Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: I am far from perfect at praying the Rosary daily. I put my worldly obligations and my messy kitchen and Instagram before the Rosary again and again and again…But our Mama is patient with me, and I’m getting better. I have gotten better.
One simple little trick has made the days I do pray the Rosary outweigh the days I don’t, and that’s the reason I’m writing this post. Not because I am perfect at it, but because the success of implementing this one thing made me wonder: how do other Catholic women make praying the Rosary a daily habit?
Why Should We Pray a Daily Rosary?
But first, why pray the rosary in the first place, let alone daily? We are so busy, doing very good things. In some seasons of life, setting aside 15-20 minutes for contemplative prayer truly feels next to impossible.
Sisters, the reasons we are called to pray the rosary daily could fill an entire book, so I’ll keep it simple. It’s because Our Blessed Mother asks us to.
In each one of her apparitions that have been approved by the Vatican, she has implored the world to pray the Rosary.
The Promises of Our Lady to Those Who Faithfully Pray the Rosary
She even made fifteen beautiful promises to those who pray the Rosary faithfully. These were revealed to St. Dominic, and then to Blessed Alan de la Roche. They are:
- Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.
- I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.
- The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.
- It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
- The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish. (Referring to perishing in hell)
- Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.
- Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
- Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.
- I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
- The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.
- You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.
- All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
- I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.
- All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.
- Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
The Rosary is Fuel for Our Souls
What promises for a time such as this! If you have never tried to pray the Rosary daily, there is no better day to start than today. Yes, today. You don’t need to have the perfect plan, the perfect time slot, or even the perfect Rosary (though if you don’t have one, you can find a beautiful one that was custom-made for the Blessed is She community here). I encourage you to ask for Mary’s special graces to make it happen during this month, in which we honor Mary as Our Lady of the Rosary, especially.
How Catholic Women Pray the Rosary
I asked Catholic women on Instagram how they make praying the Rosary a daily habit. I found myself so inspired by the different ways our sisters prioritize this prayer in the midst of their busy lives. How encouraging is it to know that we are all in this together, drawing closer to Our Lord through His Blessed Mother and interceding for these promises, from armor against hell to a flourishing of good works?!
My Quick Tip...
Before we dive into their wisdom, I’d love to share that simple trick that has worked for me: downloading a Rosary podcast (I use A Rosary Companion and like the Spoken + Ambient Music versions. But there are many options out there!). I’m in and out of the car often throughout the day and love listening to podcasts, which is why I think this has worked for me. I always queue up the Rosary when I get into the car, before listening to anything else. I’m a rule-follower to a fault, and making this particular rule has been so fruitful!
Here are some more amazing tips and tricks for building the Rosary into your day.
Pray a Little Bit at a Time
“When we say the rosary, I like to imagine that we are safe inside the ‘New Ark’ (a title that was given to Our Lady since the earliest days of the Church), just like Noah and his family were safe and preserved from the floods by entering into the Ark. She has told us throughout all her apparitions about the importance of the Rosary and the graces we will receive to persevere through hard times. We have five kids (one in utero) of all different ages and attention spans. For many years, our nightly routine has been to say between 1-2 decades of the Rosary. It was only recently that our older kids suggested that instead of switching the mysteries each day, we commit to one mystery per week. This week, we have been saying the Sorrowful Mysteries, and next week will be the Glorious. It’s not perfect, but we have faith that it pleases Our Lady because we are trying our best.” - Kelli S.
“The fifteen promises that Our Lady has made to those who are faithful to the Rosary are truly life-changing! Powerful, hell-fighting armor, vice destroyer, heresy dispeller--sign me up! Even though there are such amazing reasons to pray the Rosary, I still found so many excuses not to. But, God is persistent and He inspired the design of the Rosary bracelet we sell at ChewsLife that pretty much addressed all of my excuses. It's always on hand, so I don't lose it; it's sturdy, so my kids can never break it; and most importantly, the movable crucifix charm works like a bookmark to keep my place when I get interrupted. It has allowed me to use the quiet moments that are scattered throughout my day to get my Rosary in. God doesn't ask us to be perfect; He just asks us to begin!” - Shannon W. (of ChewsLife)
“My husband and I do the first four decades on our own throughout the day, and then do the fifth decade together when we are both home. We think the reason this works is two-fold—it feels more manageable to pray a decade or so at a time, and we get to pray together!” - Lia M.
Deepen Your Understanding
“As a person currently in the process of converting to Catholicism, praying the Rosary daily is helping to form the bedrock of my life as a Catholic woman, wife, and mother. I pray two decades in the morning while nursing my son, two more decades at various points throughout the day (usually while nursing), and one more decade before bed. I keep engaged by doing scriptural meditations with each prayer—this has done WONDERS for helping me stay focused on the beauty of the Rosary, instead of letting it feel dull or repetitive.” - Courtney W.
