Walked out of rosary/chaplet recitation

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Although I prefer praying the rosary and chaplet at my “own” pace, I would not walk away from an opportunity to pray in a group setting either…they are such powerful prayers, and group prayer is a wonderful thing. Just because someone is praying at a quick pace or doesn’t have tears doesn’t mean their prayer is any less pious and heartfelt.

There will be times in your life when you will need/want to pray in a group (funeral home, etc.) so I would occasionally join in these opportunities.

Just my two cents.
 
I lead the Rosary before 11 AM Mass at my parish. I start at 10:38 AM, and we finish the Rosary including the St. Michael prayer at 10:58 AM—20 minutes. I speak slowly, enunciate the words clearly, and loud enough so the people in the back pews can hear. I never rush the prayers. Maybe, my fellow parishioners are used to my pacing of the Rosary, because it always takes 20 minutes, not a minute more, not a minute less. I’ve lead the Rosary for 16 months.
 
Today we went to a Divine Mercy Sunday service, and the power of group prayer was never more felt. First came the Mass, and then the chaplet was sung, and sung beautifully, on our knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament at Exposition. Most had been to Confession prior to the Mass. It was powerful to hear the joyous singing of those many sin-free forgiven souls thanking Jesus in song together. It was the kind of experience that cannot be duplicated in private.

Private prayer (like Jesus in the Garden) is fine; group prayer is also fine. It’s all good; but I would not totally rule out group prayers like the Divine Mercy service. I am really coming to appreciate Divine Mercy Sunday more and more each year.
 
maltmom said:
Personally, I feel the same way about the time before Mass starts.
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So do I .

When we go to a church to join in the celebration of the Eucharist , the time before and the time after should not be hijacked by groups who want to indulge in devotions but should be times of silence .
 
petronus said:
So do I .

When we go to a church to join in the celebration of the Eucharist , the time before and the time after should not be hijacked by groups who want to indulge in devotions but should be times of silence .
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Add me.

And I really dislike when a parish prays the rosary “right” before Mass starts. That means that I either end up walking in, in the middle of the prayer, having to sit through a public recitation of a prayer that I may not want to participate in or have to wait until the last possible minute to dash in before the priest. 😦

I am so glad my parish doesn’t do this.
 
Pax2u said:
Although I prefer praying the rosary and chaplet at my “own” pace, I would not walk away from an opportunity to pray in a group setting either…they are such powerful prayers, and group prayer is a wonderful thing. Just because someone is praying at a quick pace or doesn’t have tears doesn’t mean their prayer is any less pious and heartfelt.

There will be times in your life when you will need/want to pray in a group (funeral home, etc.) so I would occasionally join in these opportunities.

Just my two cents.
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I agree. And I also agree with some who have said that it is not right to judge others by the pace they use when praying. We have people who pray at various paces. When everyone is concentrated on their own praying and not trying to drown others out, it all seems to work our peacefully well. It only gets to be a problem when some try to control the pace of others by loudy slowing down their pace which sometimes provokes others to go even faster. This is disruptive and it makes it difficult for those who are just trying to keep in pace with everyone.
 
Pax2u said:
Although I prefer praying the rosary and chaplet at my “own” pace, I would not walk away from an opportunity to pray in a group setting either…they are such powerful prayers, and group prayer is a wonderful thing. Just because someone is praying at a quick pace or doesn’t have tears doesn’t mean their prayer is any less pious and heartfelt.

There will be times in your life when you will need/want to pray in a group (funeral home, etc.) so I would occasionally join in these opportunities.

Just my two cents.
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This.
 
CallMeDad said:
Today we went to a Divine Mercy Sunday service, and the power of group prayer was never more felt. First came the Mass, and then the chaplet was sung, and sung beautifully, on our knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament at Exposition. Most had been to Confession prior to the Mass. It was powerful to hear the joyous singing of those many sin-free forgiven souls thanking Jesus in song together. It was the kind of experience that cannot be duplicated in private.
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Agree.
petronus said:
When we go to a church to join in the celebration of the Eucharist , the time before and the time after should not be hijacked by groups who want to indulge in devotions but should be times of silence .
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I felt that way for awhile, but keep in mind that most parishes do not do this, first of all (so one could go to another parish or another Mass at the same parish), and second, I learned to just wait. Patience is not a virtue I’m strong in 😊, so having to humbly wait for the rosary to finish (and/or praying silently or orally with them) has taught me some things. The rosary doesn’t last that long; then one can return to private prayer.

I do feel very strongly about silence before Mass. This is the time that the Church tells us to recollect ourselves, become conscious of being in The Presence, and adopting an openness toward what is about to transpire. And for many people, they lack other opportunities for silent prayer in The Presence, because of work & family obligations. (They can’t even indulge in silent prayer after Mass if they want to, because children distract & it’s impractical.)
 
maryjk said:
Add me.

And I really dislike when a parish prays the rosary “right” before Mass starts. That means that I either end up walking in, in the middle of the prayer, having to sit through a public recitation of a prayer that I may not want to participate in or have to wait until the last possible minute to dash in before the priest. 😦

I am so glad my parish doesn’t do this.
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Me too. In fact, our parish council with the agreement of the parish priest laid down that the (very small) group who insist on saying it before Mass out loud must finish by ten minutes before Mass is due to start, as a courtesy to the vast majority of weekday Mass attendees who plainly don’t want to say the Rosary like this, because otherwise they would come for it. They have also been stopped saying it before funerals, and when there’s the weekly Exposition all day. We’ve never had it before Sunday Mass anyway.
After all, there’s nothing to stop them saying it quietly if they wish, but there were complaints about the shouting-out and at different speeds.
 
