To Protestants--do you ever pray the Rosary?

[AwGusTeen]

Well I’m sorry that you disagree with what the Bible says In Matthew 6:7-8. But I don’t think that Jesus was wrong by what he said. As far as the nature of the Rosary, your correct but, its not part of my religion. When I was Catholic they never said why we pray the Rosary, they said just pray it. Repetative prayer is ok but not over and over again 50 times in a row it seems pointless to me. Its kinda like your boss telling you to do something over and over again in a row, for example, put this in the file cabnet, put this in the fille cabnet, put this in the file cabnet, put this in the file cabnet saying it 50 times in a row, its pointless unless your ignorant, and I don’t think God is.
By the way I’m not trying to convince you of anything, your mind is set just like mine is.

OK rev kevin – please tell me what constitutes repetitive prayer. Is it once every 20 minutes? Once every 24 hours? Once every two weeks? Once in a lifetime? What if you pray the Lord’s Prayer every week – is that acceptable? What about once a month? Please explain to me (according to your interpretation) what exactly is considered repetitive prayer so that I can avoid it. Please tell me exactly where scripture defines that for me – chapter and verse. You cannot can you?

 

[rev_kevin]

OK rev kevin – please tell me what constitutes repetitive prayer. Is it once every 20 minutes? Once every 24 hours? Once every two weeks? Once in a lifetime? What if you pray the Lord’s Prayer every week – is that acceptable? What about once a month? Please explain to me (according to your interpretation) what exactly is considered repetitive prayer so that I can avoid it. Please tell me exactly where scripture defines that for me – chapter and verse. You cannot can you?

I see what kind of person I’m dealing with in you. If you would read what I said, I said IN A ROW 50 times IN A ROW. Do you know what IN A ROW means? Like the Rosary same prayer 10 times IN A ROW 5 units of 10 comes to 50 IN A ROW. Stop being ignorant and a smart allic. You know what I said because I have said it time and time again but not IN A ROW. I believe I have given the chapter and verse’s, I have even written them word for word. Matthew 6:7-8. I have even given a example of it. Stop playing dumb, grow up and and if you can’t read have someone do it for you. I know you know what IN A ROW means so stop being ignorant.OK… I don’t have time for kid games.

 

[whatevergirl]

Oh no…let’s not fight, everyone.

 

[hillsteven]

I see what kind of person I’m dealing with in you. If you would read what I said, I said IN A ROW 50 times IN A ROW. Do you know what IN A ROW means? Like the Rosary same prayer 10 times IN A ROW 5 units of 10 comes to 50 IN A ROW. Stop being ignorant and a smart allic. You know what I said because I have said it time and time again but not IN A ROW. I believe I have given the chapter and verse’s, I have even written them word for word. Matthew 6:7-8. I have even given a example of it. Stop playing dumb, grow up and and if you can’t read have someone do it for you. I know you know what IN A ROW means so stop being ignorant.OK… I don’t have time for kid games.

Rev Kevin,

Sorry you’ve had such a hard time here. Let me try and put in my $0.02 worth here…

First, having read the entire thread, I think I see your position, and your point. As a converted Catholic (10 years ago next month), I have gone through that same (or similar) set of concerns/objections. There is, however, (or there can be) great beauty in the repetition. When you know the Hail Mary to the point that you are praying it on auto-pilot, you are able to free your mind to meditate on the Mysteries in between each Our Father. Is it repetition, oh ***my ***yes! The beauty, for me, rests in the fact that while you are occupying your mind meditating on a particular Mystery, you are ALSO praying a separate prayer. In this, you are praying two prayers simultaneously.

One corollary would be when you cross yourself. Verbally, you are saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Tangibly, you are tracing yourself with the sign of the Cross, the site of our Lord’s greatest sacrifice, and greatest triumph. Mentally, you are praying “May God bless my mind to always glorify Him, My heart to always love Him, and my arms to do His work”.

Another would be the response to the Priest or Deacon when he announces the Gospel he is about to read. Verbally, we say “Glory to you, O Lord”. Physically, we cross our forehead, our lips, and our hearts. Mentally, we pray “May you be ever in my mind, ever on my lips, and ever in my heart.”

With the Rosary, we pray the repetitive prayers verbally, move the beads physically, and meditate on the mystery mentally.

