rosary

[burman]

When saying the Rosary, is it okay to say it without the Mysteries? Sometime I forget my holy card or can’t remember which one to say.

 

[sarah_anne_628]

Well, I’m not really a trusted source on this, in that, I am a brand new Catholic (I’ve been Christian for a long time though).

But it’s my understanding that saying the Rosary isn’t a requirement. And I did some research on the rosary and it was initially a tool that monks used to recite psalms. Over time, the prayer beads evolved into what we know as the rosary. I would think that it’s quite alright. But again…I’m not an expert on Catholic Doctrine…I am still trying to not look like a fool at Mass and learn my basic prayers.

I have actually been using the rosary to help me memorize those prayers. Instead of 10 hail mary’s…I say 10 of whatever I am trying to memorize. One or two nights of that, and I usually have them down pat! And sometimes, instead of a mystery, I name a person I would like to pray for and think about them while reciting Hail Mary. This has been a very effective prayer tool for me because I never quite know what to pray for-but God knows what that person needs.

I don’t know, maybe I am way off base. But it’s been working for me. I am interested in hearing what others have to say on the matter.

Peace.

 

[thomasf]

I can never remember the mysteries either, or which ones go to what day. I have got to believe it is alright with Mary, and Jesus, and God that you’re praying those prayers without the mysteries.

 

[misterbee]

Before I learned the mysteries of the Rosary - I’d just say, ‘The First Mystery…’ The Lord and our Blessed Mother know 'em… I doubt they’ll rebuke your prayers for ‘not saying them right.’

Just make it a goal to memorize them.

 

[kristie_m]

I just recently began praying the Rosary and found I had that same problem. I keep a card in my purse and one by my bed so wherever I am I can just take a quick peek.

 

[CatholicCajun]

My mother a Methodist, taught us our Catholic prayers including the Rosary, how she learned it I do not know, but she did not teach us the Mysteris, she probably did not even know that there were Mysteries, it was not until as an adult when I made a Cursillo weekend that I learned that there were Mysteries attached to the Rosary. God BLess.

 

[HelenRose]

I love the Mysteries. They tell the complete story of Christ through the eyes of His mother. My favorite Mysteries (being a woman and a grandma) are the Joyful Mysteries. I especially love the Visitation. I love thinking about the love that woman share between each other. I love thinking about Elizabeth and Mary sharing the wonderful joy of being pregnant together.

I will start thinking about a particular Mystery - such as the Visitation - and not move off of it. I will begin to relate it to the women in my family, the woman that I love and my imagination begin to see Mary and Elizabeth together visiting and thinking about their babies. I believe that the Rosary is a very personal meditation and by the wonderful Grace of God it has been given to us.

The Rosary isn’t a requirement it is a gift - a very beautiful gift. I am not sure I could get through life without it. When ever I am lonely, sad, bored or feeling lost, I can always say the Rosary.

 

[Linda_Marie]

If you can’t remember the specific Mysteries, I suggest recalling to mind 5 events or stories or parables in Christ’s life and meditating upon them instead. Like these concentrating on God’s mercy for sinners:

The Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7)
The Lost Piece of Money (Luke 15:8-10
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
The Two Debtors (Luke 7:40)
The Parable of the Good Employer (Matt 20:1-15)

Now this was not to give you another list to memorize, but to give an example of what you could do. They don’t all have to be the same thing like all parables. They could even be the readings from last Sunday’s Mass; just something about Christ’s life and ministry.

The Rosary without the Mysteries is like potatoes without steak. The potatoes will nourish you but the steak is what builds muscle, in this case, spiritual muscle.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

Yes, your rosary is still valid. For those of you who want to know, the mysteries are as follows

Joyful - Mon & Sat
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation
The Finding of the Christ child in the Temple

Luminous - Thurs
Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
The Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus Manifests himself
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
The Transfiguration
The Institution of the Holy Eucharist

Sorrowful - Tues & Fri
The Agony in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Crowning With Thorns
Jesus takes up his Cross
The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus on the Cross

Glorious - Wed & Sun
The Resurrection
The Ascension
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Assumption of our Blessed Mother
The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth

Hope this helps
Deacon Ed B

 

[Jimdandy]

The mysteries of the rosary help us to focus on the life of Christ-
I would encourage you to learn all the mysteries-there are many web sites that have virtual rosaries to help you learn
.
The rosary is a very powerful prayer-learn it well and repeat it daily and you life will be changed forever.

