Lotus Flower

[FaithT]

I stand by what I originally posted. Better safe than sorry.

How about my questions about praying the rosary?

 

[Michie]

How about my questions about praying the rosary?

I did not see it. I’ll check later. I need to take mom to some stores.

 

[FaithT]

I did not see it. I’ll check later. I need to take mom to some stores.

Ok

 

[Michie]

Can a Christian Meditate?

Here is a discussion on Catholic Answers about meditation that’s interesting. And after reading this and getting to the part of praying the rosary, Father says that you don’t have to meditate on all the mysteries in order or something like that.
My mom taught me how to pray the rosary and she just prayed the prayers without meditating on the mysteries.

1) How many of you pray the rosary fairly often?
2) When you pray the rosary do you meditate on all the mysteries in order on the assigned day?
3) If not, how do you pray it? Just pray the prayers and think whatever comes to mind about Jesus and how good He is? Or something else?

Just my personal opinion but I think we’ve all done both. Meditating on the mysteries as well as reciting it with an intention in mind.I tend to think that reciting the rosary while meditating on the mysteries is an art and it is an art I have not mastered yet. Meditation in the eastern religions definition and Christian tradition are two different things imo. I read that it has two different goals:

Christian meditation has the opposite goal of eastern meditation. Christian meditation is about attachment instead of detachment. It is about attaching to God and being focused on his word. It is about becoming more loving toward God and others

 

[Solo81]

Can a Christian Meditate?

Here is a discussion on Catholic Answers about meditation that’s interesting. And after reading this and getting to the part of praying the rosary, Father says that you don’t have to meditate on all the mysteries in order or something like that.
My mom taught me how to pray the rosary and she just prayed the prayers without meditating on the mysteries.

1) How many of you pray the rosary fairly often?
2) When you pray the rosary do you meditate on all the mysteries in order on the assigned day?
3) If not, how do you pray it? Just pray the prayers and think whatever comes to mind about Jesus and how good He is? Or something else?

I have to ask people what "meditation" means to them: to some it means being still and silent while the Church uses the word 'contemplative' to mean still and silent and 'meditate' to think about something
Stillness and silence are essential for those who want to experience God, rather than just learn about Him.

Rosary...
I promised Our Lady a rosary every day (not the full whack!) and I don't always deliver but I'm improving. Minimum of 5 a week, sometimes 7.
I don't particularly enjoy it as a form of prayer but she asks for it so much, that it must be valuable in her eyes and must be instrumental in her victory.
2) I attempted to think about the mystery while praying but i'd lose what number I was on or I'd end up thinking too much and the rosary would take an hour. The odd time I'll allow myself to imagine the mystery before the decade but time doesn't always allow it.
I ask OL + my angel to pray it with me and i focus on the words I say. I try speak it to her rather than just rattling it off.

 

[FaithT]

Just my personal opinion but I think we’ve all done both. Meditating on the mysteries as well as reciting it with an intention in mind.I tend to think that reciting the rosary while meditating on the mysteries is an art and it is an art I have not mastered yet. Meditation in the eastern religions definition and Christian tradition are two different things imo. I read that it has two different goals:

Christian meditation has the opposite goal of eastern meditation. Christian meditation is about attachment instead of detachment. It is about attaching to God and being focused on his word. It is about becoming more loving toward God and others

Meditating on the mysteries is an art I haven’t mastered yet either, and I am about to give up and just pray the prayers while thinking about Jesus in general instead of meditating on the mysteries. Is that OK to do? I mean is it ok to just recite the prayers without meditating on the mysteries? When I meditate on the mysteries I have to always have my little guide with me because I don’t have them all memorized. Admittedly, my mind wanders a lot when I pray the rosary.

 

[Michie]

Meditating on the mysteries is an art I haven’t mastered yet either, and I am about to give up and just pray the prayers while thinking about Jesus in general instead of meditating on the mysteries. Is that OK to do? I mean is it ok to just recite the prayers without meditating on the mysteries? When I meditate on the mysteries I have to always have my little guide with me because I don’t have them all memorized. Admittedly, my mind wanders a lot when I pray the rosary.

It’s normal Faith. Do not worry about it so much. I think the effort is appreciated. Some are called to that type of prayers and some aren’t. I tend to lean more towards the Divine Mercy chaplet.

 

[FaithT]

It’s normal Faith. Do not worry about it so much. I think the effort is appreciated. Some are called to that type of prayers and some aren’t.

Thanks. Because I’m getting tired of using that little guide just to pray. I think it distracts me from praying.

 

[Michie]

Thanks. Because I’m getting tired of using that little guide just to pray. I think it distracts me from praying.

I often concentrate on the intention and think of the events in Scripture as they come to me. I know the Lord does not want us to be overly concerned with every little detail so that it is distracting and just making another thing to the check off the list of things to do. It can really take away from the experience.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Anyone?

I pray the Rosary, and I follow the contemplative rosary by Theresa of Avila. If we just say the words, we train our bodies to speak holy things but our minds are left to wander. By contemplating the mysteries and the scripture they are based on allows our heard and our minds to focus. My mind still wanders sometimes, but it is more controlled than just saying the words with no thought

 

[WarriorAngel]

With the right 'frame of mind/heart' one can achieve a wonderful peace praying the Rosary.
Pray with the heart.

 

[FaithT]

With the right 'frame of mind/heart' one can achieve a wonderful peace praying the Rosary.
Pray with the heart.

So meditating on the mysteries aren’t necessary?

 

[boughtwithaprice]

So meditating on the mysteries aren’t necessary?

