I dread praying the Rosary- HELP!

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Hi,

I’m having a real problem with praying the Rosary. I find it to be the most boring prayer I’ve ever prayed, and I feel horrible about it. I spend a lot of time thinking about praying the Rosary, figuring it might do some good for someone, but I just dread it, and I guess deep down I don’t really believe it does anything. I’m in a total crisis in regard to prayer. I feel I am failing as a pray-er, and as a person in general. I really need to do something with my life, as it is going nowhere. I just don’t think I am helping anyone, and what good are prayers going to do? I feel disconnected from other people, and separated from God. I think I need some kind of encouragement. I don’t know what I need. I just want to do God’s will, but I’m so confused and disoriented.
 
The Rosary was something that I never could wrap my head around.
I found myself obsessing about whether or not I was
“doing it right” and more often than not, I came away from my prayer time
frustrated, anxious and feeling like a complete failure.

What changed for me was that I found a Spiritual Director, a local priest,
who helped me to find ways to pray that were edifying for me.
The best advice he gave me~
Pray as you can, not as you can’t.
What matters is that you pray!
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I suggest talking to your pastor or some other priest/deacon/religious and ask if they could offer you some spiriutal direction or know of someone in your area who could.

The traditional rosary is still not my “favorite” way to pray, but I do pray it on occaision.

I have also developed my own form of a rosary prayer based on the Examen from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which I pray nightly! 🙂

Peace be with you on your journey
and remember, it doesn’t matter how, just that you pray!!! 😃
 
joshrp said:
Hi,

I’m having a real problem with praying the Rosary. I find it to be the most boring prayer I’ve ever prayed, and I feel horrible about it. I spend a lot of time thinking about praying the Rosary, figuring it might do some good for someone, but I just dread it, and I guess deep down I don’t really believe it does anything. I’m in a total crisis in regard to prayer. I feel I am failing as a pray-er, and as a person in general. I really need to do something with my life, as it is going nowhere. I just don’t think I am helping anyone, and what good are prayers going to do? I feel disconnected from other people, and separated from God. I think I need some kind of encouragement. I don’t know what I need. I just want to do God’s will, but I’m so confused and disoriented.
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Josh,

There are other ways to pray besides praying the Rosary. If you are having a hard time praying the Rosary, then try praying in other ways. You can always come back to the Rosary. There is no reason for you to stress over not being able to pray it.

I find some of the prayers in the front of my missal to be very helpful in putting me in an attitude of prayer and fostering an intimacy with Jesus.

For example, I love this prayer of St Bonaventure:
Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
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Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
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May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
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may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.
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Focus on nurturing your relationship with Christ. Read the Bible and Catechism, watch Catholic TV and listen to Catholic Radio. Immerse yourself in God as much as you can and he will guide you.
 
May God’s Peace, Love, Mercy, Healing, Graces & Blessings be with you and to all!

Be at peace, Our Good Lord Jesus loves you so much!

The Rosary is one of the most powerful prayers, for when we pray it we contemplate the Life, Death, Resurrection of Our Good Lord Jesus Christ. The evil one hates it so much and dreads it when we pray the Rosary for it snatches so many souls away from his grasp. It leads souls closer to God, it helps save souls especially ours. So, do not give in to the temptation.

God works in mysterious ways, beyond our human comprehension and He works in the silence of our heart. God does not waste any prayer. It is not for us to judge whether our prayers are heard or if it is effective, for God answers all prayers, in His time not ours. It may not be the answer that we want or expect though, but He does answer ALL prayers. Some fruits of your prayers you may see in your lifetime, and some of them when you reach heaven, all according to God’s most Holy Will.

If you are unable to pray at times, just let Our Good Lord Jesus know. Raise your heart & thought to Him and just spend that quiet time with Him for He knows, understands & loves you more that you will ever know. Spend some time with Him in Adoration. You can do it online if you are not able to drop by at any Catholic Church.

64.247.253.34:8000/view/index.shtml

I would also recommend for you to go to Confession regularly aside from receiving Him in Holy Communion frequently so Our Good Lord Jesus will fill you and load you with so many graces that will help strengthen your faith, hope, love and devotion to Him and His Blessed Mother.

Praying fro you and for all!
 
It is okay to have a hard time praying. It is okay to prefer one prayer over another. It is okay to have the Rosary NOT be your favorite! Like somebody else said, it just matters that you pray.

