The Rosary

[angelofmercy]

I want some help with rosary prayer.I learned how to pray it from the Internet.I can say a complete rosary in2 languages English and Persian.but I want to know what I should do when I succumb to a temptation in the midst of the rosary.because I have no access to Confession I can just say an act of contrition after any mortal sin.now,should I stop,say an act of contrition and pray the rosary from the beginning?It takes me a lot of time to be at the third mystery and then have to say all of it again and again.

what do you do if you miss an our father?if you are at the 5th hail Mary bead and suddenly you realize that you omitted the paternoster unintentionally?

if you want to say 5 decades separately,should you change the formula?I mean for example:"2nd mystery+our father+10 hail Marys+glory be+Fatima prayer+salve Regina"?Salve Regina is for the end of the rosary but I thought because I want to say the decades separately,I had to say the Salve and the closing prayer at the end of all of the five mysteries.

[stjude]

Ok, I'm probably the least qualified poster to answer these questions but I'm also probably the only one still up at this ungodly hour.

To begin with, you really shouldn't say the decades separately. Ideally, all fifteen mysteries, Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious, should be said together, but we are allowed to say only five at a time. Those five, however, should be said one after another. If you don't have the twenty- to twenty-five minutes available to complete the recitation of five of the mysteries, you should wait until you do.

Regarding "succumbing to a temptation" during the recitation, if it's only a momentary distraction or sinful thought, pause and bring yourself mentally back to the particular mystery you were reciting at the moment, perhaps by remembering Mary's great virtue and why Mary would never have committed that sin, or imagining the advice Jesus would have given to one guilty of that sin, or the consequences that sin would bring if unconfessed. If the five mysteries are recited in a row, you shouldn't have time or freedom of motion to commit any mortal sins in between!

If you forgot to recite the Pater Noster, for example, before beginning a decade, then in my opinion, yes, you should return to the beginning of that decade and start again. If you "punish" yourself in this way several times, you will soon learn not to make that mistake and to pay more attention to where your fingers are on the beads. After months and years of faithful repetition you will eventually become incapable of missing a prayer or of forgetting which mystery you are on.

I'm easily distracted, and I found that it helps to read books explaining in detail the Mysteries and giving ideas for meditation upon them. Now, I can even say the Rosary while riding the bus or walking through city streets, because I have enough images and ideas in my head to keep my mind occupied only with the Mysteries while I'm engaged in those other activities.

[LaRoza]

I want some help with rosary prayer.I learned how to pray it from the Internet.I can say a complete rosary in2 languages English and Persian.

The language doesn't matter, so use what language you feel most comfortable using. My site has guides for English and Latin in case you want something to print out.

but I want to know what I should do when I succumb to a temptation in the midst of the rosary.because I have no access to Confession I can just say an act of contrition after any mortal sin.now,should I stop,say an act of contrition and pray the rosary from the beginning?It takes me a lot of time to be at the third mystery and then have to say all of it again and again.

What sort of temptation? If you find your mind wandering, just redirect it back to the rosary. No one (that I know) can say it without any distractions. I suggest you read the book "The Secret of the Rosary" by Saint Louis de Montfort. It has all one ever needs to know about the rosary.

what do you do if you miss an our father?if you are at the 5th hail Mary bead and suddenly you realize that you omitted the paternoster unintentionally?

That would be odd I think. I typically hold my rosary with both hands, my right holding the bead I'm on, and my left holding the end of the decade so I don't go past. If you need a better rosary (perhaps yours makes it hard to tell by feel when you are at the end of a decade?), I can give you one.

if you want to say 5 decades separately,should you change the formula?I mean for example:"2nd mystery+our father+10 hail Marys+glory be+Fatima prayer+salve Regina"?Salve Regina is for the end of the rosary but I thought because I want to say the decades separately,I had to say the Salve and the closing prayer at the end of all of the five mysteries.

Saint Louis de Montfort recommends saying only five decades at a time (if it can be done, if there isn't time for all in a row, say them throughout the day). If you are going to say all 15 mysteries in a row, you can do the beginning and ending (Creed + Salve) only once, but if you are going to say only five at a time (like I do, morning, day, and night) you should say them at those times.

You can say it as best you can. Our efforts will never be perfect, but as long as you do your best, Our Lord sees that. If you cannot say five mysteries at once, then say the decades throughout the day. Do not see the rosary as a burden, but as a joy.

[angelofmercy]

I realy have problems with the rosary prayer.having OCD and psychomotor agitation makes it very hard to say even 5 mysteries.the more I try to focus on the mysteries the more blasphemous thoughts assult me.I speak very fast and I read very fast.and my rosary just takes me five minutes!!!

[stjude]

I realy have problems with the rosary prayer.having OCD and psychomotor agitation makes it very hard to say even 5 mysteries.the more I try to focus on the mysteries the more blasphemous thoughts assult me.I speak very fast and I read very fast.and my rosary just takes me five minutes!!!