There CAN be great beauty in repetition, but only if you are participating fully. If you are not, you may be praying good prayers, but you miss out on the complete graces our Lord, through His Bride the Church, makes available to us.

A bit long-winded, but hope that helps!

 

[rev_kevin]

Rev Kevin,

Sorry you’ve had such a hard time here. Let me try and put in my $0.02 worth here…

First, having read the entire thread, I think I see your position, and your point. As a converted Catholic (10 years ago next month), I have gone through that same (or similar) set of concerns/objections. There is, however, (or there can be) great beauty in the repetition. When you know the Hail Mary to the point that you are praying it on auto-pilot, you are able to free your mind to meditate on the Mysteries in between each Our Father. Is it repetition, oh ***my ***yes! The beauty, for me, rests in the fact that while you are occupying your mind meditating on a particular Mystery, you are ALSO praying a separate prayer. In this, you are praying two prayers simultaneously.

One corollary would be when you cross yourself. Verbally, you are saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Tangibly, you are tracing yourself with the sign of the Cross, the site of our Lord’s greatest sacrifice, and greatest triumph. Mentally, you are praying “May God bless my mind to always glorify Him, My heart to always love Him, and my arms to do His work”.

Another would be the response to the Priest or Deacon when he announces the Gospel he is about to read. Verbally, we say “Glory to you, O Lord”. Physically, we cross our forehead, our lips, and our hearts. Mentally, we pray “May you be ever in my mind, ever on my lips, and ever in my heart.”

With the Rosary, we pray the repetitive prayers verbally, move the beads physically, and meditate on the mystery mentally.

There CAN be great beauty in repetition, but only if you are participating fully. If you are not, you may be praying good prayers, but you miss out on the complete graces our Lord, through His Bride the Church, makes available to us.

A bit long-winded, but hope that helps!

Yes this does thank you. I understand all the movements and such during the mass. I was a altar boy of 5 years. I guess when I went to a Catholic school I one did not pay attention or 2 they didn’t explain it well enough. Like I said I have no problem with anyone praying the Rosary, my mother prayes it every night for anyone I ask her to pray for. She tells me I will say the Rosary for them and I tell her thank you. Its part of her religion and beliefs and I understand that and she understands my religion and beliefs. Sometimes we disagree but we respect eachothers beliefs. She is proud that I am a minister even though I’m not a priest like she wanted me to be but she is proud that I am preaching the word of God. Once again thank you for your “long-winded” explination.

 

[hillsteven]

Yes this does thank you. I understand all the movements and such during the mass. I was a altar boy of 5 years. I guess when I went to a Catholic school I one did not pay attention or 2 they didn’t explain it well enough. Like I said I have no problem with anyone praying the Rosary, my mother prayes it every night for anyone I ask her to pray for. She tells me I will say the Rosary for them and I tell her thank you. Its part of her religion and beliefs and I understand that and she understands my religion and beliefs. Sometimes we disagree but we respect eachothers beliefs. She is proud that I am a minister even though I’m not a priest like she wanted me to be but she is proud that I am preaching the word of God. Once again thank you for your “long-winded” explination.

I would agree with your mother, and would say that she has much to be proud of if you have dedicated your life professionally to preaching God’s Word.

While I am very new to this forum, I have noticed with much regret that many on both sides of these issues tend to assume that if someone disagrees on any point, they must disagree on all points. While there are some curmudgeons out there who are just set on being disagreeable because they can, I’ve found that most of the time, there’s more to agree upon than disagree with.

One of the things that frustrated me so much as an anti-Catholic Protestant was that most Catholics I ran across never questioned their faith. The problem I ultimately ran into is that when I myself stopped being one of those curmudgeons and started seeking real answers to my faith, I found that the Catholic teaching made far more sense than what I thought I believed. Never stop questioning, and never stop seeking answers. I for one am glad to have you and others like you on this forum. It keeps us all (on both sides of these debates) on our toes, and forces us to constantly re-evaluate not just WHAT we believe, but WHY we believe! Where your spiritual journey will lead you, only God knows!

In Him,

Steven

 

[rev_kevin]

I would agree with your mother, and would say that she has much to be proud of if you have dedicated your life professionally to preaching God’s Word.

