Family Rosary

Regarding the first objection, it’s true that the quality of prayer is more important than the quantity. Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, in his book The Admirable Secret of the Holy Rosary, writes: “A single Hail Mary well said is of greater merit than one hundred and fifty poorly said... Many pray the Rosary, but why do so few amend their sins and grow in virtue, if not because they do not pray as they should?” However, this method of prayer, which can even lead us to repeat the Hail Mary 153 times, comes from the Most Holy Virgin Mary herself, who inspired it in Saint Dominic. There is a good reason for these repetitions.

If we think about it, everyone can observe that life is full of repetitions. Each day we perform the same actions, exchange the same greetings with the same words. Furthermore, the human heart repeats its beats constantly, and without these repetitions, there is no life... Likewise, the repetition of the Hail Mary fosters a life and an atmosphere of prayer. This repetition creates a habit, an ease, and a rhythm that enables us to rise toward God. After focusing on the words for a certain time, our attention naturally shifts to the mysteries, and then to God. Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks of three levels of attention in prayer: first to the words, then to the mysteries, and finally to God. It is like a violin with three strings: we begin by using only one, but the ideal is to make all three play in harmony. With time, we achieve this. Thus, the repetition of the Hail Marys becomes a means of drawing us closer to God for at least twenty minutes.

From this, the answer to the second objection follows: yes, it is possible to recite the Rosary and meditate at the same time. Through repetition, we can recite with ease and without tension, making us inwardly more free to meditate. What should we meditate on? The Collect of the Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary tells us: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. And it adds: to imitate these mysteries and obtain what they promise. Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort also writes: “The mysteries of the Rosary are the works of Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Virgin; they are full of wonders, perfection, and profound and sublime teachings, which the Holy Spirit reveals to the humble and simple souls who honor them.”

Let us not be afraid, then, to repeat these Hail Marys. Let us be faithful in reciting and meditating on our Rosary. And let us try, as Father de Montfort advises, to say it together, as a family, and even in two choirs. “Of all the ways of praying, the most glorious to God, the most beneficial to the soul, and the most terrifying to the devil, is to pray the Rosary publicly in two choirs. God loves assemblies. Our Lord expressly recommended this practice to His apostles and disciples, and promised that whenever two or three were gathered in His name, He would be in their midst. What a joy to have Jesus Christ in our company! To possess Him, we need only gather to say the Rosary.” Let us note that Our Lord speaks of two or three gathered in His name (Mt 18:20). This is the smallest possible group, but it must be gathered in the name of Jesus Christ. Under this condition, He promises to be present among them, and His presence makes the prayer irresistible before God. That is why, in the early Church, Christians gathered so often to pray, despite the threats they faced.

Father de Montfort lists several benefits of praying in two choirs. First, the mind is usually more attentive. Secondly, when we pray in common, a single voice rises to God. So, if someone in particular is not praying as well, another in the group, who prays better, compensates for their shortcoming. The saint even goes so far as to say: one person who recites the Rosary alone has the merit of only one Rosary; but if they recite it with thirty people, they have the merit of thirty Rosaries! Lastly, Father de Montfort points out that the Church, led by the Holy Spirit, has always turned to public prayers in times of calamity. He cites the example of Pope Gregory XIII, who declared in a bull that the public prayers and processions of the Rosary Confraternities greatly contributed to obtaining from God the great victory at Lepanto over the Turks, on the first Sunday of October 1571.

Let us say the Rosary together, as a family. Pope Pius XII had beautiful thoughts on this subject. In a speech to Lenten preachers in 1943, he said: “Awaken in the souls of the faithful the feeling of the ancient and pious custom of common family prayer... And since public life, full of distractions and pitfalls, often endangers rather than promotes the most precious goods of the family — marital fidelity, faith, virtue, and the innocence of children — prayer in the home is now almost more necessary than in past times.” Saint Pius X, in his will, wrote: “If you want peace to reign in your families and in your homeland, recite the Rosary every day with your loved ones.”

Here’s a suggestion: when praying as a family, take into account the capacity of the children. Pope Pius XII, in the same 1943 speech, said: “Let the prayer be carried out in such a way that children do not feel fatigued or repelled, but are rather encouraged to grow in it.” With young children, one could start by praying one or two decades together, then gradually increase over time.

Finally, let us say a word about the distractions that may arise during the Rosary. Father de Montfort distinguishes between voluntary distractions and involuntary ones. The former are a great irreverence “that would render our Rosaries fruitless and fill us with sin. How dare we ask God to listen to us if we do not listen to ourselves?” Involuntary distractions, however, are almost inevitable, says the saint. But we must take all measures to reduce them and fix our imagination. It’s important to place ourselves in the presence of God, believing that He and His holy Mother are watching us. We can imagine Our Lord and the Most Holy Virgin in the mystery we are honoring. The saint also advises us to have prayer intentions, even for each decade. And he emphasizes that if we struggle with many distractions but fight against them, our Rosary will be even more fruitful. “Your Rosary is all the better for being more meritorious; it is all the more meritorious the more difficult it is.”

What should convince us to say our Rosary, alone or as a family, are two statements from the Most Holy Virgin. At Fatima, on October 13, 1917, she said: “I am Our Lady of the Rosary. Continue to recite the Rosary every day.” Five centuries earlier, she told Blessed Alan de La Roche: “Whoever perseveres in reciting my Rosary will receive all the graces they ask.”

Abbé V. GRAVE