Any non-Catholics who pray the rosary, or Catholics who can give me some answers?

[Pandypuff]

Some background: I'm a Christian. I'd say a devout Christian. I was brought up C of E but don't relate to this church so much any more for various reasons. There are a lot of things that they have started to do that I feel isn't quite right.

I work abroad a lot these days, so my family and I tend to find the church that feels 'right' when I arrive somewhere new. (Sometimes takes a very long time to find the right church! And sometimes none of them feel 'right'.)

At the moment I think I don't feel entirely comfortable commiting to any church denomination entirely, but I am exploring again and strengthening my personal relationship with God. There are elements of different denominations that I feel are wonderful and elements that I feel aren't quite right or don't sit entirely right with my conscious and/or understanding of God. I suppose I am wary of being told what to believe by committing to one church denomination rather than learning what I believe and what I feel is right through prayer and reading the bible. (Although I am also wary of relying on my own understanding which is another complication 😂 maybe I think too much).

I have always been drawn to certain elements of the Catholic Church. At one point I was drawn to all of it, but over time I've learned more and realized that there are a number of things I'm not comfortable with in the Catholic church too. (Struggling to find some biblical background for certain things, mainly.) But I learned 'Hail Mary' as a child and have always found it so comforting, and if I'm honest I always felt a bit miserable and disappointed when I was told by other non-Catholics that this shouldn't be said. I recently learned to pray the rosary by myself out of curiosity and I find it very powerful. I actively look forward to it. I feel it brings me a sense of peace and feeling of clarity and understanding and appreciation that maybe other forms of prayer haven't so much.

However, a part of me has a sense of guilt about it, I think due to the fact that some of the churches I've been to have been quite vocal about praying to Mary being a type of idolatry.

I also don't entirely accept this, though. I have read about the role of the Queen Mother in the Old Testament, the important role she played, her powerful influence on the King and how she would intercede on behalf of people to take their requests to the King. I feel that it makes sense that Mary would be given this same role as mother of Christ. But it worries me that some very important parts like the the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth can't be found in the bible. It seems pretty important yet it's not in the bible. It bothers me.

I'm also a little uncomfortable with the Pope, confession to priests rather than directly to God, and basically the whole idea that we need any kind of middle man (for want of a better word) between ourselves and God.

The wealth of the Catholic church and splendor of their churches and their property doesn't feel quite right to me either, it seems that this isn't something that Jesus would like.

I'm not saying this to criticise the Catholic church, I'm actually hoping someone will come along and explain some of these things to me or give me some kind of satisfying answer. I really feel like I want an answer that will put these issues to rest in my heart.

And I also want to find any other non-Catholics who pray the rosary, or ask whether there is anyone here who would/feels that it's okay/isn't idolatry? Or maybe even Catholics feel that non-Catholics shouldn't do this?

I'm feeling like I'm on a bit of a confusing journey at the moment and would love to hear some thoughts!

Many thanks!

As a Catholic there is no whitewash explanation for the wealth of the Vatican. Nor for the abuse that they covered up for decades and the babies they stole and sold. But you don't need a church or the dogmas of an organisation to believe in God. I'd wonder though what you are really searching for though .

@romdowa

As a Catholic there is no whitewash explanation for the wealth of the Vatican. Nor for the abuse that they covered up for decades and the babies they stole and sold. But you don't need a church or the dogmas of an organisation to believe in God. I'd wonder though what you are really searching for though .

I think you've misunderstood in that I already believe in God and am a very devout Christian, have been for my whole life. It's not a question of whether or not I believe in God.

It's more a question of, is it blasphemous or idolatry to pray the rosary (in the opinion of other non-Catholics) and does the lack of biblical basis for several core Catholic beliefs somehow invalidate other practices like praying the rosary?

@romdowa

As a Catholic there is no whitewash explanation for the wealth of the Vatican. Nor for the abuse that they covered up for decades and the babies they stole and sold. But you don't need a church or the dogmas of an organisation to believe in God. I'd wonder though what you are really searching for though .

