Rosary as a sleep aid

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Sailor_Kenshin said:
It’s said that if you fall asleep praying the Rosary, your guardian angel finishes it for you.
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I was told the angels and saints take over if I fall asleep. 🙂 Very comforting to know. I admit that when I forget to recite my rosary during the day I say it in bed knowing full well that I’m probably going to fall asleep at some time but I too find comfort in sleeping while in prayer. I actually think my dreams are better, too. 🙂

My foot note is that I do say my evening prayers before I recite my rosary.
 
ac_claire said:
I know some others who pray it this way. I think it’s great. But personally I can do the meditations much more easily if I’m in a comfortable position. Which I’m sure could be changed eventually through discipline…🤷 So sitting in a darkened room, or laying down… . . .
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An old [traditional and orthodox] Jesuit told us, in regard to kneeling to pray: “If you need to do penance do penance. If you want to pray, get comfortable and chat with God.” 👍
 
It’s said that if you fall asleep praying the Rosary, your guardian angel finishes it for you.
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This is so lovely and sweet.

I don’t think it’s disrespectful. God and Mary must be happy you want to pray yourself to sleep. I think it’s best to say it using your fingers, so you don’t end up losing or damaging your rosary while you’re asleep.

I haven’t had a single nightmare in almost a year, due to praying before I fall asleep (I often fall asleep half way through prayers). I don’t even worry about getting them any more, so God has helped me, even though I’ve fallen asleep while praying.
 
Put it this way - the OPs husband would probably be horrified at the idea of, as St Teresa of Avila said she did, praying while on the toilet. Story goes a devil appeared to her to mock her for doing so - her reply was ‘what comes out of my mouth is for God, what comes out the other end is for you, devil!’ :rotfl:

Why not tell him to pray the Rosary with the specific intent of asking God to grant him a good night’s sleep? That way if he does fall asleep it simply means his prayer was answered!
 
LilyM said:
Put it this way - the OPs husband would probably be horrified at the idea of, as St Teresa of Avila said she did, praying while on the toilet. Story goes a devil appeared to her to mock her for doing so - her reply was 'what comes out of my mouth is for God, what comes out the other end is for you, devil!’ :rotfl:

Why not tell him to pray the Rosary with the specific intent of asking God to grant him a good night’s sleep? That way if he does fall asleep it simply means his prayer was answered!
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I love it!!!

DaveBj
 
I fall asleep every night when saying my prayers, sometimes I will wake up and apologise to Our Lord before carrying on then only to fall asleep again. I have a disability and I’m sure some of the medication I take make me sleepy, I’m also sure Our Lord understand that us mere mortals suffer such problems at times, at least we do intend to pray which is the most important thing. I usually catch up on my prayers while out with my dog or during a quiet moment at home.
 
I also find the Chaplet of Divine Mercy a good prayer when going to sleep.
 
I’m not sure I’d call the rosary a “sleep aid,” but I have fallen asleep while praying (the rosary and others) many times. In addition to being told angels would finish my prayer, I was also told that since God knows what we need… He knows sometimes we need sleep more than He needs to hear the end of our prayer.

But I agree that everyone is different… in fact, my fiance and I just had a conversation about that last night when preparing to say our prayers together before he went home. I’m going to have to tell him about Teresa of Avila, as I’d never heard that one before! 🙂
 
Falling asleep while praying the rosary seems to me to be like losing weight while fasting, ie. a good secondary effect from a good primary intention.

I would encourage anyone who prays the rosary regularly to consider joining the The Rosary Confraternity It’s under the auspices of the Dominican Order, and has papal blessing. It’s only obligation is to say the complete rosary once per-week. In return, you share in the benefits of the rosaries said by all members. A “complete” rosary is the 15 traditional decades, although 5 decades per day, and addition of the luminous mysteries, is encouraged. If you don’t say the 15 decades there is no sin, only you don’t receive all the confraternity benefits for that week.

So, I aim to say, as a minimum, the complete rosary (15 decades) per week, while concscious. As the kids have grown up, and life got a bit easier, I have recently been trying to say 5 decades per day. I usually fall asleep after 3, and then finish it in the middle of the night.

St Dominic, OPN :gopray2:
 
baltobetsy said:
Is a mother offended when a small child wants to be rocked to sleep on her lap? Of course not. Mary won’t be offended either, if one wishes to use the rosary to help fall asleep.

Betsy
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What a lovely picture! 🙂

Miz
 
baltobetsy said:
Is a mother offended when a small child wants to be rocked to sleep on her lap? Of course not. Mary won’t be offended either, if one wishes to use the rosary to help fall asleep.

Betsy
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:)Beautiful !!:hug1:
 
Love praying it while relaxing and getting ready for sleep. a great way to unwind and put prayerful lovely thoughts in your head, espeically the Joyful mysteries.
 
I use Benadryl. You only need about 50 mg of diphenhydramine HCl, which can be found in Bendryl or OTC sleep aids. They work well for me when I face an insomniac night.
 
Considering I heard a very orthodox Dominican advise praying the rosary in bed at bedtime if one is plagued by worries (he said this during a Sunday homily last year,) I’m sure it’s just fine to do.

Loved the story about St. Teresa of Avila! I’ve always liked her bold spirituality.
 
I’ve taken to grabbing my rosary off my nightstand if I am anxious at bedtime or I wake up during the night. I usually only get the Our Father said, maybe one or two Hail Marys and I am back to sleep, with the rosary still in my hand or under my pillow. I think Satan attacks at night, especially around 3 a.m. and the rosary fights him off.

🙂
 
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