Experiences and Perceived Effects of Rosary Praying: A Qualitative Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8542536/

National Library of Medicine

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore experiences and perceived effects of the Rosary on issues around health and well-being, as well as on spirituality and religiosity. A qualitative study was conducted interviewing ten Roman Catholic German adults who regularly practiced the Rosary prayer. As a result of using a tangible prayer cord and from the rhythmic repetition of prayers, the participants described experiencing stability, peace and a contemplative connection with the Divine, with Mary as a guide and mediator before God. Praying the Rosary was described as helpful in coping with critical life events and in fostering an attitude of acceptance, humbleness and devotion.

Excerpt

Effects of the Rosary on Health and Spiritual Well-Being

Our study shows that direct experiences of longer lasting effects in prayer such as peace, relaxation and connection to God cannot be clearly separated from each other. In addition, experienced effects and subjective explanations of effective factors overlap, including trust, devotion and, again, connection to God. We derive from this subjectively experienced interdependence in a holistic concept of well-being in a bio-psycho-socio-global-spiritual conception of man. Thus, spirituality in the lived Christian faith and health and well-being also influence each other, which relates to the concept of spiritual well-being (Moberg, 2002; Paloutzian et al., 2012). Poloma and Pendleton found relations between prayer and various dimensions of well-being (e.g., general life satisfaction, existential well-being, negative affect, happiness and religious satisfaction), and the prayer experience, to have the strongest impact on quality of life and well-being (Poloma & Pendleton, 1991). The reported experiences and effects of the Rosary reported in our study such as calmness, relaxation, trust and equanimity have also been described in several studies on meditation as promoting resilience, reducing stress and anxiety (Anastasi & Newberg, 2008; Bohlmeijer et al., 2010; Sedlmeier et al., 2012)(Fjorback et al., 2011). It has also been shown that recitation coordinates heart rate and breathing, thus supporting vagotonus physiologically (Bernardi et al., 2001; Cysarz et al., 2004).