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Dear Alice, I agree completely. I use the Jesus Prayer in the exact same way...before drifting off to sleep, in this way when I stop praying (having fallen asleep...the angels continue it for me...at least that's what I was always taught). My favorite hymn is "Immaculate Mary"...most French-Canadians love this hymn because it is sung for processionals at St. Anne de Beaupr� (Le Petit Cap) and Cap de la Madeleine (the national shrine of Our Lady in Three Rivers). At Cap de la Medeleine, we French-Canadians say this prayer-rule:

Chaplet of Notre Dame du Cap

O Holy Virgin Mary,
our most merciful Mother and powerful Queen,
we Thy children humbly prostrate before Thee,
implore Thy grace and help.

With confidence we come to Thee,
O Queen of the Holy Rosary;
to Thee do we turn our eyes.
Bestow on us, we beg Thee,
this special favor which we ask . . .

Grant us health of body and purity of soul:
increase our faith and love so that
we may know Thy Divine Son
better and serve Him ever faithfully.

O tender and merciful Mother, intercede for those
who are dear to us. Heal the sick,
comfort the dying, and have pity on the
faithful departed. Protect our families;
guard our country; and keep holy Mother
Church safe from all evil.

Our Lady of the Cape, may we love Thee
more and more, so that one day
united with Thee in Heaven,
we may praise Thy Son eternally. Amen.

Say:

10 Our Fathers
10 Hail Marys
10 Glorias

The Web-Site of Our Lady of the Cape is found here...if anyone is interested: http://www.catholictradition.org/ducap.htm (Alice, you'll LOVE it!)

Your brother in her family,
+Fr. Gregory, who asks for your holy prayers!

Dear Father Gregory,
Thank you for you inciteful post comparing the Jesus prayer and the Rosary. At one point I quit saying the Rosary and only focused on the Jesus prayer but I began to feel as if something was missing. So now I am back to using both of them.
I think the Rosary gives your mind more freedom to think and to ponder as the Virgin Mary continually pondered her Son every day of His life...His every word, His every action.
To go deeper into the silence of the Jesus prayer one does have to practice it in a specific place that is quiet. But I have found that when I am faithful to that daily practice then in the course of my busy day the prayer will suddenly come bubbling out of me(interiorly, I mean). And those moments may not last very long but they are like little arrows in the day that pierce through all my garbled thoughts and get me back to the Essential.
Well that is just my 2 cents as I strive to become a being of prayer but often fail.
Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.
Humbly,
Marie

Claire, Same here...I stopped praying the Rosary for many years, but now can't understand how I ever got along withOUT it! I pray it now at least twice a day (yesterday 4 times...even had time to do the Luminous Mysteries). I can simply be more focused with the Rosary, than with the chotki. It might be that I'm not as recollected as I should be...or that I need more help to remain focused, but for me personally, the Rosary works best. I tried for over 20+ years to use only the chotki, but have now found that it is simply not the best prayer for me. What's important is that one find what works best from him/her---and then pray!

May Lent bring us all closer to Him through Our Lady's intercession!

In His great love for us all,
+Fr. Gregory

I've tried the Latin Rosary, I've tried the eastern Rosary and I've continued to pray the Prayer of the Heart. The chotki around my wrist reminds me that Jesus is always with me and that I can always reach out to Him through prayer. I find it easier to pray the Jesus prayer than to pray the Rosary of Our Lady on a daily basis.
Not to say that I always can concentrate when praying the Jesus prayer. All too often my mind wanders to "parts unknown." But in front of the icons my mind refocuses; the prayer allows me to focus on Christ's being the Lord of my life and that I am simply a sinner imploring "The Son of God" to have mercy on me.
Not that this should give the impression that I am advanced in the discipline of praying, I am not! It's a daily struggle. But through God's grace and through our glorious Lady's intercession I am (I hope!) taking small steps toward praying continuously(if I ever get there...we'll see!)
In Christ's perfect love,
Sarai

Father Gregory,

As time has progressed I have fallen from the Rosary, not on purpose, mostly from poor health. However, I had been so devoted to it and had knew the power of the prayers so many times. But since our accident in 2002, I have had a terrible time praying it. I am not able to concentrate, seldom finish. I lost my favorite rosary beads then (the car was totaled), they were just clear plastic but had beautiful pearl red beads (plastic also), like Christ's blood. I also lost my gold cross that I wore all the time. I lived through that accident, the doctors say it was nothing but miraculous, so why did I loose the prayer? I think I am just lazy. I am truly getting frustrated, help!

Pani Rose

Pani Rose

A few days before the beginning of Lent I resolved to say the Rosary on a daily basis. Since then I've been going out to my car in the driveway (one of the few places I can say it undisturbed) several times a day. Since the Rosary can be said inside of 15 minutes, I've been amazed how relatively easy it can be to say at least a couple a day.

Dear Pani Rose,

I know that you live near EWTN, so I assume that you get it on t.v.

They pray the rosary three times a day. I personally think that the Holy Land Rosary with Father Mitch Pacwa is awesome.

It is very easy to pray along with these visual rosaries that also lead you in prayer.

On the other hand, at different times in our lives, we need the diversity of different prayers and/or different ways to pray them.

For many years when I wasn't working the Rosaries of EWTN were my primary Marian devotion and brought me many spiritual blessings.

Then, when that became difficult because of going back into the working world, my parish's Tuesday night supplication services to the Theotokos became a life saver.

