[RnMomof7]

Except that, if you were intellectually honest, you would admit that that is exactly NOT how the rosary is taught (or, at least, was taught, some 45 years ago, when I was taught by Catholic nuns to THOUGHTFULLY pray the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers while SIMULTANEOUSLY meditation on the Mysteries -- a tall order for a child of six!).

You are correct..one can not "meditate " on Christ while one mouths the words of a prayer to his mother..it is part of the self deception...

[MarthaB]

>>one can not "meditate " on Christ while one mouths the words of a prayer...

People listen to music and carry on a conversation, they watch TV while they do bookkeeping, drive and talk on a cell phone (sometimes not a good idea)... and sometimes we listen to another person while keeping another train of thought going somewhere in our brain, like, "yes, I know what you are saying, but I hope you'll stop soon because I'm deadline.... or, yes your right, but as soon as you stop talking I have to explain this other part." I think people often use two parts of their brain at the same time, and forcing that busy distractable part of the brain to focus on a repetitive prayer like the rosary can actually keep down distractions that would otherwise interfere with meditating on the events in Scripture that constitute the "mysteries" of the rosary. I'm truly sorry if it was taught in a way that was not helpful as I think BenR2 mentioned, but I don't think it is impossible to pray in this way. One of the nice things about the Catholic Church is that there are many different ways of prayer that are tuaght and permitted, so if a person doesn't feel comfortable with the rosary, there truly are other ways to pray. Not all Catholics pray the rosary, and some do only infrequently; it's not required, but many do find it helpful, and I certainly don't find it impossible.