OK, try reading the relevant passages of Scripture for each Mystery while you're saying it. If you finish reading the passsage before you finish reciting that decade read it again, or read its equivalent in a different Gospel. Or look at a painting of that Mystery while you recite it.

Another idea is to buy the EWTN CD's/DVD's featuring Mother Angelica and the nuns reciting the rosary. This might force you to slow down a bit as you recite it with them.

[charlesh]

First of all, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "commit a sin" while praying the rosary. If you mean, have a distracting thought, well, that's not a sin. Just collect yourself and bring your attention back to the prayers. Here is a good strategy that I use--if my distracting thought is about a person, I catch myself, and offer the next Ave Maria for that person. If you mean blasphemous or sinful thoughts, that's probably just some demon trying to get you to give up praying. Ignore him and keep talking to Jesus and Mary. They HATE those names you're pronouncing, and when they see that you're not going to give up, they'll leave you alone.

I would not set fences around your rosary. It's simply good to say the rosary. If you say five decades together, great! If you can say all 15, go for it! If you say one decade at a time throughout the day, that's great, too. Just try to get 5 in every day. I, personally, have to do 5 all together (especially in church or with family to get the plenary indulgence), but Abp. Sheen tells of a busy doctor who would say it through the course of the day. In times of temptation or suffering, I have turned quickly to the rosary and said a decade. The thing is, if you start feeling guilty, discouraged, or scrupulous over some detail, or for not saying 13 million full rosaries every day, then tell the devil to go to hell, because he's tempting you with these scrupulous thoughts.

If you forget the Our Father, you could just say it then and continue on, or repeat the decade like stjude suggested, knowing that, whatever you decide, it's not a sin. If you lose count, don't get hung up on it. Don't be too scrupulous about it. It's more important to pray it from the heart than to mind all the rules.

Did you know that throughout Latinamerica, the only introduction to the rosary is the Act of Contrition? Their rosaries have only 1 bead between the crucifix and the first Pater. Did you know that the O My Jesus prayer was only added in 1913, and not even part of the rosary proper? There are any number of aspirations you could add after the Gloria, or none at all. (Personally, I like to do what Our Lady asked at Fatima.) My point is, although the rosary is said in a certain standard way in groups, you don't have to follow rigid, strict rules when you pray it alone. Just remember who you're talking to.

And also, you should know that the rosary is this:
1 pater, 10 aves, 1 gloria--for each of 15 mysteries. That's it. Everything else is optional and is a result of customs or personal devotions.

You might read these suggestions:
http://www.ageofmary.com/holyrosary/helpful-suggestions/

Also, check out St. Louis' 2nd method:
http://www.ageofmary.com/holyrosary/montfort-method-2/

[LaRoza]

I realy have problems with the rosary prayer.having OCD and psychomotor agitation makes it very hard to say even 5 mysteries.the more I try to focus on the mysteries the more blasphemous thoughts assult me.I speak very fast and I read very fast.and my rosary just takes me five minutes!!!

That is not something you can control. Don't blame yourself for what is not your fault, but instead see them as a way to prove yourself.

I suggest saying only one decade at a time, throughout the day. It is better to say one Ave well, then a thousand rosaries carelessly.

[winoblue1]

I think you are just too worried about how to say the rosary,,,, don't worry about it, just do it!

I also tend to say it fast, but this is because I usually say the rosary while I am on the bus or waiting at the bus stop or walking somewhere.

[Credo]

Don't get scrupulous with the Rosary. If you forget to say a Pater or Ave, just keep going and ask God to make good whatever defects you might have made during the Rosary. I screw up saying the Divine Office all the time. If I "punished" myself every time some mistake was made I'd just get frustrated and give up. The same thing will happen if you keep trying to say the "perfect" Rosary. Remember, the Rosary is an aid to prayer, to lifting up our minds and hearts to God. "Punishing" oneself is really not conducive to this and betrays an "OCD-ish" tendency.

Where did someone get the idea one decade of the Rosary cannot be prayed at a time? The Rosary is a private devotion, say it at your own pace. If fact, as the Rosary grew out of the desire of the literacy/time-strapped laity to say the Divine Office, saying a different decade throughout the day would actually be more in line with this ideal.

[WhollyRoaminCatholic]

I realy have problems with the rosary prayer.having OCD and psychomotor agitation makes it very hard to say even 5 mysteries.the more I try to focus on the mysteries the more blasphemous thoughts assult me.I speak very fast and I read very fast.and my rosary just takes me five minutes!!!

It sounds like you are having a real but typical experience with how the Devil attacks all Christians.  When we try to focus ourselves more greatly on Christ, the Devil works harder to ruin our soul.

Seminarians talk about this all the time-- as they prepare for their studies or their ordination, they have profound disillusionment or regret or temptations.  The Devil is trying to knock you down the same way!

Stay strong, angelofmercy.  I know it's hard to be so alone in your Faith-- but you are not alone.  Christ and his Mother are with you always.  They are pleased that you are trying to hard to get the rosary correct.  Don't beat yourself up over it.  Practice will make you a better pray-er.