The Rosary and vain repetition

The Rosary. Well, the subject has come up because a Catholic friend of mine brought it up. I want to share my thoughts on the subject in the hope that they might help someone. Let me say Im not Catholic. However, do confuse that statement to mean that Im anti-catholic. Im not. I believe the Catholic Church does some good things, but that doesn’t mean I have to accept that which I think is not good or contrary to what Christ taught.

My thoughts on Catholicism changed a few years back when I was exposed to the late Father Martin Malachai Martin who was a Catholic exorcist and advisor to several Popes. He was a good man.(There is a letter from him on this website)


Catholics tend to be defensive about any and all things Catholic. Many tend to be so identified with the Church that if you criticize any aspect of it , your are anti-Catholic or anti-God. Im neither. This is well meaning criticism.


I think just about everybody knowS about the Rosary and its repetion of certain words, over and over again. There is a scripture about this in the New Testament . I particulary like the translation of The Living Bible. When I read the Bible I frequently use a laymens parallel New Testament which has four translations side by side. Here is the relevant scripture. You can compare the four and try and get the intended meaning that way. Here is from the Living Bible. I dont tend to like that particular translation all that much but in this case it seems to be the clearest on the subject.



7"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7



Of course many people, especially Catholics who pray the Rosary, don’t think that includes the Rosary. I think they are wrong. Here is a link to a letter from a Catholic who used to pray the Rosary on the subject which sums up the matter pretty well:



Letter


I just want to add a little to that. Nowhere in the Holy Scripture does it say to pray the Rosary. No where. However, it does seem to say not to pray repititiiosly. And I think there is a good reason. It is hypnotic. It is very similar to repeating “Om” over and over again like they do in Eastern religions and Transcendental meditation." . A person gets lost in the sound of the words. It all seems so innocent but I dont think it is. Those kind of meditations are an escape from the "still small voice" of the Holy Spirit.



Years ago when I sidewalk counseled at abortion clinics, there was a group of Catholic women who would come down to the clinic and pray the rosary. They would stand there on the street corner with a little billboard they made and repeat the Rosary over and over again. They meant well but I couldn’t help thinking as I watched them at the time that they were doing the very thing Jesus said not to do. Standing on the street corner and repeating the same thing over and over agiain. Both are things contrary what Jesus taught. Here is Matthew about praying in public:





5"And now about prayer. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. - Mastthew 6:5-6



So you see Im not anti- Catholic or anti-God in my criticism. I just don’t see that praying repetitiously, praying in public, or even praying to Mary is what Jesus taught. I wonder if this will lose me all my Catholic friends??


He who has ears to hear, let him hear.