You will be amazed at how much knowledge and understanding will come to you from the Holy Spirit!

It will take time, so be patient with yourself:thumbsup:

 

[ac_claire]

Since it’s a private prayer, you aren’t bound to the established rules. I’m sure any sincere prayer is good prayer, and I’m sure it’s always admirable when you choose to pray (however you can) over choosing to do anything else!

Having said that, here’s my take on your question:

Learn the mysteries if you can. I know it’s hard to memorize them all…it was for me, too. Actually for many, many years the only mysteries I had down 100% (w/o a cheat sheet) were the Joyful Mysteries. So whenever I said the rosary by myself (which was most of the time) I only said the Joyful. Maybe you could start by memorizing one set of mysteries at a time. If you pray them often, the rest of the mysteries will become second nature before you even know it’s happening. Also feel free to use a “cheat sheet” or a devotional book to help you keep track. Scriptural Rosary guides are great, if you can find one.

The mysteries are the heart and soul of the rosary. It’s what makes the rosary the Prayer of the Gospels. The set prayers on the beads guide us through the mysteries and help focus our minds and purify our intentions. But the whole point of the rosary as a form of prayer is to foster your contemplation on the mysteries. Without them, while the set prayers are still good prayers, the form itself is w/o substance and can become a means of just counting your prayers.

(Worse comes to worse and you’re stranded somewhere and can’t remember any of the mysteries, I’d advise you to pick your own mysteries from Jesus’s life…pick any 5 events or passages from the gospels and mediate on those. Pray that the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother will guide your prayers.)

 

[brockmac]

I remember hearing Fr. Corapi once talking about his personal devotion to the Rosary and he said that on certain days he may say the whole Rosary focusing on one particular mystery (for instance on Easter Sunday, the Resurrection).

My typical practice is during ordinary time:
M: Joyful
T: Sorrowful
W: Glorious
Th: Luminous
F: Sorrowful
S: Joyful
Su: Glorious

During Advent and Christmas, I will pray the Joyful Mysteries except on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday

During Lent, I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries except Monday, Thursday and Sunday

During Easter, Glorious, except Monday, Thursday, and Sunday

This helps me keep the proper focus during the liturgical seasons.

 

[Gara3987]

When saying the Rosary, is it okay to say it without the Mysteries? Sometime I forget my holy card or can’t remember which one to say.

You will be fine, I was taught that if you can’t remember the mysteries, to just say the rosary without them. It is more proper to say the rosary with the mysteries though.

The Joyful Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Annunciation - Humility
2nd The Visitation - Charity towards Neighbor
3rd The Nativity - Spirit of Poverty
4th The Presentation - Obedience
5th Finding Jesus in the Temple - Piety

The Sorrowful Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Agony in the Garden - True Contrition
2nd Jesus is Scourged - Purity
3rd Jesus is Crowned with Thorns - Moral Courage
4th Jesus Carries His Cross - Patience
5th Jesus Dies on the Cross for our sins - Self-denial

The Glorious Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Resurrection - Faith
2nd The Ascension of Christ into Heaven - Hope
3rd Decent of the Holy Ghost - Love of God
4th Assumption of the Blessed Virgin - Devotion to Mary
5th Coronation of the Blessed Virgin - Final Perseverance

The Fifteen Promises of Mary to those Who Recite the Rosary

1. 
   *] Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.
   *] I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
   *] The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
   *] It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will with- draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
   *] The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
   *] Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
   *] Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
   *] Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
   *] I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
   *] The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
   *] You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
   *] All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
   *] I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
   ] All who recite the Rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only Son Jesus Christ.
   ] Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
   ** “One day through the Rosary and the Scapular I will save the world” These were the words spoken to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1208 when she appeared to him.

