Rosary question

[Lookup]

I love praying the rosary and meditating on the mysteries, but would it be wrong to also pray the rosary to meditate on other things sometimes? Meaning I would still say the prayers of the rosary but use them to meditate on other things. I know you can state intentions for the rosary, but what about meditating on something that is troubling your heart or something you are thankful for etc?

Thanks, and God Bless.

 

[Chesster]

You are supposed to focus your mind on the mysteries while praying the rosary.

You can say other prayers while meditating on those things.

 

[thistle]

I love praying the rosary and meditating on the mysteries, but would it be wrong to also pray the rosary to meditate on other things sometimes? Meaning I would still say the prayers of the rosary but use them to meditate on other things. I know you can state intentions for the rosary, but what about meditating on something that is troubling your heart or something you are thankful for etc?

Thanks, and God Bless.

I agree with the other poster. There is no point to praying The Rosary if you do not meditate on the Mysteries. Use some other prayers to meditate on other things.

 

[Julian0404]

Yes we are to meditate on the mystery, but you can customize your rosary. You can pray the Rosary with other meditations in addition to the current four.

For instance, if you wish to pray in thanksgiving because you or a family member were healed or cured from an illness or disease, than pick out five occassions in the New Testament, wherein JESUS healed others, and make each occassion a decade and meditate on each cure by JESUS and offer your thanksgiving for your cure, giving JESUS all the credit in your healing as HE did in the Bible. In that way you are meditating on JESUS - as you should, but focusing the meditation on your specific scenario.

 

[Namwalker]

Thanks for posting this thread. I too have a question concerning the rosary, but mine is a lot different than your original posting.

I was wondering, I am retired and while I am out and about and doing my errands, I recite the rosary to myself. However, in the course of my errands I usually finish a decade about the time I get to my first destination, do my business, get back into the car and pray while I am enroute to my next stop. This goes on until I get back home, making stops and praying. I don’t think that I am at odds with prayer, but am not sure. Sometimes I can get four rosaries said in a day using this method.

I don’t see how it hurts, but am not sure. Some days I have quite a few errands to run, and also do this while I am doing volunteering work.

 

[ignatius777]

I love praying the rosary and meditating on the mysteries, but would it be wrong to also pray the rosary to meditate on other things sometimes? Meaning I would still say the prayers of the rosary but use them to meditate on other things. I know you can state intentions for the rosary, but what about meditating on something that is troubling your heart or something you are thankful for etc?

Thanks, and God Bless.

This is precisely what Jesus warned the pharisees against namely being focused more on rules rather then intent. Taking the time to prayerfully say the rosary, no matter what you reflet upon, is what God asks of us. Thats more important then whether or not we focus on the mysteries. Dont lose sight of the intent for form

 

[beth40n2]

Thanks for posting this thread. I too have a question concerning the rosary, but mine is a lot different than your original posting.

I was wondering, I am retired and while I am out and about and doing my errands, I recite the rosary to myself. However, in the course of my errands I usually finish a decade about the time I get to my first destination, do my business, get back into the car and pray while I am enroute to my next stop. This goes on until I get back home, making stops and praying. I don’t think that I am at odds with prayer, but am not sure. Sometimes I can get four rosaries said in a day using this method.

I don’t see how it hurts, but am not sure. Some days I have quite a few errands to run, and also do this while I am doing volunteering work.

I do the same thing. I do that between calls at work. I do Divine Mercy Chaplet that way and sometimes novena’s. I concider it prayer without ceasing. I do try to get one rosary in each morning all at once but the rest of the day is continuous.

 

[EricFilmer]

I love praying the rosary and meditating on the mysteries, but would it be wrong to also pray the rosary to meditate on other things sometimes? Meaning I would still say the prayers of the rosary but use them to meditate on other things. I know you can state intentions for the rosary, but what about meditating on something that is troubling your heart or something you are thankful for etc?

Thanks, and God Bless.

The rosary is a private devotion, so you should feel free to adapt it in a way that you sincerely feel is spiritually enriching to you.

Having said that, you may not necessarily be in an “either…or” situation. Traditionally, the idea when praying the rosary is to meditate upon one or more “fruits” of each mystery, and this can include considering how these fruits are applicable to your life at the moment (and therefore they can be considered in light of what is troubling you or what you are thankful for).

As an example of this, let us say that I am troubled because I said some imprudent things recently, and therefore let my big mouth get me in trouble with others. When praying the Glorious Mysteries, I can meditate upon this problem in the following way during the 3rd Glorious Mystery:

3rd Glorious Mystery: The Descent of the Holy Spirit Upon Mary and the Apostles at the First Pentecost. Fruit of the Mystery - Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Mediation: The gifts of the Holy Spirit include counsel, which is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of prudence. I can pray to the Holy Spirit to strengthen the virtue of prudence in me, especially when I speak to others. I can ponder strategies that will help me in the future, such as how to curb the desire to speak before thinking, and how to incorporate a quick silent prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance when I engage in discussions. I can also offer this rosary to Mary, asking for her help and guidance as well.

 

[johnr55]

I say the Rosary daily. I don’t always say the Mysteries the way the guides say, and I don’t always say the same ones. The Rosary is a tool for meditation and devotion; this is what keeps it from becoming idolatry. Use it as thus. Also, there’s no requirement that all five decades of a set of Mysteries be recited in one pass; I often say my Rosary while driving and just pick up where I left off. I’ve been told before that Mary doesn’t have to get her roses in bunches, that what’s important is that they be given sincerely.

 

[Namwalker]

I do the same thing. I do that between calls at work. I do Divine Mercy Chaplet that way and sometimes novena’s. I concider it prayer without ceasing. I do try to get one rosary in each morning all at once but the rest of the day is continuous.

Thanks for the response, I do feel better about it. Between decades I repeat the Jesus prayer three times. Sometimes when time gets short or when I do meditating I repeat the prayer and just contemplate the words.

Somehow it makes me feel better.

Somewhere on this site there is a poster who has a quote from Bishop Sheen about something that I believe in stongly. Although I don’t remember the full quote it is paraphrased as follows: “Act as you believe and you’ll believe” or something like that. I heard that basic quote when I was in the mililtary and never knew where that saying came from. My thanks to the poster. I’ve followed that message since the middle 60’s through some nasty situations that don’t belong here.