Rosary and Mental Prayer

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dean24us

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Hello! Just a couple of Rosary-related questions…
  1. Is it acceptable to pray the Rosary mentally? I know mental prayer in itself is an acceptable form of prayer (one which I do many times a day), but I recall reading a while back that Catholic tradition holds only God can “read” minds (i.e. not angels and saints). By extension, it would seem to indicate that the only entity that can “hear” mental prayer would be God, which would appear to mean that the parts of the Rosary prayed to Mary would not be received if it was done mentally. Is that an incorrect analysis on my part?
  2. Assuming that the answer to #1 is “yes, it’s acceptable”, is there any value praying the Rosary aloud over praying it mentally? I have to admit that I physically have a hard time praying the Rosary aloud (probably due to years of smoking, but that’s a discussion for another time). As such, I find the idea of praying the Rosary via mental prayer to be a more attractive option, but I want to make sure nothing is lost by doing that.
Thanks for any info you can provide! 🙂

God bless,
Dean
 
It is fine to pray the rosary silently, and you can pray to saints silently. When it is appropriate, they are aware of your prayers just as if they’d been aloud.

For certain indulgences, verbal prayer is necessary, but the rosary is efficacious however you pray it. You can even use different mysteries (i.e. the scriptural rosary) when praying. You don’t even need beads (again, that differs depending on whether you are seeking indulgences and which).

Here is an old thread that addresses your question:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=141433
 
dean24us
  1. Is it acceptable to pray the Rosary mentally? I know mental prayer in itself is an acceptable form of prayer (one which I do many times a day), but I recall reading a while back that Catholic tradition holds only God can “read” minds (i.e. not angels and saints). By extension, it would seem to indicate that the only entity that can “hear” mental prayer would be God, which would appear to mean that the parts of the Rosary prayed to Mary would not be received if it was done mentally. Is that an incorrect analysis on my part?
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It is acceptable to pray the Rosary mentally, I have done it often myself. However, one would first have to know the prayers so well that they’re automatic.

When we pray the Rosary, it’s not the Hail Mary’s that we place our attention on, but the mysteries. In mental prayer, the Hail Mary’s become our compass, in that when we find ourselves distracted, we return to the Hail Mary’s to return the intention of our will and this, praying in the presence of God. For me, the mysteries take on deeper meaning, in that I know longer take up the image of the mystery as if watching the event in my mind, but the Lord provides deeper insight into what the mystery actually means.

The Hail Mary’s become like the Jesus Prayer, as it’s said on the Rosary. It’s not the words of the prayer, but being in the presence of God that takes our attention.
  1. Assuming that the answer to #1 is “yes, it’s acceptable”, is there any value praying the Rosary aloud over praying it mentally? I have to admit that I physically have a hard time praying the Rosary aloud (probably due to years of smoking, but that’s a discussion for another time). As such, I find the idea of praying the Rosary via mental prayer to be a more attractive option, but I want to make sure nothing is lost by doing that.
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I never say the Rosary aloud. In fact the only prayers I say verbally, are those in the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

Jim
 
There’s nothing wrong with saying it mentally, but consider two things: first, the devotion already has a mental component, meditation on the mysteries; second, mentally saying it is not what has always been envisioned by magisterial teaching on it.

Just limiting myself to Leo XIII’s encyclicals on the rosary:
  • “When such faith is exercised by vocally repeating the Our Father and Hail Mary of the Rosary prayers…” (Adiutricem)
  • “…they combine a harmony of vocal prayer with meditation upon the divine mysteries…” (Augustissimae)
  • “…so have we also in the Rosary an excellent means unto this, for by those vocal prayers with which it is intermingled, we are enabled to express and profess our faith in God” (Fidentem)
  • “No man can meditate upon these without feeling a new awakening in his heart of confidence that he will certainly obtain through Mary the fullness of the mercies of God. And to this end vocal prayer chimes well with the Mysteries” (Iucunda)
Furthermore, saying it vocally is better than saying it mentally because it engages more of you.

It doesn’t matter whether the saints can hear you or not, because God can, and he can pass on the message. Also keep in mind that saints, with a few exceptions, do not presently have bodies and therefore are unable to use their senses. Besides, there needs to be a continuous mass of air between your mouth and their ears.
 
For certain indulgences, I believe the lips must at least be moving, even if in silence. Besides that, whatever way you are comfortable praying.
 
