Matthew 6:7 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
God neither commands anyone to post anything that’s one-sided on
Facebook pertaining to a belief system nor order anybody to upload pictures on
individual’s Facebook profile but God did teach the value of praying.
It should be recalled that the central idea of prayer and sacrifice
among the pagans was to appease the gods so that they could go on with their
own lives. They had to be careful to “take care of” all of the gods by
mentioning them, and uttering all the right words, lest they bring a curse upon
themselves. The gods themselves were immoral at times, who were selfish, heartless,
unforgiving etc.
The pagans would utter their incantations, offer their sacrifice,
but there was no genuine correlation between the moral life and the prayer.
Jesus is saying that this will not draw near in the New Covenant Kingdom of
God. One must pray from a remorseful heart and submission to His will.
However,
Jesus never keep out the possibility of devotions like the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet which repeat prayers and which is evident when Jesus says, "Do not be like them. Your Father knows what
you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth
as in heaven. Give us today our daily
bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not
subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. If you
forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But
if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
transgressions. (Matthew 6:9-15)
Jesus gave us a prayer to recite but notice the emphasis on living
the words of the prayer. This is a prayer to be recited, but they are neither
“empty phrases” nor “vain repetitions.”
Consider the prayers of the angels as examples of Biblical
“Repetitious Prayer”: The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were
covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who
is to come."(Revelation 4:8)
Likewise, take a serious look at Psalm 136 and consider the fact that Jews and
Christians have prayed these Psalms for thousands of years, which repeats the words “for his mercy endures
forever” 26 times in 26 verses.
Most importantly, the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-39) was
here praying for hours and saying "the same words." Can anyone say
that this is a “vain repetition?” Jesus also commends repetitious prayer (Luke 18:1-14)
What is Holy Rosary?
The Holy Rosary is a type of meditative prayer which concentrates
on the events in the life of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin.
The rosary was popularized by Saint Dominic (1170-1221) who is said to have received
it from the Blessed Virgin in opposition of the Albigensian heresy.
The monks during medieval times had adopted the practice of
daily praying the 150 Psalms,[2] being divided into
three sets of 50 each. On a
consideration that several lay brothers of these orders [3] were illiterate and
could not read the psalms, the practice of reciting the Our Father 50 times had been
the practice. This turned to be the "poor man's breviary."[4]
which had been propagated
to the laity, and as time went on other easily remembered prayers were added.
The Holy Rosary was developed
into its present form which consists of the Apostle's Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The rosary is not just a Catholic prayer; many members of other
denominations (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam)[5] also pray this meditative
prayer.[6]
(Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 2708; 2708)
The Rosary beads and the significance of ten Hail Mary's per
decade:
The word "bead" is taken from the Middle English
"bede" which formerly meant "prayer." The beads of the
rosary are employed to keep track of the prayers.
During the ancient times, beads were simply pebbles which were
transferred from one pocket to another.
As organized, the Our Father is prayed on the solitary beads that
separate the groups of ten beads (the decades), the Hail Mary is prayed on each
of the ten beads of the decade, then the Glory Be is prayed on the solitary
bead separating the decades; the whole process is then repeated. A set of fifty
Hail Mary's with the Our Father's and Glory Be's, makes up one circuit of the beads
on most rosary sets today. As each decade (ten Hail Mary's) is recited, the
person
contemplates one of the events of Jesus' and Mary's life; so that upon finishing one circuit of the beads, five
events have been meditated and fifty psalms (represented by the Hail Mary's)
have been honored.
Although Hail Mary is addressed to Mary, the
prayer’s concentration is to God and therefore a God’s command as the
significance of praying is taught in the Scriptures: "Hail (Mary), full of
grace, the Lord is with you" is the greeting of the angel Gabriel at the
annunciation (Luke 1:28). "Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Jesus)" is Elizabeth's
greeting to Mary at the visitation (Luke 1:42). "Holy Mary, Mother of God" (Luke 1:43) addresses the person to whom we are speaking using the title accorded
her during the 5th century (Theotokos - Mother of God).[7]. "Pray for us" is a request for prayer to God; similar from asking
a neighbor to pray for us except that Mary is already in heaven. (Mark 12:18-27,
Matthew 22:23-33). "Sinners now, and at the time of our death" is recognition of our
sinful status and the times when the prayer to God are appealed in our behalf
(1 Timothy 2:1-4; James 5:16). The two most significant times in our lives: Now, because of acknowledging
sinful nature and yearning for God's help to transform it; At the time of our death,
because subsequently we will be judged and will be most needful of His mercy.
In conclusion, any wife never limits her husband to just say “I
love you” three times making an excuse that her ears are irritated of repeated articulation, the same
with God who does not limit His creations to limit our attachment in prayers as
He says, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
The key in praying are the words that come from the heart but not
its frequency. The Holy Rosary is not about "wearisome repetition" so
that God will hear us but to be sure of concentration while contemplating on
the most important mysteries of the Faith. These prayers are either from
Scripture, or from the greatest minds and souls who have ever walked the earth
who have gone before us, which are theologically correct and spiritually rich.
Everybody should be aware the real possibility against danger on mindlessly
repeating the Rosary or other devotions. However, falling a prey to “vain
repetition” in prayer does not derive from “saying the same words” repeatedly
in prayer as the Lord prayed the same thing (Mark 14:39) but
because of not praying from the heart and truly entering into the great devotions that the Holy Mother Church provides, an
important role in the spiritually nourished life.
References:
[1] Do Catholics Pray "Vain Repetitions?" Tim Staples http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/do-catholics-pray-vain-repetitions
[2] Books of the Bible in
Canonical Order, http://www.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/index.cfm#Psalms)
[3] What are the Differences
Between Religious Orders?)http://www.religious-vocation.com/differences_religious_orders.html
[7] Mary, Our Mother in the Order
of Grace http://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/mary-our-mother-in-the-order-of-grace.html
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