Two Somewhat Random Questions...

[andibc]

When you trace the roots of being a saint, you find detachment. Maybe ponder your original post and make a list of the things that it expresses that you are attached to. Likewise, being shy or an introvert usually relates to certain attachments (e.g., comfort zones) as does being an extrovert to other attachments (perhaps being the entertainer in a friend group, or having your "story" heard.) These might be another thing to ponder before Lent begins.

[sr.christinaosf]

I think an answer to both questions might be: "We're all different."

I'm sure there have been both extrovert saints, and introverts.

As far as the rosary is concerned, I'm not sure how much you've delved into it.  It's one thing to just say a bunch of prayers, and another to meditate on scriptural events while reciting them.  

I've heard that Pope John Paul II even would take different events from scripture to use for meditation during the rosary.  I've kind of adopted that practice, especially in the Easter season.

This is not to say that you HAVE to pray the rosary, but maybe don't give up on it too quickly, either.

[jubilatedeo]

Becoming a Saint is being who Christ created us to be. So if you are an introvert then Christ desires for you to become a Saint through being an introvert. If you are an extrovert then Christ desires for you to become a Saint through being an extrovert. Christ would not demand us to change our natural temperament to become a Saint because then that would not be Love. Sure, we have things "within" our natural temperament that we may need to "work" on but that is different. 

Also, personalizing a prayer and engaging in anything that is not of Christ and His Church is dangerous (new age practices etc. . .). So I would caution against that. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: 2664 "There is no other way of Christian prayer than Christ. Whether our prayer is communal or personal, vocal or interior, it has access to the Father only if we pray "in the name" of Jesus. The sacred humanity of Jesus is therefore the way by which the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray to God our Father."

God Bless You.

[nikita92]

On 2/12/2021 at 2:20 AM, Swami Mommy said:

I found your comments about praying the Rosary very interesting.  Too often, for me, I have observed that praying the rosary in a group setting can easily become a meaningless exercise in rote repetition if the prayer, itself, doesn’t particularly stir the heart to devotion and love.  And the reason for that, I think, is because the person praying it has never taken the time to dissect the words of the prayer and to contemplate their meaning from a deeper place of understanding within a psychological and personal spiritual context.  
 

Let me give you an example:  “Hail, Mary” can be a command and an exhortation to praise Mary, or it can be a reference to a simple greeting as in ‘Welcome, Mary!’.  If one thinks of Mary as representing the female creative aspect of God—the infinite, unceasing springing forth or birthing of new forms of Love into the world—then that, in turn, makes me think of the phrase ‘Love waits on welcome”—in other words, love is always present but requires our conscious attention to notice it and embrace its presence.  Do you see how a simple two word greeting can carry a deeper potential for contemplation? Perhaps studying the prayer, not from a literal surface interpretation, but from a more expanded and subtle appreciation of it as it applies to our own personal understanding of the world, of union with God, of grace, etc. will help you ‘translate’ the prayer into something more beautiful and meaningful to you.  
 

Or perhaps you might focus on the mysteries of the rosary that form the foundation of each of its decades.  For instance the first decade is based on the Visitation, when Mary was asked to choose whether to be the bearer of God.  Are we not ALL given that free will to choose to be the mother of God’s grace in the world?  In the Annunciation, Elizabeth tells Mary that she is with child and will bear the Son of God.  In this decade of the rosary, we are being called to bear witness to the power of God within our own hearts that will make itself known through our actions.  Well, you get the drift.  If you think of the rosary as a tool to work with to deepen our connection to the divine within our own heart’s potential, it kind of changes the flavor of it, at least for me.

if the prayer itself feels dry, how about writing your own prayer to/about Mary and what she symbolizes to you?  Let that prayer bubble up from your heart, rather than be formulated by your mind.  Write a new personal prayer for yourself for each decade of the rosary,  which encapsulates, for YOU, the deeper spiritual meaning of the spiritual journey that particular mystery of the rosary represents.  Or, perhaps you could put the Hail Mary into a song and repetitively sing the prayer, like a chant.  
 