I don’t agree that saying it vocally is better than internally praying. At times people tend to go overboard, myself included, and try to classify prayers in order of importance, as if God will more likely hear one than another. We’re all wired differently, and forms of prayer and ways of praying them work better for some than do others. Nothing is lost by mentally praying the Rosary, or any other prayer for that matter. God meets us where we’re at, and any prayer is a gift from God. Just put forth the effort and love, Jesus and Mary will love the time you’re taking to be with them.

Here’s a nice answer from EWTN’s Q&A section that I think would apply to some of your questions about the Rosary:
ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage_print.asp?number=438544&language=en

And from Catholic Answers, a good tract that could be of help to you:
Praying to the Saints

:tiphat:
 
St Teresa taught that mental prayer was the deepest form of prayer, and were God speaks to us best, for he speaks to us in the depth of our being.

When we pray within, we’re in the presence of God who dwells within us. Verbal prayer brings us out of that interior prayer.

Anyway, St Teresa says that without having the experience, a reader of what she wrote won’t understand.

Jim
 
Sorry for taking so long to respond – I took a few days off from the computer. 🙂

Thanks for all the replies! It answered my question, and it touched on an aspect of the Rosary that I have not yet experienced: use of the Rosary as a form of meditation. I’ve only been in the Church for around 2.5 years and am still in a “learning stage” (I have 2000 years of Catholicism to catch up on!). As such, I’m still working to try and gain proficiency of the Rosary as a devotional act, and I hope to experience the Rosary as a meditative act in the future.

Incidentally, can anyone recommend any resources (e.g., how-to guides, videos, etc) for using the Rosary for Catholic meditation? I find that this kind of stuff is extremely difficult to learn on my own, so I’d appreciate any guidance the group might have.

God bless,
Dean
 
Incidentally, can anyone recommend any resources (e.g., how-to guides, videos, etc) for using the Rosary for Catholic meditation? I find that this kind of stuff is extremely difficult to learn on my own, so I’d appreciate any guidance the group might have.
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I think you’re making the Rosary more complicated than it has to be. Think of who Mary appeared to in Fatima…children! Childlike simplicity in our spiritual life is something all of us could probably work on getting better at. Maybe a basic definition of meditation in relation to the Rosary will help things.

From Blessed JPII’s letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae:
  1. Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his
    every word: “She kept all these things, pondering them in her
    heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51). The memories of Jesus, impressed
    upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on
    the various moments of her life at her Son’s side. In a way those
    memories were to be the “rosary” which she recited
    uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.
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That’s what meditating during the Rosary is, pondering the mysteries in your heart! Something else mentioned in that same letter is to take some time to be silent after announcing the mystery and before starting the prayers. I think that advice from Bl. JP2 would be of help for you. I know it has for me. Silence your mind and relax a bit. 👍

Here are a few more quotes that may help:
…to
“remember” them in a spirit of faith and love is to be open to the
grace which Christ won for us by the mysteries of his life, death
and resurrection.
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To understand the Rosary,
one has to enter into the psychological dynamic proper to love.
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:tiphat:
 
I mostly pray the Rosary mentally and often without beads. I was actually directed to do it while walking the track early in the morning trying to improve my health. I think because of the obedience aspect of this experience, God led me to understand many beautiful truths about the mysteries. One example, meditating of the joyful mysteries and how Our Lady always kept quiet and “pondered these things in her heart,” taught me to be less talkative, to value reflection and time to meditate. The Rosary is a gift that God has given us to learn about Our Lord’s life. We need to concentrate maybe in the joy and less in the prescription.
 
Just to clarify something: mental prayer means meditation and spontaneous dialogue. Now the meditation on the mysteries of the rosary is considered mental prayer, but the words of the rosary are vocal prayer, whether you use your vocal chords or say them mentally.

Now, to answer the question, yes it is certainly OK to recite the rosary silently. The chief benefit to reciting it out loud might be that it can help some people concentrate.
 
JaredR said:
Just to clarify something: mental prayer means meditation and spontaneous dialogue. Now the meditation on the mysteries of the rosary is considered mental prayer, but the words of the rosary are vocal prayer, whether you use your vocal chords or say them mentally.

Now, to answer the question, yes it is certainly OK to recite the rosary silently. The chief benefit to reciting it out loud might be that it can help some people concentrate.
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But the words of the Rosary end up becoming secondary to meditation. If not, you’re not going into a deeper level of prayer which is the intention of praying the Rosary in the first place.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
But the words of the Rosary end up becoming secondary to meditation. If not, you’re not going into a deeper level of prayer which is the intention of praying the Rosary in the first place.

Jim
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I think Bl. JPII said the rosary without meditation is like a body without a soul. I love that quote.
 
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