Praying The Loth Or The Rosary ... And Study

[AugustineA]

Lately I've been praying the liturgy of the hours as much as possible, always the evening prayer, often the morning prayer, and sometimes the afternoon. It's beautiful. My prayer book is probably one of my most prized possessions now.

 

However. I don't know if that's a good thing. Yes, daily prayers include the psalms and bits of the epistles, but I have barely touched my Bible. My study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is now moving at a snail's pace, and I haven't prayed the rosary in ages. 

 

Do you guys try to spread out your devotions? 

 

 

[NotreDame]

First the obligatory "this would be a question better directed to a spiritual director"....  With that out of the way... 

 

The ignatian approach to mental prayer (and something mentioned by St Francis De Sales as well) is if you have a plan for your prayer and you find consolation in the middle of it, then don't feel pressured to move on just because there's more left to your "plan."  Stay where you find fruits.  In the same way, if you are finding consolation in the LOTH, but as a result not finding time for the rosary, maybe that's not a bad thing. 

 

All that being said, another Ignatian guideline is to not change any plans made in consolation when you are in desolation.  So if you planned to do something like say a rosary, then one day you are feeling down, don't replace it with something else just because you are having a bad day.  Instead, follow through on the plan you made. 

 

Make sense?

 

My biggest problem is keeping a schedule and making the time.  I don't worry as much about what kind of prayer I'm doing as long as I make the time and make it quality prayer.

[AnneLine]

AugustineA, if you add the Office of Readings into the mix, you'll find you will read a large amount of the Bible (OT and NT) and some excellent commentaries over the course of the year....

[Luigi]

I think a lot of people suffer from I-Don't-Think-I'm-Doing-This-Right Syndrome when it comes to prayer. 

 

There is no required mix such as 1 Morning Offering, two parts LOTH, minimum of one rosary, and end-of-the-day Act of Contrition, with some being required fields and others optional.

  

Many ways to pray have developed over two millennia in the Catholic Church. All of them are good. (Side note: Neither Mary, Jesus, nor any of the apostles ever prayed the rosary or the LOTH.)

 

If you're finding spiritual benefit in the LOTH, assume that God led you to it. You're already familiar with the other kinds of prayer - maybe He figures it's time to give you something new and interesting. 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2014 by Luigi

[AugustineA]

First the obligatory "this would be a question better directed to a spiritual director"....  With that out of the way... 

 

The ignatian approach to mental prayer (and something mentioned by St Francis De Sales as well) is if you have a plan for your prayer and you find consolation in the middle of it, then don't feel pressured to move on just because there's more left to your "plan."  Stay where you find fruits.  In the same way, if you are finding consolation in the LOTH, but as a result not finding time for the rosary, maybe that's not a bad thing. 

 

All that being said, another Ignatian guideline is to not change any plans made in consolation when you are in desolation.  So if you planned to do something like say a rosary, then one day you are feeling down, don't replace it with something else just because you are having a bad day.  Instead, follow through on the plan you made. 

 

Make sense?

 

My biggest problem is keeping a schedule and making the time.  I don't worry as much about what kind of prayer I'm doing as long as I make the time and make it quality prayer.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. Quality prayer is intensive too. It's easy for me and I assume others as well to get lost in the words and not the prayer. Thanks. 

 

AugustineA, if you add the Office of Readings into the mix, you'll find you will read a large amount of the Bible (OT and NT) and some excellent commentaries over the course of the year....

 

Aha.. if I could afford the three volume (I think) set, that would be nice. I'm currently using the book, Christian Prayer. Come to think of it, there is an index of Biblical readings, and I have a Bible. So it's possible without the three volume set. 

 

I think a lot of people suffer from I-Don't-Think-I'm-Doing-This-Right Syndrome when it comes to prayer. 

 

There is no required mix such as 1 Morning Offering, two parts LOTH, minimum of one rosary, and end-of-the-day Act of Contrition, with some being required fields and others optional.

  

Many ways to pray have developed over two millennia in the Catholic Church. All of them are good. (Side note: Neither Mary, Jesus, nor any of the apostles ever prayed the rosary or the LOTH.)

 

If you're finding spiritual benefit in the LOTH, assume that God led you to it. You're already familiar with the other kinds of prayer - maybe He figures it's time to give you something new and interesting. 

 

Good points. I'll continue with the LOTH.

 

Just a footnote, I prayed the rosary today and it was soothing, and I loved it. 

[reminiscere]

In all of the (approved, private) Marian revelations, Our Lady always asked us to pray the Rosary. At least at Fatima she asked for the daily recitation of a "terço" or third, meaning 5 decades.

 

Sr. Lucia told Fr. Fuentes in late 1957:

 

"Look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls."

 

I'm not trying to minimize the importance or efficacy of the Divine Office. But we can't just dismiss the Rosary either. 

[PadrePioOfPietrelcino]

A key I've found when developing my prayer life is that there are different kinds of prayer, different reasons to pray, and that I must build myself up at a slower pace, unless I happen to get dome kind of Graces to add more. Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer are hinge hours of the day, I encourage everybody to pray these. I find it personally easier to have smaller prayer chunks through out the day than trying to do it all at once. I know some guys that just sit down and pray for a couple hours and that's that...it doesn't work for me. The Rosary is important and I found a spot in my daily routine. Scripture reading and lectio Divina happen at other times. I get up in the morning and as a school we do Office of Readings, Lectio Divina, followed by morning prayer. At noonish we have daily mass and I'll pray a rosary in preparation, after Lunch I do 15 minutes of spiritual reading, and then we have Evening prayer before dinner and I pray Night Prayer before bed.