Read lots of different prayers (by the saints, etc). Read the Bible. The more that you read and/or hear, the better chance that you will come across something that you really like. So what… maybe you will never like to pray the Rosary. That is fine. Maybe you will find a psalm or a Bible verse that you like to pray. Maybe you will find a great prayer by a saint that is meaningful to you.

And, when all else fails… when you have read the Bible, when you have read tons of prayers and nothing seems to “work” for you… just talk to God. Just talk. Although many prayers are written beautifully and the Bible, of course, is beautiful, just talking to God is so wonderful, too. And I don’t think that there is anything wrong with telling/talking to God about how hard it is for you to pray. Pray about struggling to pray. It sounds silly, sorta, but it will work.

And, another thing: A priest told me once that, when in doubt or when you are struggling to pray or struggling with a temptation, then say the “Jesus prayer.” The Jesus prayer is “Jesus.” “Jesus.” “Jesus.” Plain and simple. I think that prayer has changed my life.
 
joshrp said:
Hi,

I’m having a real problem with praying the Rosary. I find it to be the most boring prayer I’ve ever prayed, and I feel horrible about it. I spend a lot of time thinking about praying the Rosary, figuring it might do some good for someone, but I just dread it, and I guess deep down I don’t really believe it does anything. …
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I had also long felt disconnected from the Rosary. There are a couple of insights that helped me:
  1. The “Hail Mary” is homework for eternity. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” We ask Mary to pray for us at the hour of our death, for our salvation. Praying the rosary is a way of making this request in the manner of the stubborn widow that Jesus mentions in one of the parables.
  2. Every day I walk alone for at least half an hour. As part of that walk, I carry a Rosary and pray 5 decades. It’s like I’m walking with Jesus and Mary, putting myself in their presence.
  3. When the Rosary seems too time-consuming, I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to say five decades of a rosary, but only 6 or 7 minutes for the Divine Mercy Chaplet. It’s a very different prayer with a different focus, but it makes a nice alternative.
 
St. Therese of Lisieux wrote this in a letter to her sister:
"(I am) far from the heights of fervour at this moment; but when I am in this state of spiritual dryness, unable to pray, or to practise virtue, I look for little opportunities, for the smallest trifles, to please my Jesus: a smile or a kind word, for instance, when I would wish to be silent, or to show that I am bored. If no such occasion offer, I try at least to say over and over again that I love Him. This is not hard, and it keeps alive the fire in my heart. Even should the fire of love seem dead, I would still throw my tiny straws on the ashes, and I am confident it would light up again.
It is true I am not always faithful, but I never lose courage. I leave myself in the Arms of Our Lord. He teaches me to draw profit from everything, from the good and from the bad which He finds in me. "
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St. Therese is a Doctor of the Church and has been called the greatest saint of modern times, but even she had times (the whole end years of her short life, in fact!) when she felt disconnected and separated from God. Read her ‘Story of a Soul,’ you might find her ‘little way’ to be encouraging to you. I think I even read that she struggled with praying the rosary as well.

Like St Therese, I implore you not to lose courage. If you cannot pray the rosary, pray one Hail Mary or Our Father, or like this saint, just tell Jesus over and over that you love Him. (Never mind if you are not feeling loving- it is in the will, not in the feelings.) If you cannot do big acts for others- do something little, like the saint says- just a kind word when you would rather show your annoyance, or something like that. Look for these opportunities to throw ‘little straws’ on the ashes and you will be amazed at what God does with you.
 
I was told once that out of quality or quantity of prayer, that quality was preferred. BUT, the only way to get quality was through quantity.

That is, you get better at prayer the more you do it. Yes, the rosary can be a boring prayer, and you may not see any effects, but be assured you are achieving great things every time you pray it. I started to pray it every morning, and got up half an hour earlier to do it. If I left it for later I wouldn’t get around to it, so it had to be first thing. After doing it for a couple of weeks, I now have the stamina to finish it without being thoroughly restless and wanting to do other things. I still find my mind wandering, but each time I realise it, I try to re-focus on the prayer. What I have found, though, is that on the days that I do pray the rosary, my house is cleaner, I get more done and I’m not as snaky at the kids. Just enough for me to notice that the day went smoother than usual.

I also was told that the rosary is a prayer that you say with your mouth, while your mind can meditate on other things (besides the shopping list:blush:). So you could think and ponder on each mystery while you say the words of the rosary, or find a good meditation and read a bit before each mystery.

Maybe try doing just one decade at a time and work up to a whole one. The sacrifice of doing something tedious can also be offered for the Holy Souls in Purgatory or something else that is dear to you.
 
