When to pray the rosary

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Suzle

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As a recent convert, I am sometimes a little bit confused on some things, what to do, when, why! There is such a lot to learn. I have started trying to pray the rosary, but wonder if when you do it for someone you are praying for, do you still pray it with the relevent mystery in mind, or can you just say teh prayers while thinking of the person that you want to pray for? I mean, recite the prayers of the rosary but meditate on the person that you want to pray for, or do this as well as meditate on the mysteries? I am confused about what people mean when they say they will say the rosary for someone.

And, I can never remember the inbetween prayers, and the Hail Holy Queen - of course I know the actual prayers, our father, hail mary, glory be - I just need to use a book for the others, then worry it detracts from what I am trying to do!!! I feel a little bit embarrassed to ask in my parish, although I know that I would get some help with it, but feel like I should know! I really want to honour our lady as well and think that the best way is to do the rosary properly - I worry if I do it wrong I am not honouring her properly. What other ways can I honour her? Sorry for the long post! Any help is much appreciated. x

😦
 
Hi “Suzle”. First of all, WELCOME HOME! :hug1:

I can tell you how I pray the Rosary; something like this. I will sit… with a booklet containing pictures of the different Mysteries. I announce the intentions (people I’m praying for, world peace, end to abortion… or whatever); then, announce the Mystery I’m praying (The Agony in the Garden, etc.)… and concentrate ON the Mystery. And let God take it from there. In other words, I don’t think about my intention… but about the Mystery being prayed.

I think that is really the best way to pray the Rosary. To try to immerse yourself in the mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary. Our dear Lord knows what your intentions are.

I hope this helps. God bless you! 🙂
 
I am in the same boat as you. I often forget the mysteries etc. When I find myself praying it at the spur of the moment without a paper guide, I just try my best. I don’t think you can disrespect the Blessed Mother by forgetting. I think if you just keep a guide by your rosary it will help and eventually things will come by memory.

As for what to focus on…I usually find myself offering specific prayers before I begin the rosary and in between mysteries in addition to reflecting on the mysteries themselves. I’m sure anything you offer to God will be heard. 🙂 Just have patience, because God does. I hope this helps.
 
I learned the rosary in stages because I found it intimidating in the beginning too.

I spent a couple of weeks just saying the prayers and getting used to my beads.

When I felt like I had that pretty well in hand, I used a pamphlet with pictures of the Mysteries to learn the Mysteries. I am a visual learner, so the pictures really helped me recall the Mysteries.

You may feel like your devotion is kind of in “pieces” at the moment, but I promise you that if you stick with it, you will learn the Rosary. The Blessed Mother and our Blessed Lord are rejoicing that you are trying so hard to draw closer to them!

Good luck, love!
*Stella

PS: It took me aaaaages to learn “Hail Holy Queen.” I think I finally got it down pat after two months :o Don’t despair! 👍
 
Stella76 said:
I am a visual learner, so the pictures really helped me recall the Mysteries.
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Like “Stella”… me too! 😊

“Suzle” you might want to think also, about grabbing a copy of the Rosary DVD (link below). Or, if you get EWTN on your TV… you can just watch it. They show it at regular intervals, and you can pray along with Mother Angelica and the Nuns. That’s how I really got back into praying the Rosary. Here is the link. God bless. 🙂

ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/THE+HOLY+ROSARY+MOTHER+ANGELICA+THE+NUNS+DVD/keywords=The+Rosary+DVD/page_no=1/edp_no=6048/shop.axd/ProductDetails
 
Suzle said:
As a recent convert, I am sometimes a little bit confused on some things, what to do, when, why! There is such a lot to learn. I have started trying to pray the rosary, but wonder if when you do it for someone you are praying for, do you still pray it with the relevent mystery in mind, or can you just say teh prayers while thinking of the person that you want to pray for? I mean, recite the prayers of the rosary but meditate on the person that you want to pray for, or do this as well as meditate on the mysteries? I am confused about what people mean when they say they will say the rosary for someone.

And, I can never remember the inbetween prayers, and the Hail Holy Queen - of course I know the actual prayers, our father, hail mary, glory be - I just need to use a book for the others, then worry it detracts from what I am trying to do!!! I feel a little bit embarrassed to ask in my parish, although I know that I would get some help with it, but feel like I should know! I really want to honour our lady as well and think that the best way is to do the rosary properly - I worry if I do it wrong I am not honouring her properly. What other ways can I honour her? Sorry for the long post! Any help is much appreciated. x

😦
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As a fellow new Catholic, I can empathize with the difficulty of learning the Rosary! I keep a pocket-sized booklet with my Rosary that contain a focus verse on one page and the prayer on the opposite page. On the top margin I have the order of prayer so that I know what’s next.

Also, my Mater Dolorosa Rosary has depictions of each of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin upon the charm-trinket-coin-thingies so that I can look at that and know where I am and what’s next. Sooner or later I’ll have it down and I’ll only need the Rosary to know my place!

