Rosary vs Divine Mercy and can't focus on meditations

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I have been doing the Divine Mercy Chaplet since it’s so much easier for me. It’s quicker and I can focus on the prayers more.

I do the rosary prayers, but I can’t say the holy marys and meditate on the mysteries at the same time. It is just not possible for me. I can’t think while my lips are moving, and that’s the story of my life 😃 lol.

Anyone else have that problem too? I just do the prayers of the rosary and let my mind think/ pray about my anxieties or worries during them instead of saying the mysteries.

Kat
 
katpants said:
I have been doing the Divine Mercy Chaplet since it’s so much easier for me. It’s quicker and I can focus on the prayers more.

I do the rosary prayers, but I can’t say the holy marys and meditate on the mysteries at the same time. It is just not possible for me. I can’t think while my lips are moving, and that’s the story of my life 😃 lol.

Anyone else have that problem too? I just do the prayers of the rosary and let my mind think/ pray about my anxieties or worries during them instead of saying the mysteries.

Kat
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You can always try to relate your anxieties amd worries to the mysteries. 😃
 
I personally don’t meditate while reciting each Hail Mary, I feel that takes away the meaning behind the words of the prayer. Instead, I meditate for a few seconds in between each Hail Mary. I hope that can work for you…God bless you.
 
Hi Kat,

I get distracted too, but just do my best to refocus. That is what I would do too, if I were you. Just keep trying, and refocus. I like praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, too. 🙂
 
I was thinking this exact same thing when I started doing the devine mercy on Sunday.

With the rosary I find it easier to pray with another person, or as a group, I tend to focus more, as I only participate in speaking the response. Lol. So, I think of the mystery for the first part of the Hail Mary, then think of the response, which I have to say. When I am mediating by myself I lose pace and just say the words rather than really take it all in.

With the devine mercy, (I only first knew of this prayer properly on Sunday as I am a newly baptised Catholic and still learning 🙂 ) I found this as a song and I have it on the background whilst I am studying/Cleaning/Cooking and I tend to sing along, then, I will make time at least 2/3 times a week to pray and meditate on this properly.

I know what you mean though, its hard to sit down and ‘switch off’ maybe just say the words slowly will that help?

Hope I have helped in some way? God Bless xx
 
There are as many ways of praying as there are people.

Here are some ways I’ve approached praying the rosary:
  • Using pictures/illustrations depicting the mysteries and letting the pictures do the talking
  • Reading the scripture text and/or meditations then saying the set prayers (with an intention for each Ave/decade/half decade)
  • Imagining myself present at the event while saying the decade
  • Reading a verse or two of scripture and then saying an Ave
  • Concentrating on the mystery and reciting the set prayers, using them as an anchor in case I get distracted
  • Thinking about what the mystery is asking me to imitate
Find out what works for you; sometimes it’s good to change things around a bit too (on a Friday or Tuesday I sometimes use the dolor rosary).
 
Everyone will pray the rosary differently…it will be unique for every person. It’s unique for me each time I pray it (which is almost every day)!

I have recommended this little booklet before: “Praying the Rosary Without Distractions.” It’s available from the Rosary Confraternity. secure.www.pacifier.com/rosary-center.org/shopcartindex1.html $3.00, and well worth it! Each mystery has ten 1-2 line meditations for the Hail Marys in that decade. I start the Hail Mary as “background” (if that makes sense) and read each line of meditation as I pray. I can do both at the same time. Sometimes I stop and think for a bit longer on a certain aspect of that mystery. Or if a person or situation comes to my mind I include them in my meditation. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to pray a rosary using this method.

The key for me is having the prayers so memorized that I can recite them without really thinking…then I can think about the meditation at the same time. Sometimes I read the little meditation BEFORE praying the Hail Mary, and then think more about the words to that prayer…especially in the Joyful Mysteries, where the prayer revisits some of the mysteries (Annunciation, Visitation).

Hope this is helpful. The rosary is a beautiful prayer, and I don’t think you can pray it “wrong”…Our Lord and Blessed Mother are happy you are praying!!!
 
katpants said:
I have been doing the Divine Mercy Chaplet since it’s so much easier for me. It’s quicker and I can focus on the prayers more.

I do the rosary prayers, but I can’t say the holy marys and meditate on the mysteries at the same time. It is just not possible for me. I can’t think while my lips are moving, and that’s the story of my life 😃 lol.

Anyone else have that problem too? I just do the prayers of the rosary and **let my mind think/ pray about my anxieties or worries **during them instead of saying the mysteries.

Kat
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So you can think while your lips are moving 😉

What you are experiencing is what we call distraction. You really want to overcome that because it is a barrier to growing in holiness. Continuing this way is like going to visit a VIP to ask for help and then babbling about your grocery list instead!

As others have mentioned, using pictures or Scriptural references can help, and what the saints and others who are more learned and holy than I am say to do about distractions is to *gently *pull your attention away from the distraction and back to the mystery each time you find your attention has wandered. Just imagine your mind as a small child who needs to be brought back to the task at hand.

If you do this all the time, you will get better at meditating on the mysteries rather than on the state of your house 😉
 
katpants said:
I have been doing the Divine Mercy Chaplet since it’s so much easier for me. It’s quicker and I can focus on the prayers more.

