My Rosary Method

The “Ruth Rosary” – A Method of Praying the Rosary

One of the dangers of saying the Rosary is that it can become routine. But what can be done? Do we change the subject of the meditations? Do we change our physical position or adopt various breathing techniques? The method proposed here suggests none of these things and the reader can rest assured about its orthodoxy, indeed, the method hinges on meditating on the Word of God making use of “lectio divina” as recommended by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical “Rosarium Virginis Mariae”.

The encyclical states: “The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: ‘Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words” (Mt 6:7).’” (Paragraph 12) It is not possible to overemphasise the vital need to make the effort to meditate on the mysteries each and every time we pray the Rosary.

When speaking of the mysteries of the Rosary, the encyclical states: “Obviously these mysteries neither replace the Gospel nor exhaust its content. The Rosary, therefore, is no substitute for lectio divina; on the contrary, it presupposes and promotes it.” (Paragraph 29) The mention of “lectio divina” as a way of meditation being “presupposed” and “promoted” by the Rosary leads us to conclude that Pope John Paul II would be very happy if all those who prayed the Rosary were familiar with the practice of lectio divina and that they applied it during their meditations in the Rosary. Pope Benedict also had this to say: “I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of ‘Lectio divina’: ‘the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart’ (cf. “Dei Verbum,” n. 25). If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church — I am convinced of it — a new spiritual springtime. As a strong point of biblical ministry, ‘Lectio divina’ should therefore be increasingly encouraged, also through the use of new methods, carefully thought through and in step with the times. It should never be forgotten that the Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (cf. Psalm 119[118]:105).” (Address to participants of international congress on “Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church”, Castel Gandolofo, September 16, 2005)

“Lectio divina” simply means “divine reading” and refers to the ancient monastic method of reading and meditating on the Word of God. Although the practice was even evident in Saint Paul’s works, “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (Romans 10:8), the more concrete form is ascribed to Guigo II, a Carthusian monk in the 12th century, who referred to four steps of a ladder of prayer: lectio, meditatio, oratio, and contemplatio, that is reading, meditating, praying and contemplation. So a person praying would read a text slowly and try to understand its basic meaning, for example, how the characters felt and what they did. Then the person must meditate and consider what the text actually means to him and to his world today. Finally, the person tries to make a response in prayer, which could take the form of a petition for some grace that he can see he is in need of, or it could be thanksgiving for the light received, or it could even be a cry of “Lord, I don’t understand Your Word, please help me.” Contemplation goes beyond the final step of the one praying, as several writers, in distinguishing contemplation from meditation, state that contemplation is in fact something that God works in the soul, and the person praying need only let go and gaze at God’s loving action in his soul. In my opinion, if someone often finds they reach the stage of contemplation, it would be sensible to find a good spiritual director to confirm the authenticity of any extraordinary action in their soul. The four stages above are a framework to help someone to delve into the Word of God, but they should not be seen as absolutely binding: the order does not have to be strictly 1, 2, 3, 4, but could go 1, 3, 2, 3, 4, or even for some lucky people ½, 4, 4, 4, 4! The important thing to realise here is that there is nothing mysterious or arcane here; the method only requires faith that God speaks to each and every one of us on each and every occasion through the inspired Word of scripture, if we would only take the time to listen. “No other words can ever match the efficacy of the inspired word. As we listen, we are certain that this is the word of God, spoken for today and spoken ‘for me’.” (“Rosarium Virginis Mariae” paragraph 30)

Pope John Paul’s encyclical further states: “Yet, even though the mysteries contemplated in the Rosary, even with the addition of the mysteria lucis, do no more than outline the fundamental elements of the life of Christ, they easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection.” (Paragraph 29) In this we can see that the Rosary mysteries can be used simply as a starting point. A faithful child of the Church, well nourished by good amounts of spiritual reading and armed with humility and obedience to Church teachings, is perfectly at liberty to allow his thoughts to wander around any of God’s truths that present themselves. Saint Isaac of Syria said: “When you are in prayer, do not ask to be entirely free of mental wandering, which is impossible, but seek to wander following something that is good. … Wandering is good when the mind wanders on God during the entire extent of his prayer, on God’s glory and majesty, stemming from a recollection of the Scriptures…” (“Daily Readings with Saint Isaac of Syria” A.M. Allchin 1989, page 77)