While I am very new to this forum, I have noticed with much regret that many on both sides of these issues tend to assume that if someone disagrees on any point, they must disagree on all points. While there are some curmudgeons out there who are just set on being disagreeable because they can, I’ve found that most of the time, there’s more to agree upon than disagree with.

One of the things that frustrated me so much as an anti-Catholic Protestant was that most Catholics I ran across never questioned their faith. The problem I ultimately ran into is that when I myself stopped being one of those curmudgeons and started seeking real answers to my faith, I found that the Catholic teaching made far more sense than what I thought I believed. Never stop questioning, and never stop seeking answers. I for one am glad to have you and others like you on this forum. It keeps us all (on both sides of these debates) on our toes, and forces us to constantly re-evaluate not just WHAT we believe, but WHY we believe! Where your spiritual journey will lead you, only God knows!

In Him,

Steven

Thank you and I’m glad we had the chance to discuss things as adults. We may not agree with everything. I’m sure that we can agree that God is number 1 and always should be. To me it don’t matter how you pray as long as you pray. If you pray the Rosary you are praying. If you pray to God by just talking to him you are praying. Eather way it goes you can’t go wrong in praying.

 

[ufamtobie]

No let me tell you something that you misunderstood.

I never said that you pray a prayer only once in a life time:shrug: What I said, if you would read what I wrote, was to pray the same prayer over and over again in a row get it in a row.
Like 50 times in a row.

Rev Kevin, I read your Post and I know what you were assuming and Now you know you were wrong to assume that all repeated prayers are all babbling.

Ufam Tobie

 

[AwGusTeen]

I see what kind of person I’m dealing with in you. If you would read what I said, I said IN A ROW 50 times IN A ROW. Do you know what IN A ROW means? Like the Rosary same prayer 10 times IN A ROW 5 units of 10 comes to 50 IN A ROW. Stop being ignorant and a smart allic. You know what I said because I have said it time and time again but not IN A ROW. I believe I have given the chapter and verse’s, I have even written them word for word. Matthew 6:7-8. I have even given a example of it. Stop playing dumb, grow up and and if you can’t read have someone do it for you. I know you know what IN A ROW means so stop being ignorant.OK… I don’t have time for kid games.

Yes - I know what you said but I don’t agree with it. You are either unable or unwilling to defend your statements here, and I point to your intellectually vapid use of ad hominem attack as proof. When challenged, you simply blather away with an angry infantile rant as indicated above.You see, rev, what we do here is called intellectual discourse – and if you are going to get angry everytime someone challenges your position, then you will get angry very often here.

 

[whatevergirl]

Rev Kevin,

Sorry you’ve had such a hard time here. Let me try and put in my $0.02 worth here…

First, having read the entire thread, I think I see your position, and your point. As a converted Catholic (10 years ago next month), I have gone through that same (or similar) set of concerns/objections. There is, however, (or there can be) great beauty in the repetition. When you know the Hail Mary to the point that you are praying it on auto-pilot, you are able to free your mind to meditate on the Mysteries in between each Our Father. Is it repetition, oh ***my ***yes! The beauty, for me, rests in the fact that while you are occupying your mind meditating on a particular Mystery, you are ALSO praying a separate prayer. In this, you are praying two prayers simultaneously.

One corollary would be when you cross yourself. Verbally, you are saying “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Tangibly, you are tracing yourself with the sign of the Cross, the site of our Lord’s greatest sacrifice, and greatest triumph. Mentally, you are praying “May God bless my mind to always glorify Him, My heart to always love Him, and my arms to do His work”.

Another would be the response to the Priest or Deacon when he announces the Gospel he is about to read. Verbally, we say “Glory to you, O Lord”. Physically, we cross our forehead, our lips, and our hearts. Mentally, we pray “May you be ever in my mind, ever on my lips, and ever in my heart.”

With the Rosary, we pray the repetitive prayers verbally, move the beads physically, and meditate on the mystery mentally.

There CAN be great beauty in repetition, but only if you are participating fully. If you are not, you may be praying good prayers, but you miss out on the complete graces our Lord, through His Bride the Church, makes available to us.

A bit long-winded, but hope that helps!

