I think I am using The Rosary the wrong way.

I also sometimes wonder if my rosaries are too robotic but I know that the evil one uses our doubts as means to stop our prayers. Perhaps the fact that you are concerned and thus want your rosaries to be as beautiful as they can be for Our Lady is the evidence you need that your prayers are great ones. Pray with your heart and your prayers will always be as perfect as they can be.

 

PS, I am sure you will find many articles on the web about the structure of prayers to say when saying the rosary as well as some wonderful contemplations about the mysteries of the rosary. Personally, I find that a few moments thinking about each mystery before I begin the Hail Marys is helpful. Nevertheless, devout prayer from your heart will always be wonderful prayer.

 

"A single Hail Mary said well is better than a 150 said badly," wrote St. Teresa of Avila. The context of that saying includes the practice back in the day of praying the 15 decades of the Rosary daily. So, as I understand it, the beads are meant to be a means to an end--love of Christ and neighbor--not an end unto themselves, i.e., just hurrying through each one just to get them all in before the head hits the pillow. Sometimes less is more! For a while, I used to find it better to spread the mysteries of the day throughout the day--one after waking up, one during lunch, one in the afternoon/evening, one before going to bed. Whatever is chosen, consistency is key. So it's better to be faithful to a smaller commitment, even one mystery a day, than inconsistent to a larger one--say, praying all 15 or 20 mysteries daily.

Just my two cents!
Joseph

 

A mi me pasa igual .. rezo todos los días y a veces pienso si lo estoy haciendo bien.
Justo hoy encontré un video sobre eso pero esta en español ..
Mi ingles no es bueno para escribir. Espero que lo puedan entender con el traductor ..
Muy buenos los consejos sobre el rosario ..
Les comparto una oración que me compartió mi psicóloga .. espero les ayude.

Señor Jesús:
Conozco mi fragilidad,
y sé de sobra que sin tu ayuda
jamás tendré la fuerza necesaria
para mantenerme casto y puro,
de mente, corazón y cuerpo.

Pero sé también
que Contigo todo lo puedo;
que con la ayuda de tu Gracia
lo que parece imposible se hace posible.

Por eso te pido hoy:
ayúdame a cuidar mi pureza,
a evitar toda situación o lugar
que me ponga en riesgo de caer,
a no traspasar ningún límite,
ya saber decir: ¡NO!
cuando la tentación se presente ante mí.

Señor, mira el propósito y anhelo de este hijo tuyo,
Y concédeme amar y ser amado de verdad,
con un amor que se asemeje cada día más al tuyo.
¡Que así sea! Amén.

Lo siento por el español.

 

Such a wonderful prayer! The ending, in particular, seems so beautiful to me. When I consider I am a child of God and how a small child behaves with a trustworthy and kind father, it reminds me of the implicit trust God deserves from me. Trust that He has earned and trust that can take away all of my apprehensions. Thank you for sharing this prayer!

 

Supposedly, the key to praying the Rosary is to meditate on each mystery as you go around the beads. I find it hard to pray and focus on the mysteries at the same time. Does anybody know if it gets easier with time?

 

Good job. I have a printout with all the prayers and mysteries I have to reference. It's very unwieldy.

 

I admit that my attention waxes and wanes. However, one technique that seems to help me is Lectio Divina. In my simple application of this method of prayer, it means to me to consider each mystery for a few moments before beginning the decade and to put myself into the scene at the time and place it occurred. I try to sense all I can with my thoughts. I try to picture the event, see and hear the people there at the time and what they felt, I think about the environment and the climate and smell the smells of the area. I cannot say that my silly brain doesn't wander but this method does help me to focus and it causes me to give more consideration to the importance of the mystery itself. It is also interesting and even fun to read and learn more about the region where these holy events took place in order to further enhance my prayers in this way. Of course the glorious mysteries are bit more open to interpretation since some of them take place in heaven but thinking about heaven is fun too.

 

And don't be embarrassed if you can't get there right away! Your rosary today might be pretty rote, but it can help build the habit so that it's better tomorrow and so on.