I rely very heavily on the bible and take my core life values and beliefs from the bible. I suppose I'm very conservative in that sense. So to not have biblical basis for a lot of things within Catholicism (as far as I can see) troubles me and makes me wonder about whether this means that I should avoid the rosary. I was rwther hoping someone might be able to explain to me their beliefs about praying to Mary and how to overcome the fact that some of this doesn't seem to have a biblical backing.

(again, this isn't meant as a criticism of Catholicism as I'm really hoping someone will come along and put my mind at ease or make me feel encouraged about the rosary because I feel very connected to it.)

I was taught, on a Catholic alpha course a long time ago, that many of the Catholic traditions originate in the practices of the early Christians who met in secret, and the practices were handed down. This could be a possible explanation for you not finding a biblical context for some things. I understand that Mary is not prayed to, but through, as in you ask her to join you in your prayers.
Worry beads, which are similar to the rosary, are/were commonly used in middle Eastern countries. Some people find something tangible helps them focus their mind and prayers- it's obviously very personal if you find it helps you or not.
You question confession: in my limited experience confession can help you examine yourself and your behaviour and look at ways you can put write wrongs and ease any guilt you may be feeling and guide you. I think it depends on the skills of the priest, but it can be a very healing experience.
Prepared for someone more knowledgeable to contradict me but this is how I have understood things.

Thank you! This is exactly the type of answer I was hoping for.

many of the Catholic traditions originate in the practices of the early Christians who met in secret, and the practices were handed down I love this explanation and it makes a lot of sense - I've read about the early Christians and the awful things that happened to them and it makes sense that a lot of their traditions would have been secretive and passed down orally for years. I know that the Jews used to pass down their history and traditions and stories orally and it wasn't all written down immediately, and this doesn't make the Old Testament inauthentic, so this is the same sort of thing. I'll definitely read more about this!

Some people find something tangible helps them focus their mind and prayers I definitely feel that this is true for me. When I pray by myself I sometimes lose focus or skip over my words or lose track of my thoughts or what I'm trying to say. With the rosary I never lose focus - in fact, can focus perfectly.

As for confession, I've not considered it from the healing position before. I've always been taught that it's rather negative or controlling or sort of interfering - standing between ourselves and God. This is a great new way to think about it and really changes things. I suppose it also keeps people from being able to hide from their sins.

Thank you, a lot to think about!

I’m Catholic, but I’m fairly sure that Lutherans also pray the rosary and sometimes(?) have their own version of the prayers - you could look into what they do?

I grew Catholic, had a Catholic education and studied theology. Though its been a 20 years since I did and donr consider myself Catholic anymore.

There's a rabbit hole of information and points of view you can look at.

Alot of what you are talking about is cultural. Culture develops in a way that a book does not.

You also have to look at culture to start to unpick it. How the Church and bible evolved, why certain texts were picked, why certain ones weren't, the evidence supporting that the original texts have been heavily edited, that cultural shifts were made as part of the drive to convert people. Sexism usually features heavily.

Theres alot of history to go through to understand how the Bible came to being but also how the religious traditions developed.

As for the money and the covers ups. There's no excuse. Money gives power, thats my assumption on the massing of wealth. The cover ups are inexcusable. My mum's personal opinion was that her religion was cultural AND religious. She spent alot of time trying to reconcile certain things. Not sure she ever fully did. I know a massive part for my mum, was that her religion helped her feel connected to family members long dead. Her fathers family had a long history of dedication to Mary, not 100% sure why. They were Greek and Greek Christanity isn't something I know alot about. My study there has been limited to the older pagan religions.

Mum died 3.5 months ago. I would say at the time her her death she considered herself Catholic by her culture, she believed in many things that were in the bible. I don't think she believed in the church anymore.

Oh also mums body came home the night before her funeral and a priest attended and did the rosary with us. Everyone of us could review the words without thinking about it.