*I love your point here, well stated. I think that perhaps the miscommunication is coming in the form of that we as Catholics are rather ‘drone’ like when praying the Rosary…as we repeat the same prayers over and over…I understand how that might be the perception. I totally agree with you here steven, that the same holds true for me…the beauty of the repetition is if we are participating FULLY. Meaningful participation. I appreciate your thoughts that you added to this thread. *

 

[hillsteven]

*I love your point here, well stated. I think that perhaps the miscommunication is coming in the form of that we as Catholics are rather ‘drone’ like when praying the Rosary…as we repeat the same prayers over and over…I understand how that might be the perception. I totally agree with you here steven, that the same holds true for me…the beauty of the repetition is if we are participating FULLY. Meaningful participation. I appreciate your thoughts that you added to this thread. *

Thank you, WhateverGirl. One of the biggest problems I had as a Protestant was the sometimes incredibly large gap between what I saw with my own two eyes and heard with my own ears (thereby making me an expert at what was transpiring) vs. what was REALLY happening. I think this can be a stumbling block to our separated brothers/sisters in Christ. The rosary is a great example. They see/hear repetitive prayer, and think it useless and monotonous. What they can’t see/hear is the meditation, and THAT is where the true beauty lies. One could go on and on with this one. Maybe a good topic for a new thread?

 

[rev_kevin]

Rev Kevin, I read your Post and I know what you were assuming and Now you know you were wrong to assume that all repeated prayers are all babbling.

Ufam Tobie

I noticed that ya’ll are hung up on the word babble. But what about the other words Jesus said. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.
What does he mean by that.
Revelation 4:8 was not a prayer, it is praising God. Praising over and over was not mentioned by Jesus but praying over and over was… See the difference praise and prayer.
Over and over like the Rosary in a row. In a row, back to back, one right after the other. I’m sure you know what I mean. Your just playing games.
Where does it say I have to pray the Rosary. I don’t find it in the Bible. The Rosary is not mentioned in the Bible. Its not part of my religion. I pray directly to God.

 

[rev_kevin]

Yes - I know what you said but I don’t agree with it. You are either unable or unwilling to defend your statements here, and I point to your intellectually vapid use of ad hominem attack as proof. When challenged, you simply blather away with an angry infantile rant as indicated above.You see, rev, what we do here is called intellectual discourse – and if you are going to get angry everytime someone challenges your position, then you will get angry very often here.

If you notice in Post’s 126 and 127 it was nice and adult like. I thanked him for his explination so your statement is incorrect about me. Now if someone is acting childish like post 121 yes I get frustrated :banghead:because of the sarcasm in the way they presented their rubuttle. I have given proof after proof, example after example but you can’t see it or are unwilling to see it. I think you may be confused because you are Baptist, Catholic and fulfulled. How can one be 2 different religions. Are you in conflict with your self. You claim to be both religions that conflict with one another. If you are Baptist you can’t be Catholic also. Or are you trying to cover all bases. Look I’m tired of this childish discussion we are having. I’m sorry :imsorry:if I came across in a way that hurt your feelings. I’ll try to watch myself around you so I won’t hurt your feelings again. :crying:

 

[hillsteven]

Where does it say I have to pray the Rosary. I don’t find it in the Bible. The Rosary is not mentioned in the Bible. Its not part of my religion. I pray directly to God.

You’re absolutely right. It isn’t in the Bible. Nor is it in any way REQUIRED by the Church. I also pray directly to God most of the time. That does not negate that there is great beauty to be found in such repetition-style prayers. Nor does it take away the great riches that can be found in meditating on a regular basis on the Mysteries of our Lord’s life and ministry.

I would encourage you to re-visit the Rosary with new eyes. I say this not because I think that to not pray it is bad, nor because it makes your prayer life incomplete in the way you might think. This is not a case of a zero-sum game. As Christians, we have 2000 years of traditions to draw upon. It is simply not possible to experience these riches in their entirety. This lack does not make us, any of us, incomplete in the sense that we typically consider. I would argue that you ARE missing out by not choosing to experience other forms of prayer. This doesn’t make you wrong, though. On the other hand, the beauty of this vast pool of historical richness is that we are, in fact, free to draw from the well those things that are best suited to how we perceive our relationship with God and the Heavenly Host. My point? Just because one prayer form works well for you now above others, don’t exclude those others for the rest of your life. While you may gain nothing from them today, that does not mean you won’t find them incredibly enriching in a year or a decade.

