Issues praying the rosary

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Seekingthetruth

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So just some quick background…I’m a protestant Christian who is becoming interested in Catholicism. I’m beginning to fall in love with Catholicism but i still have some issues with doctrine within the church which is why I can’t convert. So I decided I would start praying the rosary in hopes that God would help soften my heart and help me work past my issues, the thing is as i pray i find it hard to pray deeply and stay concentrated. I usually get through half of it and then feel like I’m failing and then just give up. Does anyone have any advice that will help me pray more deeply?
 
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People have different methods of praying the rosary. Some pray a decade throughout the day, some use calming music to help focus them.

Whats helped me is having an intention everytime I change beads. So for example, one bead for my mom, second bead for my dad, third for friends, etc. Contemplating on the mysteries within that decade also helps, like the annunciation or visitation.

Hope this helps!
 
The Rosary? Fine.

Go to Jesus Christ, present to us, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament! If you do not believe that Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist, there is absolutely no reason to become Catholic.

My advice is to call your local parish and find when they offer adoration. Then, just go! Sit. Gaze upon Him. Tell Him of your worries, fears, doubts. Then, be as patient with Him as He has been with you.

And, when you receive your consolation, you will be changed. Conversion will then be a matter of conscience.
 
po18guy said:
If you do not believe that Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist, there is absolutely no reason to become Catholic.
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And that’s one of the issues i face. That’s one of the reasons I’m praying for.
po18guy said:
My advice is to call your local parish and find when they offer adoration
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I may do just that, where i live there are more catholic parishes than McDonalds haha I’ve got 3 within 5 miles of me so i just need to get calling i guess haha
 
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Welcome to CAF. 🙂

Rather than give you advice on how to pray more deeply, I encourage you to persevere in praying the best you can and realize that your sincere efforts please God.

When I learned to ski, I initially spent a lot of time on my face, my side, my behind…everything except on my feet. It is only in getting up and making another attempt, and another, and another, that I eventually became a skier. I’m still in the process of mastering it, and I know I will never have perfect technique…but I can indeed ski.

Prayer is similar. The more you do it, the “better” you get at it. Keep at it, and be kind with yourself as you improve. Don’t let the devil discourage you with thoughts of failure. You are praying, and God loves that you pray!

God bless :pray:t3:
 
As a cradle Catholic, I pray the Rosary daily and yes there are some days still that I just can’t concentrate or “fall apart” half way through! Even the great saint Therese of Lisieux confessed that she couldn’t say the Rosary without falling asleep at times. Just keep persisting, and you’ll find like anything else that it becomes easier–you develop more of a skill at meditation, guided by God of course. The key is to persist in love, no matter how you “feel”. We as Catholics love those times we have great or holy feelings, but that’s more the exception than the norm. The norm is like loving one’s spouse everyday: it can be equally full of effort, dryness, and tedium. Offer the Rosary to Our Lady, do your best, and you’ve done it well. When distractions come (again, even the greatest saints had many distractions at prayer) just lovingly bring your mind back to the Mystery when you catch it drifting. God reads the heart and rewards your good intentions.
 
Are you praying one decade at a time? Start slowly, concentrate on each prayer, each word. If you only get through one decade, thats ok. Just continue praying and add your intentions. We do not have to pray the entire Rosary and one prayer done well is far better then 50 done badly.

Try one or two prayers done well.

We have to learn to pray 🙂
 
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Limoncello4021 said:
Offer the Rosary to Our Lady, do your best, and you’ve done it well. When distractions come (again, even the greatest saints had many distractions at prayer) just lovingly bring your mind back to the Mystery when you catch it drifting.
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Yeah that seems to happen to me a lot haha but I’ll definitely slow down and focus a little bit more. Thanks for the advice!
 
I recently started saying Rosary on my morning walk and love it since it unites the body and soul. It was suggestion from Father this past Sunday.
 
