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Be Faithful and Attentive* — Book One Chapter 12 (in part): "The first canticle that the Angels and Saints sang to my Mama as She entered Paradise was the ‘Hail Mary', because the ‘Hail Mary' contains within the most beautiful praises and the greatest honors; and with it, the joy which She felt in being made Mother of God is renewed." (Vol. 2: August 15, 1899) (Go directly to Rosary Selection) |
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Mary's Psalter (The Holy Rosary) in Rounds For centuries, the Holy Rosary has been of central importance in the spiritual life of virtually every devout Catholic. It shall continue to be in the lives of those living in the Divine Will. St. Louis de Montfort describes this devotion as "none other than meditation on the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother." [1] It is a meditation, therefore, on the mysteries of Redemption. Since Jesus tells the Children of the Divine Will that He wants an exchange of love, not only for everything in Creation, but also for everything in Redemption, the Rosary can be a wonderful occasion for giving this exchange. As Luisa says: "For me, fusing myself in the Supreme Will is like an inexhaustible fountain that rises up; and each little thing that I feel, hear or seek, or an offense committed against my Jesus, is an occasion for new and different ways to fuse myself in his most Holy Will" (Vol. 17: May 17, 1925). This chapter is presented, therefore, to give you a method of praying the Rosary that will enable you to give this exchange, making your Rounds in Redemption, while you pray your Rosary:
1. Pray the Rosary Well In order to pray the Holy Rosary in the Divine Will, first of all you must pray it well. St. Louis Marie de Montfort in his book, The Secret of the Rosary, tells us: In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with real concentration, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries fruitless and would make us guilty of sin. How can we expect God to listen to us if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? How can we expect Him to be pleased if, while in the presence of His tremendous Majesty, we give in to distractions just as children run after butterflies? People who do this forfeit Almighty God's blessings which are then changed into curses because they have been praying disrespectfully. "Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully" (Jeremias 28:10). Of course, you cannot possibly say your Rosary without having a few involuntary distractions and it is hard to say even one Hail Mary without your imagination troubling you a little (for our imagination is, alas, never still). The one thing you can do, however, is to say your Rosary without giving in to distractions deliberately and you can take all sorts of precautions to lessen involuntary distractions and to control your imagination. With this in mind put yourself in the presence of God and imagine that Almighty God and His Blessed Mother are watching you and that your guardian Angel is standing at your right hand, taking your Hail Marys, if they are well said, and using them like roses to make crowns for Jesus and Mary. But remember that at your left hand lurks the devil ready to pounce upon every Hail Mary that comes his way and to write it down in his deadly notebook. And be sure that he will snatch every single one of your Hail Marys that you have not said attentively, devoutly and with reverence. Above all do not forget to offer up each decade in honor of one of the mysteries and while you are saying it try to form a picture in your mind of Jesus and Mary in connection with this mystery. The life of Blessed Hermann (of the Premonstratensian Fathers) tells us that at one time when he used to say the Rosary attentively and devoutly while meditating upon the mysteries Our Lady used to appear to him resplendent in breathtaking majesty and beauty. But as time went on his fervor cooled and he fell into the way of saying his Rosary hurriedly and without giving it his full attention. Then one day Our Lady appeared to him again — only this time she was far from beautiful and her face was furrowed and drawn with sadness. Blessed Hermann was appalled at the change in her, and then Our Lady explained: "This is how I look to you, Hermann, because in your soul this is how you are treating me; as a woman to be despised and of no importance. Why do you no longer greet me with respect and attention meditating on my mysteries and praising my privileges." [2] In another chapter from the same book, St. Louis also adds: ...that the Rosary ought to be said reverently — that is to say it ought to be said, as far as possible, kneeling, with the hands joined and clasping the Rosary. However, if the people are ill they can of course say it in bed or if they are travelling it can be said on foot [in our day we may add: while driving] — and if infirmity prevents people kneeling it can be said seated or standing. [3] Today, it is often seen that many, even devout souls, are sluggish in their bodily posture while they pray. Remember the words of St. Peter Julian Eymard — quoted previously in Chapter 7 — teaching the necessity of exterior respect: You owe Our Lord exterior respect, which is prayer of the body. Nothing helps so much the prayer of the soul.... He [Jesus Christ] gave Be aware, too, that Our Lady Herself has instructed us to kneel when praying the Holy Rosary. She once told Bl. Alan de la Roche: I want you to know that, although there are numerous indulgences already attached to the recitation of my Rosary, I shall add many more to every fifty Hail Marys (each group of five decades) for those who say them devoutly, on their knees — being of course, free from mortal sin. [5] And so, dear Child of the Divine Will, keep in mind all these words of instruction which teach you how to pray the Rosary well, since you cannot hope to pray the Rosary in the Divine Will if you don't pray it as God wills.
2. The Rounds MARY'S PSALTER — THE HOLY ROSARYIN ROUNDS Be aware that the Power of the Divine Will makes you present at each mystery as it is taking place. For this reason, the rounds offered in the selections below are made in the present tense. Also keep in mind that the "I Love You's" presented in these rounds are the author's. Feel free to formulate your own as the Holy Spirit inspires you. You may read each "I love You" just as they are written (before each Hail Mary), or if you prefer, they may be read all at once at the announcing of each mystery. With these thoughts in mind, you may now click below on whichever set of mysteries you wish to pray as rounds: Rosary Selection (Top of Page)
A Shorter Method At times you may find the above methods of praying the Holy Rosary too long or too cumbersome. In this case, you may want to utilize this shorter method: Pray the Rosary in the customary way (without the invocations before each Hail Mary). Before each decade offer the following prayer: O Sacrosanct Trinity, I make mine all the Goodness and Mercy found in this Mystery of the (name the Mystery) along with all the glory You would have received if all souls had made full use of this good as You intended, and I offer it to You at every moment continuously as I meditate this decade. Making this offering with love and gratitude, in the name of all, I implore: mercy, salvation and sanctification for every soul, the quick and complete Triumph of the Divine Will on earth, and Its quick and complete Triumph in me. Amen. † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †...the most pleasing words that most console my Mother are "Dominus Tecum" (The Lord is with Thee), because no sooner were they pronounced by the Angel, then She felt the whole Divine Being communicate Himself within Her, and thus experienced Herself invested with the Divine Power, so much so that her very own being, in the face of this Divine Power, was enveloped, leaving my Mother with the Divine Power in her hands. (Vol. 4: January 10, 1903) † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †...†...† Be faithful and attentive as if everything depended on you. Be completely abandoned and at peace as if everything depended on God. |
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END NOTES [1] St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, 42nd Rose, p. 17. Rockford, IL: [2] Ibid., pp. 89-90. back [3] Ibid., 45th Rose, p. 95. back [4] St. Peter Julian Eymard. The Real Presence, pp. 164-5. Cleveland, OH: [5] The Secret of the Rosary, 28th Rose, pp. 68-9. back |
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* Be Faithful and Attentive: A Handbook for Living in the Divine Will
The excerpts of Be Faithful and Attentive offered here may be copied and printed for one's own use and for discussion groups. The right to publish this book or any of its parts remains exclusively with the author, Robert T. Hart, and the Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will. back to top |
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