What happens if you fall asleep praying the rosary?

Answer 1

Answer # 1

Don't worry about falling asleep while praying the rosary. St. Therese of Lisieux used to do the same. She said it was natural for a little child to feel so safe and loved in their Father's arms that they slip into sleep. Feel blessed that your Father loves you so much and continue to be as a little child in his arms. Trusting him to never lead you astray or give you more that you can handle.

Answer # 2 (and comment on praying to saints)

I feel that nothing will "happen" to you. I do however feel that you need to get plugged into a church that has a relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to be in a relationship much more that chanting prayers to saints and the virgin Mary. Why, for the lack of a better word, waste your time praying to saints when you yourself can have a direct line with the Creator Himself.

Answer # 3 (and response on praying to saints)

Nothing will happen if you fall asleep while praying the rosary, except rest. How do you know that God isn't answering a silent prayer for extra sleep??!

Contrary to the opinion in the above 'answer', about wasting time and chanting - In addition to the Rosary being a 'tool' for prayer, it is also a form of meditation that brings a calm while in Prayer - perhaps that's why one falls asleep at times! And you can certainly pick up where you left off when you wake, or continue it later.

A lot of people who are "plugged into (many) church(es)" of various faiths, often 'chant' the Lord's Prayer cf. Mt 6:9-14, Lk 11:1-4 (or something else) with no real connection to it's purpose and meaning; therefore not reflecting much of a relationship with the Creator Himself, at that time. It does not mean that a relationship does not exist.

It is unfair and judgmental to assume that Catholics are not "plugged in", don't "have a relationship with Jesus Christ", or do not "have a direct line with the Creator Himself". (Judge and be judged!) cf. Mt 7:1-5.

There are too many prejudices and incorrect information about Catholics by non-Catholics who spend too much time criticizing (or CHANTING) what they think they know. Perhaps they should spend more time praying and being tolerant of another's belief system and just accept that, no matter our Religion, we are all Christians and we all believe in GOD. HONOURING the Virgin Mary and the Saints, by requesting that they pray for us, is requesting valuable advocacy. There is NO HARM in it!!

Remember, God is a loving God, a patient God and a Forgiving God. He rewards us for our efforts NOT our perfection!! I will be praying for ALL OF US.

Answer # 4: With Brief Overview of the Rosary (and response on praying to saints)

The purpose of the Rosary is to meditate on the important events in the history of our salvation and to thank God for them. It also is an appeal for intercessory prayer.

The rosary itself consists of nothing more than recitations from Scripture and a request for intercessory prayer. There are three recitations: the Our Father (also called the Lord's Prayer), an appeal to Mary (the Hail Mary), and a glorification of the Trinity (the Glory Be.)

The appeal to Mary is: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."

The first lines of the Hail Mary are taken directly from two Gospel passages; cf. Lk 1:28 and Lk 1:42. "Hail Mary full of grace" is the salutation given Mary when the angel appears to her to tell her that she will bear the Christchild. "...the Lord is with you" is an acknowledgement that, as Mary is in heaven, Jesus is there with her. "Blessed art thou among women" simply reflects the Gospel account of the joyous response Mary gives, where she says, "From this day all people shall call me blessed." "...blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." is a response to the direction given in the Psalms to "Bless the Lord."

The second section of the Hail Mary is the same type of request for intercessory prayer that we all, as Christians, regularly make of one another: please pray for me, now and at the hour of my death.

The recitation of the prayers, besides being direct appeals for intercessory prayer, do in fact serve as a guided meditation. There are 4 sets of "mysteries" from the life of Christ that are meditated on. Each set contains 5 mysteries. "Saying the Rosary" means meditating on one set of 5 mysteries.

The sets of mysteries are:

The Joyful Mysteries: The announcement to Mary; Mary's visit to Elizabeth; the birth of Jesus; the presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple; the finding of Jesus in the Temple.

The Luminous Mysteries: The baptism of Jesus; the first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana; Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God; the Transfiguration of Jesus; the institution of the Eucharist (the Lord's Supper).

The Sorrowful Mysteries: The Agony in the Garden; the scourging at the pillar; the crowning with thorns; the carrying of the cross; and the crucifixion of our Lord.

The Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection of Jesus; the Ascension of the Lord; the descent of the Holy Spirit; the assumption; and the Coronation.

I think there are two further key points of confusion frequently surrounding this issue:

1) Catholics accept that, since the soul is immortal, physical death does not remove one from communion with Christians whose bodies are still living. In the Book of Revelation, John saw the saints beneath the altar, crying out for justice for what was happening then on earth. (cf. Rev 6:9-10) They remained aware of earthly matters, and were engaged in intercessory prayer. Also, St. Paul reminds us that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. (cf. Heb 12:1) He is referring to the holy men and women who have preceded us in death, and the angels. Since they are called witnesses, and they surround us, they are aware and responsive.

