Is praying the Rosary really a must?

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HillbillyHermit said:
Nothing back from the OP. It’d be nice to know if the replies we’ve given were in any way helpful. :confused:
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Hello,
My apologies for not giving feedback for all the help you have offered. I was sending PMs to everyone who posted on this thread, but then I lost track of who I had sent and who I hadn’t. I’d love to say big thank you’s to all of you who have contributed to this thread. I was simply confused about the whole thing, but now I have a clearer picture of what’s going on (i’m talking about praying the rosary). I have saved some of the replies in a document in MS Word since they have been very enlightening.

Has anything changed in my life so far?
Well, yes! I started praying the rosary and now it’s less tedious, if I may use that word, because that’s exactly how I felt before. I borrowed a few ideas here and there and suddenly, everything has just worked out. Lately I had an issue with a relationship I had. It wasn’t even a relationship. I just had a crush on someone, who i’m quite unsure if he shares the same feelings. It brought me down a lot, until I prayed meditatively and now I realize that all I need is God. If things work out, I’ll be happy. If they don’t I’ll *still be happy. I have placed my trust in Our Holy Virgin, and I believe that she will protect me throughout this journey. I have learnt to let God’s will be. (I have to mention that I thought that this last paragraph had too much info. I still think it does. :o But still, I have left it there just as a living example to how my life has been changed by the whole thing about praying the Rosary)

God bless you all!! Thank you!! 🙂
 
Commit to once a week, and naturally you will feel compel to do it more often to the point to do it every day.

It isn’t a requirement to do the rosary but if you do, you have the blessed Mother Mary on your side.

Blessings and love!
 
My apologies for not giving feedback for all the help you have offered.
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No problem. 😃
I borrowed a few ideas here and there and suddenly, everything has just worked out.
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Good to know some things were of help!
I’ve had to try various ways to find what works also. I finally have it narrowed down to a few, and even after that, there are days that I just have to remember the consecration I made to her and trust her to take care of me. (What a job that must be!)

:blessyou:
 
fred_conty said:
35 times said X 45 minutes = 1,575 minutes = 26 .25 hours - 24 hours in day = 2.25 hours over one day.
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Right. But 24 hours is enough time to do 32 at that rate, which fits what I said: “he could do that more than 30 times in 24 hours.” And that’s assuming he wasn’t faster than 15 minutes per set of mysteries. He may have been faster, for all I know.
 
aspirant said:
Right. But 24 hours is enough time to do 32 at that rate, which fits what I said: “he could do that more than 30 times in 24 hours.” And that’s assuming he wasn’t faster than 15 minutes per set of mysteries. He may have been faster, for all I know.
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PS you have to take in account he had a gift from god so he could do multiple things at once and the rosary was always in his hand.
 
I think it would be awesome if we could bilocate. Have one of us praying the Rosary while the other one goes out and kills mastodons and stuff.

Alan
 
Classicist said:
The Rosary did not exist for more than 1200 years; some of the greatest Fathers of Catholic unity, doctrinal Orthodoxy, and saintliness lived in that period. It is clearly not necessary for Christians. What is absolutely necessary is the Holy Mass, the Psalms, and a devout love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The rest may follow. 🙂
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True, but remember the Word did not become flesh until many centuries of human history had passed, but the Word was from the beginning and every human from Adam on down depend on Him for salvation. Jesus the Word made flesh is clearly necessary for all humans who ever lived.

What I’m trying to say is that the timing of something’s entrance in history does not diminish its importance or affect whether or not it was a part of God’s plan from the beginning, or whether or not it is necessary for Christians.

One might argue that the Rosary is not necessary for Christians from another angle but this particular argument from history is not the strongest.
 
No it’s not a ‘‘must’’ but it is a ‘‘should’’ 😃 so it’s not mandatory.

Why is it a should?

Well, I haven’t done prayed The Rosary in a long time but I have recently started praying it everyday, it makes me feel better at the end of the day, it makes me feel protected, whenever I am stressed, it makes me feel more peaceful. There are lots of things it makes people feel, we all vary, this is just me though but it is a very powerful prayer, ever since I prayed The Rosary I have been sinning less.
 
