Pray the rosary, pray the rosary, etc.
The other day, I saw a car with two different bumper stickers, each reading, “Pray the rosary.” I find this interesting. I’m sure I’ve seen exhortations to pray, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one (let alone two) as specific as “pray the rosary.” I read these as having roughly the same tone as “go green” or “impeach Bush” — stating with real certainty that this will fix some problem. God’s listening to your prayers, but will be particularly inclined to act on your behalf if you pray the rosary over all other earnest entreaties.
Of all the prayers this could have specified, of course, the rosary might make the most sense. It is, after all, very goal-oriented. Priests prescribe some rosary prayers as penance for sins, and so you repeat a few prayers several times and meditate for your treatment, as it were. I’m not sure who the target audience of the “pray the rosary” bumper stickers is supposed to be, but if you read it, and you’re an occasionally practicing Catholic who could use a reminder, I guess it might be useful. Seems unlikely to win any converts, but not nearly as obnoxious a bumper sticker as “In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.”
Anyway, maybe I was doing it wrong, but in my experience, praying the rosary is dully repetitive. It treats the act of praying as a not-necessarily-pleasant task that must be dutifully completed in order to demonstrate our devotion and show that we are worthy of reward (or at least forgiveness). I’m not saying that’s wrong in itself — even Jesus is supposed to have specified certain words we could use, presumably again and again, to pray to God — but it’s not my favorite way to pray. Plus, it includes the “Hail Mary,” which always kind of perturbed me as a prayer. I have enough trouble getting my mind around a three-part God — the only God we’re supposed to pray to, last I checked — without you throwing Jesus’ mom into the mix, thanks very much.
I wonder, though, whether I should reconsider repetitive prayer on its own merits. I recently chatted with someone I knew back in high school who’s going through AA now. (You may have heard me refer to him as the guy who got mauled by a cougar. He didn’t really get mauled by a cougar, though. Some of his former friends just say that because it’s easier than explaining why it took us so long to get fed up with trying to be his friend.) He’s an atheist, but AA has a pretty substantial faith-based component, so he prays. He doesn’t think he’s praying to anybody in particular, just that the repetitive act of prayer itself — putting in words what you want, what you mean to do — can have a personally transformative effect. Seems to work okay for him, at least enough to get him out to Philadelphia to apologize to me for step 9.
Can I do that? Can I get past wondering whether there’s anyone listening at the other end of the line? I fell out of the habit of praying every night only in the last year or so, but when I did pray, I was pretty good at not worrying about that. I knew the possibility existed that nobody was listening, but I just didn’t bother thinking about it. Now I feel like I can’t not think about it. And I think that praying the way the mauled-by-a-cougar guy does, praying under the active assumption that nobody’s listening, might be even more depressing for me. So now I just don’t pray — unless I’m flying. Even if no one’s listening, better safe than sorry.
