Praying the Rosary
[Jesus said,] “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7
It’s standard fare for fundamentalist Christians to point to these words of Jesus and condemn Catholics for praying the Rosary. They hear us praying decade upon decade of Hail Marys and cry out indignantly that Jesus explicitly forbids such repetitious prayers. Rosary-praying Catholics recoil at this accusation. They know deep down that this is a false charge, that they aren’t doing what Jesus forbade. But they don’t quite know why or how to reply to such charges.
Those who pray the Rosary repeat its prayers, over and over, not because they think God is more likely to answer their prayers that way. Rather, we pray the Rosary with its repeated prayers for our own sake, not God’s. We pray repetitiously because to do so has an impact on us, not God. We pray the same prayers, over and over, because it does us good to do so.
Mitch Finley
Originally published June 19, 2014
