How do you do it? Rosary and activity?

[Loboto-Me]

For many months I’ve been trying to rid myself of the sin of idleness and physical sloth. I tend to sit around finding anything to do that I enjoy rather than take care of the duties of my station in life.

I’d been praying for help in this area through the Blessed Virgin for a while now, and then realized that who better to ask to join me while I do housework than the best “housewife” there ever was… The Blessed Mother herself? Then, it came to me that St Martha was one who was preoccupied with making sure things were always “just so” and decided to ask both of them to join me as I worked.

For a week now, I’ve been doing housework as I pray along with an audio rosary. I do all the mysteries per day, in 20 minute time bites. My home is looking so much nicer now, and I really feel like our Lady and St Martha are helping me along.

My problem though is that all I’m doing is reciting the prayers and am having a terrible time reflecting on the mysteries! This is just not my style of praying. I’ve always just done one mystery per day, sitting quietly and truly reflecting while praying.

Does it get better once you get used to activity and prayer together? I thought about just praying an extra chaplet of the daily mystery like before, but by the time I’m done all my other duties, and praying the Divine Mercy, time seems to run out.

I need more time in my day! I think I might need a better way of figuring this all out. Ideas anyone?

 

[SurlyMermaid]

Great thread! Had similar questions myself.

 

[paperwight66]

It seems to me that you are asking the imposible of yourself. Not just one activity (saying the Hail Mary), not just two (adding meditation) but three (doing the housework properly).

I am assuming that your housework equires some degree of thought at some point, and is not just simple repetitive things like sweeping.

I can see that saying the rosary can be possible out for a walk, but otherwise, something has to give, in my opinion.

And I’m sorry, but while on the subject of multi-tasking, anyone who says it when driving (I know that’s not you, OP, but I see it recommended sometimes on these boards) is verging on the criminal.

 

[Myqyl]

And I’m sorry, but while on the subject of multi-tasking, anyone who says it when driving (I know that’s not you, OP, but I see it recommended sometimes on these boards) is verging on the criminal.

I pray the Rosary everyday as I drive. In what way is this “criminal”? I find it has made me a MUCH better driver than listening to Springsteen sing “Born to Run” at speaker shaking volumes… I arrive at work centered on God and at peace with my fellow commuters. It is not as meditative as when I say it with my kids at night (although there are less distractions during the commute sometimes ) but I find great joy and inspiration from it.

Why exactly do you find criminal about it?

God bless

 

[paperwight66]

I pray the Rosary everyday as I drive. In what way is this “criminal”? I find it has made me a MUCH better driver than listening to Springsteen sing “Born to Run” at speaker shaking volumes… I arrive at work centered on God and at peace with my fellow commuters. It is not as meditative as when I say it with my kids at night (although there are less distractions during the commute sometimes ) but I find great joy and inspiration from it.

Why exactly do you find criminal about it?

God bless

I said ‘verging on the criminal’.

And that is because it is not giving full attention to driving, the criminal offence being (here in the UK) ‘driving without due care and attention’.

If someone in charge of a car in concentrating on the Rosary, it lessens their ability to be constantly looking out for, and reacting instantly to, hazards like dogs running loose, a child running out to follow a ball, a load coming of the back of a lorry, an exploded tyre bouncing across the traffic-lanes - many many sudden occurrences.

I can see it being just about possible to say the Rosary and drive at the same time on empty country roads, perhaps, if there are no bends concealing horses being ridden, push-bikes, broken-down vehicles, or groups of hikers.

But in a town or city, or on a high-speed motorway? No.

 

[Loboto-Me]

So considering that I don’t intend to stop working with the Rosary, I suppose I need to find time somewhere for a good meditative chaplet. I’m not quite there in my day to wake up and start… I need at least an hour to get my head on straight (I have RA, and the meds sometimes fogs my brain)

So now comes another question. Is just reciting the prayers spiritually beneficial? I realize the benefits of having the company of the Blessed Virgin and St Martha with me and that is definitely beneficial in the sense that my prayers for help in my struggles are being answered. I have to wonder about the intentions I bring forth for each decade, are they really being heard if just reciting along?

