Struggling with the Rosary

I think we all feel that way from time to time. Personally, I have found that each mystery is an excellent opportunity for Lectio Divina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina#:~:text=Traditionally, Lectio Divina has four,its meaning is reflected upon.
I perform the first two steps before each mystery. While contemplating, I try to imagine myself as an observer in the time and place of each mystery. I then pray the 10 Hail Mary's and allow a little time for meditation afterwards. Sometimes, this means I spend a lot of time on one mystery and my free time may not allow me to complete the rest. I don't feel that is an issue for Mary, I think she loves those prayers that are said from the heart so much more than those said by rote.

PS with hindsight, I wish I could go back in time and motivate myself to see that the subjects I found boring in school would prove useful even though I couldn't see it at the time......

 

It's not a coincidence. If you pray honestly and with heart (trying to choose God, His presence mentally but no your own distracting thoughts ) then God works with his grace. A part of it is the healing grace. That's why you are feeling that your temptations are decreasing. How long it will last? You can prolong this without end provided you start praying any time you are experiencing temptation. Temptation is fire, prayer is water. Be a diligent firefighter but not a firefighter who having plenty of water to his disposal doesn't use it (doesn't pray at the time of temptation ) but sleeps.
Do you remember the words of Jesus: 'Watch and pray so that you won't enter into temptation' ?, Matt 26,41

 

I need a second opinion on this, but this is how how have been trying to pray the rosary.

At first I had to pay attention to what I was saying, or otherwise I would mess up. After a while it ended up becoming basically muscle memory, and like you I recited it like a mantra.

Because of that my mind started to wander and I would think of other things while blindly repeating the words over and over. My dad said I could change that by trying to focus on each mystery. Since the rosary is also supposed to be a meditative prayer on the mysteries, I tried to think about each mystery instead of daydreaming.

Instead of letting your mind wander while you pray, you can focus and think/meditate on each mystery. That is my advice.

 

Recently, I began referring to a book entitled "Pray With the Heart" by Fr. Slavko Barabaric. Within this little book the good father provides some brief but very helpful thoughts on each mystery of the rosary. He also provides some great inspirations to consider while in Blessed Adoration which have been very helpful to me.

 

Meditating on every single mystery, imagining the scenes it represents, immersing yourself in the episode ... this is the correct way to say the rosary.

 

I attended mass last Saturday and our priest told a story of someone named Benidicta (I have since googled it but been unable to find more). Apparently Benidicta was a temptress of some outward beauty and little moral compunction from tempting men to sin with her. At some point in her life a great saint came to her church in Italy and upon hearing his sermon, Benedicta began saying the rosary and for a time repented from her sinful ways. However, at some point she returned to her life of sin. Our Lady appeared to her and showed her a glimpse of hell where the young men Benedicta had led to corruption ended up. Benedicta asked Mary why she was showing her this and Mary replied, because you prayed the rosary, I asked Our Blessed Lord to give you one more chance. Mary's requests to God are never refused and this is why the rosary is so powerful.

 

I asked the priest who recounted this event in his homily to give us more information and this is his response.

The story may be found in St Alphonsus' The Glories of Mary. There is a website that has transcribed a large part of it to the internet. Here is the chapter that contains the story - it is found under the title "Example" The Glories Of Mary St. Alphonsus Liguori (ecatholic2000.com)

 

You are wrestling with the right things. As MrEko has said herein, God would like us all to be saints. It boggles my mind, that I, could be a saint. Frankly, until tackling PMO, I simply could not imagine myself becoming a saint but a saint is anyone who goes to heaven. Certainly, heaven is where I want to spend eternity so why would I set my sights any lower?

I can immediately relate to your concerns about pride and self-righteousness. I think pride is at the root of so many sins, including anger. Please let me offer the Litany of Humility to you, if you haven't seen it before. Here is one link I found, I am sure there are many more. https://ascensionpress.com/pages/litany-of-humility

I can have a short and fiery temper. After one bad blowup, I vowed to address this problem and my wife introduced me to this prayer. Each time I pray it, earnestly trying to consider each line, I am rewarded with some bit of joy (even though that isn't exactly what I set out for). Putting others ahead of myself has helped me come closer to God. While on earth, Christ drew people to Himself with humility and kindness, rather than pride and anger.

 

It's only my opinion - I think that we shouldn't focus our attention on fighting against sin but on spending time with God (being in His presence). I think it's like what to do to change a metal which is cold (= our sinful will, thoughts, emotion, desires, plans ...etc) to a metal which is warm or hot ( a state of sainthood).
If we try to get rid of the coldness inside a metal then it's futile all we do until the time we put the metal in a warm or hot environment. It can be a warm room or fire. Then we know what happens - the warmth or hotness penetrates the metal and it becomes warm or hot depending on how long it was in the room or in the fire.
Being in prayer is exposing oneself to the Fire (God).

It's how I understand the way of salvation = becoming a saint = becoming less and less sinful.

 

Wise words. Thank you!

 

I find it easier to pray the rosary by concentrating on my breath if my mind begins to wander. Exhaling on the first part of the Hail Mary around 5 secs. Inhaling on the second half, after a while the breathing just happens rhythmically and I can home in on the mysteries. This was illuminated to me through a book called "Breath" by James Nestor he suggests that the popularity of the rosary may have come from the recitation as a perfect breathing pattern. (5.5 seconds inhale and exhale respectively) When you associate the rosary with breath you soon cannot live without it.

 

Prayer is a means of two-way communication with God the Father and in the case of the rosary, Our Holy Mother and Her Son, Jesus Christ. It is easy to be the speaker in a conversation, it takes more effort to be the listener but it is only by listening that we learn and progress. Every Hail Mary is an opportunity to learn something about the endless grace and majesty of the magnificat. Every decade of the rosary offers a chance to understand more deeply about the life, death and resurrection of Christ Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

 

Praying the rosary is hard. Meditating on a mystery while simultaneously praying is hard. It can be boring and tedious at times. I feel like I need to get to know the mysteries better so I have more to think about while I pray. I try and feel the feelings of Jesus and the people that surrounded him but I don't know very much about the mysteries so there's not a lot to think about.

I will say that the Rosary is a powerful prayer, however, and worth all the difficulties. I prayed the Rosary for a friend the other night who has been struggling with mental illness and hadn't had a good night's sleep in over a week. She finally slept for a few hours the next day and she's able to hold down food again. I can say this is the first time a prayer of mine has ever been answered. I've been praying it for her and my mom who is very sick right now. I will continue to pray the Rosary for them. Also, I use the EWTN Prayer Request feature so I have lots of people praying for them. Please pray for my friend and my mom.