Rosary while driving, doing dishes, other things?

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St_Francis

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I have been having a hard time praying the Rosary lately except while driving. I think that doing something else automatically helps me focus–does that make sense? So I was wondering if people ever pray the Rosary while doing something like knitting?

To be honest, I’m a bit stressed out right now, what with this and that, so I don’t see it as a permanent thing, just something to help me through this particular time, but I’m also cery worried about “doing it wrong.”
 
There is nothing wrong about it. Prayer is a conversation with God and Rosary is one form of prayer. We can converse with God any time. When we stay recollected in front of God, thinking of Him day and night, talking to Him wherever we are, we are praying without ceasing. God likes us to stay close to Him.
 
InLight’s answer is perfect. 🙂

I pray the Rosary almost always while driving, BTW.
 
I like to use an audio version of the rosary (like Fr. Groeschel’s Rosary is a Place) when driving. It allows you to pray without having to mentally count Aves.

That said… I really think you need to not meditate too deeply on the mysteries when driving. Think about them, but don’t meditate like you would when you are not driving. Focus on the road.
 
I pray the rosary while driving as well. It is a great way to spend time during commuting to and from work and visiting distant family. Honestly, it make me feel safer driving and I have noticed that driving (and its associated hazards) no longer bother me. In fact driving is peaceful and even relaxing, even in the city:eek:

Good Bless
 
I found that I could pray the rosary driving in to work, very early in the morning, before there was heavy traffic. But in the afternoon, forget about it! I needed my full attention for my fellow commuters.
 
Certainly! Especially when doing somewhat time consuming tasks that don’t require concentration, housework, yardwork, etc. When offered up for an intention it is “praying constantly”.
 
If you have a CD player in your car or home you can get the Rosary on CD and play it while you travel or work around the house. Any Catholic book store ought to have any one of several good recordings of it by different people.👍
 
I pray the Rosary every day – it is a beautiful rosary,and I carry it with me everywhere because my granddaughter sent it to me from Paris, France. The first two decades I say with my first cup of coffee – the third decade I say in front of my computer with EWTN on – the fourth decade I say several times – when I’m walking to the street car – when I’m waiting for the bus,etc.,etc. – the last decade I say before I turn out the light at night – I couldn’t get through the day without my rosary!!!
 
With due respect for all concerned, the proper recitation of the Rosary calls for meditation of the various Sacred Mysteries.
For obvious safety reasons, both for oneself and for others, operating a motor vehicle demands total concentration.
If one is properly concentrating on the Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary, how can one safely operate a motor vehicle? Impossible. Even if you play a recording of the Rosary whilst driving, the recording out of necessity will become little more than surface noise, just like the popular music one gets from the average radio station.
I strongly recommend that you don’t do it. Christ, Himself said it perfectly: " No man can serve two masters".
 
If you like to pray while driving, doing the dishes, and other tasks, maybe you would like praying short aspirations like the Jesus Prayer or something else? I find it hard to give proper concentration to the mysteries of the rosary while I’m driving, which is not to say that you can’t pray the rosary while driving, but only you can say whether this is fruitful for you.

Let’s be honest, for most of us it’s hard to sit down and pray the rosary without doing anything else. It requires mental discipline for us chronically distracted moderns. I think that’s one of the biggest benefits of the practice.

But if you like to pray the rosary while doing other things and find it helpful, be at peace about it. It’s not my purpose to make you stress about it. 🙂
 
St_Francis said:
?..I was wondering if people ever pray the Rosary while doing something like knitting?..
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Now THAT is a great idea as I love to knit and could find many hours slip by, so incorporating prayer sounds great 🙂 I don’t know if I could do it at the same time as having to remember/count rows though… 😛 Just plain old knit stitch + Rosary would work though 🙂

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying the Rosary anywhere, anytime… of course if your focus on the Rosary distracts you from something that might endanger yourself or others, save it for when you have some quiet time. 🙂

I mainly say the Rosary in bed before I sleep (I’ll speak it softly) and on the bus (say it in my head) 🙂
 
George_Stegmeir said:
With due respect for all concerned, the proper recitation of the Rosary calls for meditation of the various Sacred Mysteries.
For obvious safety reasons, both for oneself and for others, operating a motor vehicle demands total concentration.
If one is properly concentrating on the Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary, how can one safely operate a motor vehicle? Impossible. Even if you play a recording of the Rosary whilst driving, the recording out of necessity will become little more than surface noise, just like the popular music one gets from the average radio station.
I strongly recommend that you don’t do it. Christ, Himself said it perfectly: " No man can serve two masters".
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I can see it being dangerous in big city traffic, but what if you are on a country road or an Interstate with nothing but mile and miles of open road, such as in some prairie states where the road is straight and very flat?
 
