Our school is imposing the rosary

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babochka said:
We pray the rosary daily as a family because my eldest son, then 8, asked us to pray it. I must admit, I would not pray it if I were not trying to set an example for my children and honor their wishes. It is not my favorite prayer, but it is a beautiful devotion and worthy of praise and respect. My 5 children, ages 3-12, each take turns praying the decades. The three-year-old rarely gets through more than 3 or 4 prayers before somebody else has to step in and finish the decade, but the others all do a remarkable job. Last night I attended a dinner at a friends house and we prayed the rosary together. There were 4 families and 22 children, all of whom participated in the entire rosary. Sure, some of the little ones were wandering a bit, but anybody older than 4 or so sat and prayed for the whole thing. The kids led the decades.
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That really is wonderful. 🙂
 
babochka said:
We pray the rosary daily as a family because my eldest son, then 8, asked us to pray it. I must admit, I would not pray it if I were not trying to set an example for my children and honor their wishes. It is not my favorite prayer, but it is a beautiful devotion and worthy of praise and respect. My 5 children, ages 3-12, each take turns praying the decades. The three-year-old rarely gets through more than 3 or 4 prayers before somebody else has to step in and finish the decade, but the others all do a remarkable job. Last night I attended a dinner at a friends house and we prayed the rosary together. There were 4 families and 22 children, all of whom participated in the entire rosary. Sure, some of the little ones were wandering a bit, but anybody older than 4 or so sat and prayed for the whole thing. The kids led the decades.
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Wow that’s fantastic!
 
This is my first post, so be gentle, but imposing prayer on children is something every parent should do. How else would that child know when/how to pray? Children have to be lead to Our Lord, and if we don’t equip them with tools like proper prayer they will be unable to defend themselves.

I used to be a Protestant many years ago, and was forced to say a blessing before dinner, would the OP find that offensive? I am teaching my 3 year old the rosary now, and she is required to say it with the rest of the family.
 
Heismysword said:
This is my first post, so be gentle, but imposing prayer on children is something every parent should do. How else would that child know when/how to pray? Children have to be lead to Our Lord, and if we don’t equip them with tools like proper prayer they will be unable to defend themselves.

I used to be a Protestant many years ago, and was forced to say a blessing before dinner, would the OP find that offensive? I am teaching my 3 year old the rosary now, and she is required to say it with the rest of the family.
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Posts like this give me so much joy. God bless you and your family!
 
At a Catholic school, the children should learn the rosary. It is the most powerful prayer outside of liturgical prayer. And it is the most pleasing to Our Lady who asks us to pray it. It is not ‘repetitive’ prayer but a wonderful means for meditation and contemplation. It saves souls too.
 
Nacho45 said:
Children go to school unwillingly, do homework and take tests unwillingly. It’s a Catholic school so they are required to do Catholic things, like learn and pray the rosary. This is not bad, its good, even if they don’t want to pray the rosary. Children are just that, children. Where did the notion arise they have a choice when their parents lay out a path for them to follow?
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Well said.

It’s a Catholic school, they should learn Catholic prayers.

We don’t say to them, “We would like you to bless yourself, but if you don’t want to, or even if you want to make up your own way to bless yourself then that’s fine by us”. We don’t say, “We will now pray the Our Father together, but if you want to make up your own words to it then feel free”.

As I think has been said by another on here, the Mass itself is a repetitive prayer. Do we say to children that they can then make up their own responses there also?

Prayers are not simply a means of personal self-expression. When we pray with others we pray together in union, in communion with each other even. Most of the prayers we say are ‘formulaic’ in nature, what is the issue with the Rosary?

It does perplex me when I come across Catholics who are uncomfortable with the Rosary (I’ve even come across Catholic clergy like this). Prayer is not all about some form of ‘freedom of expression’. Yes there is a place for free-form, personal prayer, but ‘formulaic’ prayers that we all say in unison are a core part of our Faith.
 
paperwight66 said:
Again, there is a big difference between teaching what the rosary is and enforcing the saying of it.,
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This is kind of like saying there is a big difference between teaching my kids about math and enforcing that they actually solve equations.

Or there is a big difference between teaching healthy eating and enforcing that they eat healthy.

The peace of Christ,
Mark
 
Ave_Maria said:
At a Catholic school, the children should learn the rosary. It is the most powerful prayer outside of liturgical prayer. And it is the most pleasing to Our Lady who asks us to pray it. It is not ‘repetitive’ prayer but a wonderful means for meditation and contemplation. It saves souls too.
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There are so many wonderful stories on this thread that have been a great inspiration and example to me.
 
In our religious classes at church the children go to Mass before class and before Mass begins Father has Adoration, Rosary and Divine Mercy — they love it — before Mass on the weekends the kids out do their parents on the Rosary and on DM Sunday they knew it and their parents did not. If given the proper guidance the children quickly learn the benefits of the Rosary and other things like the Mass and DM. If a child refuses to say the Rosary then let the be but do not deny the others the opportunity to gain their graces.
 
hansard said:
I have no problem with Catholic schools doing Catholic things: school Masses, retreats, daily prayer, occasional confession opportunities, a general focus on good living, compassion and generosity. We are good at those things, even though few students or staff are actually “Catholic” in the way they practise their faith.

What I have a problem with is forcing children to say a repetitive prayer (counted off on the beads, of course - we wouldn’t want to count incorrectly) when they could be offered the opportunity to make a more personal, meaningful prayer.

For example, when I am required to say a prayer at a meeting, I always ask people to offer quiet prayers of a personal nature. This is in keeping with Matthew 6:6 (“go to your room” etc).

Another concern: if prayers are forced, they can’t be genuine. Therefore, they will not “get through” at all.

