Re-doing a rosary decade

[JackVk]

Today, I was praying my rosary when my mind began to wander. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t meditating on the mystery until I had finished the decade. So I decided to re-do that decade and do it correctly, and then move on. Was the rosary still valid as a whole?

 

[Apollos]

You actually said two valid decades. Involuntary distractions don’t count.

 

[Cat_Herder]

The Rosary is a private devotion and it is not subject to the same level of rubric as is the Mass. Don’t be scrupulous.

With that said, I do the same thing if I find myself unable to remember the mystery. I consider it a matter of personal discipline.

 

[PerfectTiming]

Sometimes we cannot help when our minds wander. I find it helpful to keep my eyes closed, it helps my mind focus and not get distracted by the things I see around me and start thinking ‘hmmm I need to do my washing soon’.

 

[thistle]

Today, I was praying my rosary when my mind began to wander. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t meditating on the mystery until I had finished the decade. So I decided to re-do that decade and do it correctly, and then move on. Was the rosary still valid as a whole?

Padre Pio once said that if he had to restart the Rosary every time he made a mistake he would never finish it.
You don’t have to restart it. Follow Padre Pio’s advice and simply continue.

 

[Apollos]

Padre Pio once said…

I agree with Pio. Getting into a wrestling match with distractions is itself a distraction. Don’t fret over a distraction; just return from it the moment you notice you were on it.

 

[GaryTaylor]

Padre Pio once said that if he had to restart the Rosary every time he made a mistake he would never finish it.
You don’t have to restart it. Follow Padre Pio’s advice and simply continue.

lol Did St Padre Pio hit the nail on the head with that one or what?

Its not easy to complete a Rosary without drifting. I drive to work, Pray the Rosary, and meditate on the Mysteries just to focus. Te a large degree it helps.

I believe it continues to be a work in progess though mentioned. Hope you find comfort in understanding you are not alone but one of many:thumbsup:

 

[achmafooma]

Involuntary distractions, as others have pointed out, don’t count against you.

It also depends on what your mind wandered to…if you were thinking about what you were going to eat for dinner, that’s distraction from your Rosary prayer (though, again, if involuntary that doesn’t count against you).

If, on the other hand, your mind wandered from meditation on the mystery to, say, prayer for Christian unity, or prayers for a friend in need, or prayers for strength to deal with troubles in your life…well, I would argue that’s not even distraction, but the Holy Spirit leading you. I actually try to encourage the Holy Spirit (and Our Lady) to lead me ‘off-course’ in praying the Rosary if that’s where they want me to go

 

[smichhertz]

Haha, I’ve done that myself as well! There’s nothing wrong with redoing the decade if you want, but it is not necessary.

As a matter of discipline, I tend to “redo” it if I was so distracted that I didn’t meditate on the mystery at all. I just like to do it to keep my distractions in check…

But you don’t have to redo it even if you were completely distracted the entire time. It still counts.

 

[dfp42]

What about falling asleep? I’m new at trying to pray the rosary and I’m using audio mp3’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville at kolbe.franciscan.edu/rosary/

Anyway, last night around midnight I was listening to the rosary and I feel asleep around the last decade briefly but woke back up. Is the whole rosary invalid? Also, to what extent do I need to move my fingers across the beads as to just holding the rosary? Is the rosary invalid said if I just listen to it and meditate on it but just hold the rosary in my hand? I was tired last night but wanted to pray with these mp3’s rosaries. They really help me to practice and to feel like others are there praying with me.

 

[corsair]

I use an MP3 player alot while I’m doing chores around the place. Not too successful while running the tractor but great while doing inside chores. My personal favorite is the Rosary in latin.

 

[Cat_Herder]

What about falling asleep? I’m new at trying to pray the rosary and I’m using audio mp3’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville at kolbe.franciscan.edu/rosary/

Anyway, last night around midnight I was listening to the rosary and I feel asleep around the last decade briefly but woke back up. Is the whole rosary invalid?