Thanks everyone 🙂 for mostly reassuring answers!

Well, as it turns out, my knitting is good enough to do while watching tv, but not while praying the Rosary…

As to driving and praying the Rosary, I pause when the driving gets tricky, but the rest of the time it’s empty country roads, and if I’m not praying the Rosary, I’m just day dreaming or thinking or listening to a good Catholic talk. In the city or in traffic, I wouldn’t even try it!

Thanks again!
 
George_Stegmeir said:
With due respect for all concerned, the proper recitation of the Rosary calls for meditation of the various Sacred Mysteries.
For obvious safety reasons, both for oneself and for others, operating a motor vehicle demands total concentration.
If one is properly concentrating on the Sacred Mysteries of the Rosary, how can one safely operate a motor vehicle? Impossible. Even if you play a recording of the Rosary whilst driving, the recording out of necessity will become little more than surface noise, just like the popular music one gets from the average radio station.
I strongly recommend that you don’t do it. Christ, Himself said it perfectly: " No man can serve two masters".
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If prayer can be likened to a mountain, where the top is a more perfect, undistracted prayer, then I think your eyes are focused on the top, while mine are somewhere closer to the bottom. But if our prayer does not always reach the heights of perfection, does that mean we should not try at all?

I can only speak for myself, but during most all of my waking hours, when I am not actively engaged with other people, I have a sort of running monologue going on in my mind. It doesn’t stop just because I’m driving. Sometimes my need to focus on the task at hand sends the monologue to the background of my mind, but it always remains ready to resume.

I can very often consciously choose the direction I want the monologue to take: daydreams, future plans, and also prayer. The very words of the rosary help me to focus on what matters most. I can remember the mysteries while driving as easily as I can remember the way to my destination or the things I am going to do once I arrive. It may not be a perfect meditation, but it is certainly better than not praying at all!

In my 35 years of driving, I have prayed a lot of imperfect rosaries, and never been in an accident because of that. I look back on that as time well spent.
 
I find that praying the rosary while working out works very well when doing aerobics. That is- stationary bike, rowing machine, elliptical machine, cross-fit machine, treadmill etc.

I have said the rosary while driving long stretches of freeway in light traffic, but frankly I can not meditate as deeply on the mysteries.
 
I found out a good way to incorporate prays through out the day. Praying while chasing my toddler around!
 
Rete said:
I like to use an audio version of the rosary (like Fr. Groeschel’s Rosary is a Place) when driving. It allows you to pray without having to mentally count Aves.

That said… I really think you need to not meditate too deeply on the mysteries when driving. Think about them, but don’t meditate like you would when you are not driving. Focus on the road.
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That would be about as bad as using a cell phone or texting while driving :eek:
 
LegoGE1947 said:
That would be about as bad as using a cell phone or texting while driving :eek:
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No, no! I’m certain that no one is advocating distracted driving, certainly not me. While too many people do indeed multi-task while driving - texting, talking, applying make-up, and grooving with the radio - my way of praying the rosary while driving actually keeps me better focused on the road.

This is not a deep meditation by any means, and those who think there is but one way to correctly pray the rosary might think I am not praying at all. So be it.

When I consider the mysteries, I often attempt to apply them to my life, as well as the Biblical reference. For example, for today’s joyful mystery, the first being the annunciation, I might pray, “Holy Mother Mary, by your fiat you said yes to God. Pray for me that I too will say yes to what Jesus asks of me, to love my neighbor as myself, including and especially that fellow who just cut me off, and that lady following too closely behind me!”
 
I pray the rosary while involved in other things not requiring my total concentration. As someone noted, you get a lot of prayer done this way. My wife was a Franciscan nun for over twenty years before leaving the convent shortly after Vatican II. She was a cook in the kitchen. She told me once the cooks would pray the rosary out loud among themselves while preparing food. It was an acceptable practice in her order. I have met the cooks she worked with at convent reunions and they are all saints. 👍
 
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