7 Ways to Better Engage the Mind and Heart While Praying the Rosary
What better way to honor Our Lady – the one whom 'all ages will call blessed' (Luke 1:48)
If there were a show of hands of those who get distracted during the praying of the rosary, mine would be the first to go up. I often need to stop to refocus because I’ve lost my place or have gotten distracted.
Even with the challenge to stay focused, I don’t plan to give up the rosary because it has been a life preserver of grace. Padre Pio and many saints prayed the rosary everyday and called it ‘the weapon against the evils of the world today’.
What better way to honor Our Lady – the one whom ‘all ages will call blessed’ (Luke 1:48) – than to commit to praying the rosary wholeheartedly. As we hold her hand and meditate upon the mysteries of the life of Jesus, she takes our prayers to Him, ‘who refuses her nothing’ (John 2:1-12).
I find the following techniques helpful in keeping focused, or at least to re-center when distracted:
1. Pray Out Loud, Vary the Speed
Praying out loud helps with staying on track. Alternating between varying speeds may also do the trick. Try praying out loud S-L-O-W-L-Y, then the next Hail Mary at regular speed. Faster than normal speed is not better for me but it may help others.
A companion to vocalize the prayers can be found on www.comepraytherosary.org which has recordings of all the mysteries (as well as images of sacred places in the Holy Land).
2. Read Scripture. Add a Reflection
One can easily find online scripture verses and reflections that correspond to each mystery. Along with scripture, there are books and resources (both to read and to listen) that set the tone and offer an application.
The following article offers quick meditations (along with the fruit) of each mystery: https://media.ascensionpress.com/2018/11/14/quick-meditations-on-every-mystery-of-the-rosary/
The book, Family that Prays Together Stays Together by Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC, has prompts, prayers, and reflections that draw upon the words and life of Venerable Patrick Peyton. The intentions that pertain to mothers and families in this book are the same ones we tend to vocalize for our own families.
If audio or video reflections are preferred, https://ondemand.ewtn.com/free/ has a variety of rosary options that lend depth to the prayers.
3. Write the Distraction
It’s gentler to gaze upon a distraction, acknowledge it, and look beyond it than it is to rip it out altogether. Rather than banishing a tangent, jot down the random thought, then continue on your merry rosary way. Later, go back and read your list. You never know, you may find your stray thoughts contain some insights from the Holy Spirit.
4. Pray with Images, Icons
Gazing upon sacred art while praying the rosary is a favorite way to engage the mind. Formed.com offers sacred art, many of them from famous masters, with orchestral sounds that set the mood.
Likewise, the Holy Land Rosary on EWTN on demand (https://ondemand.ewtn.com/free/Home/Series/ondemand/video/en/the-holy-land-rosary) contains images and videos of each mystery.
While the Byzantine icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is not particularly related to a rosary mystery, I find the image especially helpful. Whenever I spot the dangling sandal from the frightened child Jesus’ foot (who has run to His Mother at spotting the instruments of his torture), I want to pray more and be better. During the rosary, I sometimes draw upon the emotions derived from this image.
There are also YouTube videos that display sacred art images combined with classical background music that feed the senses or keep them close to center.
5. Mix it Up
The generally accepted rosary mystery schedule is Mondays ~ Joyful, Tuesdays ~ Sorrowful, Wednesdays ~ Glorious, Thursdays ~ Luminous, Fridays ~ Sorrowful, Saturdays ~ Joyful, Sundays ~ Glorious.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a popular prayer where rosary beads are used. Many people pray the rosary, then the Divine Mercy, back-to-back. Another popular prayer is The Rosary to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. These meditations reflect the 7 Sorrows Mother Mary experienced in her lifetime. There are 7 decades of 7 Hail Marys.
Mix it up by praying the Rosary to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows on Fridays. The more Hail Marys the better, so one could pray both the Seven Sorrows and the Sorrowful Mysteries on Fridays or add the Seven Sorrows to another day.
6. Sing
Music stirs some people like nothing else. There is a version of the Divine Mercy Chaplet that is sung, which many enjoy. With the same idea in mind, singing a Marian jingle before launching into the rosary can settle the mind and set the mood. Sing the rosary to a familiar tune or favorite tune, Marian or otherwise.
A musically inclined person could compose an original tune or play an instrument. Naturally, a musician could traverse through the rosary with their fingers on an instrument and eyes along a musical staff, over the rosary beads in hand and mediations on the mind.
7. Contemplate using the Imagination
St. Ignatius experienced God speaking to him through his imagination, as well as, through his thoughts and memories. This 500-year-old tradition (based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola), called contemplation, includes praying with the imagination.
A method of contemplation is to place oneself in the scripture scene, becoming a character in it. Imagining what the character would say and do, as well as, listening for the sounds, and noticing the smells, is an active prayer that engages the mind and senses.
During the 3rd Joyful Mystery, the Nativity, I imagine myself at the manger as a shepherd. The hay scattered around me smells earthy, like sweet tobacco. I keep my gaze upon the trio of The Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and of course, baby Jesus. They appear surrounded by a rising cloud, like what one would see in the mountains after a rain.
Mother Mary looks my way and smiles. She asks me if I want to hold baby Jesus. Without hesitation, I stretch out my arms. She entrusts me with her baby even with my stiff, awkward arms.
I’m always sad at the end of this mystery when I hand baby Jesus back to Mother Mary. One of these days, I will silently ask our Holy Mother if I can carry baby Jesus with me to the next mystery -- the Presentation of Our Lord -- where Simeon and Anna are waiting.
Praying the rosary calms me down when I’m anxious or nervous. It helps me feel closer to the Holy Family, the Apostles, and the Saints. It encourages me to carry my cross, especially during the Sorrowful Mysterious; it emerges a desire to keep Him company in His agony.
Through the rosary, we can discover the tenderness of a Mother who stays with us during this life’s journey.
Thank you for this resource
Thanks for sharing, Frances. What a beautiful teaching on a beautiful prayer!