Praying the Rosary: Try and Try Again
Posted by Sarah Reinhard in Faith on Tuesday, October 05, 2010 12:00 PM
I have been trying to succeed at the rosary for nearly ten years. It seems to be the devotion I just can’t escape: I’ll put it away for months at a time, only to have an intention that calls for nothing less than the Big Guns.
My failures over the years seem to fall into a range of categories, but, as I’ve considered the excuses I tell myself and God over and over, there seem to be a few repeat offenders.
Staying On-Task
Often, I get interrupted during my rosary praying. I attribute it to the season I’m in.
Someone needs breakfast. Someone else needs to go potty. Someone else pooped on the floor. And where are the socks? In the midst of these distractions, it’s easy to lose track of which Hail Mary I’m on or even which mystery I’m supposed to be contemplating.
Then there are the days when it’s just my coffee and I…and the voices that start whispering louder in the silence around me, reminding me of a thousand things that, all of a sudden, can’t seem to wait.
Maybe it would seem silly to even attempt a rosary if the day has gunned forward, but did Jesus stop praying when He was occupied with other matters? Practice makes perfect – or better, at least. Keep on trying!
Motivation
Part of what makes the rosary so powerful for me is the huge amount of motivation I have to muster up to pray it. My devotion to Mary doesn’t mean anything when it’s up against my laziness and desire to do what I wanna do.
The best solution I have found has been to plow forward. I make myself pray the rosary every day. It is not optional.
A few Saturdays ago, I skipped it because I got up late and there were other things to do and, doggone it, I just didn’t feel like it. When we showed up early for Mass, the parish rosary hadn’t started. Guess who led it?
Praying the rosary is a lot like brushing my teeth before bed: once I make it a habit, there’s no arguing about being too tired or too busy or, by gum, too lazy. It just is, an indispensable part of my life.
Finding the Time
No one has a lot of time. We’re all overbooked and busy to the max.
The rosary takes time. Period.
To help myself over this hurdle, I look at the rosary as six segments. There have been times that I pray the first segment, the opening, as I’m getting my coffee ready, the first decade as I take my shower, the second decade as I get ready, the third decade as I get breakfast and lunches ready, the fourth decade as I putter around the house, the fifth decade and closing as I walk out of the door or drive to work.
In segments, it’s not so bad. All of a sudden, the rosary becomes doable in the pockets of time in my day.
If you truly find it impossible to find the time, ask God—and Mary—to guide you. You might be surprised by what appears before you.
Thankfully, God doesn’t measure success by the impossible standards I set for myself. He doesn’t look down and detract points from me for my terrible rosary praying.
He’s glad to see me show up again and again. And I believe, with all my soul, that He sits down beside me and holds me when I choose to stick with it.
What’s your “repeat offender” in praying the rosary? How do you battle it? What areas do you need help in as you approach the rosary?
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