So, for a Catholic, appealing to angels, saints, or the Blessed Virgin for intercessory prayer is at least as effective as appealing to other Christians who are still physically alive. Perhaps, since the saints are in heaven, their intercessory prayer is more effective on our behalf, for Scripture tells us in many places that the effectiveness of our prayer is linked to our personal holiness. (cf. James 5:16)

2) Catholics call any supernatural communication a "prayer." We simply use this word differently than our Protestant brothers and sisters. For a Protestant, the word "prayer" implies worship. For a Catholic, the word "prayer" means supernatural communication. Since we understand that the angels and saints are able to hear us, we communicate with them. But in no way do we worship them. The angels, while of a higher spiritual order than man, are only creatures. The saints are creatures as well: nothing more than people who, through courage and devotion to God and His Son, Jesus the Christ, held the course and gained the crown. We admire them for their example, and we study their writings and the facts of their lives, much as Billy Graham will be admired and studied long after his death. These lives and examples inspire and teach us. I do not believe that any Protestant will worship Billy Graham; nor do Catholics worship those who have died before us.

So, in answer to the original question, nothing will happen if you fall asleep during the Rosary, except that you will fall asleep meditating on the mysteries of the life of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Sweet dreams!

Answer # 5 (possibly authored by the writer of Answer # 4)

Answer: The angels and saints will finish the rosary if you drift off to sleep while meaningfully saying the rosary........

Answer # 6 (and comment on chanting prayers)

One of the most celebrated proponents of Marian devotion is St. Louis Grignon de Montfort. While I am sure St. Louis de Montfort would not disagree with St. Therese of Lisieux above, he does offer some practical suggestions in his book The Secret of the Rosary for those who strive to not fall asleep during prayer. In particular, his suggestions can be found in Part II; How to Recite It in his book.

As with any form of prayer, St. Louis indicates that it is necessary to fight distractions. One of the first actions he indicates is to train our imaginations to stay focused on the prayers at hand. As was nicely summarized above, the Rosary allows us to pray Sacred Scripture and the Gospels through 4 x 5 = 20 events drawn from Scripture. Here we can train our imaginations to place ourselves as living, interactive witnesses in each scene of Scripture. This might be likened to the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, keeping our imaginations actively engaged in prayer. Here St. Louis reminds us: He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater. (Lk 16:10) He who fights even the smallest distractions faithfully when he says even the very smallest prayer he will also be faithful in great things. We can be absolutely certain of this because the Holy Spirit has told us so. (The Secret of the Rosary, Forty-Third Rose)

St. Louis also indicates that it is important to ask for particular, specific graces while praying the Rosary; e.g. wisdom, courage, fortitude, chastity, etc. This again increases our attentiveness, keeps the Gospels tied to our daily needs, and keeps our minds more actively engaged in a personal, intimate dialogue with Christ and His Mother.

In order to do this, St. Louis points out that we have to allow ourselves moments or pauses to actively engage and reflect deeply. He recommends pauses at several places in both the Our Father and the Hail Mary. His pauses are indicated by a + sign below:

Our Father who art in heaven, + hallowed be Thy name, + Thy kingdom come, + Thy will be done, + on earth as it is in heaven. + Give us this day + our daily bread, + and forgive us our trespasses, + as we forgive those who trespass against us. + And lead us not into temptation, + but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Similar pauses of active reflection are recommended in the Hail Mary. As St. Louis says, At first, you may find it difficult to make these pauses because of your bad habit of saying prayers in a hurry; but a decade that you say recollectedly in this way will be worth more than thousands of Rosaries said all in a rush - without any pauses or reflection. (The Secret of the Rosary, Forty-Fourth Rose)

Thus, falling asleep after praying only part of the Rosary in a very recollected manner would be better than staying awake to rush through it merely for the sake of completion.

Other suggestions he offers are adopting physical postures of reverence for Our Lord and His Mother (e.g. kneeling, hands joined, clasping the Rosary, etc.) as well as group recitation of the Rosary; i.e. Normally our minds are far more alert during public prayer than they are when we pray alone. (The Secret of the Rosary, Forty-Sixth Rose)

Comment on Chanting Prayers

This is not an uncommon objection raised to Catholics, Anglicans and other Christians who enter into an intimate relationship with Christ by praying the Gospels through the Rosary.

The objection is commonly drawn from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: But when yee pray, use not vaine repetitions, as the heathen doe. For they thinke that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:7 KJV

Here the distinction to make is between repetition that is vain, and repetition that is not vain. The reason Jesus indicated that the heathen or pagan form of repetition was vain was because they were praying to non-existent gods such as Zeus, Apollo, Athena, etc. That is, because their prayers were directed to non-existent beings, their prayers were in vain. However, repetition in and of itself, is not to be condemned. Many examples of acceptable repetitious prayer can be found throughout Scripture. One prominent example is when Christ himself engages in repetitious prayer: He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will. Withdrawing a secondtime, he prayed again, "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!"...He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. Matthew 26:39-44 NAB

Other examples of repetitious prayer can be given, such as in Revelation 4:8-11, and throughout the Old Testament as well; cf. Psalm 136.

REFERENCES

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The New American Bible, (Iowa Falls: IA, World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1991).

The Bible Museum. The Bible: 1611 King James Version: 1st Edition, 1st Printing, (Goodyear, AZ: The Bible Museum, 2006).

St. Louis de Montfort. Barbour, M. trans. The Secret of the Rosary, (Bay Shore, NY: Montfort Publications, 1995).