Don’t quote me definitively but I believe i heard this from Scott Hahn:

If you’re concerned about devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, say a prayer and ask God to give you guidance on the matter. You can’t go wrong with that. And He will give you the truth, which will be exactly what will inspire you to pray the Rosary with deep solace. If you’re new to it, coming from a Protestant tradition, you’re going to see what a wonderful thing it is.
 
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Seekingthetruth said:
Shew thats encouraging! Haha and i guess your right, i just need to take it a step at a time. 🙂
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Here is some more encouragement, thats how we learn to pray. Not by pressing out as many Hail Marys as fast as possible, but doing a couple, slowly and considered whilst practicing meditating on a mystery.
 
I tend to pray for others first then personal issues

there is a perpetual rosary thread where you can pray for others. you can search through it to find the proper mystery and read the intentions and prayers as you say the rosary
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Let's Pray a Perpetual Rosary Spirituality
I’ll start off with the apostles’ creed, to be followed by the Lord’s prayer by another person, then Hail Mary by another one, and so on… One bead per individual. You may repeat as many times as you want, but try not to do it twice consecutively; that way, others will have the chance to join in. You may even state your prayer intention for each bead, if you wish. We’ll commence with the Joyful Mysteries, followed by the Luminous, then the Sorrowful, and finish it with the Glorious. At the end o…
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We should prepare ourselves for the sacred mysteries. So know and recall the scenes, and memorise the scripture passages so that it becomes well impressed on your mind .

The Hail Mary prayers are kind of like a ‘background music’’ been recited, the real substance here is the meditation as we enter into the mysteries of Christs life.

The Rosary should not be recited fast , it should be thoughtful, engaging the mind.
 
Praying the Rosary can be difficult for me as I am diagnosed ADHD. I use a book that has a Bible verse or two (or sometimes a part of a verse) to read before each Hail Mary. The verses are about the mystery I am praying.
https://www.amazon.com/Pray-Rosary-...73022&sprefix=Pray+the+roasary,aps,169&sr=8-3

This is one book of the type. The one I use is one I put together for myself but I started out on this one.

If you want to look into evidence of the Real Presence, Check out Brant Petre’s Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist.
https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Jewish...&sprefix=jesus+and+the+jewish+,aps,171&sr=8-2

Patrick
AMDG
 
phoage said:
Praying the Rosary can be difficult for me as I am diagnosed ADHD. I use a book that has a Bible verse or two (or sometimes a part of a verse) to read before each Hail Mary. The verses are about the mystery I am praying.
Pray the Rosary: Peyton, Patrick: 9780899420523: Amazon.com: Books

This is one book of the type. The one I use is one I put together for myself but I started out on this one.

If you want to look into evidence of the Real Presence, Check out Brant Petre’s Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist.
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper: Pitre, Brant, Hahn, Scott: 9780385531863: Amazon.com: Books

Patrick
AMDG
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@phoage

I agree with your recommendations. The Brant Pitre book, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper,” is great for anyone wanting more background or understanding, for cradle Catholics, as well as for recent converts and the curious. It helps with bridging continuity from Old Testament days to the New Testament teachings of Christ, Himself, and the behaviors of day-to-day living in those earliest days of Catholicism.
 
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The true intent of the Rosary prayer is for it to be contemplative, not just decades of repetitious prayer said by rote.

Each Hail Mary should become so normal that it’s akin to doing other things in life, like driving a car. You don’t think much about getting into the car, starting it, and shifting into drive. We do it almost automatically.

The same with the Hail Mary prayers of the Rosary.

I don’t even say the words verbally, but silently interiorly as I mediate on the mysteries. When I become aware I’ve become distracted, I just gently return to the Hail Mary which points me back to meditating on the mystery.

Also, in the early days of learning to pray, I use to have a video picture running in my mind on the mystery. Usually the image came from the Jesus of Nazareth movie.

However, that isn’t the case anymore. I meditate on the mystery in that it happened and that there is a deeper meaning than just the video image my mind plays. The Holy Spirit will reveal the deeper meanings as He desires and often they are profound and can’t be expressed in vocal words.

I now say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy the same way.

Contemplative Prayer has helped me learn to pray deeply, but it’s God who gives the gift.
 
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