Mysteries of the Rosary: How Catholics Meditate

[DemBones DemBones]

I still haven't found out exactly what Cardinal Ratzinger once said about Buddhism or what context it was taken out of, but apparently there was something that suggested to one poster here (who heard the mention of this "shocking news" on NPR) that he may have meant meditation=autoeroticism. What follows is my answer to that Anglican poster, who I'm glad to have as a regular in our catholic group. Catholics may check me for errors, others may learn what the rosary is all about!

O8)

When we pray the Rosary, we meditate on the mysteries -- one mystery for each decade of the rosary (each Our Father plus ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be to the Father.) For centuries, there have been 15 Mysteries of the Rosary: the five Joyous Mysteries (beginning with the Annunciation of the angel to Mary), five Sorrowful Mysteries (beginning with Jesus's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane), and five Glorious Mysteries (beginning with Christ's Resurrection.)

Anyway the idea is to say the prayers without thinking much about them, meditating on a particular Mystery as you move through the prayers, moving your fingers to the next bead as you begin the next prayer. The Our Father beads are larger than the Hail Mary beads so your fingers tell your brain when you've reached the end of a decade, you say the Glory Be and then "announce" either aloud or silently the next mystery, say the Our Father and begin saying the next decade of Hail Marys, meditating on the mystery you just "announced."

(Sorry this is lengthy but it's hard to explain it more concisely and yet precisely.)

It is not easy to learn to meditate in one part of your brain while another part recites prayers, even though you know the prayers by heart, but meditation is not easily learned in any tradition.

Anyone reading this should now see why it's sadly ironic when people who hear Catholics pray a Rosary aloud in a group say scornfully that "Those Catholics are just mouthing words without even knowing what they're saying"; the words aren't supposed to be the focus!!!

More than sadly ironic, it makes you want to scream and bang your head on the nearest wall! :banghead:

[elshiva]

1. I, elshiva, am the Anglican poster, know this, thanks!

The tactile experience of God.

The Anglican rosary is great, too.
http://www.saintgabriels.org/rosary.html

[DemBones DemBones]

2. That's a very interesting site -- thanks for posting!

I didn't realize the C of E had a different rosary. I saw rosaries for sale in the gift shop at Wells Cathedral in Somerset (What a gloriuos place! All of the west country is beautiful and the cathedral at Well is a gem), but since I didn't need a new rosary I didn't look at them carefully and didn't realize they were different from the ones we use.

Are you in the UK or one of the (former) colonies? Maybe I asked before but we've gotten several new British posters at DU lately. I always like to ask what part of England people are from; my people were all from Devon, mostly down near Plymouth and up near Northam, still have family in both areas.

[elshiva]

3. You are welcome! I am from Monkton, Maryland, but I am an Anglophile.

So welcome all you glorious, Britons.