No.

Also, to what extent do I need to move my fingers across the beads as to just holding the rosary?

Optional. For that matter the beads are optional. God gave you fingers after all.

Is the rosary invalid said if I just listen to it and meditate on it but just hold the rosary in my hand?

No. No one says you have to pray it aloud for it to be valid. But if you want a plenary indulgence it must be said aloud continuously and in public.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

What about falling asleep? I’m new at trying to pray the rosary and I’m using audio mp3’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville at kolbe.franciscan.edu/rosary/

Anyway, last night around midnight I was listening to the rosary and I feel asleep around the last decade briefly but woke back up. Is the whole rosary invalid? Also, to what extent do I need to move my fingers across the beads as to just holding the rosary? Is the rosary invalid said if I just listen to it and meditate on it but just hold the rosary in my hand? I was tired last night but wanted to pray with these mp3’s rosaries. They really help me to practice and to feel like others are there praying with me.

No, your praying of the rosary is fine. It’s not a liturgical or sacramental action, so there is no question of “validity” or a question of whether or not it “took.” If you think about it, you actually feel asleep in the presence of our Lady and our Lord. Can you think of any better company to have with you while you sleep?

 

[rben20]

I agree with Pio. Getting into a wrestling match with distractions is itself a distraction. Don’t fret over a distraction; just return from it the moment you notice you were on it.

So true Apollo. Just pray!

 

[Apollos]

I use an MP3 player alot while I’m doing chores around the place. Not too successful while running the tractor but great while doing inside chores. My personal favorite is the Rosary in latin.

Um … running a tractor is a situation where the rosary is the distraction.

 

[Cat]

Um … running a tractor is a situation where the rosary is the distraction.

There’s a lovely farm on South I-39 in Illinois between Peoria and St. Louis where the farmer has posted the prayers of the Rosary on the fence posts. He (or she) can pray while he/she drives the tractor around the fields!

It’s always such an uplifting sight as we drive this boring stretch of interstate!

 

[Apollos]

There’s a lovely farm on South I-39 in Illinois between Peoria and St. Louis where the farmer has posted the prayers of the Rosary on the fence posts. He (or she) can pray while he/she drives the tractor around the fields!

It’s always such an uplifting sight as we drive this boring stretch of interstate!

I always wondered how I got in to the habit of forgetting the Fatima Ejaculation “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins…” between the decades and saying instead, “O my Jesus, guns save lives…”

 

[SeanTom]

In saying the Rosary, sometime a phone will ring or some other distraction which takes me away from the Rosary for a few minutes

I asked a priest about this one time and he basically said, don’t worry about it. Just continue where you left off. He said, actually, by having interruprtions while saying the 'Rosary, and coming back to continue where you left off, is ok since this way you are coming back to Jesus several times a day instead of just once. Something to think about, but not to be practiced except in unusual cases.

 

[LilyM]

I try, if I find I am getting distracted while saying the Rosary, to turn the prayer into a prayer about the things that are distracting me.

If I’m thinking about what I’ve got to do at work, I offer that portion of the Rosary for my employers, co-workers and clients.

If I’m thinking about my family, I offer it for them.

I suppose even if I was just thinking about something mundane like what to cook for dinner, I could offer it in thanks for the gift of food

 

[Brywan]

The need to perform spiritual disciplines “perfectly”-- and to repeat those disciplines if they are imperfect–this is one of the symptoms of scrupulosity.

Do you consider yourself scrupulous?

To be distracted while praying is most often just a symptom of our humanity, not our sinfulness.

Think of a small child doing a chore for his father. Does a good father expect his three year old child to do that chore with the skill of an adult?

God is kind, merciful and good toward us --not only when we fail because of sin, but also when we find ourselves hampered by our very human weaknesses.

Be at peace and rest in God’s mercy–

and don’t allow praying the Rosary to become a burden to you…