The Mystical Rosary
Saints have called the Rosary a mystical rose tree which bears the divine fruit of Paradise in our souls. As St. Louis Marie de Montfort says in The Secret of Mary, “Happy, a thousand times happy, is the soul here below to which the Holy Spirit reveals the Secret of Mary in order that it may come to know her; to which He opens the Garden Enclosed that it may enter into it; to which He gives access to that Fountain Sealed that it may draw from it and drink deep draughts of the living waters of grace! . . . But why dwell any longer on this? Only experience can teach the wonders wrought by Mary, wonders so great that neither the proud, nor even many of the devout can believe them.”
When we read these things, we can be tempted to think that they are just the over-the-top, florid expressions of 17th-century piety. But then we can realize: it’s all true. Those who faithfully pray the Rosary can be drawn, imperceptibly or in a striking manner, into a deeper level of prayer that fully justifies all the saints have exclaimed regarding it.
Fr. Jacques Philippe, a popular contemporary author on prayer, says of the Rosary:
Some people may be surprised to find the traditional rosary treated as a method of mental prayer. But the rosary has made prayer that is contemplative, even continual, possible for many people, perhaps without their even realizing it.
In the rosary it is Mary who leads us into her own prayer, gives us access to the humanity of Jesus and introduces us into the mysteries of her Son. Mary somehow offers us a share in her own mental prayer, surely the deepest ever.
Often, when said slowly and in a spirit of recollection, the rosary can establish our hearts in communion with God. . . . Today, after a period of neglect, the rosary is being rediscovered as a very valuable way of entering into the grace of deep, loving prayer. (Time for God, p. 94-95)
The deeper graces possible in the Rosary are as varied as God’s eternal designs of love for each soul. Some may be explicitly Marian, living in her presence, as Fr. Jean Lafrance speaks of in The Rosary: A Path to Continual Prayer. Others may be drawn into the love of Jesus: “Prayer now becomes a deep outpouring of love, sometimes perceptible and sometimes not, in which God and the soul give themselves to one another” (Fr. Jacques Philippe). Some may simply be filled with the “peace of God that surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7) without any flashy special effects.
Pope St. John Paul II speaks beautifully about the Rosary and its many graces in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae.
When we hope for and expect graces of deeper prayer through saying the Rosary, this is not seeking experiences for their own sake. It is rather an expression of the deep thirst of our souls for the living water to which God has invited us, which Jesus has promised to give us, and which is God Himself:
All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat; Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost! (Isaiah 55:1)
Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev. 22:17)
Therefore, we urge you: pray the Rosary, ask for the grace, and persevere!
Three Modes of Praying the Rosary
Another exposition of growth in prayer through the Rosary comes from Fr. Bernard, O.P. of Toulouse, an early promoter of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. He divided the growth of prayer with the Rosary into three stages, the Rosary of Beginners, the Rosary of Affection, and the Rosary of Union, teaching that the manner in which we stay the Rosary ought to grow according to our stage in the spiritual life.
The Rosary of Beginners
According to Fr. Bernard, “At this stage, we engage in serious meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary in order to know, love, and imitate the virtues of Jesus and Mary. No need to be frightened by the idea of meditation. The merchant meditates seriously on his business, seeking profit. The student meditates on his studies, even while the wicked meditates evil in his heart. Nothing more is required than good will and the aid of the Holy Spirit.”
The Rosary of Affection
“The Rosary now becomes simpler and more profound. One makes acts of love, adoration, thanks and petition. One listens and praises, following the attraction of the moment. One should pause in the recitation of the private Rosary, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, taking it up at a later stage.”
The Rosary of Union
“What I wish to stress is that a person who has arrived at a high degree of contemplation and unitive prayer would find meditation as such almost impossible. Having arrived at a passive kind of prayer and already receiving the fruits of the Rosary, he is no longer helped by the searching with is peculiar to meditation. He must use the talent God has given him in restful prayer.” How? Fr. Bernard explains further: “Keep yourself in the presence of God, listening rather than speaking, quieting all thoughts and affections and all discursive meditation. You are no longer listening to the preacher, the holy books, or the meditation, but to God in the depths of your heart.”