The Rosary and Imagination

[Carlion]

However, I do wonder if he really meant for ordinary Catholics to apply these methods to the Rosary? Perhaps somebody here who really does follow his spirituality can actually speak to that. But, I had thought that this idea of meditation came from his Spiritual Exercises, and that they were a rather organized program of specific meditations meant to be used under spiritual guidance. Is it certain that he intended then for ordinary people to use these same techniques without any such guidance?

That’s a very interesting question, about whether or not the method was intended for use with the Rosary. From what I’ve read, the Rosary was originally just 150 Hail Marys said as sort of a “poor man’s” version of praying the Psalter. Clergy had the time and education needed to read and pray and 150 psalms, while the average peasant did not. Personally, I find it hard to believe that a serf in the Middle Ages had the time or inclination to meditate on each mystery the way it’s done today.

Like you, I’d like to hear a resident expert in Ignatian spirituality put in their two cents.

 

[DebChris]

I am definitely not an expert on Ignatius spirituality.
Hearts on Fire is about praying with the Jesuits. It is a collection of prayers to be used as a companion to the spiritual exercises which take 30 days to complete. The book belonged to my brother.
I found the page that talks about entering into conversation with God through the scriptures. Using a short passage, enter into the scene as one of the participants pausing when something strikes you.
“Praying scripture has nothing to do with ‘getting through’ passages and books; it has everything to do with letting the meaning and the values of each single word sink into your life.”

What does any of this have to do with the rosary? The rosary started with peasants who lacked the time or education to read the psalms as those in the monasteries. It started as 150 Patre Nostras. Over time, the Our Fathers were replaced by the 150 Hail Mary’s. Reflections on the mysteries were added. In my own home growing up, we simply prayed five decades of the rosary everyday. In other words, the rosary has evolved over time. I have read Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary and find differences in the rosary as he taught it and the rosary as it is familiar to us. Growing up, my family ended each rosary with an Act of Contrition rather than the more common Hail Holy Queen.
The rosary has become a way to pray to God through Mary while reflecting on the life of Christ. Pope John Paul II encouraged the use of a scripture reflection at the beginning of each decade to commemorate the mystery. There are scriptural rosary books with reflections for each Hail Mary. I especially like the addition of the Luminous Mysteries.

I will not say that I purposefully place myself in a scene while praying the rosary. As mentioned in an earlier post, the addition of a single word or phrase after “blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus_______” helps me focus on the mystery itself. In the midst of the reflection I may find myself in the scene. I have literally felt the burden lift off my shoulders with “Jesus taking my cross” during the fourth sorrowful mystery and the forgiveness of “Jesus crucified” during the fifth.

 

[Carlion]

I have read Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary and find differences in the rosary as he taught it and the rosary as it is familiar to us.

I read that, too, and also his Secret of the Rosary. Wonderful books. I think what I liked best was when he says each completed Hail Mary is like a rosebud from your lips, handed to your guardian angel who then gives it to Our Lady to add to her crown of roses. It’s a beautiful thought, and writing like that is hard to find in the spiritual handbooks of our day.

That is sort of my point, really, when it comes to some of this meditation. Some of the Catholic spiritual exercises I see promoted these days in books and the like make my head ache. St. Therese said the only two spiritual books she needed were the Bible and the Imitation of Christ, and I can see why. I think we miss a lot of the simplicity past generations had in their attitude toward God. We miss, too, a lot of the poetry, like the kind in St. Louis de Montfort’s writings.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

Alright. Forget I asked. I don’t see where I said anything that should have upset you. I merely asked how other people do things, and have mentioned why I have done things the way I have so far. I didn’t attack your method, or call you wrong, but only stated why I had restrained myself from some practices up to this point. Besides, it was only meant as a conversation. If it bothers you that much then you need hardly trouble yourself about it at all.

Believe me, I am not upset, nor did I intend to convey that with my response. I merely said, this is what I was taught, if you care to use it, fine. If you do not that is also fine. Nuf said.

 

[cothrige]

I read that, too, and also his Secret of the Rosary. Wonderful books. I think what I liked best was when he says each completed Hail Mary is like a rosebud from your lips, handed to your guardian angel who then gives it to Our Lady to add to her crown of roses. It’s a beautiful thought, and writing like that is hard to find in the spiritual handbooks of our day.

St. Louis de Montfort is a particular favorite of mine. I particularly love True Devotion and Love of Eternal Wisdom. I even gave my second son the middle name Montfort in honour of that particular saint. I think what has impressed me most is his ability to convey the deeply Christological nature of Marian devotion. The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori is a fine book but it doesn’t approach True Devotion in beauty of language and it never, imho, feels quite as definitively Christ centered as St. Louis’ books do. Glories is a favorite among those who attack the Church for allegedly worshipping Mary but True Devotion is rarely used in that way. I think St. Louis just manages to draw out the connections more clearly than does St. Alphonsus.