Your RELIGION is Christianity. That allows you, as a Christian, to share in the experiences of all Christians throughout History. This includes the Rosary, but that still does not require you in some way to use that prayer form. Your Ecclesiastic Community is one that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church. (not a slam, nor an insult, just a simple fact. If you were, you would be Catholic! ) The fact that you are not in full communion and are unwilling/unable to accept certain precepts of the Church does not exclude you from experiencing the richness of experiences that Her members have had over the centuries. To quote a certain radio celebrity I happen to admire, “Always Question with boldness”. The hard part is to be intellectually honest enough with yourself to seek answers, regardless of what they might be or where they might be found.

In Him,

Steven
May you always be richly blessed in all that you do!

 

[rev_kevin]

You’re absolutely right. It isn’t in the Bible. Nor is it in any way REQUIRED by the Church. I also pray directly to God most of the time. That does not negate that there is great beauty to be found in such repetition-style prayers. Nor does it take away the great riches that can be found in meditating on a regular basis on the Mysteries of our Lord’s life and ministry.

I would encourage you to re-visit the Rosary with new eyes. I say this not because I think that to not pray it is bad, nor because it makes your prayer life incomplete in the way you might think. This is not a case of a zero-sum game. As Christians, we have 2000 years of traditions to draw upon. It is simply not possible to experience these riches in their entirety. This lack does not make us, any of us, incomplete in the sense that we typically consider. I would argue that you ARE missing out by not choosing to experience other forms of prayer. This doesn’t make you wrong, though. On the other hand, the beauty of this vast pool of historical richness is that we are, in fact, free to draw from the well those things that are best suited to how we perceive our relationship with God and the Heavenly Host. My point? Just because one prayer form works well for you now above others, don’t exclude those others for the rest of your life. While you may gain nothing from them today, that does not mean you won’t find them incredibly enriching in a year or a decade.

Your RELIGION is Christianity. That allows you, as a Christian, to share in the experiences of all Christians throughout History. This includes the Rosary, but that still does not require you in some way to use that prayer form. Your Ecclesiastic Community is one that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church. (not a slam, nor an insult, just a simple fact. If you were, you would be Catholic! ) The fact that you are not in full communion and are unwilling/unable to accept certain precepts of the Church does not exclude you from experiencing the richness of experiences that Her members have had over the centuries. To quote a certain radio celebrity I happen to admire, “Always Question with boldness”. The hard part is to be intellectually honest enough with yourself to seek answers, regardless of what they might be or where they might be found.

In Him,

Steven
May you always be richly blessed in all that you do!

Yes you are correct in what you are saying. I was raised Catholic but disagreed with some of their ways. I never once said that no one shouldn’t pray the Rosary. I said the opposite, if someone wants to pray it go ahead you have my belssing {Like anyone cares about that] Like I said I used to pray the Rosary but found no satifaction from it. {Sorry
if that offends or sounds selfish} The prayers in the Rosary are beautiful and I sometimes find myself saying the Hail Mary from time to time.
Don’t feel ill of me bacause I see the phrase that Jesus said in a different way then others see it. I enjoy discussing things with you because you are understanding and look at all views. Thank you.

 

[hillsteven]

Yes you are correct in what you are saying. I was raised Catholic but disagreed with some of their ways.*** I never once said that no one shouldn’t pray the Rosary. I said the opposite,*** if someone wants to pray it go ahead you have my belssing {Like anyone cares about that] Like I said I used to pray the Rosary but found no satifaction from it. {Sorry if that offends or sounds selfish} The prayers in the Rosary are beautiful and I sometimes find myself saying the Hail Mary from time to time.
Don’t feel ill of me bacause I see the phrase that Jesus said in a different way then others see it. I enjoy discussing things with you because you are understanding and look at all views. Thank you.

I got that, so sorry if I implied that I understood your position otherwise. I don’t see your point as being selfish. If you don’t find the Rosary to be fulfilling, then I would say (in agreement with you) that you are likely wasting your time. My suggestion that you take some time to re-visit the Rosary was just that, a suggestion.

