How to pray the Rosary & make it worthwhile

[Gerard]

Don't worry about it too much.  Most rosaries are said in a distracted and sloppy way.

But sometimes it takes 30 or 40 plus sloppy Aves to say one "just right."  And that one makes the whole rosary worthwhile. 

Listen to or read any preaching on the mysteries you can find, read commentaries for the ones that are in Scripture, visualize scenes from the Passion of the Christ for the sorrowful. 

I've found Bishop Sheen's preaching on the mysteries to be very insightful. 

(eg. Finding Jesus in the Temple is the closest thing Mary could experience to understand sin.  It's the breaking of a relationship and the reunion of that relationship, though in Mary's and Joseph's case it was strictly a temporal accident.) 

[INPEFESS]

Because of my rather severe attention deficit, I struggle with the same problem. Using the usual methods, I usually lose my focus no more than 3 Ave's into the mystery; sometimes, I don't even make it passed the first bead.

The usual methods encourage focus on some general virtue that is demonstrated by the characters in the mystery. This may work for some people, but what I've found is that it doesn't work for me. First, unless greatly inspired, my mind usually thinks, "Well that's wonderful; now what?" So I'm only one or two beads into the mystery, and I've already hit a roadblock, as it were.  The most that may happen is that I perceive a vast chasm between myself and who I should be. While this may serve the function of reminding me what I need to work on, it doesn't help me to work on it once I'm finished with the rosary. The display of virtue in each mystery is supposed to serve as a model for what you should strive to be, but it always help with the actual doing of that good in day-to-day life; it simply tells you that you're suppose to do it.

I have since changed how I think about each mystery. Instead of merely thinking about the greatness of the display of virtue in a particular mystery and how I should be the same, I perceive each mystery in light of some deeper mystery of the Christian religion that captivates my attention. Since I am absolutely fascinated and humbled by a recollection of the Church's teaching of predestination, I perceive each mystery in light of one of the many facets of predestination. I correlate each mystery with an appropriate aspect of the Church's teaching on predestination and then view the mystery through this lens.

For example, when meditating on the first joyful mystery, I call to mind not the humility of Mary but the reality that God's efficacious grace alone caused Mary's humble consent, such that without His efficacious grace she would never have consented. When meditating on the second joyful mystery, I call to mind not the charity with which Mary aided Elizabeth but the reality that the accomplishment of the divine plan on behalf of Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Zachary, and John the Baptist was due solely to God's predilection of them; without God's favor, they would never have even saved their souls let alone accomplish the incredible things they accomplished.

The consequence of this may seem trivial, but it is not. It shifts the intellect away from the mere thought of the virtue to the very cause of it; away from the mere thought of what should be done to the actual doing of it. Rather than reflect simply on the humility of Mary in submitting to the divine command, we should reflect on the cause of that humility, such that we realize that without God's gratuitous grace we can do no good action. Rather than reflect on the simple goodness of all those involved in the divine plan as seen in Mary's visitation, we should reflect on the cause of that goodness and the reality that without God's prevention, we will fall into sin (and the converse: that with God's permission we will sin). For this reason we pray: "Permit us not to offend Thee"; and in the Our Father: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

The result of this is that, rather than simply thinking about how we should be humble, it will actually humble us at that very moment. It will cause us to think nothing of ourselves and to realize that without God we can do nothing; that, as the Church teaches, we are not but "sin and lying"; that we must trust completely in God and not at all in ourselves for the avoidance of any sin; that our salvation is completely in God's hands; that the only obstacle between us and our eternal salvation is His permission of our reprobation, which we will undoubtedly cause for ourselves unless He wills to deliver us from ourselves; that, though God loves all men, each man is just as evil as the next unless He is loved more by God; that the only difference between us and Judas is God's powerful grace preventing us from being who we would; that since God is the cause of all goodness, even that which may be in ourselves, we must beg God to have mercy on us in spite of ourselves; that without God's efficacious grace we will undoubtedly fall into sin; that God alone is responsible for those sins which we do do not commit; that our only hope is calling upon the name of the Lord, which is the promise that God has made salvation possible for all if we don't resist His grace.

If the acknowledgment of and meditation upon the above realities does not inspire in the soul a deep sense of lowliness and complete dependence upon God, Who call us to trust Him, then there is nothing that will. At the center of the truth of each mystery is a kernel of truth so powerful that it compels us to action by merely contemplating it. We can't simply accept the above considerations without being spurred to a greater sense of humility right then and there; and we can't come away from such an exercise any worse if we have, while meditating, put into action the very virtues found in the mysteries upon which we meditated. Wait upon God's visitation while meditating. Until He visits you, think less of yourself, and you will think more of God; in this, you will find stability and focus.

[Kaesekopf]

I was waiting for that, INP!    Thanks.

[INPEFESS]

I was waiting for that, INP!    Thanks.

I hope you didn't hold your breath!

I don't know that it will solve anyone's problems, but it helped me. Of course, that was after I'd spent over 6 months contemplating and studying the mystery of predestination.

I apologize for taking so long to reply!

[Penelope]

Thanks, INP. Very much.

[Kaesekopf]

I was waiting for that, INP!    Thanks.

I hope you didn't hold your breath!