Again, for mums family it was a way to focus. Everyone one of us said our thoughts were on mum, memories of her etc while we were doing it.

As for confession, I've not considered it from the healing position before. I've always been taught that it's rather negative or controlling or sort of interfering - standing between ourselves and God. This is a great new way to think about it and really changes things. I suppose it also keeps people from being able to hide from their sins.

The priests at our church very much viewed confession as this. There were also our school priests and non ever made us feel they were blocking access. It was more an opportunity to talk.

Dad's not Catholic and was invited to talk to the priests several times and took then up on it, when he was struggling quite certain life events

I have to say, the priests I knew growing up were fantastic. I had a very troubled time as a teen and they provided me with a lot of support. And that support was not based only on religious support. They did see themselves as there to support the community. Not just to tell us the religious point of view and force it on us.

I'm Catholic and pray the Rosary whilst I swim! Do you pray the different mysteries? It's very helpful to meditate on the key scenes from the bible and has helped me work out my faith journey from atheist to reverted Catholic and now deepen my faith.

We don't worship Mary. She intercedes on our behalf with her son. It's like praying to the saints who also intercede for us. I'm not big on saints but I do love the Rosary.

I take what I can by way of female aspects of my faith. Mary was a mother and as the bible says "keeps all of these things in her heart". No one knew her son better. I pray the Rosary as through Mary I can become closer to Jesus.

I love that you can layer intentions into the Rosary although I rarely do this. There's quite a few mental gymnastics to pull off, say prayers, work through mysteries, include intentions, sometimes my attention wanders. But I persist.

I love the Fatima prayer and Salve Regina.

Have you read about the Marian apparitions? I particularly like the fatima appearances. I find them haunting. Particularly the messages passed to us via the children who met Mary. Also, One day I'd like to go to Lourdes.

Confession is a great sacrament. Really sorted me out when I'd got myself in a mess. I can't regret coming back to faith and the healing act of reconciliation was a real blessing.

I recommend Fr mike schmitz on YouTube. He even has a video explaining praying to Mary but he explains so much about the faith. He's hard line evangelical American but I love him.

why Catholics call Mary their mother

in defence of devotion to Mary

Hi OP. I'm not Catholic but am curious about praying the rosary. Not sure how to start though!

Regarding prayer - it's normal in the church circles I'm in to ask others to pray if we need. And l believe in the communion of saints - that believers ( including Mary) who are no longer on earth are still alive and might also pray for us.

It's possible to idolise other people whether currently on earth or not. For example people can sometimes give church leaders too much sway over their lives. So I think the idolatry thing is a different issue.

@ZenNudist

I'm Catholic and pray the Rosary whilst I swim! Do you pray the different mysteries? It's very helpful to meditate on the key scenes from the bible and has helped me work out my faith journey from atheist to reverted Catholic and now deepen my faith.

We don't worship Mary. She intercedes on our behalf with her son. It's like praying to the saints who also intercede for us. I'm not big on saints but I do love the Rosary.

I take what I can by way of female aspects of my faith. Mary was a mother and as the bible says "keeps all of these things in her heart". No one knew her son better. I pray the Rosary as through Mary I can become closer to Jesus.

I love that you can layer intentions into the Rosary although I rarely do this. There's quite a few mental gymnastics to pull off, say prayers, work through mysteries, include intentions, sometimes my attention wanders. But I persist.

I love the Fatima prayer and Salve Regina.

Have you read about the Marian apparitions? I particularly like the fatima appearances. I find them haunting. Particularly the messages passed to us via the children who met Mary. Also, One day I'd like to go to Lourdes.

Confession is a great sacrament. Really sorted me out when I'd got myself in a mess. I can't regret coming back to faith and the healing act of reconciliation was a real blessing.

I recommend Fr mike schmitz on YouTube. He even has a video explaining praying to Mary but he explains so much about the faith. He's hard line evangelical American but I love him.

why Catholics call Mary their mother

in defence of devotion to Mary

I was going to say this also.

