Ways to Help Meditate
"Continue to pray the Rosary every day."
- Our Lady of Fatima to Lucia
Jesus said, "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. . ." In other words, when we pray, we shouldn't just rattle off words -
we have to think about what we saying. When we're having a conversation with someone, we focus on that person and concentrate on speaking with them. In the same way, we have to focus our minds on God when we pray to Him.
This is not easy, and in the Rosary, it is especially difficult. Since we are repeating the Hail Mary's so many times, sometimes we lose track of what we're saying.
We forget to meditate on the mystery we're praying, and we find ourselves thinking about what we did (or will do) today, the difficulties we've encountered, the projects we're planning. . .
By the fifth decade, we suddenly realize that we've hardly meditated on the mysteries at all! (At least that's what happens to me!)
Here are some practical suggestions to help make it easier to meditate during the Rosary:
- Set your mind into a prayerful state before you start. This can be done by pausing a few seconds before starting the Rosary, and asking God to help you pray well.
- Don't forget to ask Mary to help you meditate - after all, she knows all the details of each mystery better than anyone except Jesus, since she lived through them!
- Give yourself some visual help - get pictures of the mysteries of the Rosary to look at while you pray. Often, studying the images will help keep your mind on the Rosary. Rosary books, with short meditations and a picture for each mystery, are also helpful - they are usually available at any Catholic bookstore.
- Related to this last point is a special version of the Rosary, called the Scriptural Rosary. In the Scriptural Rosary, you read a different short Bible verse before each Hail Mary. Although this means that the Rosary takes longer to say, it makes it easier to meditate because the verses give you a different aspect of the mystery to think about, for each Hail Mary.
- If you can't concentrate for more than one decade at a time, break up your time a little. Do something different between decades like reading a relevant passage from the Bible or singing a song.
- Are you too comfortable?! Generally, adding a little penance to your prayer (i.e. kneeling down, or, if you're sitting, not crossing your legs) helps keep you alert.
- Finally, every time you catch yourself think about something else during the Rosary, make your thoughts go back to the mystery. Even if you have to do this six thousand times, DON'T GIVE UP! Many spiritual writers say that our best prayers are sometimes said when all we can do is kneel before God and try our best to pray, even though we can't seem to keep our minds on it.
By sticking to our decision to pray, and showing God that we really want to be with Him, despite the trouble we're having, we can given Him great glory by our patience.
As St. Teresa of Avila said:
"There is another thing which greatly afflicts those who give themselves to prayer. It is the distractions which often come and carry their thoughts, and their heart too, to and fro. They come at times from not mortifying the senses; at times with the soul being distracted in itself, and often because the Lord wills it, to test His servants.
Now in such cases we must recall our thoughts from time to time, by reviving our faith in the presence of God, and by remaining before Him with reverence and respect. If we do not succeed in [meditating], we must bear those annoyances. . .with humility and patience. It will not be lost time, as at first sight it may appear, but such a prayer will sometimes be more fruitful than many others made with recollection and pleasure. For all the actions performed to banish or to endure these distractions, since they are done in order not to displease God, and to become better qualified for His service, are SO MANY ACTS OF THE LOVE OF GOD."
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