 

I think it is key to make yourself a schedule of what you will do when. MOST of us can find a 5-10 minute blocks of time throughout the day so find them, and stick something in them regularly and consistently help the graces we are getting. Don't be discouraged and good job thinking about praying, the fact that you are praying at all is going to put you down a good path.

[oremus1]

In all of the (approved, private) Marian revelations, Our Lady always asked us to pray the Rosary. At least at Fatima she asked for the daily recitation of a "terço" or third, meaning 5 decades.

 

Sr. Lucia told Fr. Fuentes in late 1957:

 

"Look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves. We will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls."

 

I'm not trying to minimize the importance or efficacy of the Divine Office. But we can't just dismiss the Rosary either. 

 

 

The Rosary is a private devotion, the LOTH is the prayer of the church

[Luigi]

The Rosary is a private devotion, the LOTH is the prayer of the church

As I understand it, though, the rosary became kind of the common person's substitute for the LOTH. LOTH requires that the pray-ers be literate, own the necessary books, and have the time to pray it. Even in Benedictine-Cistercian-Trappist monasteries, not all the monks prayed all the hours; it was the choir monks who prayed all the hours, while the cooperator brothers (that might not be the right name) prayed only the major hours.

 

The rosary, on the other hand, is composed of a few simple prayers that even illiterate Catholics know or could learn. And working people - fathers going to work, mothers working in the home, the whole family going out to the fields, whatever - could fit into their schedule.

 

When I say "the rosary became," I'm really saying that the people who spread the spiritual practice of saying the rosary - Dominicans and others - saw it this way.

 

Saying the Angelus at 6 a.m., 12 p.m., and 6 p.m. was also a way to sort of "imitate" the LOTH by spreading prayer throughout the day.

 

 

 

My point is that LOTH is not necessarily "better" than praying the rosary, depending on who you are, your daily schedule, your literacy level, and some other factors.

[AnneLine]

If you (or anyone!) is interested, you can find the remaining Hours (Office of Readings and Midday Prayer) on line at this site:   

 

http://divineoffice.org/

 

Even if you don't have time/inclination to do the Office of Readings, you may want to just do the readings each day and pray over them.

 

They have a podcast version that 'speaks' and 'chants' the hours as well.  Some people love it and others hate it... because the people who do it really enjoy being very dramatic readers.  (It drives me up the wall, but I know people that say it has made the hours come alive for them.... different strokes....)  

 

IF you use it, be aware that they also use the 'updated' collect/prayers since the liturgy was revised two years ago, and occasionally deviate in similar ways from what is in the book.  AND if you use the one volume book (rather than the 3 or 4 volume full versions) don't be surprised if the readings are a little different -- that is true of the Christian Prayer vs. LOTH anyway.

 

 

Unless you have an obligation to pray the LOTH and/or a Rosary, feel free to pray however will bring you closer to Our Lord and Our Lady.  Praying for you!

 

Sometimes you can find a priest or religious who has an OLD and falling-apart version of the LOTH (they last about 8-10 years, and then they kind of self destruct!) and who is about to replace a volume, sometimes they will give you the old volume.  I've shared my tired ones with people couldn't afford them before.   God is Good... he will provide you with what you need!

[AugustineA]

Thank you Anne Line! I use that website when I've been a slacker and lost my place sometimes lol. Christian Prayer actually has a shortened mid-day prayer that I just saw a few days ago.

 

Thanks to everyone that responded. I went over your answers pretty thoroughly. I've continued praying the major hours and been praying alot more Our Fathers and Hail Marys throughout the day. I've prayed that God bless all of our prayer lives. :] 

[PadrePioOfPietrelcino]

Two other options of things which I have used at times in my prayer life is the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it has morning, evening, and night prayer and is structured the same as the LOTH, I find it beautiful and especially at times in the past when I've been preparing the renewal of my Consecration to Mary, I have done that instead of the LOTH, although this year I might do it in addition to. As well the Eastern Church's devotion known by various names of the Chotki, Eastern Prayer Rope, metanii, komboskini, anyway it is prayer with the "Jesus Prayer"

 

-Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

-Have Mercy on me, a sinner.

 

it is a wonderful meditative prayer, and is prayed 33, 100, 150, 300 ect times depending on the particular rope you have and the practice you learn. Also known as the "prayer of the heart" a 33 prayer rope might take 5-7 minutes.

[AugustineA]

I've heard of the Little Office before. I'm going to read up on it, thanks. 

[TheresaThoma]

I would agree with what NotreDame said. Go with what is fruitful. 

Remember too that it isn't a "race" to get certain things done, such as studying the CCC. Maybe it will take you longer but that is ok.

You can often tuck in the rosary or lexio in small pockets of time. Maybe saying the rosary all at once doesn't work with your schedule but you can find 5 minutes here and there to pray one of the decades. Something else to look at is figure out where you can add prayer into your daily activities. Such as if you have to walk to the bus take your rosary with you and pray it on the way etc.

[AnneLine]

Little Office originally was just the Common of the BVM prayed each day.

 

After Vatican II, it was updated into a one-week psalter formatted along the lines of the revised LOTH to give more variety.

 

I totally agree with what PPop and TT have suggested... do what you can and what you need to do to frame your days so you stay in contact with God.  To quote a Wonderful Lady, "Do whatever He tells you".   Great piece of advice! ;)