I don't know that it will solve anyone's problems, but it helped me. Of course, that was after I'd spent over 6 months contemplating and studying the mystery of predestination.

I apologize for taking so long to reply!

I did.  Or was. 

Needless to say, oxygen is feeling rather wonderful.

[INPEFESS]

Thanks, INP. Very much.

You're welcome, of course!

I should like to point out that it doesn't require some superior knowledge in order to derive fruit from it. Study seemed to be necessary for me because I am more callous than most, and study helps me to fully grasp the depth of the truths that most Catholics already understand.

You don't have to worry about study and great intellectual effort; simply use the mysteries to humble yourself. Perceive each mystery in light of your nothingness. But don't focus on yourself; instead, use your nothingness to focus on God's supreme goodness.

Here are a few example:

The first joyful mystery: it is God who causes all the good that we do. (Pray that God will cause you to fulfill the law.)

The second joyful mystery: those who God uses to accomplish His plan are elected by Him to do so. (Pray that God will use you as a vessel of justice.)

The third joyful mystery: humanity is in need of a savior because, without Him, each one of us will damn himself. (Pray that God will spare you from your own condition.)

The fourth joyful mystery: it is by fulfilling the works of the law which God causes us to fulfill that we prove our election. (Pray that you do what is within your power to do and that God will help you to do that which you cannot.)

The fifth joyful mystery: God loves all men and makes known to them the law that will either be their salvation or their reprobation. (Pray that the law be for you your salvation.)

Etc.

[Penelope]

Excellent. The joyful mysteries are the most difficult, I think. Well, the second, fourth, and fifth joyful mysteries.

[voxxpopulisuxx]

Excellent. The joyful mysteries are the most difficult, I think. Well, the second, fourth, and fifth joyful mysteries.

difficult how?

[Penelope]

Excellent. The joyful mysteries are the most difficult, I think. Well, the second, fourth, and fifth joyful mysteries.

difficult how?

I usually end up thinking, "Okay, but what was the point of the Visitation?? What am I supposed to learn from this?" and as I puzzle it out, I usually end up engaging in a series of thoughts that ends with thinking about something funny that happened at work or what my plans are for the weekend. For some mysteries, the "point" is obvious (the Crucifixion or the Resurrection, for example). But for other, (Finding in the Temple, anyone?) I'm often left wondering, "How am I supposed to apply this to my life?"

[voxxpopulisuxx]

Excellent. The joyful mysteries are the most difficult, I think. Well, the second, fourth, and fifth joyful mysteries.

difficult how?

I usually end up thinking, "Okay, but what was the point of the Visitation?? What am I supposed to learn from this?" and as I puzzle it out, I usually end up engaging in a series of thoughts that ends with thinking about something funny that happened at work or what my plans are for the weekend. For some mysteries, the "point" is obvious (the Crucifixion or the Resurrection, for example). But for other, (Finding in the Temple, anyone?) I'm often left wondering, "How am I supposed to apply this to my life?"

The visit to elizabeth is about giving service to others....about the Truth who Mary was...about John the Baptist...about the magnificant. I always meditate on the supernatural and spiritual truths...not how they apply anecdotally to any specific part of my life. I just become engulfed in the majesty of Christ.

[INPEFESS]

Excellent. The joyful mysteries are the most difficult, I think. Well, the second, fourth, and fifth joyful mysteries.

Yes, I agree.

With the visitation, I don't just think about the act itself so much as the significance of all those involved in it. With the presentation, I think about the importance of fulfilling the law for our salvation, the same law to which all the members of the Holy Family conformed even though the law was not necessary for them. With the fifth joyful mystery, I think about the necessity of all to seek Him, as well as Christ's sufficiency for all men as seen in his preaching to even those He would permit to reject Him.

[Penelope]

I tried your method last night, INP. It was poorly implemented, but the whole thing was slightly more fruitful than usual, I think. Very slightly.

Another part of my problem, I think, is that on, say, Sunday, all I keep thinking is, "Yeah, I got it. I just meditated on these mysteries yesterday. And this past Wednesday. And the Sunday, Saturday, and Wednesday before. And..." And so I find myself wondering how I'm supposed to get anything new out of praying the Rosary, when really, I need to reminding myself that until I can perfectly implement the "old" benefits of meditating on the mysteries, I need to stop hoping for something new and exciting each time.

[INPEFESS]

Yes, the benefit is in making the same acts of faith, hope, and charity--of humility, trust, and resignation--each time you say the rosary. You don't have to do anything new, per se; you simply have to use the mysteries to make the same acts over and over again. The more you do this, the more fruit you will get from the mystery. But don't make the mistake of praying with the expectation that you'll get more fruit; rather, pray with patience and resignation. If God gives more, then thank Him for His gratuitous gift; if He doesn't, then resign yourself to trust in God's will that it is best that you don't receive more at this time. Humble yourself by considering yourself unworthy to receive more at this time, since God would rather have you prove your fidelity by not receiving any spiritual comforts.

The less "good" you feel about it, the more merit you derive, for this proves that you are praying for God's sake and not for your own.

EDITED

[Penelope]

The less "good" you feel about it, the more merit you derive, for this proves that you are praying for God's sake and not for your own.

Well, this is a comfort. I just want to feel as though my heart's really in it, you know?