The rosary isn’t about worshiping Mary at all. You’re supposed to meditate on the mysteries as you pray. I try to imagine each one and what happened in each decade. I found a lady on YouTube actually who reads the writings of the mystic Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, I’ll see if I can find the channel for you. I like them because she tells the stories as a witness of what actually happened, I’m not sure if she had visions or if they were inner visions but I’m just fascinated with her and it helps me meditate better as I pray.

Also, I’ve been to Medugorje which isn’t officially declared a Marian shrine yet, but the visionaries there always reiterate that Mary is pointing to her son and her mission is always to bring us closer to him.

Hi Pandypuff,
I completely get you. Reconciling what we're told to believe by the church, against our own values for right, doesn't always add up...

My advice would be to go straight to the Bible, and try to find the answers there. God wrote it for us for very good reason, and it is an exceptional book. At the same time, pray to God and ask him to help you find truthful answers, or someone who can help you find the answers from the Bible.

Lastly, you should ask yourself: are you truly looking for God? Or are you looking for something that makes you feel good?

YouTube channels about Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich are Virgo Potens and Truth of the Spirit, both are excellent I think.

‘ I'm also a little uncomfortable with the Pope, confession to priests rather than directly to God, and basically the whole idea that we need any kind of middle man (for want of a better word) between ourselves and God.’

Regarding this, the priests represent the physical presence of Jesus in the confessional. Hope I’m explaining this properly. I try to imagine it’s Jesus I’m speaking to in there rather than Fr John. I try to pray before for the priest beforehand that I go to the right one for me.

Another person you could look into is St. Pio (Padre Pio). He was a real advocate for confession and spent hours in confession. He had the stigmata. I read a book about some of the miracles he performed last year and was so blown away by one story of an Irishman who travelled to Italy to see him with his wife. People would wait for hours to have him hear their confession. They were waiting for their turn and all of a sudden St Pio came out of the confessional but it wasn’t his face, it was transformed completely into a heavenly face of they assume Jesus. This story blew me away. If you can get the book I’d highly recommend it if you’d like to know more about confession. Colm Keane was the author.

Ok I’ll stop talking now 🙈 hope that helps.

I am Catholic and my understanding is that God is love. Mary is the mother of Jesus, therefore the mother of God. Do you imagine God would be upset with you for praying the rosary?

Follow your heart... Jesus gave his mother to us to bring us closer to Him. I think when you find comfort praying Hail Mary and the rosary you should trust the feeling and go with it. God knows your heart and loves you as He does us all. I wouldn't be worried so much. Follow your heart and trust in Him.

Thank you so much for all the replies! They are so helpful! To answer a few questions:

Lastly, you should ask yourself: are you truly looking for God? Or are you looking for something that makes you feel good?

I am 100% looking for God. I have been a Christian my whole life and am always seeking God. As I mentioned in my OP, I travel a lot for work and so am unable to commit fully to a certain church (I do attend church but will attend different ones). Therefore I am receiving a lot of different information from a lot of different churches in a lot of different communities around the world. This is a wonderful and eye opening experience but as you can imagine it is also a little confusing, with many different beliefs from big to small. I am trying to find my own way in light of this - ensuring that I am not too influenced too often by the opinions of others but also learning and understanding about different practices that might help me on my own search for God.

I'm Catholic and pray the Rosary whilst I swim! Do you pray the different mysteries? It's very helpful to meditate on the key scenes from the bible

I love this because I also pray the Rosary while I cycle if I take up swimming I'll copy your idea and do it here too! I do pray the different mysteries, and I love it. I feel that by doing so I feel I have had realisations and understanding and felt a closeness to Jesus that I wouldn't have had without the rosary. I think it's absolutely wonderful.

We don't worship Mary. She intercedes on our behalf with her son.