This is all such a new way of going about my day. I’m more of a reflective personality, hence enjoying my “idle” time sitting and praying (while reflecting), reading, learning my faith, and after my husband comes home, sitting and vegging together watching TV.

 

[Langdell]

I’m another person who prays the Rosary while driving. I do so during my morning and evening commute, which is very routine. In one sense, I think it makes me a more attentive driver than I would otherwise be, because I can stop praying at any time, whenever the traffic distracts me. By contrast, the radio (which I used to listen to during my commute) just keeps on going no matter what, unless I take the trouble to turn it off.

When I’m driving somewhere that I’m not completely familiar with, I have the same problem that the OP has – what I’m doing requires too much thought for me to also think about the prayers.

 

[Myqyl]

So now comes another question. Is just reciting the prayers spiritually beneficial? I realize the benefits of having the company of the Blessed Virgin and St Martha with me and that is definitely beneficial in the sense that my prayers for help in my struggles are being answered. I have to wonder about the intentions I bring forth for each decade, are they really being heard if just reciting along?

This is just my opinion and my opinions are probably wrong more often than right, but…

I’d say there are different levels of meditation. When we meditate on the Rosary in a quiet chapel we will certainly get more out of it than if we “meditate” at the gym or doing housework or driving to work… However, God hears us either way. God knows our intentions long before we state them. So (and again I stress the whole “my opinion” thing) I’d say it is a great benefit to simpily recite the prayers when deeper meditation is not possible. God loves prayer, even if we may not be able to give it our all.

God bless

 

[SteveGC]

Your situation seems analogous to a person who, say, wants to be a body builder. He is somewhat scrawny and under-developed, but he decides that to get started toward his goal, he is going to go all out, lift 3 times his body weight 3 times a day, run 10 miles, and drink a steady regimen of protein shakes.

After day 2, he’s done.

Baby steps. You need a building block approach. Add very small elements over the course of several weeks/months. Don’t raise the bar so high, so early on. Set small goals regarding your housework and prayer life, and pace yourself.

As for your concern regarding focus, from the time of my conversion 5 years ago, I stumbled upon this little gem of a website, “how to pray the rosary”. There are alot of these types of resources out there, but what I liked about this one was their creative approach to staying “in the mystery” as you pray each decade. They broke down each mystery into 10 separate but related events, and listed out each one in a very brief sentence fragment. After awhile of using these references, I easily got to the point that I could recall the vast majority of them as I would pray each Hail Mary for that mystery. Still works great to this day. At the website, click on the name of each mystery (near the top of the page) to see the breakdowns.

And at the risk of objection from the poster who thought it was borderline criminal, I too pray my full rosary in the car, accompanied by an audio cd. No more dangerous than humming along to a tune on the radio. I mean, so long as someone is not physically using and trying to thumb through their beads, or getting into some sort of trance-like state while reciting it, it’s not dangerous at all.

 

[Myqyl]

I said ‘verging on the criminal’.

And that is because it is not giving full attention to driving, the criminal offence being (here in the UK) ‘driving without due care and attention’.

If someone in charge of a car in concentrating on the Rosary, it lessens their ability to be constantly looking out for, and reacting instantly to, hazards like dogs running loose, a child running out to follow a ball, a load coming of the back of a lorry, an exploded tyre bouncing across the traffic-lanes - many many sudden occurrences.

I can see it being just about possible to say the Rosary and drive at the same time on empty country roads, perhaps, if there are no bends concealing horses being ridden, push-bikes, broken-down vehicles, or groups of hikers.

But in a town or city, or on a high-speed motorway? No.

Oh sorry! I hadn’t noticed you were from the UK. When I drove over there I had to use every ounce of concentration too. Everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road

(Yes I’m kidding )

Seriously though, I find I am more a centered and attentive driver not to mention more courteous and forgiving. I think the roads would be a much safer place if everyone turned off their cell phones and listened to a Rosary audio…

But that’s just me

God bless