I’ve already had someone ask about my Servite Rosary though. Does anyone know if it’s some kind of faux pas to bring a Servite goodies into a Franciscan chapel? :confused:
 
There’s many online resources on how to pray the Rosary. When you want to offer up the Rosary as a prayer, just do it like you’re talking to Jesus. Say, “I’m offering up this Rosary for my friend who…”. It’s best to have a paper or pamphlet (many churches have them) with pictures of each mystery. You can add in a prayer intention at the start of each decade if you want, too. It doesn’t have to relate to the mystery you’re meditating on.
 
Its really good to know that there are lots of other people that struggle and its not just me! I will definitely persevere with it - thanks guys!
 
Well, when I’m doing my Rosary for a specific intention, I insert a little prayer right after th initial Sign of the Cross and before the Creed, like “Lord Jesus, I offer you this Holy Rosary for XYZ,” and then continue as usual. As for the mysteries, I have a little card I carry in my purse (you can print one at www.rosaryarmy.com) to remind me which to do when, etc. Before I start, I read all five mysteries, and I usually remember them, but sometimes I’ll cheat and look at the card. I pause in each Hail Mary after the word Jesus to reflect for a moment on the mystery. Some people like to add a word or phrase there, like “who was crowned with thorns,” or “who died on the cross” to aid them in meditating. Sometimes when I’m just doing one decade (as I will when I’m walking down the street or whatever), I just pick the mystery that comes to mind.

Catechumen, I’ve never heard that it’s a faux pas to bring Servite goodies to a Franciscan chapel…the orders have different flavors of spirituality, but we’re all one happy Catholic family :heaven:
 
Suzle said:
Its really good to know that there are lots of other people that struggle and its not just me! I will definitely persevere with it - thanks guys!
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Hi Suzle 👋 I think everyone has a story about struggling with the rosary at one time or another. I know I’ve had my own struggles with it over the years. I’ve even learned a few ideas just by coming here to this discussion that I’ll probably put into practice in the future.

Something that has helped me alot in remembering the mysteries is to announce the mystery itself within the Hail Mary itself. For instance, after you say “Jesus” you can say a phrase for that particular mystery that you can recall like “Jesus, Who rose from the Dead on the Third Day.” Then continue with the Hail Mary to the end of the prayer.

I hope it helps you.

Kathy
 
Suzle said:
As a recent convert, I am sometimes a little bit confused on some things, what to do, when, why! There is such a lot to learn. I have started trying to pray the rosary, but wonder if when you do it for someone you are praying for, do you still pray it with the relevent mystery in mind, or can you just say teh prayers while thinking of the person that you want to pray for? I mean, recite the prayers of the rosary but meditate on the person that you want to pray for, or do this as well as meditate on the mysteries? I am confused about what people mean when they say they will say the rosary for someone.

And, I can never remember the inbetween prayers, and the Hail Holy Queen - of course I know the actual prayers, our father, hail mary, glory be - I just need to use a book for the others, then worry it detracts from what I am trying to do!!! I feel a little bit embarrassed to ask in my parish, although I know that I would get some help with it, but feel like I should know! I really want to honour our lady as well and think that the best way is to do the rosary properly - I worry if I do it wrong I am not honouring her properly. What other ways can I honour her? Sorry for the long post! Any help is much appreciated. x

😦
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My dear friend Suzie

A big welcome to Gods family - the church. Stop worrying. Your doing great. Just meditate on the mysteries with the intention of offering the prayer for your friend etc. The most important part of prayer is the love you offer. Just try to put a lot of love into your rosary and offer this to your Blessed Mother. This will please her immensely. Don’t worry and fret about things. we’re all weak, feable little fallen creatures and God and our Blessed Mother know it. just do what you ought to the best of your ability and all will be well. They will take care of you and you will get to heaven. You only lose heaven if you choose to lose it. Just choose heaven and do your best as said and all will be well.

God bless you dear friend.🙂
I’ll pray for you too
John
 
John_Russell_Jr said:
My dear friend Suzie

A big welcome to Gods family - the church. Stop worrying. Your doing great. Just meditate on the mysteries with the intention of offering the prayer for your friend etc. The most important part of prayer is the love you offer. Just try to put a lot of love into your rosary and offer this to your Blessed Mother. This will please her immensely. Don’t worry and fret about things. we’re all weak, feable little fallen creatures and God and our Blessed Mother know it. just do what you ought to the best of your ability and all will be well. They will take care of you and you will get to heaven. You only lose heaven if you choose to lose it. Just choose heaven and do your best as said and all will be well.

God bless you dear friend.🙂
I’ll pray for you too
John
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Hi John and Lily 👋 – You said that very well. John is absolutely right Susie, keep on going the way you are and God and the Blessed Mother will certainly help you along the way. You might also want to ask Pope John Paul II to help you. I think he’s been helping me alot with my rosary lately to pray it better. It couldn’t hurt. Keep up the good work. 👍
 
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