Yes, I understand this, and on the one hand to me, this feels very right to me. (Especially since becoming a mother, I feel I have an appreciation for Mary, and for her relationship with Jesus, that I didn't have beforehand.) I have read about this and it seems that it was a part of the culture for the Queen Mother to have a great deal of influence in her son's kingdom, and that she would be listened to by the king, and intercede very often on the behalf of others.

However, I also see fairly often people countering this with several passages from the bible. The verses most often used to say that Mary CAN'T intercede for us are:

"There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5)

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He [Jesus] always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25)

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14)

"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12)

And the fact that Jesus didn't mention His mother at all when teaching us how to pray to God. I just feel concerned because I can see a lot of biblical reasons to not ask Mary to intercede for us, and far fewer biblical reasons to back up the fact that we CAN ask her to intercede for us. I have found that a lot of (especially American evangelical) Christians are very opposed to this and have likened it to necromancy, idolatry, etc, which makes me feel very concerned.

And yet, at the same time, I can't help but feel that asking Mary to intercede for us makes sense and feels 'right'. (But again, I'm not sure if I'm influenced by my own experience as a mother and the extra emotions that this makes me feel towards Mary!) I suppose my feelings are summed up in the post by @madrenetterhere:

*I am Catholic and my understanding is that God is love. Mary is the mother of Jesus, therefore the mother of God. Do you imagine God would be upset with you for praying the rosary?

Follow your heart... Jesus gave his mother to us to bring us closer to Him. I think when you find comfort praying Hail Mary and the rosary you should trust the feeling and go with it. God knows your heart and loves you as He does us all. I wouldn't be worried so much. Follow your heart and trust in Him.*

If I follow my heart, my heart tells me so many things about the relationship, understanding and love between a mother and her child and it all points to asking Mary to intercede for us as being right and a beautiful way to be closer to Jesus, as this post says.

"It's possible to idolise other people whether currently on earth or not. For example people can sometimes give church leaders too much sway over their lives. So I think the idolatry thing is a different issue.*

This is interesting and definitely true! I have a close friend who views her pastor as something of a god in that she takes his word as absolute truth. I've always wondered about this, and perhaps I am also being too influenced by the opinions of other people in regards to this issue.

Thank you @goldenomber, for your post! Actually after reading this I researched different forms of praying the rosary and I found the Lutheran and Orthodox churches pray the rosary by repeating "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" in place of the "Hail Mary". They pray "Hail Mary" too, but less, and they also only pray the first part: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus". They leave out the second part asking for prayers, which I feel overcomes my issue to some extent, and was very interesting to learn about.

Thank you @turningpurple for your comments. It was really interesting and it's also nice to read about positive experiences with priests and confession.

And thank you @ZenNudist for showing me Father Mike Schmitz ! I'll check him out today!

As for the Marion apparitions, I have read about them and too feel very moved by them, especially Fatima which is very powerful. This is another thing which makes me so hesitant to dismiss the intercession of Mary.

My advice would be to go straight to the Bible, and try to find the answers there. God wrote it for us for very good reason, and it is an exceptional book. At the same time, pray to God and ask him to help you find truthful answers, or someone who can help you find the answers from the Bible.

Thank you for this! I use the bible first and foremost as my authority on things, and I suppose is why I'm having a bit of a struggle. I'm finding it tough to find a church that stands by the teachings in the bible while at the same time standing by Jesus' teachings on loves on loving one another, which is why I'm on this journey. I also feel that when I rely purely on the bible for advice on whether we should ask Mary to intercede for us, the bible seems to show that it's unnecessary. But there's a part of me that is unable to quite let this go, and also I am reluctant to dismiss something which was practiced by so many amazing people - when I think about the saints and the early Christians I am hesitant to dismiss something that was a part of their lives and faith. I am still praying about this but this seems to be adding to/lengthening my journey of discovery rather than clearing up any questions. But this is a nice journey which I am grateful for and I am also very grateful for everyone who has helped me by commenting on this thread! I will look into, consider and try everything mentioned! Thank you very much everyone! And if anyone has any other comments or thoughts or advice or experiences or anything to share then please do! I'd love to hear everything!

