Greetings Parents,
"Mom, repeating these prayers over and over is boring. Why do we have to do it? Why can't we do something else?"
"Well, eating the same foods (especially vegetables) could get boring, but we need nutritious food to stay healthy. Listening to the same song could be boring, unless you really like it because you connect with something in it. So perhaps it is not the repetition that is the problem, but more that you feel no connection to it.
We have been encouraged, for centuries, to pray the rosary - not just by popes and people we knew were holy, but also by Jesus and Mary themselves! They appeared to people - some who were saintly and some who became saintly after the apparition (supernatural appearance) by these heavenly people. When God speaks with you in person, it has a way of highlighting the shallowness and inconsistency of past decisions!
But back to the prayers and repetition... The rosary, if one mystery is said, includes 50 "Hail Mary" prayers - how can I pray that over and over without losing concentration? Recently, one sentence I read in "Praying the Rosary Like Never Before" (Edward Sri) shone light on this that changed everything for me when praying the rosary. The key was that, like listening to the same song, it is all about a connection. How can I relate to it, understand it, or want to revel and linger in it?
Sri proposed one perception of the "Hail Mary" wherein we consider God gazing at Mary, His beloved, obedient creature and saying the words found right in the Bible (thus words that are the Word of God), enjoying the beauty and goodness of His creation in her. We could then consider all of living humanity (and those in purgatory) turned to her and seeking her intercession for our intentions.
As I pondered this, I imagined Mary standing below and to the side of God so that they could see each other comfortably and she would look to Him during the first part of the Hail Mary, grateful and humble for His blessings, including her struggles, that led her to her place in heaven now.
At the center of the Hail Mary she looks to her Son who is named there, Jesus. All that she is and has is because Jesus was conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit according to the will of the Father.
Beginning the last half of the prayer, it is all those not yet in heaven who speak now, requesting her aid. Having been reminded of who she is in God's Plan, we follow his advice and seek her aid to know her Son better and to request aid for ourselves and those we love. Her head is turned now, not to the Father or Jesus, but to us living outside of heaven but hopeful for it, with a mother's tender care and concern. She knows all that we can have and be and desires all of the joy and gifts that come from fully embracing Jesus in our lives. A true mother, Mary hurts with our sufferings and longs to ease those, thus constantly interceding for us, reaching out to comfort us while also reaching out to the Father, to her Divine Spouse the Holy Spirit, and to Jesus, her Son, seeking their forgiveness and aid on our behalf.
After that thought from Sri, how can I consider the rosary boring again - there is lot happening! And that was from one sentence! Not to be simply a commercial for Sri and his book, let me encourage you to pick up whatever religious reading, audio, or video that might have meaning for you - you never know what little, simple nugget could open a door to understanding and greater engagement - and thus fulfillment - for the spiritual rites i your life.
Ask your family's guardian angels to lead you and your children to that which will help you all be better engaged in our faith, which is God's action, past, now and forever because of love. May God bless you and your family abundantly!
- Linda Bader, CRE, St. Thomas More