WaCyn said:
Hi, I’ve been having a really hard time praying the Rosary, since I can’t concentrate as well, and end up repeating prayers all the time. It gets me a bit frustrated and I feel happier just praying and speaking to God, and listening to praise Gospel. Am I still on the right track or should I still strive to pray the rosary?
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Do you have iTunes/iPod? Try downloading the Rosary Army rosary casts by by Greg and Jennifer Willits. I have found these incredibly helpful, and I play them many times when going to/from work. They have scriptural rosaries which recite a line of scripture after each Hail Mary so you can meditate one piece at a time.

Having said that, the rosary is definitely not required. However, as you can see from the other posts here, very beneficial.
 
Praying the Rosary is morally praiseworthy but not morally obligatory.

I gotta say, though, since I started praying the Rosary nine months ago, my life has dramatically changed. My old self wouldn’t even recognize me!

Our Lady loves us sooooo much, and the graces she obtains for us from her son are so good!

If you pray the Rosary, you cannot fail in your Christian walk!
 
WaCyn said:
Hi, I’ve been having a really hard time praying the Rosary, since I can’t concentrate as well, and end up repeating prayers all the time. It gets me a bit frustrated and I feel happier just praying and speaking to God, and listening to praise Gospel. Am I still on the right track or should I still strive to pray the rosary?
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If I were you, I would try my hardest to respond to Our Lady’s request at Fatima to pray at least 5decades of the holy Rosary daily. Pray only one decade at a time, if you have to … just try to pray it seeing Our Lady has specifically requested that we all pray it.
 
I, too struggle with distractions. To remedy this I am developing meditations to focus on for each bead. For the fourth Sorrowful decade I use ten of the stations: condemned; takes up cross; falls, meets mother; Simeon; Veronica; falls; women; falls; stripped. For the fifth decade I meditate on the seven last words, plus: “Father, forgive”; jeered by passersby; “This day…”; “Woman, behold”; “Behold thy mother”; My God, why"; “I thirst”; “It is finished”; “Into Thy hands”; immediately blood and water flowed out.

I got the idea for this from “The Threefold Garland” by Balthasar. In the preface, the translator cites a book giving a meditation for each bead. Unfortunately, it is written in French: "Maria: Etudes sur la Sainte Vierge”, vol 2, pp. 657-675. Does anyone know French? We could all benefit from having a translation of these meditations.

A helpful book for meditation by Bishop Sheen, “Seven Words of Jesus and Mary” sets His last words beside the seven recorded words of Mary. .:gopray:
 
ready said:
If I were you, I would try my hardest to respond to Our Lady’s request at Fatima to pray at least 5decades of the holy Rosary daily. Pray only one decade at a time, if you have to … just try to pray it seeing Our Lady has specifically requested that we all pray it.
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The Fatima message, as far as I know, is private revelation and isn’t a requirement for Catholics.

Here are a couple things from the Vatican site I think are worth repeating:
  1. Popular piety has always been interested in extraordinary happenings and events that are not infrequently connected with private revelations. While not confined to Marian piety alone, this phenomenon is particularly involved with “apparitions” and “messages”. In this regard, it is useful to recall what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about private revelation: “Throughout the ages, there have been so-called private revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church” (n. 67)(102).
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  1. “In recommending the value and beauty of the Rosary to the faithful, care should be taken to avoid discrediting other forms of prayer, or of overlooking the existence of a diversity of other Marian chaplets which have also been approved by the Church”(244). It is also important to avoid inculcating a sense of guilt in those who do not habitually recite the Rosary: “The Rosary is an excellent prayer, in regard to which, however, the faithful should feel free to recite it, in virtue of its inherent beauty”(245).
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From the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

:tiphat:
 
WaCyn said:
Hi, I’ve been having a really hard time praying the Rosary, since I can’t concentrate as well, and end up repeating prayers all the time. It gets me a bit frustrated and I feel happier just praying and speaking to God, and listening to praise Gospel. Am I still on the right track or should I still strive to pray the rosary?
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The rosary is not an absolute necessity for it was not around when the church was formed and began to preach what was necessary.

However we could say that about a lot of nice devotions and holy practices we have today which fall into the same category but that dosen’t mean that they aren’t important to many many Catholics.

The one big factor that makes the rosary outstanding is that Mary herself has recommended it.
Now who could know what is a good prayer more than Mary? I don’t believe she would have asked that it be said unless she knew what was important to her son Jesus and good for us. So that puts the rosary right there among the top prayers of all time, just because she recommended it. And can we afford to ignore the Mother of God?