It’s a bit unrelated to the topic, but…
I’m currently reading a book called “Fire Within” by Dubay. It is essentially a synthesis of the writings of St. Therese of Avila and St. John of the Cross. The subject matter is essentially that of prayer, our call as Christians to put aside that which distracts us from God, and what that means in a practical sense. The author also takes great pains to point out the biblical basis for each of these two saints’ understanding and practices.

For what it’s worth, I think your viewpoint, however, does answer the question of the original post, though!

 

[rev_kevin]

I got that, so sorry if I implied that I understood your position otherwise. I don’t see your point as being selfish. If you don’t find the Rosary to be fulfilling, then I would say (in agreement with you) that you are likely wasting your time. My suggestion that you take some time to re-visit the Rosary was just that, a suggestion.

It’s a bit unrelated to the topic, but…
I’m currently reading a book called “Fire Within” by Dubay. It is essentially a synthesis of the writings of St. Therese of Avila and St. John of the Cross. The subject matter is essentially that of prayer, our call as Christians to put aside that which distracts us from God, and what that means in a practical sense. The author also takes great pains to point out the biblical basis for each of these two saints’ understanding and practices.

For what it’s worth, I think your viewpoint, however, does answer the question of the original post, though!

The book sounds like something worth reading thanks. No I understand it was a suggestion. Sorry if my response suggested that I didn’t think your response was a suggestion

 

[AwGusTeen]

If you notice in Post’s 126 and 127 it was nice and adult like. I thanked him for his explination so your statement is incorrect about me. Now if someone is acting childish like post 121 yes I get frustrated :banghead:because of the sarcasm in the way they presented their rubuttle. I have given proof after proof, example after example but you can’t see it or are unwilling to see it.

No - you have given us nothing more than your personal interpretation and one with which I completely disagree.

If I think you may be confused because you are Baptist, Catholic and fulfulled. How can one be 2 different religions. Are you in conflict with your self. You claim to be both religions that conflict with one another. If you are Baptist you can’t be Catholic also. Or are you trying to cover all bases.

There you go again with those incorrect personal interpretations.
(HINT: Parse the expression from left to right)

Look I’m tired of this childish discussion we are having. I’m sorry if I came across in a way that hurt your feelings. I’ll try to watch myself around you so I won’t hurt your feelings again.

And you accuse others of sarcasm? Ironically, you have just proven my point!
Pax

 

[rev_kevin]

No - you have given us nothing more than your personal interpretation and one with which I completely disagree.

There you go again with those incorrect personal interpretations.
(HINT: Parse the expression from left to right)

And you accuse others of sarcasm? Ironically, you have just proven my point!
Pax

You may say its my “personal interpretation” but you haven’t said anything to prove me wrong. All you say is do you mean 20 min. once a day, once in a life time things like that but you have not shown or said anything to the contrary. You have questioned but you give no answers. I don’t have time for your games. If you can’t answer anything or explain where I’m wrong then we need not continue with this any longer. I want to discuss things with people who will give me their side of what it means and you have not. You have done nothing but put me down and twist what I say. I want a adult conversation without games and its clear that you can’t have that kind of conversation. Sorry if I offended you again but some people can’t handle what they dish out. See ya

 

[AwGusTeen]

You may say its my “personal interpretation” but you haven’t said anything to prove me wrong. All you say is do you mean 20 min. once a day, once in a life time things like that but you have not shown or said anything to the contrary. You have questioned but you give no answers. I don’t have time for your games. If you can’t answer anything or explain where I’m wrong then we need not continue with this any longer. I want to discuss things with people who will give me their side of what it means and you have not. You have done nothing but put me down and twist what I say. I want a adult conversation without games and its clear that you can’t have that kind of conversation. Sorry if I offended you again but some people can’t handle what they dish out. See ya

Oh Lordy… Am I supposed to accept your interpretation simply because you say it’s so? Why is your interpretation of Matt. 6:7 any better than mine? Do you have some special inspiration from above that others do not? Are you infallible? Does the Holy Spirit guide you while others, having differing opinions, are not? I’ve asked you several questions and all you can do is respond with the “argumentum ad homine”. It’s quite obvious that you are incapable of having a serious discussion on matters of theology. How sad.