How do YOU pray the Rosary? (Mary vs. Mysteries)

Status
Not open for further replies.
The_Reginator

The_Reginator

Active member
(I hope the title gets to my point!)

I’ve been a Catholic for 20 years now. (Wow. 20 years?)
Even before becoming a Catholic I began praying the Holy Rosary on and off. Quite a while ago (decades perhaps) I suddenly realized that my prayer life, which developed while still an Anglican and grew with the aid of evangelicals, had all but disappeared.
The Rosary seemed a good way to get back into prayer as it gave my prayer time structure.
But the Rosary proved hard. Here I was trying to meditate on the mysteries while repeating “Hail Mary …” Slowly I found a method that worked for me, but maybe my focus is not what Our Lady intended when she visited St. Dominic.
When praying generally I virtually ignore Mary as I meditate. Lately this has changed somewhat, but I still struggle here.

What do others do? If you really want to know I could tell of my strange way of praying … you’d have to say please though.
 
Here is an example of the Joyful Mysteries.

The First Joyful Mystery – The Annunciation
Our Father…
  1. In the sixth month / the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, / to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph; / of the house of David; / and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Lk 1:26-27) Hail Mary
  2. And [Gabriel] came to her and said, / “Hail, full of grace, / the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28) Hail Mary
  3. But she was greatly troubled at the saying / and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. (Lk 1:29) Hail Mary
  4. And the angel said to her, / “Do not be afraid, Mary, / for you have found favor with God.” (Lk 1:30) Hail Mary
  5. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, / and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Lk 1:31) Hail Mary
  6. “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; / and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, / and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; / and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk 1:32-33) Hail Mary
  7. And Mary said to the angel, / “How can this be, / since I have no husband?” (Lk 1:34) Hail Mary
  8. And the angel said to her, / “The Holy Spirit will come upon you / and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Lk 1:35) Hail Mary
  9. “Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, / the Son of God.” (Lk 1:35) Hail Mary
  10. And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; / let it be to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) Hail Mary
 
I see the true emphasis on the Mysteries which are Christ centered, with the pray as a choral backdrop to Our Lady in her intercession. They do not conflict but harmonize in a beautiful communal prayer full of spiritual value and a key to the great events of the Biblical story of our redemption. Mary, as always, is in the background offering the milieu of her home for the worship of our saviour. Our prayers of the Hail Mary and the Our Father etc are as incense filling her home as we settle together as family to our worship of her Son.
I find it hard as I have a very poor concentration span and get a bit emotional with the Sorrowful Mysteries, which I find the hardest to say.
 
The_Reginator said:
(I hope the title gets to my point!)

I’ve been a Catholic for 20 years now. (Wow. 20 years?)
Even before becoming a Catholic I began praying the Holy Rosary on and off. Quite a while ago (decades perhaps) I suddenly realized that my prayer life, which developed while still an Anglican and grew with the aid of evangelicals, had all but disappeared.
The Rosary seemed a good way to get back into prayer as it gave my prayer time structure.
But the Rosary proved hard. Here I was trying to meditate on the mysteries while repeating “Hail Mary …” Slowly I found a method that worked for me, but maybe my focus is not what Our Lady intended when she visited St. Dominic.
When praying generally I virtually ignore Mary as I meditate. Lately this has changed somewhat, but I still struggle here.

What do others do? If you really want to know I could tell of my strange way of praying … you’d have to say please though.
Click to expand...
Youshould not ignore Mary. She is there to allow us to understand the mysteries of Christ.

We cannot truly understand the life of Christ while meditating alone, without invoking Our Lady tohelp us. Imagine You are narrating the nysteries to Our Lady, as Your fellow Christian. Ask Her what She thinks of a prticular mystery; how it affected Her?
 
I feel close to Mary, as though she were holding my hand, as I go through the mysteries.

We can do the best we can as we focus on the mysteries, and be at peace about our prayer.

I personally am very much helped to pray by using the Scriptural Rosary.

It comes in book form, or you can find it online at this site:

scripturalrosary.org/
 
The rosary is a personal devotion, pray it as you wish. I do understand where you are coming from. Sometimes I emphasize Talking to Mary and contemplating her role, others I contemplate the mysteries. I usually skip all the little ‘extra’ prayers supposedly added over time. In the end, its the advice I’ve picked up here that I mostly apply. It’s a personal devotion and can be done according to your needs!
 
I tend to skip around.

I recently prayed The Beautiful Gate Rosary (book mentioned in another thread) and am now finishing the One-Month Scriptural Rosary (another book mentioned in another thread).

This Friday I plan to go back to the standard four sets of mysteries and the standard day schedule.
Crusaderbear said:
The rosary is a personal devotion, pray it as you wish. I do understand where you are coming from. Sometimes I emphasize Talking to Mary and contemplating her role, others I contemplate the mysteries. I usually skip all the little ‘extra’ prayers supposedly added over time. In the end, its the advice I’ve picked up here that I mostly apply. It’s a personal devotion and can be done according to your needs!
Click to expand...
I agree. I pray it the best I can.
 
The_Reginator said:
(I hope the title gets to my point!)

I’ve been a Catholic for 20 years now. (Wow. 20 years?)
Even before becoming a Catholic I began praying the Holy Rosary on and off. Quite a while ago (decades perhaps) I suddenly realized that my prayer life, which developed while still an Anglican and grew with the aid of evangelicals, had all but disappeared.
The Rosary seemed a good way to get back into prayer as it gave my prayer time structure.
But the Rosary proved hard. Here I was trying to meditate on the mysteries while repeating “Hail Mary …” Slowly I found a method that worked for me, but maybe my focus is not what Our Lady intended when she visited St. Dominic.
When praying generally I virtually ignore Mary as I meditate. Lately this has changed somewhat, but I still struggle here.

What do others do? If you really want to know I could tell of my strange way of praying … you’d have to say please though.
Click to expand...
The focus of your meditation while praying the Rosary, is not Mary, but the mysteries. In this sense you have it correct.

We don’t pray to Mary, but pray with her and the prayers are always to God through Mary, if this makes sense. .

For me, the Hail Mary’s are more like a mantra, which are said as a means of keeping my focus on the mystery. When I find I’ve become distracted, the Hail Mary points me back in the right direction and to the mystery.

Jim
 
Hello again.
I’ve been away from Catholic Answers for a bit and just read all the replies now.

Lots of great comments and advice. Thank you very much!! 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top