“I never really prayed the Rosary but I started doing a study by Take Up and Read called Ponder, which is all about the Rosary. It has helped me to meditate on the mysteries and create a daily habit. I started doing just one decade at a time and am working my way up to praying a full Rosary daily!” - Macy M.
(Note: Blessed is She offers a wonderful Blessed Conversations series on the Mysteries of the Rosary!)
Find Accountability
“A group of friends and I got together and decided to pray the 54-day Rosary Novena. We set up a group message and texted each other every day, reminding and encouraging each other to pray. It was so powerful that we started a new novena two days after finishing the first!” - Meagan R.
“Find someone who can hold you accountable. For me, it is my husband. Each morning, when we plan our day, we carve out a specific time to pray the Rosary, whether that be individually or together. If our days have been busy and we have failed, we try to give the other person 15 minutes at the end of the day “duty-free” (no kids, housework, etc.) when we can be alone in prayer. Find your person—whether that be your sister, friend, mom, or husband—and just start.” - Carrie G.
“I joined a virtual Rosary community with @onehailmaryatatime. Following her helps keep me inspired because she shares so many glory stories from people who have prayed the Rosary! Now, I lead a virtual Rosary group where we video call once a week and pray together. The group holds me accountable and I love praying with women who are all over the country, yet are so similar to me, every week!” - Melissa T.
Take Advantage of Mental Idle Time
“Exercise is part of my daily morning routine, and I found that using my Rosary bracelet during my exercise allowed me the opportunity to slow down mentally, calm my heart, and cultivate a stronger relationship with God.” - Katlyn Rose I.
“I live in NYC and usually spend my subway commute on my phone. Lately, I’ve tried to shut off my phone during my commute (signal is terrible in the subway anyway!) and pray the Rosary instead. Turning an otherwise idle time into prayer time has made me feel very productive and more spiritually fulfilled.” - Vicky W.
“I have an hour-long commute to work, and every single day, as soon as I get into my car, I pull up the Risers Resided by Christen Peska on the Laudate app and get out my Rosary to pray along. The mystery traditionally recited that day is the one that plays, and each Rosary recitation is about 20 minutes long. I’ve been doing this for two straight years now—before that, I rarely prayed the rosary!” - Cynthia B.
Focus on Intentions
“Doing novenas for a reason bigger than myself has always helped me. For example, I did a 54-day Rosary Novena for my dad’s conversion...that was more than enough motivation to make myself pray a Rosary every day. I saw miracles happen. After that, I didn’t want to stop, so I did another 54-day novena for my future spouse. I met my husband a few months later.” - Melissa T.
Embrace Imperfection and Keep Praying
“We started praying the Rosary daily with our family almost seven years ago. We started the practice for Lent and it stuck because our kids wanted to delay bedtime. We were also going through a difficult time in our family, and after praying the Rosary daily for six months, we noticed all the peace and hope it brought to our lives. It had become a beautiful nightly ritual to bring our family together, screen-free, distraction-free. I encourage my Instagram followers to not focus on perfection and to just try. Mary sees your efforts and she will take your intentions to Jesus. Trust me.” - Kristin (of One Hail Mary at a Time)
“Some of the best advice I’ve heard is ‘Just keep praying.’ Sometimes, stuff comes up. Maybe your kid starts crying or someone from work calls or you have to clean up a mess, or any number of things that need your attention—whenever you can, just keep praying through it.” - Trishey N.
“Be okay with not always being perfect at it. Some days, you don’t want to, other days, you don’t have time...don’t allow those excuses to make you feel as though there’s no point. Your Mother loves you and meets you wherever you are. I love this quote from St. Bernadette: ‘In the evening, when you go to sleep, hold your beads. Doze off reciting them. Do like those babies who go to sleep mumbling ‘Mama, mama.’” - Carlin N.
How do you cultivate the habit of a daily Rosary? We’d love to hear your tips and learn from what has worked for you!
Join us over in our app for a live weekday Rosary at 11am ET!
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How to Cultivate the Practice of Praying the Rosary Daily #BISblog //Click to tweet
Lisa Kirk is a regular contributor to the BIS blog. New York City-born and internationally raised, she now lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her study-abroad-crush-turned-husband and their two children. A former wedding magazine editor and fashion copywriter, she now writes primarily for Something Pretty, the Catholic living and classic style blog she began in 2010. She loves learning about the Saints, wandering the city with coffee in hand, and making new friends on Instagram. Read all of Lisa's posts here.
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