I Can't Pray the Rosary!

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Hello! I am hoping someone will have some advice for me. I am trying to increase my devotion to Mary, and I have heard many people say the praying the rosary is an amazing thing. I have been trying to say the rosary, but I’m not feeling anything amazing. I seem to get easily distracted, and it seems more repetitious than prayerful. I find my mind wandering during it a lot. I would love to be devoted to the rosary, but for some reason, I just can’t concentrate on it. Any thoughts?
 
Sometimes as I meditate on each mystery, I pray for something very specific and then on each of the 10 Hail Marys, remember someone or something specific to pray for.

For example:

The first joyful mystery, The Annunciation

I pray for Our Lord to be with all women who are finding out they are pregnant that they might choose life for their unborn baby.
1 - Lord, be with all in crisis pregnancies, Hail Mary…
2 - Lord, be with all expectant mothers, Hail Mary…
3 - Lord, help their babies to be healthy and loved, Hail Mary…
4 - Mary, pray for the babies to be protected, Hail Mary…
5 - Mary, pray for the mothers to be protected, Hail Mary…
6 - St. Joseph, pray for the fathers to be loving, Hail Mary…
etc.

The second joyful mystery, The Visitation
Lord, thank you for our friends who help us in times of need.
1 - For those who aid the sick, Hail Mary…
2 - For those who help the poor, Hail Mary…
3 - That I might bring Christ to others, Hail Mary…
4 - That I might recognize Christ in others, Hail Mary…
etc.

Sometimes the petitions to pray for just come to me, sometimes I use other Rosary meditation books to help me, sometimes the entire Rosary has a “theme” – a Rosary for Life, a Rosary for those near death, a Rosary for a specific family member and/or situation. Then I just apply the mystery to that situation. It really helps to delve deeper into the mystery. I find that new insights are always occuring (thanks to the Holy Spirit) and it becomes a wonderful prayer time.

Now, that said, I have to tell you that every Rosary I pray isn’t marvelous and exciting. Sometimes it does feel a bit rote, but I continue on anyway, knowing it is pleasing to Our Lady and Our Lord. Those times we may be under temptation.

It also helps when I remember to pray at the beginning of any prayer time something like:

Dear Lord, I offer you this time of prayer. Please help me to pray as I ought. Send my guardian angel to be at my side to protect me from distraction. Send St. Michael the Archangel to protect me from temptation and the attacks of the devil. Mother Mary, pray with me and for me. (You can repeat this prayer, or one like it, whenever you feel distracted throughout your prayer time.)

Hope some of this helps! Persevere - it will be well worth it!
 
I second the recommendation for the Scriptual Rosary…I have a version of it loaded on my Palm Pilot ( www.virtualrosary.org )and it really helps me stay foused as I can just concentrate on that one verse from scripture…and you’d be amzed at how quickly you’ll memorize the verses and not need them all the time…I love saying the Rosary and it has been an absolute blessing in my life…she always listens and always helps me.

God Bless
 
Reduce the prayer load as it were. Start with a mere decade on one mystery. Better to say fewer prayers attentively than a bunch distracted.

Scott
 
After hearing a recommendation by Pope John Paul II, this has really helped keep my focus in prayer and has increased my awareness of the mysteries of faith: For every 3rd Hail Mary (I suppose the number 3 reminds me of Trinity, a core belief) when you come to the name of JESUS, add a title found in Sacred Scripture for Jesus, such as “Messiah”, “the Alpha and Omega”, the Prince of Peace, Redeemer, King of Kings, Promised one of Ages,etc.

A really great index is found in Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Dictionary!

Pax.
 
When I get distracted during the rosary, I stop and take a spiritual break to ask Jesus to cover me with His blood and bind the spirits of distraction.

This always seems to help, though I may need to do it several times to get the spirits off my back (or mind).

Most importantly, do not stop or give up. If you ignore the devil’s schemes to get you to give up, this will eventually make you stronger in your faith.
 
Thank you all so much for your advice! I will definitely use these suggestions. I am excited in the hope that I will be able to fully delve into the Rosary! Bless you all!!
 
