I’m sure we can safely file this under “ignorant questions of converts” but I want to ask anyway because I want to do it properly and I can’t figure this out on my own. When you come to the first (or any for that matter) decade of the rosary it says to meditate on a mystery while praying. Perhaps I have a faulty definition of either terms, specifically meditation, but both to me are mental activities and I can’t do both at the same time. Literally, I can only manage one mental task at a time. So what am I missing? Thanks for all your help ladies and gentlemen, I hope to better devote myself to this form of prayer in the near future.
You know, I still haven’t quite figured this one out
However, by now I have come to understand that we may actually be subject to two trains of thought: one that we control, and one that runs on its own.
I have noticed very clearly that while praying the Rosary often times a second train of thought seems to be running, for instance some other idea, a reminder of something I haven’t done, or even a background song of some sort.
I have also noticed that after a while, sometimes the prayer enters that other stage. On one occasion I was falling asleep while praying the Rosary and upon waking up I clearly had the “thought” of the ongoing prayer in my mind such that I did not have to, strictly speaking, make an effort in controlling my prayer. I have noticed that as I try to focus less and less and let my prayer become more “automatic”, the effort lessens significantly. Perhaps it is at this point that we can consciously focus on the mystery we are meditating on.
Also, when you pray some prayers quite often (ex. the Rosary) sometimes the conscious effort to pray results in a headache. I believe it is because we are “disciplining” our wildly running mind, which resists the inclination of the soul to focus on God. This is, I believe, due to the oppression that the modern mind is subject to in terms of exposure to noise, music, and words. Sacred silence is a luxury in this age, and when we pray, we notice, as the mind sometimes is shocked by its sudden appearance. Thus, to pray better, we need to make an effort to reduce our exposure to unnecessary noises and sounds in our lives
Now these are just personal observations. Like I said, I am still trying to figure this one out. I also think visual aids help, ex. if I have an icon of the Annunciation before me, clearly that thought will be in my mind while I pray.
Remember, though: to pray is to conquer the heart of the Beloved!
Prayer for our own sake or for the sake of prayer is like approaching our loved one, taking out a piece of paper, and reading in a static voice: “I love you” - because we think we have to say that, or because we enjoy the way it sounds when we say it
I tell you, the other person won’t be very amused
Prayer is focused on Christ, and must come straight from the depth of the heart, always - but especially at those times (and they will come, trust me) when your entire self is against the very thought of praying, and you’d do anything rather than picking up the Rosary, perhaps because you think you are very busy and have no time for that, perhaps because you did something and feel ashamed and prefer to avoid conversation, perhaps because something happened and you blame the other and are upset (all things that are quite common between
spouses!)
I am not pretending to teach anyone how to pray (please, put down those stones
), I am mentioning this because it’s something that I experienced when I began to pray more often, namely the risk for those prayers to become a routine, or even worse, something that feeds our pride at the expense of our charity and humility.
Ah, by the way, there’s a great book for you: “The Secret of the Rosary”, by St. Louis de Montfort (1716).
). I personally find a depiction of her to be very helpful for focusing my mind & heart, and it is something worth considering. Many generations of pastors & artists have understood the value of better expressing ourselves through creative artwork, which is a labor of love. This is why Catholic Churches are heavily decorated.