Praying the Rosary

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What is the church’s view on praying the rosary? Should you pray the 50 or 150 version. I usually pray the rosary while driving to and from work. I just say the various prayers. I usually finish with with something other than the holy queen prayer. Have never been able to memorize it and can’t read it while driving. Thanks
 
I pray the rosary every day – my granddaughter sent me a beautiful rosary from Paris and it goes everywhere with me. The first two decades I say with my first cup of coffee – then I say the various other decades when I’m walking to public transportation – to Church – or somewhere else. I pray for my family, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildred – one of the classes at my local Catholic school because one of the classes is my Prayer Partner – I couldn’t get through the day without my rosary!
 
buffalo82 said:
What is the church’s view on praying the rosary? Should you pray the 50 or 150 version. I usually pray the rosary while driving to and from work. I just say the various prayers. I usually finish with with something other than the holy queen prayer. Have never been able to memorize it and can’t read it while driving. Thanks
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The Church does not have an “official” position on the Rosary, other than that it is one of the , if not the most, popular private prayers of Catholics (and not a few non-Catholics, interestingly). There is no “official” right way to say it. You can say it with or without reciting “Hail, Holy Queen” at the end, or any other ending which people may use. You can say the Sorrowful, Joyous,Glorious, and/or the Luminous mysteries; you can say them on what are “suggested” days or on other days; you can add in the “Oh, My Jesus” addition at the start of a decade or not; you can say 5 decades, or more, or less.

The first objective is to pray. The second objective might be to pray in a format that is widely accepted, but that objective is a personal choice.

And from my own humble opinion, it might be better to say less, while being focused on what is said, than to say more and have one’s mind wandering all over the “back acreage”. The purpose of prayer is to actively communicate with God (and Mary, and etc.) than to “rattle the beads”, as it were.
 
buffalo82 said:
What is the church’s view on praying the rosary? Should you pray the 50 or 150 version. I usually pray the rosary while driving to and from work. I just say the various prayers. I usually finish with with something other than the holy queen prayer. Have never been able to memorize it and can’t read it while driving. Thanks
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First, either version is okay. The standard practice today is to pray just five decades with one set of mysteries. It is still acceptable, though, to pray all 20 mysteries (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious). It is also acceptable to exclude the Luminous mysteries, but why would you? They’re pretty cool.

As far as driving in the car, I’ve been told there are audio versions you can get and pray along with. That might be a way to help you memorize the closing prayers, or at least be able to pray the “correct” rosary. If that’s not a possibility, don’t use that as an excuse to stop praying. I have no doubt God is pleased with the effort you’re already making.👍
 
Thank you for the Rosary information. I am very much a senior citized but a new Catholic. The facets of our beautiful faith would take more than a life time to learn. However, the rosary was special to me. It is refreshing to absorb your comments. Keep posting. Thank you. .
 
buffalo82 said:
What is the church’s view on praying the rosary? Should you pray the 50 or 150 version. I usually pray the rosary while driving to and from work. I just say the various prayers. I usually finish with with something other than the holy queen prayer. Have never been able to memorize it and can’t read it while driving. Thanks
Click to expand...
The 150 ties back to the original practice of all 150 Psalms, for which some instead said 150 Our Fathers. This eventually became 150 Hail Marys and with additional prayers, the Rosary. Pope Pius V in 1569, established the 15 mysteries.

For the Rosary indulgence, 1/3 or the 150 is sufficient. Meditating on the mysteries is important part to be done in conjunction with the vocal prayer.
 
Vico said:
The 150 ties back to the original practice of all 150 Psalms, for which some instead said 150 Our Fathers. This eventually became 150 Hail Marys and with additional prayers, the Rosary. Pope Pius V in 1569, established the 15 mysteries.

