Importance of praying the Rosary?

[Prayer_Warrior]

Hello,

I am a Catholic who has never been one to pray the Rosary and have always thought of it as “unusual” because I feel that I should direct my attention soley on Jesus. The Joyful Mystery, Luminous Mystery, Sorrowful Mystery & Glorious Mystery seem so weird to me to focus on during prayer. Will someone who believes in the benefits of praying the Rosary be kind enough to give me some encouragement in terms of scripture references or just common sense advice as to why this method of prayer is proper and why it’s the main method of prayer for many Catholics?

Thanks so much.

There are several books that might help you with scriptural references for praying the Rosary. Two by Christine Haapala stand out–The Suffering Servants Courage and From Genesis to Revelation: Seven Scriptural Rosaries. These books show a short verse or two per Our Father and Hail Mary and they typically have a direct bearing on the Mystery. Some are more indirect, because a couple of Mysteries are not really expounded on all that much in the Bible (the Assumption, the Crowning with Thorns, the Coronation).

Personally, I read the scripture verse while saying the prayers. By doing so, I avoid letting my mind wander and put my attention on the mystery at hand. Here is a website that has scriptural meditations for saying the Rosary. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but reading scripture while saying the prayers really helps me. Of course, you may just want to read the scripture verse first and then say the Hail Mary–whatever works for you. I think BrownR is absolutely correct–as you get more comfortable and relaxed you will be better able to see how Christ centered the Rosary is.

Meditating on the mysteries is essential to praying the Rosary. If you are not meditating in some way, you could rightly be accused of “babbling like a pagan”. It does seem awkward at first, but in the end the Hail Mary’s allow you better focus on the mysteries. It is a technique that has been used for centuries and, though we are not required to believe this, Our Lady has personally requested through various saints that we pray the Rosary.

An interesting informal survey was done on the forums last year. The poster asked people who presently say the Rosary daily and go to daily Mass what they did first --say a daily Rosary or go to the daily Mass. There was an overwhelming response that most people had first begun to say a daily Rosary and then been “led” to go to the daily Mass. My own personal experience with the Rosary is not unique. I can honestly say that every time I pray the Rosary I receive at least one new “nugget” of insight on one of the Mysteries. I guess it feels like a ray of light shines on the Mystery and I am given a new understanding or a new perspective on the Mystery. I highly recommend you keep trying to pray the Rosary, even though it is a bit awkward for you. Perhaps you could commit to praying it daily for two weeks or so. See what happens.

 

[TexRose]

Here’s an excellent book that helped guide me in the proper way to pray the rosary. There’s essentially an endless amount of spiritual principles and thoughts that you can meditate on throughout the prayers. Someone actually recommended that book to me way back when I was asking questions and it was a great suggestion.

I’m going to have to buy this book as well. Thanks for telling us about it. I’ll see if they have it at Barnes & Noble this coming weekend.

 

[BrownR]

I’m going to have to buy this book as well. Thanks for telling us about it. I’ll see if they have it at Barnes & Noble this coming weekend.

You bet! Although Saint Louis de Montfort wrote it over 2 centuries ago, it’s been a great blessing and really deepened my appreciation of the rosary. It’s been very instructional. Even though the wording can be a bit strange at times, I think the teachings are just as applicable today as they were back then. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Stillkickin]

When you pray the Rosary, you are praying the Gospel - the life of Jesus. But it is important to try to meditate on each mystery and what it might mean in your life. It was difficult for me at first to pray the rosary and think i am getting anything out of it. Ten years ago if someone would have told me i would be praying the rosary daily and doing the things i am doing in my parish i would have told them they were crazy. Now, I pray it everyday and it has changed my outlook on everything. There are several websights that have a lot of good information on meditations for each of the mysteries.
Give it a try - you won’t regret it!

 

[Genesis315]

“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory.’ Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if-- and mark well what I say-- if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.” - Saint Louis de Monfort

:getholy:

 

[Linda_Marie]

I bought this CD set last year and found it very beautiful. There is a single CD for each of the Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious Mysteries. Each mystery is introduced by a scripture reading, and a meditation on the mystery.

The Gospel Rosary of John Paul II
aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/title/Gospel-Rosary-Of-Pope-John-Paul-II/FuseAction/store.ItemDetails/SKU/8108/ImageSize/Lg/s/432

http://www.aquinasandmore.com/images/items/8108lg.jpg

The Rosary is made up of 2 things: mental prayer and vocal prayer. Mental prayer is the mediation of the chief mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Vocal prayer consists in saying the decades of the Hail Mary, each decade headed by and Our Father, while at the same time, meditating on and contemplating the principle virtues which Jesus and Mary practices in the twenty Mysteries of the Rosary.

So, the Rosary is a blessed blending of mental and vocal prayer by which we honor and learn to imitate the mysteries and virtues of the life, death, passion and glory of Jesus and Mary.