This one is for you parents out there who are trying to pray the Rosary as a family. I prefer to say the Rosary alone either when I wake up or before going to bed. Trying to wrangle the kids took away much of the meditative and restorative value of the Rosary. But at the same time, it’s also important to teach children to love praying the Rosary, especially during Lent.
Here are some of Janele Hoerner’s ideas for praying the Rosary as a family.
- Build up to a full Rosary a day! One decade a day 5 times a week is a full Rosary a week.
- Say 1 decade 5 times throughout the day!
- Forget English – teach your children a new language!
- Listen to the Rosary to follow along – do not just say it yourself!
- Make it a cuddly atmosphere!
I have some of my own as well.
- Involve signing. Every fifth Hail Mary is sung.
- Include Scripture reading and/or a little discussion about each Rosary mystery. This gives everyone some more context and you’re not just saying prayers in a vacuum.
- Go around the room and have everyone state an intention or thanksgiving at the start of each decade.
- Don’t make the Rosary a form of punishment. It may be tempting to have kids pray a decade when they do something wrong so they can think about it, ask for guidance, or calm down. But they’ll just start associating the Rosary with being in trouble and that won’t lead anywhere you good.
- Strive for quality, not quantity. I think it’s better to have one good decade, with Scripture, intentions, and focus than to race through five decades on autopilot. Over time, you can increase the number of decades said in one sitting.
- Be excited about it. Children can sense their parents’ emotions. If you aren’t excited about Rosary prayer, how do you expect your children to be excited?
- Normalize it. Make Rosary prayer part of the daily routine. There is less chance of pushback if isn’t seen as “extra prayers.”