Dave Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 (edited) As I'm sure most of us know, non-Catholics will often accuse Catholics of vain repetition in regard to prayers like the rosary. However, I've noticed that lots of times, if a non-Catholic gets up to lead a group in prayer, he or she will repeat words like "God" or "Father" a lot, almost like a fill word such as "uh" or "like." For example, they might say, "God, we just thank You for this day, God, and we ask your blessing on us, God, and God, we just ask you to help us, God, . . . " Granted, I don't doubt the sincerity of those who do like that; however, I think it's funny that they say we shouldn't repeat words or prayers and yet there they are doing the same thing. Edited January 30, 2004 by Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatcatholic Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 hehe, i have noticed that as well. however, every argument we use in defense of our repititous prayer could be applied by the protestant in defense of their form of prayer as well. so, this becomes something interesting to note, moreso than anything to debate over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God Conquers Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 OH MAN!!!! One guy I know (he's amesome but this bit annoys me) when he prays he says LORD after every second word. Dear lord, we thank you lord, for the gifts lord that you give us lord, today lord, and lord, we ask lord that you, oh lord, deliver us lord... You get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.SIGGA Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Dave I don't think I follow your spontaneous prayer example, but a protestants do the exact same thing. In praise and worship catholics, and protestants in particular praise God with the same songs over and over again. This girl I really liked who was Non-denom. who lead a shared-praise night asked me about the Hail Mary, Glory, the Mass, etc. and asked how we could pray like that so repetatively sometimes, and I asked her why she praises God by singing Shout to the Lord, Speechless, Behold He Comes, This is the Air I Breathe, and all the other praise/worship songs every week. True they are not the rosary or anything particularly Catholic, but they are a form of repetative prayer, worship, and/or praise. This left her stumped and she understood my point. Any repetative prayer can be sinful if prayed meaninglessly and hypocritically, and that goes for Protestants too. Hypocrisy is the sin, not the prayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God Conquers Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 And, I think, being mindless about your prayer. Just as praying the Rosary without "thinking" the prayers or meditating, mindless P&W is a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I personally think the rosary is pretty cool. More than repeating names for God through prayer, it bothers me when people use just. Just do __________ and just__________and just__________. The word just means that it is the only thing you want the individual to do. So, I guess they only mean one of those justs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willguy Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 OH MAN!!!! One guy I know (he's amesome but this bit annoys me) when he prays he says LORD after every second word. I know someone like that too. One thing I heard about repetition and liturgy in worship that I use quite a bit: People often accuse Catholic worship of being impersonal or dry because it is so repetative (saying the same things at Mass, the rosary, etc). When an actor in a play is performing does he make up his own lines? No. He does exactly what the script and director says. He memorizes his lines inside and out. He knows where he supposed to be at every second of the play. Why? Because once the lines and movements become second-nature, then he can put his heart into what he is doing. People learning their lines usually have very little emotion, very little meaning. They are just learning, reading, trying to keep up. Once they know the lines, then the play gets good. It is the same way with liturgical worship. Once you know the Mass, know the words and moves, then you can participate. Then you can put your heart in it. People usually don't agree with me after I use this analogy, but they have trouble coming up with anything other than "Well, I don't like it [liturgical worship]" as an answer :sweat: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I like liturgical worship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I used to think Catholic worship would be dry and impersonal, but three things happened that changed my mind: 1) I started researching worship, and couldn't get away from the fact that a prescribed liturgical form has long been part of worship, and will be part of worship in heaven; 2) I started reading about the history of the Catholic Mass and learning about the meaning behind the liturgy; 3) I began attending mass semi-regularly and then regularly and found it to be far from boring. To follow Willguy's analogy, I'm still in the process of learning the lines, and look forward to having them be second nature to me. I love it! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 (edited) I can't help but laugh when a Protestant uses the vain repition excuse. The thing I always do to get them is ask how many times in a certain time frame is reptition. They can never answer this. Saying the Lords Prayer once a week is repetion, :rolling: By their logic any prayer said more than a couple times is repition. Edited January 30, 2004 by RJS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 (edited) I personally think the rosary is pretty cool. More than repeating names for God through prayer, it bothers me when people use just. Just do __________ and just__________and just__________. The word just means that it is the only thing you want the individual to do. So, I guess they only mean one of those justs. It isn't repetition per se, that is forbidden, though. It is the vain repetition (some translations say multiplication) of words. Speaking to the Lord in vain, or out of vanity. The rosary, while repetitious, is only repeating Scripture, after all. Most of the rosary prayers and meditations are found in the Bible. The rosary is repetitious, but it is never vain. It is a very humble, and humbling form of prayer. And I just have to agree about the "just." That always just bugs me when people keep telling God to just do this and just do that...like His miracles are so insignificant, just do the Dew...etc... That kind of casual convo with God seems vain to me, because it seems lacking in humility. It seems as though we are standing behind a McDonald's counter, and God is taking our order... But I also understand that, if that's all you know; if that's the way you've been taught to "pray," then God surely hears these prayers too. I just wish they'd give liturgical worship and true ritual a fair shake. Pax Christi. <>< Edited January 31, 2004 by Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellenita Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 In some churches chorus' are sung over and over again! The words spoken in the Mass are beautiful and it's incredible to think that you are worshipping in a form that has been spoken by generations past and millions of people from all over the world. It's a reminder of the vastness and timeless nature of God and yet at the same time so intensely personal..... I always thought 'vain repetition' was more about the reflection and intention of your heart when you pray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 I always thought 'vain repetition' was more about the reflection and intention of your heart when you pray. Agreed. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Does a wife ever tire of her husband telling her "I love you"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted January 31, 2004 Author Share Posted January 31, 2004 Does a wife ever tire of her husband telling her "I love you"? Exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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