Most recently, in addition to that, because sometimes our priest is not able to offer them for weeks on end, I listen to the beautiful angelic female voices of EIKONA's CD of the supplication service in the car commuting. I also listen to their Akathist, and other such CD's. I have disciplined myself to never listen to anything but religious services in the car.

That is now...when that gets dry, I will have to find new ways of keeping my spiritual life alive...

So don't worry, what you are feeling is not uncommon.

Hope this helps!

With love in Christ,
Alice

Dear Pani Rose, +May the LORD bless you! I understand the problem with attention...it is a problem for all of us from time to time. Alice's suggestions are good...I would try those...and try whatever works for you. For me personally, I use the Scriptural Rosary and it is a great help for keeping my focus while praying the Rosary...and sometimes I use little pictures of each Mystery from an old prayerbook from the 1950's. Keep your prayers short and say them as if (as one of the Fathers once said) you are standing in hell-fire and want release. I find that when I'm praying for someone else and their great need---that my attention is always good...so pray for someone in great need. If you need people, you know many on from our 'PRAYER' section here who have very great needs---pray for them. If that doesn't work---then you can always pray for me...as you know, I always need prayer badly. Keep it short and simple and from the heart. Short aspirations are even good: LORD JESUS MERCY!---is a great one...MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, SAVE US WHO HAVE RECOURSE TO YOU!---is also good...or any favorites that you have and know well. Don't become discouraged...that's a tool of the evil one. Just keep up the dialogue with the Lord and His Mother Holy Mother...as I'm sure you do anyway. Lord teach me to pray!---is also good...anything that works. Plus...we'll be praying FOR you too. Know that.

With much love in Him Who calls us,
+Fr. Gregory

Lawrence, I always pray the Rosary when traveling to and from work...it's not a long commute, but I always say the Rosary at least twice...and if I go out to a client's home, then I pray some more...so that by the end of the day, I usually pray all 15 decades...and often more. You idea of using your car as a 'prayer-room' is excellent. We have to do such things in this day and age---always use whatever works. The important thing is that we pray...often...and much and fervently.

In His Holy Name,
+Fr. Gregory, who can always use your holy prayers!

The car has become my cell or hermitage also. I venerate my icon upon entering just as I did when I lived in a hermitage and it is truly a sacred space. We have a radio station called Radio Maria that I listen to almost all the time. Throughout the day they pray the rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the LOTH and they have a variety of different programs that are so informative. Like Alice, I no longer listen to anything but religious programs or music. In doing that, you are constantly feeding your soul with the necessary armor to go out and battle the world. The greatest armor....the armor of prayer.
Humbly in Mary,
Chaire

Dear Friends,

A great example of continuous prayer in this way is St Pio of Pietrelcina!

I understand that he prayed 20, 30 or even 40 15- decade rosaries each day . . .

His rosary is fragrant with heavenly fragrance as a result.

Padre Pio prayer groups try to emulate the unceasing prayer of his holy saint of God in their lives.

One may have a "tenner" or decade rosary on one's person at all times - one never knows when one can pray or when one will NEED to pray.

There are ring rosaries and wrist rosaries to serve as prayer reminders.

One can even use a small abacus on one's desk.

People in the Middle Ages would have "bead bags" slung over their shoulders and finger their beads inside them.

As they travelled, they would begin to measure distances between villages and towns in terms of the number of rosaries they could pray before they got from "Point A" to "Point B."

Thus, the phrase, "this town is seven rosaries away from here."

The large Our Father beads were called the "gaudies" because they "stuck out" from the others - a term we still use today.

("Bead" is, of course, the old English word for "prayer.")

Rosaries were also called "Pater Nosters" since 150 Our Father's were prayed on them as well.

The guild of "Pater Nosterers" made rosaries to sell by great churches and "Paternoster Row" near the Cathedral of St Paul in London is still there, paying mute tribute to the trade that used to have its headquarters there.

People whispered their "Pater Nosters" so often that the sound they made soon translated into the familiar "pitter patter" (from "Pater").

An Italian Cardinal writing from London in the 14th century once said, "All the English attend Mass daily and then they say their "Paters" on long strands of beads. . ."

Alex

Blessed Alan de la Roche said: "Let everyone who loves you, oh most holy Mary, listen to this and drink it:

Whenever I say
Hail Mary
The court of heaven rejoices
And the earth
Is lost in wonderment.
And I despise the world
And my heart is brim-full
Of the love of God
When I say
Hail Mary;
All my fears
Wilt and die
And my passions are quelled
If I say
Hail Mary;
Devotion grows
Within me
And sorrow for sin
Awakens
When I say
Hail Mary.
Hope is made strong
In my breast
And the dew of consolation
Falls on my soul
More and more-
Because I say
Hail Mary.
And my spirit
Rejoices
And sorrow fades away
When I say
Hail Mary . . . ."


Consecrated to her service,
+Fr. Gregory

Bless, Father Gregory,

Have you ever come across a picture of Blessed Alan anywhere?

I would happily pay for such!

May all the world be as Orthodox as you, Father!

Alex

Dear Alex, +May the LORD bless you always! This is the only one I've ever seen:

http://www.op.org/international/english/History/rosary.htm Enjoy!

Queens of the Most Holy Rosary...pray unto God for us!

In His great love for us,
+Fr. Gregory

Bless, Father Gregory,

Ah, will your wonders never cease? I hope not - for all our sakes!!

As you know, Blessed Alan was never beatified and this was more of an "honorific" title.

But he was venerated locally and especially by St Louis de Montfort - who always insisted on his public liturgical veneration and this because of Alan's great devotion to the Rosary.

Alex