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Hi, William —
Thanks for the question.
First, Catholic doctrine does not
require any Catholic
to say the Rosary. If it did, the
Christians before 1214 A.D. would
not have been in good standing with
the Church.
In the year 1214 A.D., the Church
received the Rosary in its present
form and according to the method
we use today. It was given to the
Church by St. Dominic, who had received
it from the Blessed Virgin, as a
means of converting the Albigensians
and other sinners.
Saint Dominic,
seeing that the gravity of people's
sins was hindering the conversion
of the Albigensians, withdrew into
a forest near Toulouse, where he
prayed continuously for three days
and three nights. During this time,
he did nothing but weep and do harsh
penances in order to appease the
anger of God. At this point, our
Lady appeared to him, accompanied
by three angels, and she said:
- "Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity
wants to use to reform the
world?"
"Oh, my Lady," answered
Saint Dominic, "you know
far better than I do, because
next to your Son, Jesus Christ,
you have always been the chief
instrument of our salvation."
Then Our Lady replied,
"I
want you to know that, in this kind
of warfare, the principal
weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter, which is the foundation-stone
of the New Testament. Therefore,
if you want to reach these hardened
souls and win them over to God,
preach my Psalter."
So he arose, comforted, and burning
with zeal for the conversion of
the people in that district, he
headed straight for the cathedral.
At once, unseen angels rang the
bells to gather the people together,
and Saint Dominic began to preach. |
Praying the Rosary is a tradition, small "t" or custom, not a doctrine.
Praying the Rosary is highly recommended
for all who call themselves Christians,
because it is a Biblical prayer which
focuses on the life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It's a devotional prayer that
honors, not worships, Our
Blessed Mother, Mary.
We:
• pray as Our
Lord Jesus tells us to in Matthew 6:9-13, and
• meditate on God
becoming truly man,
like us in all things except sin
for our salvation in Luke 1:28 and Luke 1:42!
The Church formalizes this in
the Hail Mary:
- Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the
Lord is with you. (Luke 1:28)
- Blessed are you among woman and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus. (Luke 1:42)
- Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray
for us sinners, now and at the
hour of our death. Amen. (The Church: 1 Timothy 3:15)
There is a correct way to say the Rosary and an incorrect way.
When
said correctly, the Rosary can bring
to us many graces! It requires one
to think about, and meditate on, the
lives of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph while saying
those vocal prayers.
| The focus should be on meditating on the mysteries rather than on the vocal prayer(s). At first, this
can be difficult, but with time,
it will become easier. |
In the recent Apostolic Letter the Holy
Father put out on the Rosary, he
warned Catholics about the exact thing
you are referring to. I refer to
prayers that are said too fast during
the Rosary, as "Indianapolis
500" prayers. For those
unfamiliar with the "Indianapolis
500", it is the name of a stock
car race.
He says that without meditating on
the Life of Jesus, Mary or Joseph during the
recitation of the Rosary, we fall
into the sin of Matthew 6:7. It can
be difficult on certain days to meditate,
especially when we are tired or have
had a long day. Nevertheless, the
Lord blesses our perseverance in
prayer. Some days will be better
than others. He would rather us pray
with perseverance than not pray at
all.
Ask Our Lord and Our Lady for
help in this area.
If you are a Protestant and interested in
praying the Rosary, there are many
places on the web where you can get FREE Rosaries with instructions on
how to pray it.
While I strongly admire
your dedication to set aside
forty-five minutes a day to pray
fifteen decades of the Rosary, you
want to ensure there is a balance
in your life.
Yes, prayer is important
but, depending on our vocation in
life, the Lord understands we have
other responsibilities and obligations
whether they involve
work, family, or single-life obligations.
Instead of "burning out"
your prayer life, ask the Lord
to guide you on how much time you
should daily spend in prayer. If
you are still unsure, ask a priest-friend
for some advice. For some, five decades
of the Rosary, on one of the four
sets of mysteries, would be fine.
I know one friend of mine who has
(CFIDS) Chronic Fatigue and Immune
Dysfunction Syndrome. For him, meditating
on one mystery for the week or the
month, if
possible, is fine.
That said, I highly recommend
you return to this powerful prayer.
I believe it will change your life
and outlook on life. St. Padre Pio
has referred to the Holy Rosary as
the "weapon" against Satan
and his legions.
And
to the critics of praying the
Rosary: There isn't
a family fight in Heaven about
who should get more of the
prayers, Jesus, Mary or Joseph. We're
a family, guys! A Divine family in
Heaven, on
Earth, and in
Purgatory — (the Holy
Hospital of Heaven).
If you are against the Rosary, you
are against the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That's all the Rosary is:
- The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We meditate on the lives of Jesus,
Mary and Joseph while reciting Scripture
verses and asking our family members
to pray for us.
I hope this answers your question.
Mike Humphrey
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