Comments on: Tuesday, 2/20/18 – Inventory Time

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 11:35:33 +0000

Thank you to everyone who responded about ideas on how to be more engaged with praying the rosary. Thank you for caring

By: Jericho

Jericho — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 00:45:59 +0000

yes, indeed Bob. For many times there we babble like pagans. Thanks for such an incisive thought-provoking reflection .

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 23:18:20 +0000

I believe what Jesus was referring to when he said babbling was those who tried to impress others with words. If the spirit of your prayers is honest intent to converse with
Lord repetition doesn’t matter. Pray from the heart

By: A

Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:07:22 +0000

Great question, Ann. A lifelong Catholic, I also can’t get behind the Rosary. It does feel like babbling, especially when I’ve gone to Mass early, and have seen the tail end of people praying the Rosary. It seems lightning-fast, not contemplative at all. Everybody just going along with the words. Maybe I just don’t get it, and they do. They perhaps have done it so long that they easily get into a contemplative state, but from the outside it looks, and for me on the inside it feels, like mindless babbling from rote memorization.

That being said, I have to cultivate a more prayerful attitude, in general when I pray, and specifically now when I am in the middle of a novena to the Infant of Prague (husband’s grandmother gave us a statue and a prayer booklet) as a means of extra prayer during Lent.

When the novena is done, I’ll have to find something more up my alley. Perhaps the Stations of the Cross. I’ve always been drawn to them.

Maybe that’s it. If you feel drawn to a prayer, and you can embrace it, and place your consciousness into it, then it’s not mindless babbling, because you’re engaged in it.

A blessed, prayerful Lent to all! May God bless us on our journey!

By: a disciple

a disciple — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:07:06 +0000

Hi Anne! your question is a very good one and please allow me to give you an idea of what I’ve heard about repetitious prayer. First I understand that babbling means something like repeating a word or couple of words, with the intention to get into trance, something like what the people who practice the kundalini yoga do by chanting a mantra to get out of reality; second, babbling is a word that means “vain or useless repetition” from the Greek “battalagesete” to repeat something mindlessly, but I’m sure that when you or any catholic prays, we don’t do it “mindlessly” and remember that praying (having a dialog with the Lord) is never something vain neither. Now, let me give you a couple of Bible passages where you’ll find beautiful repeating words of praise to the Lord: 1_ (Matt. 26:44); 2_(Lk. 18:13); 3_ (Rev. 4:8); 4_ (Ps. 136) and, Paul recommends us to “pray without ceasing” (1Thess. 5:17). God bless you.

By: Another Ann

Another Ann — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:02:48 +0000

I can’t remember where I heard or read this, but sometimes I insert a phrase into the Hail Mary after “ and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” like “ who rose from the dead”, “who ascended into heaven”, “who sent us the Holy Spirit” etc. depending on which mystery of the rosary I am praying.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 12:08:21 +0000

Anne, I don’t believe he has a video specifically on the rosary, but Fr. Mike Schmitz has a number of powerful videos discussing the modes of prayer and the value of prayer within our Catholic Faith. If you have not watched him, I would offer that he is exceptionally good at answering questions like the ones you have in a very easy to listen to and understand kind of way. You can find him on YouTube.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 11:48:56 +0000

Chiming in on praying the Rosary…it has been very helpful to me (and to my family) to pray a scriptural Rosary (a short reflection for each “Hail Mary,” or use a book illustrating the mysteries (sometimes one image per prayer) using sacred art. Praying the Rosary is definitely an art, not a “count-and-check-it-off-of-the-list” task (even though we do use the beads). There are many resources available online for both of these approaches. May God bless you as you strive to understand and be blanketed in His grace through Mary!