Discussing the size of scriptural passage, Pope John Paul states: “In order to supply a Biblical foundation and greater depth to our meditation, it is helpful to follow the announcement of the mystery with the proclamation of a related Biblical passage, long or short, depending on the circumstances. If received in this way, the word of God can become part of the Rosary’s methodology of repetition without giving rise to the ennui derived from the simple recollection of something already well known. It is not a matter of recalling information but of allowing God to speak.” (Paragraph 30) Here we see that the length has no great importance in itself, and that it is envisioned that the Rosary will be prayed in diverse situations, some more or less favourable to meditation. The main point is to allow God’s voice to be heard. An obvious way to try to listen is to give time for silence: “Listening and meditation are nourished by silence. After the announcement of the mystery and the proclamation of the word, it is fitting to pause and focus one’s attention for a suitable period of time on the mystery concerned, before moving into vocal prayer. A discovery of the importance of silence is one of the secrets of practicing contemplation and meditation.” (Paragraph 31)

There are two main methods of praying the rosary with scripture. The most traditional method involves reading one text before each mystery, sometimes followed by a prayer requesting a particular virtue, before praying each decade of the Rosary. This method has the risk of becoming routine as the Scripture passages become well known. Another method, sometimes known as a “Scriptural Rosary” involves reading one short text before each “Hail Mary” of each decade. This method obviously attempts to keep the mind alert during the prayer, but it really only gives the space of one “Hail Mary” to try and meditate before another part of Scripture is presented. It also makes praying the Rosary logistically difficult as a person has to keep reading from a book every ten seconds or so.

The first method would appear to be more in line with the model proposed by Pope John Paul, and the one which would also allow the actual decades to fit more into a lengthened time of meditation and petition following the initial reading. What is needed then, is a way to ensure that each time the Rosary is prayed, the familiar pieces of Scripture are somehow presented in a new light ensuring that the person praying does not take them lightly. I would like to propose such a method, which actually is a combination of the two methods already discussed, and for reasons that will become clear, I would refer to it as the “Ruth Rosary”.

A Detailed Explanation of the “Ruth Rosary” Method

It is assumed that the person praying is familiar with the general mysteries of the Rosary. If this is not the case, then perhaps such a person should pray the Rosary for a few months using the first method mentioned above. A very good overall introduction to the rosary can be found at How to Pray the Rosary Everyday.

A “Scriptural Rosary” text is needed, that is a set of Scripture texts for each mystery of the Rosary (twenty altogether) and each text divided into ten parts, one small part intended for each “Hail Mary” of each decade. These texts are usually sold in small booklet form or are easily available on the internet. One example can be found at ecatholic200.com. Each mystery of the Rosary has one page with ten small texts numbered one to ten, usually taken from the relevant Gospel narrative broken down into ten parts.

Now, for each mystery of the Rosary, not each “Hail Mary”, one of the small texts is chosen for meditation and is announced at the start of that mystery. This means that in a conventional Rosary, consisting of five decades, only five small texts will be used. This very small reading is like a fine analysis of the Scripture and it can be surprising what treasures can be found in places that we once thought had already been emptied out of all their contents. The one praying becomes like Ruth, who “gleaned in the field behind the reapers” (Ruth 2:3).

A small technical point exists as to which of the ten texts to choose. One way to ensure that the Rosary remains fresh and surprising and that all the texts are eventually chosen over time, is to choose the texts whose numbers correspond to the date. So for dates 1^st, 11^th, 21^st and 31^st the first small text in each list would be used, and so on.

Nothing serves better than an example, so we can consider someone wishing to pray the luminous mysteries on Thursday 26^th of any month. He takes his Rosary and “Scriptural Rosary” booklet and for each mystery he looks down to the sixth fragment of Scripture given.

To illustrate how our meditation might go, we can consider the first two luminous mysteries for this occasion:

1. Jesus’ baptism. Lectio (6^th text in my particular book) “Jesus said to him, ‘Allow it now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.’” (Mt 3:15); Meditatio (which starts in a short period of silence before the decade, and can continue throughout) – John, even though he felt unworthy, allowed Jesus to persuade him to do something great, and even beyond his understanding; Oratio (which could start in the period of silence, or somewhere during the decade) – “Dear Lord, please help me to hear Your voice, to hear Your command, and not to make any excuses to avoid doing Your Will. Please give me wise counsellors to guide me.” (Obviously, during the decade this prayer would probably be more felt rather than expressed in any verbal form. It is up to the one praying if he decides to have a time of silence after each decade or at the end of the whole Rosary to try and crystallise out these ideas more. I personally like to fill in a diary at the end of the Rosary, or the end of the day, for any points that were particularly striking.)

