LoTH or Rosary?

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Right now, I managed to do LoTH morning and evening, as well as one 5 dacade rosary at night. However, I am wondering, would it be better to do 2-3 (or even all 4) rosary? I actually feel more in rosary, though it’s much harder to start per rosary session.

Also, I realized that my grandfather’s death day is almost coming. Think I should do Office of the dead, the Actual Rosary for the dead (psalm 130 + Glorious Myster + 4 decades for chaplet of the dead), or just pray a a glorius mystery with standard formula and do a Divine mercy immediately afterwards?
 
Different people have different spiritualities. The Catholic faith is rich in prayer traditions, and very holy people pray in all sorts of ways, or may even experience changes over the course of their lives in the best way for them to talk with God.

If you find the rosary more enriching, then do that!

I think whatever you do for your grandfather will be wonderful. There’s no “perfect” answer here - just to keep praying. 🙂
 
Just one point to consider-- LotH is just that-- liturgy. As such it is truly the prayer of the Church and as such objectively “outweighs,” for lack of a better word, mere private devotions.
 
Jestersage said:
Right now, I managed to do LoTH morning and evening, as well as one 5 dacade rosary at night. However, I am wondering, would it be better to do 2-3 (or even all 4) rosary? I actually feel more in rosary, though it’s much harder to start per rosary session.

Also, I realized that my grandfather’s death day is almost coming. Think I should do Office of the dead, the Actual Rosary for the dead (psalm 130 + Glorious Myster + 4 decades for chaplet of the dead), or just pray a a glorius mystery with standard formula and do a Divine mercy immediately afterwards?
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The Liturgy of the Hours is the Church’s liturgy. The liturgy of the Church is more excellent than any other form of prayer…or private devotion.
 
As already mentioned, the LOTH is the prayer of the Church. As you read the history of the rosary, which developed out of the laity, you will learn that it began because the laity did not have the time to pay the psalms in the same manner as they heard the monks praying daily. Over time, the rosary developed to form with which we are familiar today.
The Catholic Church, being the Universal Church, the LOTH honors the hours of the day throughout the world. Since it is being prayed throughout the world, it follows what St. Paul advises, in the Church is praying unceasingly.
While I hear of other people praying multiple rosaries throughout the day, I have never been a person to pray more than a single rosary. I focus on the mysteries of the day. Saturday, being dedicated to Our Lady, I may pray the entire rosary.

The Church has many popular devotions that you might find of interest. I learned about the Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary when I read Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion. He gave this prayer to his religious families.

Many people use 3pm as a prayer hour, since it is the hour of Our Lord’s Passion. It is the time traditionally set for the Divine Mercy Prayer. 6am, noon, and 6pm are traditionally the hours of the Angelus.

During the 15 minutes you might use for an extra rosary, you could read 3 chapters of scripture, completely reading the Bible in one year. You might like to read some of the writings of the Saints.

Whatever you choose to do with your prayer life, don’t think of it as list to be checked off. It is time to be spent “lifting heart and mind to God.” Prayer is communication, and not mere rote recitation.
One daily rosary prayed slowly, deliberately, and with reverence would be better than multiple rosaries with little thought to the mysteries.
 
I’m a big fan of the LOTH. The Rosary never really fed me spiritually. The LOTH does. Deb is right about the history of the Rosary, it was a form of emulation of the prayer of the monks due to lack of time, but also back in the day, something like a 70% illiteracy rate.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Rosary, it’s just that liturgical prayer is the official prayer of the entire Church. The LOTH is the prayer of the Church, for the Church. Whenever one ends, say, Lauds, someone in another time zone is starting Lauds, and you took over from someone who finished it in another time zone, or habitually prays it at an earlier time than you.

If you think of it, it’s pretty amazing, the LOTH is being prayed almost continuously all over the world, all day. Truly, “pray without ceasing”.
 