I do the rosary prayers, but I can’t say the holy marys and meditate on the mysteries at the same time. It is just not possible for me. I can’t think while my lips are moving, and that’s the story of my life 😃 lol.

Anyone else have that problem too? I just do the prayers of the rosary and let my mind think/ pray about my anxieties or worries during them instead of saying the mysteries.

Kat
Click to expand...
What I do is say the title of the mystery in between the Hail Marys… Example : (Hail Mary- The Crucifixion)…( Hail Mary- The Crucifixion)… (Hail Mary- The Crucifixion)… and then at the end I just recite the whole mystery all over again, but I emit that the train does still go off the tracks with this sometimes. 🙂
 
I have a suggestion, since you have more success praying with someone, try the audio Scriptural Rosary from this website: scripturalrosary.org/audiointro.html

Choose Melissa’s audio on the left column. She has a beautiful voice and the Rosary is paced perfectly for meditation. Close your eyes, pray silently along with her, feel the words, see the images in your mind.

Patti
 
Something to try, it will only add a few minutes to the rosary, it kind of works for me. I too can’t do two things at a time. Try this, before each Hail Mary repeat the actual mystery. You know something like this before each Hail Mary: “I adore you oh Christ in the mystery of the Ascension”. It helps keep focus on the mystery but you can still concentrate on the Hail Mary.

I didn’t read this whole thread so somebody may have a similar or better suggestion but this helps me.

👍:twocents:
 
People do process songs differently in the brain than they process the spoken word. That’s why many people who stutter can sing without any problems, and that’s why people who have neural problems speaking can often sing what they want to say.

SImilarly, people process “saying things by myself” differently than “saying things in chorus.”

There are a lot of people who find it difficult to do different kinds of mental processing at the same time, while other people find it more relaxing to be doing more brain things at once, and keeping the body busy. Some people have to stay still while saying the Rosary, while it’s also an old custom to take a slow or brisk walk while saying the Rosary. (Pope Benedict XVI did this and still does as Pope Emeritus. Many religious do it; but many others would trip over their own feet if they tried.)

Speaking involves the mouth, vocal folds, and ears, whereas meditation can work on all different parts of the brain (visual and image processing for people who think up pictures, emotion processing for people who meditate by sympathizing with Jesus and Mary, etc.) Even though people who’ve learned meditation/contemplation tend to be very relaxed while doing it, there’s a lot of processing going on!

So although I expect that everybody experiences distraction, I would not say that the OP’s problems are distraction-based.

Everybody is a little bit different. That’s why there are so many ways to pray the Rosary, and so many different devotions. What helps one person doesn’t always help another; and that’s why there are spiritual directors.

I suggest that the OP experiment. Some of these suggestions are very good for many people, but the important thing is to find one that works for you.
 
I am much better at praying the Rosary now than I was three years ago.

I enjoy it more too.

Just give it time.
 
I have this problem too. I find it hard to concentrate but maybe i am trying too hard?
 
Caldey said:
I have this problem too. I find it hard to concentrate but maybe i am trying too hard?
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Don’t push yourself too hard! At the beginning of the Rosary, ask the Holy Spirit for His help in praying it well. At the beginning of each decade, think about the mystery… you can either imagine it happening, with yourself there in the crowds, or on some aspect like forgiveness (Christ’s words: Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do)–different people do better with different ways–and then each time you find your mind has wandered, *gently *guide it back to the mystery.

I got very good at this when I was praying a 54-day Rosary Novena and prayed the Rosary every single day without fail.

The more you pray, the better at it you get!
 
Thanks for the hints and help! 🙂

I don’t have a “quiet” time to really do the rosary, half the time my husband is doing his music out loud or construction happening, you name it lol!

Kat
 
katpants said:
Thanks for the hints and help! 🙂

I don’t have a “quiet” time to really do the rosary, half the time my husband is doing his music out loud or construction happening, you name it lol!

Kat
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Maybe while your husband is playing music, you can take a walk and pray the Rosary then? Lots of people find a quiet place outdoors to pray in.
 
Since the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is much quicker I follow up a Rosary with a Chaplet.
Our Lady of Fatima asked us to say the Rosary daily and to meditate on the mysteries so that is how it should be done, if possible. The Chaplet, however, wasn’t meant to be a meditation so one should just concentrate on the words.

After one gets used to saying the Rosary over and over one will find that the mind wanders and thinks about other things all while still saying the words. Isn’t this the same thing saying the words but thinking about something else? The only difference is that we may not be thinking about the mystery. Generally, when our mind drifts, it goes to what’s been on the mind recently so a little meditation on the mystery before saying the words will help.

The point being here is that if you can think of something else while saying the Hail Marys then you should be capable of eventually meditating on the mysteries while saying the words. Thinking one thing and saying something else probably may not happen until you’ve learned the words so well that you no longer need to think about what word comes next. It will just take more practice for some. If you stop saying the words every time your mind drifts even after you’ve learned the words completely from many repetitions then this may not be possible.

I’ve always been of a mind that if we do the best we can, that’s all God wants from us.
 
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