Walnut -

When I first read your post I thought you might be overreacting - until Sunday when Mr. Speedy showed up. We pray the Rosary before Mass & Divine Mercy after. He was fast & loud - by the end of each phrase he was at least 2 or 3 words ahead of everyone else. It was better when he led the decade because then it was just him.

Hearing different words than what I (& most the others) were saying made me stumble over the words. I’d end up stopping & picking up the prayer on the next bead. It sure didn’t feel like prayer.

I probably won’t say anything because he’s been in this parish quite a while & I’m a newcomer. He isn’t there every Sunday (he’s a doctor) so I guess I’ll just deal with it. 🤷

Two things I can do (& usually do anyway) is arrive early to pray by myself, & return to the church after the community breakfast for more prayer.
 
Bonnie said:
Walnut -

When I first read your post I thought you might be overreacting - until Sunday when Mr. Speedy showed up.
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Personally, I find it easier to tollerate Mr. Speedy than Ms. Slowpoke 😛
 
walnutleviosa said:
Today after Mass there was a small group of people who stayed back to recite the rosary and the chaplet of divine mercy.
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I don’t think I would have walked out. In fact I would guess that if anyone noticed you left they figured you needed to be somewhere and the rosary and chaplet were taking too long for you to stay.

But that’s not really what I wanted to add to what’s already been said.

In addition to what others have said about people having different speaking rhythms (whether as an individual or as a group) people also have different styles in which they pray repeated prayers.

Some people like to savor the individual words of the prayers; other people don’t pay much attention to the individual words but rather concentrate on the mystery, intention, or perhaps some mental image relating to the prayer. Some people do a little of each: they pay attention to certain prayers but not so much to the more heavily repeated ones.

People who like to be conscious of the individual words are likely to prefer a slower pace. Those who take more of a “mantra” (at the moment I can’t think of a better word) approach to praying the rosary will probably be less bothered by a faster pace.

Walnutleviosa, it may help you to consider whether it is the speed or difference in “prayers style” that is causing you some anguish.
 
Hi Bonnie – I have had that happen before…and I just stop reciting with them, if they are going faster than i wish to go…and I just “hear” it along with them, and say the words in my heart…

Sometimes we have to stay instead of voting with our feet over matters like this…it’s not perfect, and I guess Rosary’s won’t be recited perfectly this side of Heaven. 🙂

Bonnie, once these two ladies came in and were talking and one other lady went up to them in the pew nicely asked them to be more quiet that people were trying to pray and before you know it all three ladies got in quite a loud fuss over it. It was interesting to watch, and here I was a RCIA student at the time just at Mass early that day. it made me realize it’s so true about the Catholic Church being “here comes everybody.”…and I think it means “here comes everybody AND how everybody acts.” Our world now is less gracious and accomodating than it used to be, so some things we just have to overlook.
 
Even tho it may be a bit faster, it is still better to pray in a group.
“Where two or three are gathered to gether in my name, there I am in the midst.”

Praying in a group is more effective for now a piece of the church is there.

The rosary groups that I have attended I feel say it a bit fast, but then I would rather be with them and joined with their prayers.

Just a thought.
 
I hear you loud and clear. To me even the Rosary recited on EWTN is said entirely to fast. I prefer Mother Angelica’s pace. The Rosary and Chaplet are meant to have the people reflecting and mediating on the mysteries and reverence…how can that occur when the words are flying out so fast you can’t even think, much less meditate or reflect upon our Lords mercy and Grace!

That said, I just love the Chaplet of Devine Mercy! It is meant to be a prayer for mercy…how can you say a prayer in a hurry, without reverence and reflection, it requires a slow pace. I am with you OP.

Okay, done with rant. How is everyone tonight :rolleyes:
 
One thing I have done when the pace is too fast for me is just let the words roll over me while I meditate on which ever mystery we are on. That helps me and allows me to participate with the group
 
Hi

I think it is right to be discussing what is meant by a fast rosary - I have been to rosaries which have been said far too fast, in my opinion; but I know that it is simply the way that the person leading the rosary was taught to say it, and does not imply any less reverance. In the UK this is often (but not always) an old irish woman. That said, anyone leading a communal rosary should be aware of what is expected in terms of pace for the group of people they are with; maybe the person leading this rosary was aware and was going fast as that is how the majority of people expected it. The advice to talk to the person leading after the rosary is good, but should be handled with some tact - simply saying ‘can you go slower next time’ could offend or damage the confidence of the person.

I won’t be critical of someone leaving if they feel uncomfortable, it may have been construed as rude, but probably not; depending largely on how the people saying the rosary were arranged - we stay in our pews after mass to say the rosary and it is not uncommon for someone just to stay for a decade or two and then leave.

Best wishes

Martin
 
Those prayers are meant to be meditative. So the pace that is best for one person is not necessarily so for another. I must say that too fast is better for me than too slow. Not that I find someone saying it too fast easy, but too slow and my mind does not stay focused at all.

I think this is somewhat a man vs woman thing just from my experience.

But what really bugs me are people who think slower automatically equates to more devout/ better. I know a priest who used to say the words of consecration at mass extremely slow ( we are talking a second pause between each word). Lots of women have commented to me how wonderful it is. My response, 99% of people at mass are thinking about how he says the words ( either good/bad opinion, doesn’t matter) instead of focusing on the act of consecration itself. How can that be a good thing? My mom does not agree with me.
 
I think a lot depends on how you view the Rosary. Is it an act of personal meditative prayer, or is it a prayer that is said to restrict the growth of evil in the world? If it is the latter, then does it really matter how fast or how slow it is said. If you use a weapon does it matter at what speed you pull the trigger? Perhaps faster is better as you are able to fire more ‘rounds’ in the same time that way?
 
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