For the Rosary indulgence, 1/3 or the 150 is sufficient. Meditating on the mysteries is important part to be done in conjunction with the vocal prayer.
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There’s an indulgence for praying the Rosary? How did I not know this?!?!
 
otjm said:
The Church does not have an “official” position on the Rosary, other than that it is one of the , if not the most, popular private prayers of Catholics …
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I get a little nervous when I hear people saying that the Church does not have a teaching on something: often enough, the Church has made various statements through various means, but people still insist such statements are not “teachings,” but are something else. Since various Popes have written enyclicals on the Rosary, the Church can be said to have multiple “positions” on the Rosary beyond simply gauging its level of acceptance amongst the faithful. (John Paul II’s encylical on the Rosary, linked to below, doesn’t take 13,000 words simply to say that the Rosary is “popular private prayer.”)

Furthermore the fact is that there **is **an ecclesiastical tradition as to how one is to pray the Rosary, including options, which have been traditionally left to local custom, for how one might begin or conclude it. While it’s true that anyone can diverge from this tradition in private prayer, I’m not so sure why it’s necessary to point this out to those who ask about the Rosary from a position of ignorance. The Rosary isn’t some free-for-all that can mean so many different things that it’s ultimately up to each individual to decide for themselves what they think the Rosary means. So why act as if it is? This always confuses me. 🤷

For the OP, I would recommend starting with St. John Paul II’s encyclical Rosarium Virginis Mariae: w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2002/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae.html

I would also point you to the little book The Secret of the Rosary: amazon.com/The-Secret-Of-Rosary/dp/0895550563

As others have pointed out, the Church assigns an indulgence for praying at least one-third of the Rosary—further evidence of an “official position” on the Rosary, since here the Church describes its length—but you are, of course, free to pray the whole thing, or even to include John Paul’s Luminous mysteries and pray 200 Aves!
 
Excuse me, Rosarium Virginis Mariae is an Apostolic Letter, not an Encyclical. That was an error of fact on my part, I should have been more careful.
 
CatholicHockey7 said:
WOW! I’ve been getting TWO plenary indulgences for my time spent in adoration, then! (J/k…I know you can only get one a day.)
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Of course plenary applies only with the intention to gain the indulgence, sacramental confession within 20 days before or after, prayers for the Holy Father, detachment from all sin, receive the Holy Eucharist and state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.

Also, with the usual conditions: “A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who read sacred Scripture with the veneration due God’s word and as a form of spiritual reading. The indulgence will be a plenary one when such reading is for at least one-half hour”.
 
Vico said:
Of course plenary applies only with the intention to gain the indulgence, sacramental confession within 20 days before or after, prayers for the Holy Father, detachment from all sin, receive the Holy Eucharist and state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.

Also, with the usual conditions: “A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who read sacred Scripture with the veneration due God’s word and as a form of spiritual reading. The indulgence will be a plenary one when such reading is for at least one-half hour”.
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20 days? I thought it was only 8 days before or after (also including reception of Eucharist).
 
I like to do an audio version of the rosary. There are several choices available within the Laudate app (I have it on my android, not sure if there is an iphone version). My favorite is called “Sound of the Rosary”, the pacing of it is perfect for me.
 
wademel said:
I like to do an audio version of the rosary. There are several choices available within the Laudate app (I have it on my android, not sure if there is an iphone version). My favorite is called “Sound of the Rosary”, the pacing of it is perfect for me.
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Yes, there is an iPhone version 👍
 
otjm said:
The Church does not have an “official” position on the Rosary, other than that it is one of the , if not the most, popular private prayers of Catholics (and not a few non-Catholics, interestingly). There is no “official” right way to say it. You can say it with or without reciting “Hail, Holy Queen” at the end, or any other ending which people may use. You can say the Sorrowful, Joyous,Glorious, and/or the Luminous mysteries; you can say them on what are “suggested” days or on other days; you can add in the “Oh, My Jesus” addition at the start of a decade or not; you can say 5 decades, or more, or less.

The first objective is to pray. The second objective might be to pray in a format that is widely accepted, but that objective is a personal choice.

And from my own humble opinion, it might be better to say less, while being focused on what is said, than to say more and have one’s mind wandering all over the “back acreage”. The purpose of prayer is to actively communicate with God (and Mary, and etc.) than to “rattle the beads”, as it were.
Click to expand...
 
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