@TheBigPeach

YouTube channels about Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich are Virgo Potens and Truth of the Spirit, both are excellent I think.

I'm so sorry I forgot to reply to this comment but did read and appreciate it - thank you! I'll look into this and Padre Pio! It sounds so interesting and lovely. Off to do some research now

@Pandypuff
We're on a roll today!

But there's a part of me that is unable to quite let this go, and also I am reluctant to dismiss something which was practiced by so many amazing people - when I think about the saints and the early Christians I am hesitant to dismiss something that was a part of their lives and faith.
Thank you for your honesty, and I'm so glad you use the Bible first and foremost.

I completely understand how difficult it must be to let go of life-long traditions that are dear to you.

I've studied the Bible for several decades now, and though I'm still learning new and beautiful things from it every day, I have to admit that I've never come across any scripture that mentions using a rosary, or similar. But I've done a little research for your specific questions, and I'm laying out relevant scriptures for you here:

Matthew 6:7,8: "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him."

You don't need any physical object to pray to God:
"But when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:6

You don't need Mary to moderate your prayers. The Bible shows that only Jesus should be our intermediary:
"Jesus said to him: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6

Lastly, and just as importantly, use God's name:
"“You must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified." Matthew 6:9

I truly hope these passages are helpful to you - and I wish you all the best on your lovely journey. Please feel free to private-message me if you have any other questions. I don't know all the answers, but I will do my best to help you. You're not alone on your journey...

I am muslim and we do the rosary too. Like you I am not comfortable with the richness of the church, confessing to the priest, idolatry by praying to Mary /Jesus/the various saint.
Hence choosing islam.

[quote JulieYS]**@Pandypuff
We're on a roll today!

But there's a part of me that is unable to quite let this go, and also I am reluctant to dismiss something which was practiced by so many amazing people - when I think about the saints and the early Christians I am hesitant to dismiss something that was a part of their lives and faith.
Thank you for your honesty, and I'm so glad you use the Bible first and foremost.

I completely understand how difficult it must be to let go of life-long traditions that are dear to you.

I've studied the Bible for several decades now, and though I'm still learning new and beautiful things from it every day, I have to admit that I've never come across any scripture that mentions using a rosary, or similar. But I've done a little research for your specific questions, and I'm laying out relevant scriptures for you here:

Matthew 6:7,8: "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. So do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask him."

You don't need any physical object to pray to God:
"But when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:6

You don't need Mary to moderate your prayers. The Bible shows that only Jesus should be our intermediary:
"Jesus said to him: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6

Lastly, and just as importantly, use God's name:
"“You must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified." Matthew 6:9

I truly hope these passages are helpful to you - and I wish you all the best on your lovely journey. Please feel free to private-message me if you have any other questions. I don't know all the answers, but I will do my best to help you. You're not alone on your journey...[/quote]
Thank you so much! I'd love to message you, all of your posts that I have read on this and other threads are so interesting and well-worded and wise! I will send you a message when I've put my kids to bed (not in the UK at the moment so it's bed time just as I've read this)!

You clearly have your own relationship with God, who is not going to mind how you worship your faith, whether that is attending a church building of a particular denomination or at home - or indeed, anywhere else. If you find comfort in the rosary, then carry on. It is nobody's business but your own.

I agree that the Incarnation means we don't need any other intermediaries - God became human so is part of Us and will hear our calls.

However I consider it important that we are receptive to hearing God in turn; and that means anything we can do that helps us to be in the right frame of mind or a correct understanding can be positive. Equally, anything that distracts or clouds us will be a negative.

[As an aside, it's interesting that as pp noted, Jesus (a) tells us not to use the same words over and over (b) gives us a form of words that has been used over and over ever since. It's almost as if it's not quite as straightforward as a literal interpretation might have you think.]

My former vicar wrote a book - originally The Teenage Prayer Experiment but also has other iterations - talking about different forms of praying. I know she included a section using the rosary. You might find it useful