Catholic Candle note: The following was written by one of our readers commenting on our recent article about how to say the Rosary.

How to say the Rosary seemed a secret to me.

I was very consoled when I read the Catholic Candle article about how the Rosary is supposed to be said. I remembered how I felt a few years ago when a friend of mine explained to me, that because prayer is the lifting of the heart and mind to God (i.e., speaking personally to God), one is not praying when he isn’t saying something to God. This friend explained that a person has to make acts of the will when saying the Rosary. I remember how embarrassed I was that I didn’t know how to say the Rosary correctly.  I also felt bad because I wasn’t taught this as a child and I thus had not said my Rosaries properly all my life.  Then some time after my friend explained this to me, our pastor at the “old” SSPX chapel explained this true way of saying the Rosary in one of his sermons. I was really relieved because then any other person who might have been confused like I was about the Rosary, would then be informed on how to say it correctly.  I think a lot of Catholics may have a confused idea of how to say the Rosary. I also think the devil has suppressed the true method of how to say the Rosary so that the faithful will not get the full benefits of the Rosaries they say.

For sure, God sees the heart and intentions of a person saying the Rosary and knows when any one is trying his best, but it makes sense to me that the Rosary would be more fruitful and meritorious when one’s will is lifted with acts said to God.  I know from what our (former) pastor said and by trying to say the Rosary with simple little ejaculations (e.g., thinking “I love dear Lord”) while others are leading the decades, I have found myself able to focus much better on the Rosary. Also, I actually find myself looking forward to saying the Rosary, whereas before I rather dreaded it because I had been so distracted. I am so grateful to God that this confusion about the Rosary is finally being addressed publicly.