Is the Rosary a contradiction of Matthew 6:7

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Hello all.

I am not looking for a doctrinal arguement, this is a genuine question looking for the most genuine answer.

I recently looked into praying the rosary, I tried for a while but I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was contradicting what Christ says about prayer in Matthew 6:7 about not saying the same thing over and over again, which if you are being honest is exactly what the rosary is. How do you as a Catholic harmonise this apparent contradiction?

I hope this question doesn’t come across as rude or disrespectful, it is asked in all sincerity.

Regards
 
There is the potential for that I suppose. If one were of the mindset that the only goal was to finish the prayers and cash in on the spiritual benefits I think it might be troublesome, but I find when the mysteries are indeed meditated in, then it is of immense value.
 
Jesus is saying to not pray so that others may hear you and think you are holy, that would be hypocrisy. He is also saying not to rush through all the prayers like they are just ritualistic and habitual and have no meaning.

The Rosary should be focused on reflecting on Jesus’ life throughout the Gospels and trying to cultivate the fruit of the mysteries. If someone is saying the Rosary really quickly out of like obligation to say it instead of actually praying it, then that is bad. If someone is praying the Rosary so that others hear that is hypocrisy because you see but do not hear, you don’t understand true prayer.

I pray the Rosary almost daily and if I start to feel like I’m rushing to “get through with it” then that isn’t good.
 
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Repetition is not the problem. Jesus repeated the same prayer in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, for example.

Depending on the translation, Jesus was speaking in that verse about the pagans, the heathens, or the Gentiles. But it’s all the same thing. He was referring to the way pagans prayed to their idols and deities, mindlessly repeating incantations to will or force their false god into hearing them.

The Rosary is repetitive but that alone doesn’t mean it’s bad—see also repetitive Psalms, litanies, and prayers during Mass. While repetitive, it’s also can change so much for the person praying it—because we’re supposed to meditate and contemplate the mysteries of Jesus’ life while praying it.

Any discussion about the Rosary would be incomplete if it did not mention that the Blessed Virgin Mary gave the Rosary to St. Dominic to fight the Albigensian heresy. The Rosary is a prayer centered on the Gospels, and the repetition of it throughout our lives will, through Mary’s intercession, bring us closer to Jesus and strengthen our faith.
 
No, but Matthew 6:8 and 9 demonstrates who our prayers should be directed to.
 
Every day before I leave work, my husband and I exchange "Love you!"s. Same words, same tone of voice. Would you call that vain repetition?

Look at it in a church-ey way.

If everyone in your church stands up and sings a song that is simply “I love you, Jesus. I worship you Jesus. Your love is my source. I love you, Jesus”. The worship team leads people in that song, repeating those lines over and over for 3 minutes, or for 15 minutes (I’ve been to some Charismatic gatherings where one song will last that long), are they praying with vain repetitions?
 
Critics of the Rosary focus so often on the repeated Hail Marys, Our Fathers, etc., but they completely miss that while you’re saying those prayers, you’re supposed to be meditating on events from the lives of Jesus and Mary. If you do that part right, it’s anything but vain.
 
I agree with @EricF

When I pray the rosary I hardly notice the words I’m saying because I’m visualising the mysteries, it becomes second nature after a while.

I find praying the rosary very beneficial. It is unique too.
 
The Rosary was given by Our Lady herself, so I don’t believe it contradicts Our Lord’s Divine Revelation.
I agree when some say that the Bible is not for everyone, after all some confusions and problems come out when people read it without proper support or guidance, I’m not saying that that’s the case here, but…
 
Tom7 said:
How do you as a Catholic harmonise this apparent contradiction?
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No contradiction. The main context of the verse is not saying the same thing over and over again but saying vain words or empty phrases over and over again.

I never read the “Easy to Read” Bible before but it gives good insight.
Matthew 6:7 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

7 “And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them.
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That is spot on. Don’t pray over and over thinking eventually God will hear you.

That is not the intention of anyone who is willing to pray the rosary. They know that from the first hail Mary to the last that God is listening. They aren’t praying the rosary hoping God will hear them before they reach the 50th hail Mary.

My personal opinion on this is the entire context of this chapter is focused on verse 1 where Jesus speaks of people who pray and give only to be seen by others. Quite honestly, still just my personal opinion, I think He isn’t talking about the people who kneel by their bed to say the Rosary here. He is talking about the people who love to stand up in front of others and give these long lengthy prayers filled with and’s and um’s making sure that everyone around them thinks wow this guy sure knows how to pray.

