Prayer and Praying

On most mornings, after I have said Lauds and read the day's scripture reading, I say my own private prayers. I have so many I keep them on my phone so that I can remember each and every one. Sometimes, however, I say them so fast that I barely apprehend them. It's as if they go from my eyes to my mouth to the ether without entering my head and heart. I say 'ether' deliberately because surely they don't go to heaven? Why would God care about prayers that we have cared about too little ourselves? And yet, this is to judge God's actions according to my standards. Not wise.

When it comes to praying the Rosary, I pray it whenever and wherever I can. I've talked in the past about praying it while doing the washing up. I also pray the Rosary while walking along the road. Often what happens though is that I end up simply saying the words and don't think about the mysteries to which they are attached. The Annunciation, Visitation, etc. This always concerns me because it means I am emptying the Rosary of its meaning, making the exercise a repetitious waste of time. On the other hand, however, it seems to me that even if I am not contemplating the mysteries properly, simply saying Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be... is bringing me closer to God by virtue of the prayer's own innate holiness. Is it possible to turn the Rosary into a mantra?

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Anuja Tilj