 

[ac_claire]

Gara3987:

You will be fine, I was taught that if you can’t remember the mysteries, to just say the rosary without them. It is more proper to say the rosary with the mysteries though.

The Joyful Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Annunciation - Humility
2nd The Visitation - Charity towards Neighbor
3rd The Nativity - Spirit of Poverty
4th The Presentation - Obedience
5th Finding Jesus in the Temple - Piety

The Sorrowful Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Agony in the Garden - True Contrition
2nd Jesus is Scourged - Purity
3rd Jesus is Crowned with Thorns - Moral Courage
4th Jesus Carries His Cross - Patience
5th Jesus Dies on the Cross for our sins - Self-denial

The Glorious Mysteries With Virtues

1st The Resurrection - Faith
2nd The Ascension of Christ into Heaven - Hope
3rd Decent of the Holy Ghost - Love of God
4th Assumption of the Blessed Virgin - Devotion to Mary
5th Coronation of the Blessed Virgin - Final Perseverance

Thank you for posting this.
I forgot about the virtues…You don’t hear as much about the usefulness of the associated virtues (or fruits) of the mysteries these days. It’s a beautiful dimension that sometimes gets overlooked.

 

[blackrobe]

If you can’t remember the specific Mysteries, I suggest recalling to mind 5 events or stories or parables in Christ’s life and meditating upon them instead. Like these concentrating on God’s mercy for sinners:

The Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7)
The Lost Piece of Money (Luke 15:8-10
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
The Two Debtors (Luke 7:40)
The Parable of the Good Employer (Matt 20:1-15)

Now this was not to give you another list to memorize, but to give an example of what you could do. They don’t all have to be the same thing like all parables. They could even be the readings from last Sunday’s Mass; just something about Christ’s life and ministry.

The Rosary without the Mysteries is like potatoes without steak. The potatoes will nourish you but the steak is what builds muscle, in this case, spiritual muscle.

Brilliant. Thank you.

JSA+

 

[majuscule]

What about saying the rosary along with a CD? I say it in my car as I’m driving.

I don’t feel that I am giving as much attention to saying it as I drive as I would at home on my knees, but I feel it’s better than not saying it at all. I don’t just listen, I recite the prayers.

Just wondering what others think.

 

[Cajetan]

I’ve been praying the rosary – five decades, which takes me about twenty minutes – every day for the past two weeks. Its impact on my religious/spiritual life has actually been pretty amazing. I recommend it to all. While this form of prayer is not necessary for Catholics in general, it has certainly been for me in my situation. The benefits for me have been so rich and important that not praying the rosary every day would be like an act of self-sabotage. The Lord really threw me a life-preserver here…

As I’m still fairly new to the rosary, I pray it in reach of a nice pamphlet which walks you through it nicely, with all of the prayers and mysteries with a bit of Scripture text and visual aids for each.

 

[blackrobe]

What about saying the rosary along with a CD? I say it in my car as I’m driving.

I don’t feel that I am giving as much attention to saying it as I drive as I would at home on my knees, but I feel it’s better than not saying it at all. I don’t just listen, I recite the prayers.

Just wondering what others think.

I do the same as I drive about six hours a day for work. It’s not the ideal setting but it beats the alternatives.

JSA

 

[sarah_anne_628]

On the heels of what someone else suggested…but with a different take…pick the set of mysteries that’s easiest for you to remember. For instance-I know the Sorrowful Mysteries inside and out because I prayed them everyday during Lent. Once you know one like you know the Hail Mary, then you can start working on the others. But if you are ever stuck without your card and you can’t remember…then you can default to the set you know (even if it isn’t the right day).

 

[NoPlaceLikeRome]

Something neat that I read once (perhaps it was in Fulton Sheen’s “The World’s First Love”) is that the Rosary is one of the best prayers for human beings since we are so easily distracted. According to the author, one can meditate on either the Mystery, the related virtue, the “addressee” of the Rosary who is Our Lady, or on one’s intention for the decade or five decades.