If you are not going to meditate on the mysteries then why do it? It’s not a rosary then

Just say random Hail Marys, Our Fathers and Glory Bes and meditate on what you are saying in those prayers, but don’t call it a Rosary


If you don’t meditate on something, then you leave your mind open to suggestion, and evil spirits love blank open minds. Ever hear the phrase an idle mind is the devil’s workshop?

Saying the same thing over and over again without thought puts a person in a trance like state. The person feels that they have contacted the spirit world and call it the Holy Spirit, but it’s not.
We look at what happens when we repeat the same phrase over and over again. The words lose there meaning and our thoughts wonder or become disoriented. It is like the feeling of being drunk

You see it in rock concerts or pop music parties with repetitive lyrics and repetitive rhythm.
Charismatic meetings frequently use repetitive lines in supposed worship. The lyrics keep getting repeated over and over with the same rhythm. One guy even described himself as the Holy Ghost bartender.
It is repetitive speaking without thought that can bring one to that trance like state and that state is drunkenness. Our Lord said drunkards will not enter the kingdom of heaven

You can think of repetition as inducing this state and it feels good, much like a little wine takes the edge off of a social situation, but too much makes one a drunken fool.

Repetitive prayer can relax the mind and make us ready to receive from God. The mysteries and the meditation keep us focused on what we are doing so that we do not become spiritually drunk

We want our minds focused on the mysteries of our redemption, not whatever random thought that will appear

 

[suzanne123]

Neither yoga nor demons own the human body, our movements with it, nor our postures.

 

[FaithT]

If you are not going to meditate on the mysteries then why do it? It’s not a rosary then

Just say random Hail Marys, Our Fathers and Glory Bes and meditate on what you are saying in those prayers, but don’t call it a Rosary


If you don’t meditate on something, then you leave your mind open to suggestion, and evil spirits love blank open minds. Ever hear the phrase an idle mind is the devil’s workshop?

Saying the same thing over and over again without thought puts a person in a trance like state. The person feels that they have contacted the spirit world and call it the Holy Spirit, but it’s not.
We look at what happens when we repeat the same phrase over and over again. The words lose there meaning and our thoughts wonder or become disoriented. It is like the feeling of being drunk

You see it in rock concerts or pop music parties with repetitive lyrics and repetitive rhythm.
Charismatic meetings frequently use repetitive lines in supposed worship. The lyrics keep getting repeated over and over with the same rhythm. One guy even described himself as the Holy Ghost bartender.
It is repetitive speaking without thought that can bring one to that trance like state and that state is drunkenness. Our Lord said drunkards will not enter the kingdom of heaven

You can think of repetition as inducing this state and it feels good, much like a little wine takes the edge off of a social situation, but too much makes one a drunken fool.

Repetitive prayer can relax the mind and make us ready to receive from God. The mysteries and the meditation keep us focused on what we are doing so that we do not become spiritually drunk

We want our minds focused on the mysteries of our redemption, not whatever random thought that will appear

I’ll listen to the advice of my pastor who told me there are many ways to pray the rosary and the way I’m praying it is fine. He said that the important thing is that I have an awareness that I am invoking the intercessory power and love of the Blessed Virgin Mother.

 

[FaithT]

And speaking of rosaries, I bought a new one today. It’s crystal aurora borealis beads with blue Our Father beads and a miraculous medal in the center. I’m having it blessed today after Mass if I can.

 

[FaithT]

And speaking of rosaries, I bought a new one today. It’s crystal aurora borealis beads with blue Our Father beads and a miraculous medal in the center. I’m having it blessed today after Mass if I can.

I got it blessed and Father seemed happy to do it. I always feel a little intimidated to ask after Mass. I’m more comfortable to drop items off at the rectory office when I want them blessed.

 

[RileyG]

I got it blessed and Father seemed happy to do it. I always feel a little intimidated to ask after Mass. I’m more comfortable to drop items off at the rectory office when I want them blessed.

That sounds wonderful! I need to have a better devotion to the rosary.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

I got it blessed and Father seemed happy to do it. I always feel a little intimidated to ask after Mass. I’m more comfortable to drop items off at the rectory office when I want them blessed.

I love blessed sacramentals. They greatly enhance prayer, but you can never sell them, or they lose the blessing. That is because it would be the sin of simony to attempt to buy spiritual things.

We can buy rosaries and miraculous medals of course, but we must have them blessed after we buy them, and we cannot buy someone else’s blessed item and expect to retain the blessing.

I bought blessed water, oil and salt from the internet once for a steep price because they were advertised as blessed by the Pope.
My priest said, oh boy you got ripped off. Even if these sacramentals were blessed in the Vatican, they lost their blessing as soon as I bought them. I contacted the company and told them, and they offered to classify my money as a donation or refund it. I said no thanks, I cannot accept it because I am the one guilty of attempted simony. I asked them to please stop offering blessed items for sale, as that is false advertising. Sold items cannot retain their blessing

 

[RileyG]

I love blessed sacramentals. They greatly enhance prayer, but you can never sell them, or they lose the blessing. That is because it would be the sin of simony to attempt to buy spiritual things.

We can buy rosaries and miraculous medals of course, but we must have them blessed after we buy them, and we cannot buy someone else’s blessed item and expect to retain the blessing.

I bought blessed water, oil and salt from the internet once for a steep price because they were advertised as blessed by the Pope.
My priest said, oh boy you got ripped off. Even if these sacramentals were blessed in the Vatican, they lost their blessing as soon as I bought them. I contacted the company and told them, and they offered to classify my money as a donation or refund it. I said no thanks, I cannot accept it because I am the one guilty of attempted simony. I asked them to please stop offering blessed items for sale, as that is false advertising. Sold items cannot retain their blessing

I wasn't aware items can be "unblessed" and it appears you are right. I was always under the impression that blessing left an indelible mark on the object. Thanks for the info!