Most of us agree that praying the Rosary daily can be an overwhelming prospect. We’re too busy to find ten minutes for vocal prayer most days, we’ll sheepishly admit. Even so, the Rosary has been considered one of the most powerful prayers to combat both ordinary and extraordinary diabolic activity. It is known to console the dying and bring hardened sinners to conversion. 

There’s a reason Our Lady urged the children at Fatima to spread this devotion worldwide. If we commit to praying one set of five Mysteries per day, we will see a drastic change in our family life and interiorly. Many miracles are attributed to the Rosary. To understand more, check out St. Louis de Montfort’s The Secret of the Rosary and Father Donald Calloway’s Champions of the Rosary. These books will convince you of the Rosary’s merit.

Carry Your Rosary with You

To begin making the daily commitment of praying your Rosary a reality, carry your Rosary with you. Put it in your briefcase, your pocket, or your purse. This makes it incredibly handy when you have an unexpected chunk of time in your schedule to take out your Rosary and quiet your mind to God’s holy presence.

It also makes it less of an excuse to neglect or ignore praying when you have your Rosary available at all times. There have been countless situations when I’ve thought, “Oh, now what?” because of some extra time I wasn’t anticipating, and instead of reaching for my cellphone, I reach for my Rosary. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it!

Supplement with Scripture 

We know each Mystery corresponding with the Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous, and Glorious Rosaries are derived from the Bible and Sacred Tradition. It’s helpful to do a brief search of each story in Scripture and meditate on it before you embark on praying the entire set of Mysteries. 

What this does is twofold. First, you are engaging the Word of God, alive in your heart, which will likely inspire you with something specific – a word or phrase, for example – that pertains to your life. Second, you are filling your imagination with actual scenes from Jesus’ and Our Lady’s lives. This is a powerful way to focus on what you are praying without your words sounding repetitious or dull.

Meditate on the Virtue of Each Mystery

My favorite part of announcing each Mystery of the Rosary is including the corresponding virtue for which we pray. For example, during the Easter season when we pray the Glorious Mysteries, we ask for the gift of faith as we announce the First Glorious Mystery – the Resurrection. Meditating on the virtue associated with each decade is helpful for a couple of reasons. 

You will find your mind drifting to a particular person at times while you pray, maybe someone you haven’t seen or spoken with in years. It might seem odd or like an unwelcome distraction, but it could be the Holy Spirit asking you to offer up that particular decade for that person’s soul.

There are other times you will realize an area of your life where you need to strengthen a particular virtue. This reflection while you pray the Rosary serves as a mini-examination of conscience to prepare you for Confession or further mental prayer later on.

Pray with a Friend

Sometimes having an accountability partner makes every habit for which we strive a little easier. In our area, there are local mom’s groups that meet weekly and begin each meeting by praying a Rosary as a group. Some men or women get together with a couple of pals and pray together during their lunch breaks – or while they are walking or working out. 

You may discover that praying the Rosary with a friend triggers further conversation, in which you both share something that’s been difficult or weighing on your mind. Then you can each commit to praying for each other, which also strengthens your friendship.

Use a Meditative Rosary CD in Your Car While Driving

You might be too busy to find even small segments of your day to pray a decade here and another decade later. In my family, we spend a lot of time in the van. This is, in part, due to the fact that we are traipsing to one of about fifteen medical specialists for my daughter, Sarah, on any given day. This happens between once and three times per week on average.

There are literally some days I have not been able to slow down long enough to even sit down for a brief respite, let alone pray my Rosary! I’ve discovered that keeping a CD in my car with meditative hymns helps me use that driving time wisely. You could even find a CD in which the Rosary is recited, lessening the need to “keep track” of which Hail Mary you are praying!

Use Visual Aids, like Statues or Icons, to Help You Focus

In our home, we have a little shrine set up in our prayer room. On a glass table, we have statues of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Michael, and a few others who are very special to our family. Above them hangs an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a holy water font. Whenever any one of us feels called to retreat for a few moments of quiet throughout our day, this is the room we choose.

There’s something about creating a sacred space for prayer that increases focus on what you are doing and why. Having plenty of sacred images to view while praying the Rosary just might help you think more deeply about what you are praying.

Make It Part of Daily Family Time

My husband and I have three young daughters, one of whom has a rare disease. Family prayer time has been no small feat. But we discovered that if we started on a small scale, we could gradually increase the length of time we remained together praying as a family. For example, we started this nightly routine a couple of years ago. Each evening after dinner and baths, the girls, Ben, and I would gather to pray a few decades of the Divine Mercy chaplet.

After several months, we moved up to a full Divine Mercy Chaplet. During liturgical seasons, such as Advent or Lent, we’d add daily meditations. Eventually we started praying one decade, then two, of a Rosary each night. We recently began praying a full five decades together as a family every day.

The key is to start small and keep things simple. Don’t set unrealistic expectations. What’s most important is that you are making some effort as a family to pray together on a daily basis.

Read or Sing a Meditation Before Praying Each Decade

There are different types of prayer that reach different people’s souls. Some of us are very visual and prefer to read silently. Others are convicted when they hear an inspirational message proclaimed. Even others are particularly moved by music. Try different methods of incorporating song into your Rosary to see what speaks to you the most deeply. 

Check out Anna Nuzzo’s music to use while you pray. She has written original songs and put into song beautiful prayers included in the Rosary, such as the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Memorare.

Pray While You Wait

Maybe you’re like my family and find yourself in a variety of situations where you are stuck waiting – in construction on the highway, in a long line at the grocery store, in a waiting room at the doctor’s office. If so, train your brain to grab your Rosary and pray a decade or two. It makes the time you spend much more efficacious than if you decided to browse a magazine or scroll through your phone.

Ask Our Lady and Your Guardian Angel to Pray It with You

Whenever I pray to the Blessed Mother before I embark on a particular meditation or traditional prayer, like the Rosary or a novena or chaplet, I am always moved by a powerful grace. My intellect is often illuminated to understand some truth of the Church. My heart is softened or rests in a state of tranquility after having been anxious or restless. 

Many saints also promoted devotions to our guardian angels. When we seek the counsel of Our Lady and our guardian angel (who chose to guide us to heaven specifically out of every other human who’s ever lived), we will discover that praying the Rosary penetrates through some of the most difficult vices, sins, or habits we cannot seem to break. We grow in self-knowledge and a deeper humility. We seek God with more sincerity.

Above all, the world is in dire need of the power of the Rosary. We live in a spiritually destitute era, yet the Rosary has prevented wars, changed the course of wars when all seemed hopelessly lost, converted countless non-Christians, and brought about great peace to the family. If we wish to change the world, we should begin with this prayer, given to us by our Blessed Mother.