
Fatima
Amen