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j9house:
Hello! I am hoping someone will have some advice for me. I am trying to increase my devotion to Mary, and I have heard many people say the praying the rosary is an amazing thing. I have been trying to say the rosary, but I’m not feeling anything amazing. I seem to get easily distracted, and it seems more repetitious than prayerful. I find my mind wandering during it a lot. I would love to be devoted to the rosary, but for some reason, I just can’t concentrate on it. Any thoughts?
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I understand that you are trying to increase your devotion to Our Lady. Perhaps you should try another tack.

I would advise you not to push it.

You already love and respect Saint Mary if you have a devotion to her son, Our Lord.

Think about it, with all of the people you have known or respected greatly, or even loved, you had a natural inclination to like their mother!

If you like the President, I’m sure you would love to meet his mother!

All of my friends have had great mothers.

Of the people I respect the most, and love the most, I have respected and loved their mothers. If you love the Lord, you cannot fail to love His mother!

What I am trying to say is that she is a real person, like you and I, and she raised a great son, what’s not to like?

Do a mental “thank you” to Jesus’ mom, you’ll soon see that you have loved her all along.

In the meantime you might try some things I have done. Change the rosary into a chaplet, and say fewer Hail Mary’s or fewer decades.

Or swap positions: do 10 Our Fathers and one Hail Mary in each decade.

You might try saying 10 Hail Mary’s on one decade, and 10 Jesus Prayers on the next.

You could wind up with a prayer rule you will maintain your whole life, that is why there are so many different chaplets known. Many people, including many well known saints, prayed in their own unique way and their spiritual life grew!

Try not to fret about these things, it will be fine.
 
At a local Catholic book store I purchased this teeny little pamphlet for about 99 cents that has all the prayers of the Rosary, a description on how to say the Rosary and little pictures with respect to each mystery. It’s small enough to fit in my back pocket.

When saying the Rosary I look at the little picture to help me meditate on the mystery. I found this helps me a great deal.

There are also an online Rosary where you pray it as you read it and look at some pictures of the current mystery.
 
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j9house:
Hello! I am hoping someone will have some advice for me. I am trying to increase my devotion to Mary, and I have heard many people say the praying the rosary is an amazing thing. I have been trying to say the rosary, but I’m not feeling anything amazing. I seem to get easily distracted, and it seems more repetitious than prayerful. I find my mind wandering during it a lot. I would love to be devoted to the rosary, but for some reason, I just can’t concentrate on it. Any thoughts?
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PRACTICE …
PRACTICE …
PRACTICE …
 
Is anyone familiar with the 14 Saturdays Devotion? My wife has done it a few times but I am not all that familiar. I have however read alot of the prayers and meditations from the book and they are amazing!!! I also know that the Devotion goes through the mysteries of the Rosary (without the Luminous) so it would be a wonderful suplement to praying the rosary by itself!
 
for a while, get hold of a little booklet called Scriptural Rosary, or find a reference for the Scriptural verses for each mystery. Instead of saying the rosary for a while, take one decade a day, read and meditate on the scripture for that decade in the time it takes to recite a rosary, say 15-20 minutes. this should take a month or two, depending on how fast you move. Stay on one decade as long as your meditation is fruitful. At the end of that time, you will have more of internal “resource” for meditation during your rosary prayer.

You should also be aware that there sometimes comes a time when former ways of prayer become useless for some people, and they may be drawn into deeper meditative or contemplative prayer. This is where a spiritual director can help you. sometimes what seems like a distraction in recitative or meditative prayer, your mind “slipping away” is really a move into contemplation. You really need a director to guide you here.
 
J9 -

You have already received excellent advice from those above. I would add just a couple of things. First, I suggest you read St. Louis Marie de Montfort’s *True Devotion to Mary *and Secrets of the Rosary, as well as St. Alphonsus Liquori’s Glories of Mary.

I found the Secrets of the Rosary especially helpful because, as has been recommended, it adds a few words to the Hail Mary for each decade that help you keep in mind the Mystery you are praying. You can either use those proposed by de Montfort or your own, but doing so can make it easier to stay focused. Finally, perseverance is the essential ingredient in all of our relationships with the Lord. Hang in there, and ‘never give up.’

Peace!
 
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