The rosary

[newbiefound]

Duay Rheims

Mt 6 (7) And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. (8) Be not you therefore like to them for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him.

Sometimes I feel like I’m violating this command in praying the rosary. How do you guys feel about this?

 

[puzzleannie]

I guess the key phrase here is “as heathens do”. So I would have to look at how heathens (non-Jews in that context) pray to their gods, and compare my prayer practice to theirs. Nope, I say the rosary every day and I am not a heathen. I am repeating biblical words in the context of a meditation on the life of Christ. Find me a heathen who prays that way and I will start to worry.

 

[Jabronie]

The most important part of a Rosary is not the prayers or the beads. It’s the meditation. While you pray the Hail Mary’s focus not on the words of the prayer, but how the mystery it represents affects your life and how it affects what you’re praying the Rosary for at the time.

 

[Fidelis]

puzzleannie:

I guess the key phrase here is “as heathens do”. So I would have to look at how heathens (non-Jews in that context) pray to their gods, and compare my prayer practice to theirs. Nope, I say the rosary every day and I am not a heathen. I am repeating biblical words in the context of a meditation on the life of Christ. Find me a heathen who prays that way and I will start to worry.

Absolutetly! Also, if repetition is your hang-up, I suggest you check out Psalm 136. If God can be this “repetitious” in his inspired word, surely it’s OK for us!

 

[Eileen_T]

Fidelis:

Absolutetly! Also, if repetition is your hang-up, I suggest you check out Psalm 136. If God can be this “repetitious” in his inspired word, surely it’s OK for us!

A Litany!

 

[Verbum]

Hi Newbie—,

When I hear this biblical phrase, I think of prayer wheels and such, sort of mechanical prayers where your heart is not really in it. Prayer is an elevation of the heart and mind to God. As long as you are doing that, your prayer is pleasing to Him.

Verbum

 

[Eileen_T]

A priest talked to us about Matt.6:7, explaining that many of the pagan gods were known by many different names.

Apparently, they needed to guess correctly which name the ‘god’ chose to be addressed by that particular day if they wanted their prayers answered.

It was the habit of the pagans, when praying, to repeat prayers invoking the ‘god’ of their choice under various names.

Someone pointed out to me that when non-Catholic Christians get together and everyone says a prayer (eg before a meeting) they are very similar/repetitious in content. I have since experienced this for myself.

I am not saying these prayers are ‘vain repetition’, just that many of these same people believe that prayers like the Rosary fit that category, yet can’t see it in their own prayers.