Maybe if we have problems with praying the rosary then it is something we have overlooked in saying it. It does require a lot of attention and effort to pray it well. From my own experience in praying it, it is a rarity that I find it easy. But easy or hard, I do know one thing about it, it gives me the grace I need to remain faithful to her Son and to stay close and away from things that would hurt me. Of that I am sure.

So hard or easy, I believe Mary when she says “pray the rosary” for she, I know for sure, knows what she is talking about. So whether it suits me or not, or whether I feel like it or not, or whether I have a hard day or a nice one, I pray the rosary and rely on Mary rather than on myself to know what is best for me.

So, just some thoughts about a wonderful mother who loves us and teaches us.
 
In these times, it is important that we pray the Rosary. It is not optional! When our Mother and Queen appears like She did at Fatima and tells us “Every person must recite the Rosary everyday.”, She isn’t giving us an option. She is giving us a command and as Her sons and daughters, we must listen to Her because She is our Mother and She wants each and every one of us to save our souls. Pray the Rosary and see how your life changes. It really did for me and I am very grateful for Her intercession!
Consider using meditations from the Saints on the Mysteries or even passages from Scripture to help. There’s a really great book called “The Secret of the Rosary” by Saint Louis de Montfort that you can find online. It really helps.
 
For those who say it is not optional:
To reiterate:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=10632691&postcount=55

Not that I don’t love the Rosary. I do, very much. BUT…that doesn’t mean it should be forced it on someone else, or lay the guilt trip on 'em if they don’t do it. The same thing goes for Fatima, the Divine Mercy message/devotion, Lourdes, or whatever other approved private revelation/devotion there is. So, to say again, the Rosary is not a must. It’s one of many great things our Church gives us to freely choose.

As far as the Rosary being difficult…I often wonder, from my own experience and that of others, if we’re making it harder than it has to be. One thing in common among Mary’s appearances is that the people are either children or live simply. And from the Gospels, Christ Himself used a lot of parables, which to me is simply putting it in ways regular people can receive it, remember it, and keep thinking about it. Keep it simple! So I’m gonna recommend again, a small article from the Rosary Confraternity’s newsletter. I think this is something that could help a lot of people.

LINK to: The Rosary Light & Life - Vol 45, No 2, Mar-Apr 1992

Especially worth reading IMO is the last section, titled “Pray the Rosary - Pray it Well.” Grab the beads, look to Jesus and Mary with love, and they’ll help ya out.👍
 
A must? No. A great thing to do? Yes.

I’m not trying to sound dramatic, but, I fully returned to my faith he Church, just over 5 years ago when I learned of my wife being pregnant with our 2nd child. It was at Easter, I was in Church, and I just felt like I never had before. Did my first confession in years, back to Church regularly, started reading and studying the Bible, and within a number of months, learned how to properly pray the Rosary.

I have been saying it nearly daily for 5 years now. It makes me feel good. I tend to be a nicer person when I pray it daily; and, slightly scary to me, is the fact that I am at times “drawn” to not pray it. To give it up if you will. When is this? Generally right after confession, or when things have been going really well for me. Why does this scare me? I sometimes wonder if it’s not the devil himself try to persuade me away from it when I’m in a true state of grace. (Yeah, I know, sounds kind of nuts eh)? At those times, I try to pray it even more.

Anyway, start slow. Don’t think you have to pray all the decades every day, or feel rushed etc. Just start to learn it. You’ll fall in love with it, as it will become such a part of your daily prayer life!
 
The rosary I am devoted to with distractions and all. I don’t give up. I sleep with my rosary in my bed by my side a lot of nights. Our Lady is just that special to me and I don’t say it everyday. Sometimes I miss a week saying it. Seldom lately, that’s how I know I’m getting better with it. She has been a great friend of mine and has done many favors for me through Her blessed son. I try and keep her close to my heart and it works for me. Our Lord created me in His image and He knew me before I was born. He knows i’m easily distracted and am working hard and praying for patience. I always have been hyper. It’s simply the way He made me. He loves us all so much. Just be natural. He doesn’t expect us to do things perfectly. He just wants us to do our best.
 
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