Or, finally, you could PERSONALIZE the prayer, as though you are praying to yourself AS Mary.  See how this feels to you:

”Welcome, ‘Susie’, full of grace.  The Lord is with YOU.  Blessed are you among women, and blessed are the fruits of your womb (your actions).  Holy Susie, mother of God within, intercede with Love for all who suffer the pangs of separation from God through sin, now and at the hour of death. Amen.”  

 

Do you see how saying the rosary can simply be a starting point for developing a deeper relationship with God dwelling within?  Our Lady of Fatima exhorted that we should pray the rosary every day for peace in the world.  What better way to bring peace than by first recognizing it within ourselves by praying the rosary to the divine within our own hearts?  WE are the peace we seek.

I was with a small group of women belonging to our parrish, who had a evening set aside on a particular day...to be able to recite the rosary together in our otherwise empty church.

I lasted only two times with them...and abandoned the group. 

It made me anxious when it came my turn to be the lead to start us off! 

I felt rushed...and concerned I would mess up! So...I never felt the spiritual aspect of it! 

I have a rosary app on my phone which works just find for me instead. 

I also really enjoyed saying the rosary and felt a part of Mother Angelica and her sisters when the older version of the recitation was shown on EWTN. I don't watch the one with her alone. I miss it!

[nikita92]

On 2/11/2021 at 7:08 PM, PaxCordisJesu said:

Okay, so I'm not sure if I should be asking these questions here or at Open Mic. But I suspect The Vocation Station gets looked at more often, and thus will get answers faster here. And I'm in a hurry for answers, since I'm giving up Phatmass for Lent, which starts in 6 days. 

First question: can you simultaneously be shy and a saint? I always think of saints as warm, caring people who are welcoming, sympathetic, compassionate, affectionate, etc. I've never heard of a shy saint, and as I am quite shy this concerns me. It's hard enough to become a saint, and having to become an extrovert as well is beyond the limits of my imagination. If y'all know of any shy saints, please, throw some names out! I'd appreciate their example.

And now for the second question: is it bad that I don't like and don't pray the Rosary? I don't mean bad as in sinful, but bad as in it's something I should be doing, but am not. I have a strong repugnance toward praying the Rosary, and don't and won't pray it. Partly it's because I'm independent and stubborn, and don't appreciate people cramming it down my throat with their "Pray the Rosary or go to hell!" mentality. There are a lot of canonized saints who never prayed the Rosary since it didn't yet exist, many of them quite prominent Church figures (the Apostles, Mary, St. Benedict, to name a few). It's my goal to prove that sanctity can still be attained without the Rosary. And a lot of my dislike comes from another source/experience, which I'm not going to talk about here. But I'm worried that I can't have a real devotion to Our Lady without praying the Rosary. Is it alright to pray other Marian prayers instead? Like the Memorare, the Angelus, etc.? I just don't want that other experience to prevent me from having a good thing like a devotion to Our Lady. This is a long post, so thanks for reading through it!

In answer to your question- No you don't have to pray it..nor have to like it! 

It is not a do or die Catholic requirement!  It also does not mean it is showing disrespect to Mother Mary. 

Being a child of the "60's growing up with a staunch Catholic grandmother...and a neutral German (Lutheran) mother..nobody ever tried to shove the rosary at me! 

I was given a very small plain black one as a child by my G-ma..(that I still have to this very day) but it was way more under used than used in my past for sure. 

You do know the history of it..and who is responsible for "inventing" it (for lack of a better word) and the reason for it right??

One of the ideas, was because it was a Catholic family activity to do together back in the "olden" days! Lol

Having such a strong distaste for it is your business. Yet..Exploring your reasons with a spiritual director etc

Might give you some insight and maybe even a second chance to get to know it without any pressure! 

If not then, just know that going without it is fine..as long as you have peace of mind.