Question: Read the Bible or Pray the Rosary?

[NickyMaz]

I am mentoring a friend of mine who is thinking about joining the Catholic Church and we were discussing some issues over lunch. He is from a protestant background but he married a catholic woman and is pretty close to making the leap but he has issues with some catholic practices. One thing he raised was (what he sees) as the Church’s lack of emphasis on reading scripture. I explained that the Church encourages people to read the Bible but that many Catholic practices began in a time before everyone had their own copy of the Bible. So this got me thinking…

Let’s say I have 20 minutes for devotional time, what would be of more benefit to me; reading the Bible or praying the rosary?

Thanks.

 

[LilyM]

My own gut instinct would he that scripture should be given preference - it is the inspired and inerrant word of God, after all.

But as with physical exercise, we should have variety in our spiritual ‘exercise’ too. And if one has 20 minutes one could easily combine a bit of both scripture and Rosary. One obvious example is a so-called ‘scriptural Rosary’ where short passages of scripture relevant to each of the Mysteries are read between the Hail Marys.

 

[jgaw1234]

False dichotomy. Praying the rosary is reciting Scripture.

 

[Seagull]

At Saturday morning mass - our Priest -
Explained how the book of Acts - was read - instead of
the Old Testament reading - mass - church history stuff-
Then he sprang it on us -
“ consider this homework. I want you to read the book of Acts “
And added for good measure “ it’s a book filled with action “

 

[semper_catholicus]

The Rosary, for the simple reason that Rosary is made up of the Bible. It also has many. many graces attached to it.

 

[simonjosiah1]

The rosary is like reading the bible as your meditating on the life and passion of Jesus.

I would pray the rosary as it saves souls and saves our own soul. but its up to you.

 

[dallas_r]

The Rosary is the best of both worlds, so to speak. I would normally go Rosary unless I am studying scripture or viewing the daily readings.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Depends on the circumstances.

 

[midori]

The answer to “this good thing or that good thing” is usually–


We all make time for what’s important to us.

Remember what the thought behind the Rosary was— the monastic communities would pray the entire Book of Psalms. So the 150 Hail Mary’s were the lay equivalent of reciting the 150 Psalms, and the 15 meditations helped break them up into manageable bits. But people who were plowing fields and tending to livestock genuinely didn’t have time for praying 150 Psalms, but they could come up with about 45 minutes to an hour to pray 15 decades.

So, for me-- I like rotating my prayer routine on a monthly basis. I’ll focus on this devotion for January, and do this devotion for February, and do this devotion in March. That way, I don’t feel overwhelmed trying to do everything, but I also don’t feel bad about not keeping up fifteen different devotions year-round and burn out on them. There are some devotions that I maintain throughout the year, and that’s healthy, too.

 

[Hereiam]

Is reflecting on, not merely reciting scripture.

 

[LilyM]

Is reflecting on, not merely reciting scripture.

Not untrue - but it is, for my taste, rather selective in the.bits of scripture it focuses on. Until JP2 promoted the Luminous Mysteries, for example, it jumped straight from Jesus’ Finding in the Temple to His Agony in the Garden, bypassing most of His ministry (including the extremely significant Last Supperr) altogether!

 

[Hereiam]

Not really…its a prrsonal devotion…so if you want to meditate on the 10 lepers, or the man born blind, or the prodigal son, wjile praying the Rosary…its all good.

 

[MaryT777]

I’d do it by weeks.
One week every day rosary
Next week every day Scripture reading

and alternate by week and that way if you want to read a particular Chapter(s) that will give you more time to read through one in a week.

Mary

 

[Tis_Bearself]

That’s not the last 20 minutes of devotional time you’re ever going to have on this earth, hopefully, so pick one and then the next time you have 20 minutes, pick the other one.

Alternatively, select the way of praying that works best for you. Some people are more comfortable reading Scripture, perhaps because they come from a Protestant background or grew up in a family that didn’t say many Rosaries, so they read the Bible. Others are very comfortable with the Rosary because they grew up with their family saying it every day.

You can obtain a plenary indulgence for Rosary said under certain conditions, or Scripture reading under certain conditions. This says to me the Church wishes to promote both activities and is offering people options. Also, anybody who thinks the Catholic Church today de-emphasizes Scripture probably hasn’t spent much time there lately. There are Bible studies all over the place and lots of people carrying around Magnificat magazine which is full of Scripture readings.

You could also get the best of both worlds by doing a Scriptural Rosary in which you read and meditate on Scripture in between praying the Rosary prayers.

I do Rosaries and Scripture both. It’s not an either-or and it’s not a competition.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I would pray the rosary as it saves souls and saves our own soul. but its up to you.

The Rosary does save souls and can save our own soul, but Scripture reading also provides plenary and/or partial indulgences and thus saves souls and can save our own soul too.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Let’s say I have 20 minutes for devotional time, what would be of more benefit to me; reading the Bible or praying the rosary?