OraLabora said:
I’m a big fan of the LOTH. The Rosary never really fed me spiritually. The LOTH does. Deb is right about the history of the Rosary, it was a form of emulation of the prayer of the monks due to lack of time, but also back in the day, something like a 70% illiteracy rate.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Rosary, it’s just that liturgical prayer is the official prayer of the entire Church. The LOTH is the prayer of the Church, for the Church. Whenever one ends, say, Lauds, someone in another time zone is starting Lauds, and you took over from someone who finished it in another time zone, or habitually prays it at an earlier time than you.

If you think of it, it’s pretty amazing, the LOTH is being prayed almost continuously all over the world, all day. Truly, “pray without ceasing”.
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You’re right. I didn’t mention that most people couldn’t read.
My day starts right when I begin with the LOTH. Since the Office of Readings (Matins) and Morning Prayer (Lauds) can be combined, that’s what I do. I didn’t always have the whole set of books.
I have a subscription to Word Among Us, and will usually finish my morning prayers by reading the daily Mass readings.
 
DebChris said:
You’re right. I didn’t mention that most people couldn’t read.
My day starts right when I begin with the LOTH. Since the Office of Readings (Matins) and Morning Prayer (Lauds) can be combined, that’s what I do. I didn’t always have the whole set of books.
I have a subscription to Word Among Us, and will usually finish my morning prayers by reading the daily Mass readings.
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I’ve used that formula of the Office of Readings (or Vigils as it is still known in the monastic world) combined with Lauds. Lately though I’ve been feeling a call to use the monastic breviary of the abbey I’m an oblate of. One, the priests need more prayers for vocations, and two, I need more prayers for me and my family so I feel more in communion with the monks this way.

I’m a morning person, so I’m usually up at 5:30 am. I pray Vigils according to the monastic formula (Schema B). Then, following the Rule of St. Benedict for the Divine Office in summer, I follow “after a short break” with Lauds. Then Terce, Sext+None at noon, Vespers at 5 pm, and Compline after dinner (we usually eat quite late; as I write this it’s 7 pm and we haven’t started yet). In winter, after Vigils I have breakfast and pray Lauds after breakfast so that it is truly prayed just after sunrise.

At the end of my morning prayers, I read the martyrology for the day, and then I set up my Bible de la Liturgie (French liturgical translation of the Bible) on my lectern, and read the daily Gospel. I re-read the Gospel after each Office throughout the day; I make one final reading before Compline, then read the Rule of St. Benedict chapter for the next day, followed by Compline itself.

Caveat: I’m retired so I can pull it off, but it still takes more effort and discipline than the secular LOTH.
 
Alright. I will keep my Morning + Evening + Daily rosary for everyday, and do Office of the Dead + rosary (my assumption would be it’s glorious mystery for that right?) for my grandpa
 
Jestersage said:
Alright. I will keep my Morning + Evening + Daily rosary for everyday, and do Office of the Dead + rosary (my assumption would be it’s glorious mystery for that right?) for my grandpa
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I normally say the Office of the dead after the death of the person in concern.

For those in ill health, or nearing death, I include them in the intercessory prayer with Lauds and Vespers.
 
otjm said:
I normally say the Office of the dead after the death of the person in concern.

For those in ill health, or nearing death, I include them in the intercessory prayer with Lauds and Vespers.
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This is exactly what I do.
 
vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P9F.HTM

*'2678 Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours. In the East, the litany called the Akathistos and the Paraclesis remained closer to the choral office in the Byzantine churches, while the Armenian, Coptic, and Syriac traditions preferred popular hymns and songs to the Mother of God. But in the Ave Maria, the theotokia, the hymns of St. Ephrem or St. Gregory of Narek, the tradition of prayer is basically the same.

2679 Mary is the perfect Orans (prayer), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes,39 for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. the prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.40’*
 
When my husband died, I was living overseas. I belonged to Couples for Christ who provided a non-liturgical memorial service before I flew back to the States for the funeral. Don’t overlook community support from your parish.
While the typical time that the Divine Mercy is prayed is 3pm. the hour of Our Lord’s Passion, is also prayed in memorial of a loved one.
 
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