Hello Rosary lovers! In this post we will look at what happens if you don’t finish the Rosary.

It doesn’t really matter

Truth be told, it really doesn’t matter if you don’t finish the Rosary. Catholics are not required to pray the Rosary even once in their life, much less every day of their lives. It is OPTIONAL. 

So starting it and failing to finish it in an entire day isn’t an issue.

The Rosary is an incredible devotion

That said, the holy Rosary is an extremely beneficial spiritual devotion to become attached to, even if you don’t pray it daily. The Church recommends the Rosary through various means in her sacred Tradition.

For instance, many saints have recommended the Rosary as little short of indispensable. There have also been quite a number of Papal encyclicals throughout the years commending the practice to Catholics, particularly from St Pope John Paul II and Leo XIII.

Let’s also not forget the many apparitions of the Virgin Mary, particularly at Lourdes and Fatima. At Fatima, for instance, every time the Virgin appeared to the shepherd children, she told them to pray the Rosary.

So it’s certainly a highly valuable practice. If practiced with devotion daily, it almost seems to guarantee heaven.

We have A LOT about the Rosary on this site, and almost all of it is either backed up by my own experience or the Church’s tradition.

But, as said above, Catholics do NOT have to pray the Rosary. Ever.

So if you don’t finish a Rosary for the day, it doesn’t matter. It’s immaterial. 

You can just pray a decade a day

Many Catholics only pray a single decade of the Rosary a day. So if you’ve prayed three or four, but not finished the Rosary for the day, then you’re already doing more than many.

There’s a pious belief amongst some Catholics that if we don’t finish the Rosary for the day, our Guardian Angel finishes it for us. It’s a nice thought but I have no idea whether it’s true. If you happen to know, let me know in the comments below!

An encouragement

So, by all means, pray the Rosary, if you want to! If you pray only one or two decades during the day, this is great 🙂 If you pray three or four, even better. And if you manage to complete the Rosary in a day, then God bless you.

And if you manage to pray 3 or even 4 rosaries in a day, WOW, that’s really something.

It seems to be the case that completing 5 decades of the Rosary in a single day brings with it a partial indulgence. So that’s worth trying to get each day, either for yourself or the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Other ways to get indulgences

If you don’t manage to pray the Rosary, or if you don’t feel called to pray it, not to worry. There are lots of other ways to gain partial indulgences throughout each day, and many of them are much easier and quicker than praying 5 decades of the Rosary.

For instance, you get a partial indulgence every time you devoutly do the Sign of the Cross. That takes about all of a few seconds. 

Or you can get partial indulgences every time you recite various prayers, such as these (click here). These are quick ways to get partial indulgences for yourself and/or the Holy Souls.

MANY other forms of devotion

There is a great deal to explore in the Catholic faith when it comes to different devotions and forms of spirituality. The Rosary is an extremely powerful one, but it is merely one of many. 

There’s Lectio Divina, the Scapular, Scripture Reading, daily Mass attendance, Eucharistic Adoration, Stations of the Cross, Consecration Prayers, devotions to different saints, and so much more.

And that’s just the Latin rite! The Eastern rites of the Catholic Church have completely different forms of spirituality, such as the Jesus Prayer.

If you have any questions, please get in touch. God bless you on your journey 🙂