Tips for praying the rosary

Tips for praying the rosary

General tips in praying the rosary
1. Expect it to be somewhat dry as you are learning the prayers. Think of all the other things that you have learned how to do and how they were at times tedious as you learned them. But eventually you mastered them if you persevered. Then it became more satisfying.

2. You have an attentive audience to your prayers. God the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary are listening to your prayers even as you are learning them. You are not just saying words that don’t matter. You are praying, even if somewhat clumsily. They want you to succeed because they know it will help you to draw near to them and they will in turn draw near to you. They are present. And that is a promise. James 4:8a, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” NABRE So pray with expectation they are there even if you don’t feel them. Your attitude and faith make a big difference in how satisfying prayer will be. If you are just saying words into the air, not thinking you are connecting with anyone, then why pray? Prayer then becomes a dead thing and God is probably saying, “are you talking to me?” By the way, just so we are clear Mary is not God but she can be present as can the saints and angels

3. There is nothing wrong using a booklet or a list to help you remember the prayers and mysteries or eventually in your mediations on the mysteries after you get the Hail Marys down enough to begin to multi-task. If you find you just can’t meditate while praying the Hail Marys, then meditate on the mysteries at the beginning when you state the mystery.

4. The Catholic Church considers the creeds to be prayers so when I am praying the rosary alone I pray the Apostles Creed like this to more clearly address it to God. I also drop the archaic English to make more like I am just talking to God declaring my faith in Him and His plan of salvation.

I believe in You, God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in You, Lord Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord. You were conceived by the Holy Spirit. You were born of the Virgin Mary. You suffered under Pontius Pilate. You were crucified, died and were buried. You descended into hell. The third day you rose again from the dead. You ascended into heaven and are seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence shall You come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in You, Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen

5. I drop the archaic English from the Our Father.

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

6. I drop archaic English from the rest of the prayers and replace it with current English.
7. I also recite the prayers in archaic English occasionally so I am prepared for group prayer sessions which usually use the archaic English.
8. You don’t have to drop the archaic English if you don’t need or want to.

How many prayers do you have to learn to pray the rosary? Not many and I bet you already know some of them by heart.

1. The Sign of the Cross
2. The Apostles Creed
3. The Our Father (Lord’s Prayer)
4. The Hail Mary
5. The Glory Be
6. The extra Fatima prayer, Oh my Jesus, which is optional but I always pray it after the Glory Be. David doesn’t use it.
7. The Hail Holy Queen after you finish praying the decades. That prayer will seem strange to newbies from Protestantism but it grows on you as Mary becomes dear to you. Now I love it.
8. There are other awesome prayers you can add at the end but those are optional. Some prayer books have them and some don’t.

That’s it.

Then you just have to put them together into the introductory prayers to the rosary and the 5 mysteries/decades for the day. There are plenty of examples/lists/brochures of the structure so I won’t include that here.

You can add your prayers to the rosary at any point as they come to mind or you are led. The various mysteries may jog your mind and spur your heart to pray about similar situations you or others you know are going through. Even if you don’t add any of your prayers, God is sifting through your heart changing things and bringing them to the surface. Or He may give you insights into the mysteries that leave you awestruck, singing praises and thanking Him. Sometimes He may interrupt your rosary to work through something with you or redirect your prayers. And you may never get back to the rosary for the day. That’s His prerogative. Let Him.

If you wrestle with anxiety, the rosary will keep you in God the Holy Trinity and Mary’s presence to bring them to the surface and offer them up. You will probably find your trust in God, peace and tranquility growing. Sometimes since your anxieties are being handled by God, you will find yourself having fewer anxieties to bring to Him and you will focus more on others, having greater empathy and compassion.

Sometimes you will find that you have drifted and can’t remember where you left off exactly. I just go back to the last place I can remember praying and start from there unless I feel it was a God redirection.

Where to start
With the mysteries for that day of the week. Again, there are lists that are available so I won’t reproduce them here.

If praying all five mysteries for the day with the related decades of the Hail Marys is too much to start with then pray one of them. The next day those mysteries come up then pray the next one in line.

The main thing to remember is that you are loved by God the Holy Trinity and by Mary. They are pleased by your efforts to draw near. Even if you don’t pray any other prayers but the rosary prayers, you are praying for you and for others. God is working in your heart and their hearts and the world is being changed and His kingdom is being advanced. Mary is interceding for us. You will start to see things happen.

If you need links to the lists and structure, let me know.

May God bless you as you start to pray the rosary. It has revolutionized my life.