If Marian Devotion is not required of the faithful (beyond the main dogmatic statements which are more recognition than devotion), and if praying the Rosary is not required, I won’t be inclined to enforce this.

Surely a carefully considered prayer is of more personal and spiritual value than a dull, repetitive, forced prayer.

(NOTE: I have nothing against those with a devotion to Mary. I admire and respect that. It’s not for me, that’s all.)
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Oh my aching heart…my heart sank when I read your thread…I very much appreciate yr summation with ‘it’s just not for you’…I’l accept that…but just consider this…sure it’s repetitive…but not meaningless…it’s an ancient devotion which is both prayerful and meditative…imagine,immersing oneself in Christ’s agony in the Garden…which we obviously could never totally appreciate…or the Crucifixion…a beautiful book explaining the Rosary entitled…The Spendor of The Rosary…does a superb job of explaining the repetiveness…likens it to …a mother holding her child rocking back in forth saying "I love you…I love you…I love you…and…I am trying to wrap my head around your term…‘imposing’…an imposition…forgive me if I am off base…but,your tone really strikes me as that you are not of our faith…I don’t mean to infer that this is in and of itself bad…however…if this is in fact the case…as you mentioned …that a great number of faculty and the student body are in fact NOT Catholic…if this is the case…I respectively suggest that you should consider enrolling yr student in another school…if students were in a Jewish school they would be introduced to practices that someone not of that faith might find pointless, but nevertheless, they would be expected to practice in these rites…there are all forms of prayer…spontaneous, from the heart…structured, the litanies…and furthermore…I have heard the same remarks from Protestant friends that there is no need for rote prayer…Christ himself gave us the Pater Noster…when He was questioned…‘Father, teach us to pray’…we have, as Catholics such an advantage over our Protestant Bretheren with respect to have such a treasure of rote prayers…further…does our Father in Heaven really care if we pray a prayer once or ten times…prbly not…I am sorry that you feel that this is a practice being forced on yr student (assuming it’s yr student)…and…in conclusion, I am almost certain that if you objected to having yr student take part in this devotion, that the powers that be at the school would respect yr wishes…but…if you are Catholic please avail yrself of doing a little research about this very beautiful devotion…if you are not Catholic…just talk to Admin. and have yr child not participate…tks and may God Bless You…
 
The OP hasnt been back since the end of May.

I dont think he has any interest anymore in this thread, his mind already made up.
 
hansard said:
Oh, and I won’t be praying the Rosary out loud. No way. Prayer should be internal; a thought process. (Matt 6:6)
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If that was the only verse in the Bible, you would be right. Have you ever read the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of John? Assuming that John wasn’t telepathic, Jesus prayed aloud. Do not take the path of Luther and write the word “only” in your Bible where it does not exist. Read beyond the one verse and add nothing. Jesus taught a way to pray, and even gave an example (not that the sinner prayed* aloud* and in the* Temple*).

Yet you show by example the danger of individual interpretation of scripture based on proof-texting. I would say one should not expect a Catholic school to be protestant.
 
hansard said:
So, you all agree that insincere prayers are valid, that children should be educated in repetitive prayers, and that such prayers are as valid as any others.

I think I understand.

You obviously missed the point. Being forced to pray is immoral.
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It is not immoral. No one is forced because no one is forced to go to Catholic school. If they are, it is the parent that is doing the forcing. Also, I would check into just how this force works. Detention for lack of sincerity? Do the watch the lips of the children? This sounds more like a disapproval of the school saying the rosary at all than any principle against forced prayers.
 
Since most here are Catholic, I will tell how our school teaches prayer. They teach both personal prayer and devotional prayers. The rosary is said through the week, a decade each morning, offering it for different intentions. One week, for example, each Hail Mary was offered for a specific state, as a prayer for the country. They also say “living” rosaries, where they form lines of children, instead of beads and will offer a rosary for a special intention, like abortion in January. If children are not taught how to say a rosary, then they will miss part of Catholic spirituality. One does not just pick this up by getting struck by a bolt of lightening.
 
pnewton said:
If that was the only verse in the Bible, you would be right. Have you ever read the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of John? Assuming that John wasn’t telepathic, Jesus prayed aloud. Do not take the path of Luther and write the word “only” in your Bible where it does not exist. Read beyond the one verse and add nothing. Jesus taught a way to pray, and even gave an example (not that the sinner prayed* aloud* and in the* Temple*).

Yet you show by example the danger of individual interpretation of scripture based on proof-texting. I would say one should not expect a Catholic school to be protestant.
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Yes, but Protestant in what sense? I don’t believe many Protestants count praying the Hail Mary (or anything directed to a Saint) counts as prayer in the strict sense. Even as Catholics we should be careful that we don’t pray to anyone other than God.
 
ProVobis said:
Yes, but Protestant in what sense? I don’t believe many Protestants count praying the Hail Mary (or anything directed to a Saint) counts as prayer in the strict sense. Even as Catholics we should be careful that we don’t pray to anyone other than God.
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By protestant, I mean one should not expect a Catholic school to shun the rosary, embrace proof-texting or teach all prayer should be done silently, as per the posters reference to Matthew 6:6.

Rather, Catholic schools will mostly be along the lines of the Catechism, teaching the moral code in the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, and Catholic spirituality, including role of Mary.

**2679 ** Mary is the perfect Orans (pray–er), 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
 
I LOVE my rosary – it’s the last thing I check to make sure it’s in my purse before I leave the house. It’s beautiful – my granddaughter sent it to me from Notre Dame of Paris. The first two decades I say with my 1st cup of coffee – the next 2 decades I say when I’m walking to public transportation or to Church or in front of the computer with EWTN on the screen – and the last decade before I turn out the light at night. I couldn’t get through my day without the rosary!
 
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