It’s okay. Like the others have said, you don’t have to pray the Rosary. Yes it is powerful, and wonderful, but you can pray to God in many other ways.

However, if you do ever want to pray the Rosary, I find that by saying this prayer before hand helps me.
Queen of the Holy Rosary you have deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three shepherd children the treasures of grace hidden in the Rosary. Inspire my heart with a sincere love of this devotion, in order that by meditating on the Mysteries of our Redemption which are recalled in it, I may be enriched with its fruits and obtain peace for the world, the conversion of sinners and of Russia (and China), and the favor which I ask you in this Rosary (here mention your request) I ask this for the greater glory of God, for your own honor, and for the good of all souls, especially of my own. Amen.
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I pray it right after the Apostle’s Creed. You do ask to have a love of this devotion.
Also, if you ever feel slow, and lonely, you may want to pray it in a community setting.
Come Pray the Rosary, I find is awesome. You have the audio of a priest leading a church in the Rosary, you have the text, video from the Holy Land, and a little animation to show what bead you are on.

Just try around, and look for other prayers, or make-up your own. The only important thing is praying. God doesn’t care how, just talk to Him!

In Christ through Mary,
Nevermore
 
Oneofthewomen said:
The Rosary was something that I never could wrap my head around.
I found myself obsessing about whether or not I was
“doing it right” and more often than not, I came away from my prayer time
frustrated, anxious and feeling like a complete failure.

What changed for me was that I found a Spiritual Director, a local priest,
who helped me to find ways to pray that were edifying for me.
The best advice he gave me~

I suggest talking to your pastor or some other priest/deacon/religious and ask if they could offer you some spiriutal direction or know of someone in your area who could.

The traditional rosary is still not my “favorite” way to pray, but I do pray it on occaision.

I have also developed my own form of a rosary prayer based on the Examen from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which I pray nightly! 🙂

Peace be with you on your journey
and remember, it doesn’t matter how, just that you pray!!! 😃
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This is an excellent post! Also, have you tried the Divine Mercy Chaplet?
 
Are you meditating on the mysteries while you pray, or just saying the words? If your not this is probably why your so bored. Also, I used to pray the Rosary one decade at a time throughout the day. I would end up doing my last decade just before bed. This allowed me to kinda pray throughout the entire day without feeling overwhelmed. God bless…
 
Go to confession, pray with a clean heart.
a clean heart can see God.

As to the Rosary, you can try methods of saying the rosary, by st louis de montfort
montfort.org.uk/Writings/MSR.html

I would suggest you to add the Divine Mercy Chaplet, three times a day, it only takes 5 minutes. Pray this if you pray nothing else. Have the divine mercy image venerated in your house.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

Jesus said that if a hardened sinner say this chaplet only once, he will get a peaceful and happy death.

Try it 🙂

We are all sinners 🙂 The Mercy of God is infinite.

Try to read the Diary of St Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in my Soul
saintsbooks.net/books/St.%20Faustina%20Kowalska%20-%20Diary.pdf

The language is very simple. St Faustina Kowalska graduated from the 3rd grade, but was intelligent. Do spiritual readings every day.

You can get spiritual readings from here
saintsbookscatechisms.blogspot.com/

The Diary of St Faustina is a good start for spiritual reading.

Go to confession frequently. Have a regular confessor (it can be as many as 4), go weekly, every fortnight, or monthly. It will give you deep peace and happiness and your burdens will be lifted up instantly

May the merciful Jesus bless you.

I pray for you
 
the Introduction to a devout life, by St. Francis de Sales is a good read, to give you guidelines, how to pray, what to pray, how to go to confession frequently, how to have spiritual director

saintsbooks.net/books/St.%20Francis%20de%20Sales%20-%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Devout%20Life.pdf

May the merciful Jesus bless you

Remember, no matter how big your sins are, go to confession, and Jesus will, at that moment of absolution, forgive and forget, just like what he did to St. Mary Magdalene, who washed his feet with her tears 🙂

Trust in the Mercy of God. No matter how big your sins are, the mercy of God is infinite and unfathomable.

Jesus loves you
 
I would like to thank you all for your encouragement, suggestions, support, and prayers.
 
