7 Steps to Praying the Rosary (Every Day!)

I've been talking over on Instagram about praying the rosary and thought I'd share over here as well - blogs are forever, after all, and Instagram stories are only for 24 hours!

Let me preface this whole post by saying the following:

I'm 31 years old.

I only started praying a daily rosary last year.

So... Am I a lifelong devotee? Or an expert of any sort?

Nope.

But... Am I someone who overcame laziness and reluctance to find value in a centuries-old devotion?

Yes!

If you've ever felt even the slightest nudge to start praying the rosary more often (or at all!), Lent is the perfect time to start - the 40 days (not including Sundays) are the perfect amount of time to instill a new habit, and at the very least, you will have managed to memorize all the mysteries and prayers by Easter!

So how can you pray it? Let me tell you what helped me!

1. Your prayers don't have to be perfect. You may not be able to sit and finish your rosary in 17-20 beautiful, silent, gloriously prayerful minutes. Pray a decade while you're brushing your teeth! Pray a few decades on your way to the grocery store! Pray while you're sweeping, while you're washing dishes, while you're folding laundry... Just pray!

2. Even if your mind wanders, even if you're interrupted, even if you lose track of which prayer you're on, praying an imperfect rosary is better than not praying at all!

3. It's a real, tangible accomplishment. When you've finished your rosary, even if everything else you did that day seems to have ended up undone immediately, your rosary cannot be undone!

4. Being able to offer your prayers for a specific intention will make you more eager to pray, and more eager to pray immediately for that intention! Focusing your prayers will help remind you of the importance of those prayers.

5. The more you pray, the more you'll want to pray - praying a daily rosary has led to more prayer throughout the rest of my day, a desire for more spiritual reading, and serves as a good example to my children when they hear me praying it throughout the day (and when we pray it as a family).

6. You don't have to have the whole thing memorized right away! Grab a couple booklets from your parish (I guarantee you can find a bunch in your lobby) or look up the mysteries & prayers online - you'll find that by Easter you know them without needing to look.

7. You don't even need to have an actual rosary in your hands!!! In the past I've been hesitant to pray the rosary because I've only got one hand free, the baby keeps grabbing the beads, I'm driving... Use your fingers or count in your head, and don't worry if you accidentally end up praying 11, 12, 15 Hail Marys!



What do you think? If you don't already pray the rosary daily, will you give it a try for Lent? I've found it has really changed my prayer life, and has made me a far more patient and charitable person. I've got a long way to go, that's for sure, but this devotion has helped me so much! And if you're thinking of trying to make this devotion happen with your kids as well, here are 7 more tips!

Linking up with Kelly for the first time in ages!