Trouble Meditating (Rosary, Etc.) Help. :)

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1319758862' post='2327958']
I knew an old lady who was very faithful to the Rosary. One time she unknowingly revealed the fact that she had no idea that a person was "supposed" to meditate while saying the decades. She thought you just announce the mystery and say the Hail Marys in honor of that mystery. I did not tell her she was doing it "wrong" or that there was more to it. I felt there was no need to upset her good and holy customs. I think that God was pleased with her.
[/quote]


This

[MissyP89]

[quote name='beatitude' timestamp='1319750096' post='2327898']
St Teresa of Avila advised people to pray as they can, not as they can't. There is no magic secret for prayer. All you need is that basic desire to come closer to God. If you have that, then you are praying, no matter how unsatisfactory your prayer might feel.
[/quote]

This is perfect. What everyone else has said is wonderful, and your desire to be more faithful in praying the rosary is great, too ... BUT. Please don't feel hard on yourself in the midst of your struggle. It doesn't make you bad or anything like that.

The beauty of the Church is that there is so much we are offered to deepen our faith. The rosary isn't for everyone (certainly not for me!).

[Little Flower]

[quote name='i<3franciscans' timestamp='1319737690' post='2327773']
When it comes to meditating... Since I don't have my license yet and I usually can't get to a church I go out for walks. I pop in my ipod and put on some quiet praise and worship music. It really helps me to lift my mind to God and to just listen to Him.[/quote]
Same here, but I just go to my room and lock the door and barricade it with my dresser and bunkbed. Ok not really But my room is the quietest place in my house so thats where I go when I want to pray or just listen to some good PW music. which i LOVE.

[tinytherese]

I am so bookmarking this thread!

[hope&memory]

Doesn't St. John of the Cross say something about the transition from meditation to contemplation? That one of the signs that you are being led to infused contemplation is that you are unable to meditate? In The Ascent, I think.

[Sarah147]

[quote name='hope&memory' timestamp='1319798796' post='2328132']
Doesn't St. John of the Cross say something about the transition from meditation to contemplation? That one of the signs that you are being led to infused contemplation is that you are unable to meditate? In The Ascent, I think.
[/quote]

You read some great works!

If that were the case though, wouldn't I have been able to meditate in the past?

Also, I don't know that I've had any dark night experiences (part of contemplation); certainly severe suffering from mental health challenges in the past, but I don't know that it counts. I almost died a few times due to various complications of the illness.

Edited October 28, 2011 by JoyfulLife

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' timestamp='1319736692' post='2327762']
Hello,

I meditate well on things going on in my life, like about doctor visits coming up, appointments, what to say, planning trips, etc.

But, when I try to do the Divine Office, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc., I have difficulty MEDITATING and imagining the scenes, virtues, words, etc.

I do have some dyslexia and ADHD and so it makes it hard with imagining when I read books, too.

Any advice on how I can better imagine and meditate when I read, pray, etc. (especially with the Rosary)?

I mentioned to my SD about how I was feeling more drawn to free prayer in Adoration than formal prayers, and they said that it sounds like God is preparing to gift me with meditation. So that makes me wonder, is that also why I find it so hard? I'm just not gifted in it yet? But also, secular people are able to meditate on books they read, and yet that's hard for me.

With the ADHD, I get so focused on the words in the Rosary, just trying to follow it, and it distracts me when I try to visualize the mystery. I just have difficulty imaging more than a frame of a picture, like a moving movie, how they feel, what they may say, etc. I would like to be able to pray the Rosary well and really love it.


God bless you.
[/quote]


Pax Domine bretheren, Was wondering if you where talking about charesmatic prayer/simple offering up/conversations with god/prayer in the spirit, this is wonderful too but in the compendium of the chatechism it recommends we say an our father after such prayer...But in that if you would like i believe god has granted me the cure to your dilemma with the holy rosary, as a starting point simply read before each decade the mystery and not only the verse but from heading to heading that contains the verse,and overtime eventually i believe you will know the mysteries by heart and it will become more and more natural to ponder on the mysteries while reciting the hail mary's, and eventually venture into reading the gospels multiple times and hopefully you will be able to discern bits and pieces in the other gospels that are part of each mystery like the wise men and shepards at jesus birth, i have been struggling with the enemy attacking me saying i'm not getting enough in of the mysteries while meditating on them, i think i need to start reading the mysteries again before each decade to,at least if i do that he can't say that. But in that just start with the reading of the mysteries from heading to heading containing the mystery before doing each decade,the holy mother will do the rest i believe. And scientificaly we have buses in our brains that get engraved deeper by electrons the more we do something and it becomes engrained so to speak. Hopefully this helps you. It will take effort though, and the rosary takes a little longer,but trust in god and i could wager something good will happen if you persist, this is the formula i have used for teaching the rosary to other peoples

God bless you all.

[i<3LSOP]

I like to go for a walk when I say my Rosary. Most of the time though I'm to tired to go for a walk so I try to say it somewhere quiet. Something that helps is to put a holy card in front of you so that when your mind starts wandering you can look at that and think about the picture or prayer!