Shortened Rosary - is this okay?

[mass4life]

I am a mother of two, ages 2 and 1, and my husband is not Catholic. All the Religion these children will learn will have to come from me, and I wanted to begin the “habit” of teaching them early. I began praying the Rosary daily in the mornings, so it’s not so obvious Daddy isn’t joining in the prayers. I can’t pray an entire Rosary without having to baby-tend, so I began praying it with only three Hail Mary’s instead of ten. Is this all right? This is the Blessed Mother’s gift, and I don’t want to abuse it.

(P.S. One intention every day is that my husband convert to the Catholic faith for the sake of his soul and the faith of our children. Is this a proper way to pray for his conversion?)

 

[Fitz]

Any prayer would be good. I don’t think I am qualified to say if it’s OK, but I can’t imagine that any prayer would be bad. Perhaps you could say a full rosary at other times when life is a little less hectic. Any time you relflect on the life of Christ while asking His mother to intercede seems valid to me. I will say a prayer that your husband joins you on the spiritual journey. Be prepared for sometimes it takes years.

 

[WhiteDove]

Hey, I do the Rosary with 3 Hail Marys with my kids. I think it makes a nice introduction for them, without getting tedious. Children have different attention spans, and in my opinion, do better with the shorter version. I don’t see a thing wrong with it.

 

[Mjohn1453]

The rosary is a personal devotion. You may pray it however you like. Though I am not sure it would technically be called a rosary anymore.

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

I am the primary religious influence in our home (my wife leaves that up to me since her faith isn’t as strong as mine although she is Catholic).

I started to pray a few Hail Mary’s to my oldest when she was younger when I put her to bed at night but she didn’t seem to get why I kept repeating myself. I decided at that time to refrain and try again a little later.

I started up a little later when she turned five. This time I started with the Lord’s Prayer. About a week later I added the Hail Mary. A few days after that I’ve added the Glory Be.

At this time, we pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and One Glory Be. I’ll continue to expand this as the Holy Spirit moves me to. This gradual approach has worked so far for me.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

Recommend that after you introduce the mystery, get them to answer some questions about it. They will not understand meditation, but if you ask them, “What do you think it was like having a angel come to you?”, the could answer getting them closer to meditating on it and better understanding the mystery. Vary your questions. Make them think about it in different ways.

 

[Guy]

T.A.Stobie:

Recommend that after you introduce the mystery, get them to answer some questions about it. They will not understand meditation, but if you ask them, “What do you think it was like having a angel come to you?”, the could answer getting them closer to meditating on it and better understanding the mystery. Vary your questions. Make them think about it in different ways.

Excellent point!!!

I think even 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary, and 1 Glory Be would even be fine!!!