One time I asked my priest: “Father, how do you pray the Rosary? I keep having imaginations and distractions when I pray”, he said “well, the good news is, you’re still alive”. Seeing me perplexed by his statement, he said, “As long as you are alive, you will always having distractions and imaginations while you pray, even the greatest of saints will encounter these problems as well, but what you can do is to continue to pray, to focus yourself to God”. After that, I realized I have been trying so much to figure out how to meditate and how to pray that I forgot the most important thing, that is to understand the prayer, that is to focus yourself in the prayer. Focus in the hail Marys, and your imaginations will be conformed, and changed into great meditations
 
Here’s a tip about praying the rosary if you find that you struggle: Try to make it to church before or after mass if you know that a rosary will be said at that time. I find I do group rosaries much better than personal rosary recitation. It is also good to remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort, who said “When we pray in common, it is far more formidable to the devil, because in this public prayer it is an army that is attacking him.” Also, you may want to get a good audio of the rosary to listen to when you pray, or so you can recite the rosary in the car while you drive to and from work. I use the “Rosary” iPhone app which features audio from the Sisters of Saint Paul, but I also have the “Rosary is a Place” CD.

When I was reading ‘Story of a Soul’, I often came across quotes that answered questions that plagued me, including my struggles with the Rosary. When I read this passage from Little Thérèse about prayer (emphasis added), she answered another one of my prayers:
How great is the power of Prayer! One could call it a Queen who has at each instant free access to the King and who is able to obtain whatever she asks. To be heard it is not necessary to read from a book some beautiful formula composed for the occasion. If this were the case, alas, I would have to be pitied! Outside the Divine Office which I am very unworthy to recite, I do not have the courage to force myself to search out beautiful prayers in books. There are so many of them it really gives me a headache! and each prayer is more beautiful than the others. I cannot recite them all and not knowing which to choose, I do like children who do not know how to read, I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me. For me, prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trial as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.
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However, I would not want you to believe, dear Mother, that I recite without devotion the prayers said in common in the choir or the hermitages. On the contrary, I love very much these prayers in common, for Jesus has promised to be in the midst of those who gather together in His name. I feel then that the fervor of my Sisters makes up for my lack of fervor; but when alone (I am ashamed to admit it) the recitation of the rosary is more difficult for me than the wearing of an instrument of penance. I feel I have said this so poorly! I force myself in vain to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary; I don’t succeed in fixing my mind on them. For a long time I was desolate about this lack of devotion which astonished me, for I love the Blessed Virgin so much that it should be easy for me to recite in her honor prayers which are so pleasing to her. Now I am less desolate; I think that the Queen of heaven, since she is my MOTHER, must see my good will and she is satisfied with it. Sometimes when my mind is in such aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an “Our Father” and then the angelic salutation "Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.]; then these prayers give me great delight; they nourish my soul much more than if I had recited them precipitately a hundred times.
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The Blessed Virgin shows me she is not displeased with me, for she never fails to protect me as soon as I invoke her. If some disturbance overtakes me, some embarrassment, I turn very quickly to her and as the most tender of Mothers she always takes care of my interests. How many times, when speaking to the novices, has it happened that I invoked her and felt the benefits of her motherly protection!
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I bought a beautiful St. Thérèse rosary that I keep with my “take to church” purse, which reminds me that to pray the Rosary simply to show my love to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is reason enough to pray - I neither want nor expect fruit from my time spent on the prayer. But when I do receive fruit, I am immensely grateful. And as I wear my brown scapular, pray to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and devote time every day to saying Our Lady’s rosary, I find that while it gets no easier for me, it has gotten much more fruitful.

Here’s a pic of a rosary like the one I have, and when I pray with it, I always ask little Thérèse to pray with me and help me to pray with sincere devotion to Mary.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-43126232369952_2167_37615354
 
I’m so glad to know I am not alone in this dilemma. Praying any “rote” prayer is so difficult for me. I attend a weekly gathering of dear ladies who pray the rosary together. I feel like I am carried along by their spiritual strength, like a leaf floating in a stream. Maybe a dry leaf! Also, as I touch each bead, I think of a prayer intention, for example the needs of one of our children. It is amazing that 50 intentions can pop into my mind. I know God honors our desire and feeble intentions to pray. He must smile as we struggle. After all, He created us and knows us through and through.
 
Maybe try to focus on meditating on the Mysteries more 🙂 there’s a website that gives a little meditation for each Hail Mary, it helped me 🙂 rosary-center.org/howto.htm (just click on the different Mysteries)

It also helped me to read St Louis de Montfort’s the Secret of the Rosary 🙂 often it just helps to understand it better!

God bless
 
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