To me pray to the saints is no big deal. All in all I don’t believe God is such a tyrant that He get’s upset when we ask one another to pray for us. God is Father and we are his children. Would you tell your own children they can only come to you? Would you prefer your son, with a problem, go to his sister because he is incapable of coming to you or would you be happier if he ran away instead of offending you by going to his sister and asking her to come to you?

On a final note if imperfect me is willing to take my limited amount of free time and spend it praying for my children now. Wouldn’t it make sense that when I am perfected in heaven and have all the time in the world with no distractions that I would want to pray for them even more.

Just my 2 cents.

God Bless
 
@Tom7

2 Peter 1:20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
Tom7 said:
I tried for a while but I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was contradicting what Christ says about prayer in Matthew 6:7 about not saying the same thing over and over again, which if you are being honest is exactly what the rosary is. How do you as a Catholic harmonise this apparent contradiction?
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There is no contradicting of Christ saying about Mat 6:7 ,but rather some Christians wrongly interpreter it.here Jesus is saying about people who doubt god and keep asking, him again and again, because of lack of faith as said in James 1:6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7, 8 for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Hear Rosary is like the rain in which like a refreshments, and help our spiritual life like a dew each day Hebrews 6:7 Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.**Psalm 133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion(Mary).For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.**1 Peter 1:24 For“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,and the flower falls,25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”the Rosary is word of god too. Lamentations 3:22,23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,his mercies never come to an end;23 they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.

hear st Paul says of repeating the word of god again and again in word or letter it doesn’t mean its contradiction Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers and sisters rejoice To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!
 
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Repititive prayer isn’t wrong, otherwise Jesus Himself would have contradicted this instruction during the Passion, when He was in the garden and asking for the cup to pass from Him.

Jesus explicitly condemned vain repititions- He qualified what kind of repetitive prayer is wrong, and it’s not simply reciting the same words or asking for something twice.
 
The rosary (properly said) is not a set of vain repetitions.
 
Tom7 said:
Matthew 6:7 about not saying the same thing over and over again,
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That is not at all what Christ says in Matthew 6:7.

Babbling pagans refers to their long litany of many gods they prayed to trying to “cover all their bases”. Vain repetition means empty words.
 
This argument that about repetitive prayer is often used as a means to discredit one of the most effective prayers at your disposal.
As others have already mentioned, Our Lord was focused on those who pray to be seen, rather than from the heart. They are simply repeating words without any meaning or any true sense that prayers will be answered, vain repetition.
A great prayer with repetitive phrasing can be found in Daniel Chapter 3 as the three young men praise God in the fiery furnace “sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.”
This song is prayed much like litanies are prayed. “Bless the Lord,________” followed by the response “sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.”

The rosary also has the meditative element. The actual words from the prayers within the rosary form the background for meditating on the life of Christ.
 
In the Bible there is another place where Jesus describes the Pharisee and the publican who go into the Temple to pray. The Pharisee said a long extemporaneous prayer and he was not justified. The Pharisee kept repeating over and over again, “Lord have mercy on me.” and he was justified.
In another place the blind man, Bartimeus was calling out to Jesus as he approached, “Lord Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy on me!!!” The crowd tried to get him to be quiet. Yet he kept repeating the same prayer in a loud voice over and over again. Jesus healed him.
 
There’s a difference between a “vain repetition” and just a repetition.

A repetition of a prayer that is sincere and, in the case of the Rosary, is done to provide a background for meditation on the lives of Jesus and Mary is not “vain” in the least. If you’re just babbling a prayer over and over because you feel you have to say it 50 times to show off or “cover all your bases” or get God’s attention, then you’re into the “vain repetitions”.

My Rosary is like one big prayer made up of a whole bunch of little prayers, the same way as a cross-stitch picture of a flower is made up of dozens of little colored X stitches. I’m not just babbling prayers over and over to show off or because I think God won’t hear me until I say it 50 times.

I would add that most of these ideas about the Rosary being against the Bible and statues being against the Bible and so forth happen when people decide to interpret the Bible by taking one thing out of the context of what Jesus was actually preaching against. It’s pretty clear that the issue here is that “heathens” think they will be heard for their “much speaking”, which is not why Catholics say the Rosary. We can be heard just as quickly by God if we just said one prayer once. We’re saying the Rosary because the purpose of the prayer is to provide a background for us to meditate while we pray.
 
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