Sandy, vain and vanity are not the same words, they have different meanings, vain means empty , useless as in "he tried in vain to do something".
In the case of vain repetitions the greek is translated
1) to stammer 2) to repeat the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, prate. Some suppose the word derived from Battus, a king of Cyrene, who is said to have stuttered; others from Battus, an author of tedious and wordy poems.
The pagans often used mantras much like people use in yoga or other hindi practice.
Things like the rosary qualify as vain repetition. Catholics admit they are not really consecrating on the prayers, but are meditating on the "mysteries." The words are simply repetitive from memory if that is true.
** not really consecrating**
I don’t think any of us can consecrate anything. That is the job of the priest.
I think you probably mean concentrating.
And, no, the prayer of the Rosary is not in vain. You have no idea of the benefits of saying the Rosary. For instance, have you ever heard the story about keeping the Muslims away by saying the Rosary? I will post the links in the next post to you.
Please do not try to put words into the mouths of Catholics and assume what we believe according to Catholic tradition.
Lepanto, 1571: The Battle That Saved Europe
Celebrating the Battle of Lepanto
Clash of civilizations: Battle of Lepanto revisited
Lepanto, Bertone e Battesimo, Oh My!
Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval (A Mini-Lepanto in the Philippines)
Swiss Guards at the Battle of Lepanto, 7 October 1571
LEPANTO, 7 OCTOBER 1571: The Defense of Europe
On This Day In History, The Battle of Lepanto
Call to Prayer 12:00 EST 17 November: This Lepanto Moment [Read only]
You're merely speculating with no data, and in point of fact you're wrong. (I hope you really mean "concentrating" and not "consecrating".)
If you say the Rosary in the Bavarian manner (as I was taught to do years ago), the Mystery goes into the pause in the Hail Mary, and you say it aloud so that it changes the meaning and is part of the recitation. So the Hail Mary changes with every decade.
Meditating on the mysteries... more like waiting for the time to pass.
When I was a RCC altar boy, I’d often have to “serve” during special prayer meetings (usually noveena’s). Other than a few introductory comments by the priest, EVERY prayer was a canned prayer, and often we prayed the rosary. The meeting seemed more like a race to see who could mumble the words fastest, and nobody beat the blue-haired old widows wearing way too much perfume. To this day I can walk into a RCC mass and whip off the prayers with no thought whatsoever. AND IT’S BEEN OVER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS since I was in the RCC