I’ll start by saying that I have no way of knowing what would be of greater benefit to you since I don’t know you at all. That said, the answer to your question depends upon many things.

In this example, you mention having 20 minutes of devotional time. Twenty minutes per day? Per week? Per month? The more frequently you can pray for twenty minutes at a time, the more likely I would recommend alternating the rosary with Scripture reading rather than choosing between the two.

How long does it take for you to pray the rosary? Twenty minutes isn’t long enough for me, so if that’s what I had I would read the Bible instead.

Do you find the rosary beneficial for your spiritual life? Some don’t, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Concerning private devotions, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to pray in a way that doesn’t help him/her.

As for many, the rosary and the Bible is not an either-or proposition for me. Still, I know people who pray the rosary daily and never crack open a Bible. I also know people who have read the entirety of Scripture multiple times over but never pray the rosary. I have yet to meet the person whose schedule is so constrained that (s)he couldn’t find a way to work both into a prayer routine if (s)he so desired.

 

[pianistclare]

Have you shown his the webpages that illustrate that the vast majority of what is spoken and prayed int eh Mass is taken directly from Scripture? Scroll down to the 3rd section. The rosary is a private devotion. Beneficial yes. Mandatory. Foolish to dismiss it? YES>.
http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Biblical-Mass-Texts.htm

 

[jtavington]

I’d say that it would depend on you. Some people are not good readers and/or lack the patience or resources to decipher difficult Scripture passages. Some people have a hard time focusing during formalized prayers. And some people love reading the Bible or naturally fall into the mysteries, or they have some personal connection to some devotion or other. Both are practices the church reveres highly, so there really isn’t a wrong choice here.

 

[DebCWil]

I follow the recommendation of St. John Paul II when I pray the rosary. I read a short scriptural passage before each decade. I also follow the practice of adding a clause (a single word or phrase) after the name of Jesus in the Hail Mary to keep my focus on the meditation while praying.
St. John Paul II called the rosary a fundamentally Christ-centered prayer which is clearly Marian in character. It contains the entire gospel in its mysteries as the “the Christian people sit at the school of Mary and contemplate his love.”
St. Theresa of Avila calls contemplation a gift from God and writes in her Way of Perfection how vocal prayers like the Our Father can be used to invite the Holy Spirit to bring us this gift.

Attending Mass is a time when the Scriptures are proclaimed. Spending 15 minutes a day allows a person to read the Bible in one year, at a pace of three chapters per day. Lectio Divina is a special way of meditating on a single passage of scripture throughout the day. My spiritual director had me use Lectio Divina as the first line in my journal.

In any case, I recommend My Complete Rosary Prayer Book. It has scriptural passages and meditations for each decade, as well as a scriptural rosary.

 

[Vico]

I am mentoring a friend of mine who is thinking about joining the Catholic Church and we were discussing some issues over lunch. He is from a protestant background but he married a catholic woman and is pretty close to making the leap but he has issues with some catholic practices. One thing he raised was (what he sees) as the Church’s lack of emphasis on reading scripture. I explained that the Church encourages people to read the Bible but that many Catholic practices began in a time before everyone had their own copy of the Bible. So this got me thinking…

Let’s say I have 20 minutes for devotional time, what would be of more benefit to me; reading the Bible or praying the rosary?

Thanks.

The indulgences can be an indicator, and either can be a plenary indulgence. In 20 minutes the reading of scripture could be a partial indulgence (if the other conditions are fulfilled).

Concession 17.1 A plenary indulgence is granted to the the faithful who

1. devoutly recite the Marian rosary in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, or an association of faithful, and in general when several of the faithful gather for some honest purpose;
2. devoutly join in the recitation of the rosary while it is being recited by the Supreme Pontiff and broadcast live by radio or television.

In other circumstances, the indulgence will be partial.

The rosary is a prayer formula consisting of fifteen decades of Hail Marys preceded by the Our Father, during the recitation of which we piously meditate on the corresponding mysteries of our redemption.
Regarding the plenary indulgence fo the recitation of the Marian rosary, the following is prescribed:

1. The recitation of a third part of the rosary is sufficient, but the five decades must be recited without interruption.
2. Devout meditation on the mysteries is to be added to the vocal prayer.
3. In its public recitation the mysteries must be announced in accord with approved local custom, but in private recitation it is sufficient for the faithful simply to join meditation on the mysteries to the vocal prayer.

Concession 100.1 A plenary indulgence is granted to the the faithful who read the Sacred Scriptures as spiritual reading, from a text approved by competent authority and with the reverence due to the divine word, for at least a half an hour; if the time is less, the indulgence will be partial. 100.2. I for some good reason the person is unable to read the Sacred Scriptures, a plenary or partial indulgence is granted as above, if the text of Sacred Scripture is listened to while another person is reading or if it is heard by means of a video or audio recording.