2. The wedding at Cana. Lectio “Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them to the brim.” (Jn 2:7); Meditatio – they filled the jars to the brim, to the brim. Even though they had no idea what Jesus was planning, they went all out and filled them to the brim. Just like Peter casting his nets after a night of catching nothing, these servants put all their trust and devoted all their energy and resources at that time to Jesus; Oratio – “Dear Lord, let me be like them.”

The Right Attitude in Prayer

The whole process of meditation and searching for meaning should be carried out in a relaxed way; there should be nothing forced about it. Sometimes the only thing that seems possible is to read the Scripture text and no ideas or inspirations seem to come. No matter. Just allow a short time of silence and then proceed with the decade – sometimes during the decade ideas come, and sometimes all there is is a dry battle against distractions. We need to accept God’s Will and accept involuntary distractions for what they are, simply a nuisance but also a means of trial and a way of achieving great merit if we a faithful in the struggle. However, sometimes we should analyse where our distractions come from if they regularly bother us. For example, if we constantly have negative feelings about a work colleague, it could be a sign that we should take this matter out of the “distractions” sphere and place it squarely in the centre of the “meditation” sphere and actively pray about it. If we constantly think about our favourite computer game or soap-opera character, sadly it could mean that it is time to reduce or completely stop spending time on it at all, inside or outside of the time of prayer.

It is good to make a determined effort to focus on our prayer right from the outset. Saint Francis de Sales had this advice for praying: “Begin all prayer, whether mental or vocal, by an act of the Presence of God. If you observe this rule strictly, you will soon see how useful it is.” (“Introduction to the Devout Life”, Part II, Chapter I, Paragraph 5) Now, realising that the Rosary is quite a long prayer, but that usefully it is broken down into five decades, it would be worthwhile to call to mind God’s presence at the start of each decade, especially just before the Word of God is read. A useful way to do this is to use the formula taught by the angel at Fatima: “O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.” Some scrupulous people may not feel that they can make this prayer and say that their faith is weak, their love is cold, and they feel despair about life, but I would say that our feelings need to be seen in context, and that someone who fully intends to devote time to reciting the Rosary while meditating on God’s Word surely does believe, adore, hope and love.

Adding a Background to the Meditations

Another way of widening the use of Scripture while praying the Rosary is to set a Scriptural “background” or “lens” for the whole prayer. For example, someone might wish to meditate on the beatitudes and on how to incorporate them more into their life generally. To this end, they might take one beatitude each day to bear in mind. One day they might consider the beatitude “Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4), and it may happen to be a day for the joyful mysteries of the Rosary (Monday or Saturday). In this situation the person praying may find himself drawn away from the particular texts for the day, focusing more on the beatitude, so the mediations for the first two mysteries might be as follows:

1. The annunciation. Did Mary mourn before the annunciation? Was She upset by the darkness enveloping the world? Was the angel’s message Her great comfort?

2. The visitation. How much did the barren Elizabeth mourn at her lack of children? How good God was to her in the end.

Sometimes I feel that I am concentrating too much on the meditations and I lose sight of Mary completely. We can then set the “background” with the words of the “Hail Mary” itself – again, only one fragment at a time. The “Hail Mary” can be divided conveniently into ten fragments:

1. Hail Mary: Your name terrifies the devils and consoles your children
2. Full of grace
3. The Lord is with Thee
4. Blessed art Thou among women
5. Blessed is the fruit of Thy womb: Jesus is flesh of Your flesh
6. Jesus
7. Holy Mary: You are holy, as our Father is holy
8. Mother of God
9. Pray for us sinners
10. Now and at the hour of our death

Summary

The “Ruth Rosary” should:

• help to avoid routine
• involve the Word of God more
• integrate the method of Lectio Divina with the traditional Rosary
• be useful for busy people who have to say their rosary while on the move (either by printing the Scripture texts for each set of mysteries on individual cards – an A5 card folded over will easily cover the 50 small texts for one set of mysteries; or by memorising the five small texts just before a walk or journey if that is when they intend to pray)
• be useful for Christians who cannot afford individual Bibles
• allow groups to say the Rosary together while at the same time being able to meditate individually and obtain the individual fruits that they need

This Blog …

… is basically almost entirely inspired by using this method of praying the Rosary. If I find I think of something useful or striking in some way, and if I have time, I write it here. More recently I have also limited my reading of the Bible to focussing on the texts used in the Sunday liturgy, and some of the fruits of this meditation can be found here too. Interestingly, if we can think about distractions, I find that the thoughts recorded in this blog are often a source of distraction to me as I go about my daily tasks.