“Birmingham, October 5, 1875
“You will find an account of the Rosary in Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Vol. X, on the 1st of October, that book of prodigious learning of all sorts, which Gibbon so highly commended for its accurate knowledge. If you have it not, you will find it at the convent - it is in all Catholic Libraries.
“The principle of the Rosary is very ancient. Beads were used as an instrument of prayer in the East before Christianity. The Fathers of the desert counted their prayers, in some recorded cases, with pebbles. But St. Dominic at the beginning of the 13th century gave it its present form. The Paters and Aves, attached to the beads, are but the body of the prayer; to get at the religious philosophy of the Rosary we must go to its soul. The soul of the Rosary is the meditation. To understand this you must have a little Manual of the Rosary, to be found in most prayer-books. There you will see that the Rosary is divided into three parts, and one of these parts is represented by the material Rosary, or string of beads. One part only being said at one time, as a rule. First is said the Creed, and three Our Fathers, represented by the large bead next the Cross and the three beads next it. Then come the mysteries of our Lord’s Life - sufferings and triumph, which are the objects of meditation. The first part is the five joyful mysteries, put in two or three sentences each in the manual to help the mind to its subject. Each of these is thought upon whilst saying one ‘Our Father’ holding the large bead, and ten ‘Hail Marys,’ holding in succession the ten little beads. Then the next mystery is taken in the same way, until the whole circle is completed. After which there is a little prayer. For the Five sorrowful mysteries of the Passion, the same round of beads is similarly used on another occassion. And so likewise the five glorious or triumphant mysteries.
“The body of the Rosary is the vocal Our Fathers and Hail Marys; its pith and soul is the meditation. The beads, as they are held in the fingers, give escape to nervous restlessness, and so leave the attention more free. Thus the weakness of a nervous, or restless, or extroverted mind is provided against. Many people can only think freely on a point when in action, walking for example: their nerves and senses must have employment to free the mind for concentration. The famous preacher who could only find his ideas flow when twisting a thread on his fingers is a case in point - his thread snapped, and his thinking stopped. The fingering of the beads and the vocal prayers do this function, disposing and freeing the mind for meditation. Human nature is very complex; and its complexity of activity, which is in the Rosary provided for, is the source of those distractions that arise when we kneel inactive in body, and repeat customary vocal prayers. A little activity of the hands and a fixed object for reflection to animate our vocal prayer cures much of this distraction. A lady can think over her needle, who cannot think so well sitting still with unused hands.
“The Rosary was the Book of the unlettered before the ages of printing, which familiarized their hearts with the chief mysteries of the Gospel; it is excellent for two classes, those who like it, and those who don’t like it. Millions of souls have been made contemplative and internally spiritual, in all classes, by its use, who without it could never have become so. As to those who don’t like it because it is childish; I once gave a Rosary to a gentleman of high character, great attaintments, and extraordinary shrewdness - a convert. I said, ‘Say that for three months, and ask me no reason for it: after that you will give me, yourself, a good reason. He did so, and at the end of it he said; ‘I understand. You wanted to pull down my pride, to make me simple-hearted and childlike, and to get into the habit of spiritual reflection. I shall never leave it off again.’
“Some people don’t like to take the medicine that would heal them, and call it nonsense. The Rosary is exactly that nonsense which cures an amazing deal of nonsense. Call it spiritual homeopathy if you like. Many a proud spirit has been brought down by it. Many a faddy spirit has been made patient by it. Many a queasy spirit has been made strong by it. Many a distracted spirit has been made recollected by it. ‘The weak things of this world hath God chosen to confound the strong.’
“As to the relative number of Hail Marys, I will not give the Irish carman’s solution in reply to the interrogation of his Protestant fare - that one ‘Our Father is worth ten Hail Marys any day.’ There is a deeper solution. You will remember in Ivanhoe what a thrilling interest is created where the wounded hero on his bed of pain sees the whole conflict as it rages round the fortress through the eyes and heart of the Jewish maiden, who beholds and describes it with tender accents from the window of his apartment. There you have the sense of the Hail Marys. Through the pure and the tender soul of the Mother, more allied to our human weakness, you behold the life, acts, and sufferings of the Son, whereby our own soul is opened to tenderness, to simplicity, to all of the mother within us; whilst we look on Him through her, invoking her to join our prayers with hers, the Mother and the Queen, by His Heavenly Throne. Wonderful is the Rosary! For its history see Butler’s Lives of the Saints. I give you its beautiful philosophy, for so St. John Chrysostom calls Christian Wisdom.
“Praying Our Lord to bless you,
“I remain,
“Your faithful servant in Christ,
“W. B. Ullathorne”
