45ème Rose — La manière sainte de réciter le rosaire
The Posture and Spirit of Prayer
The author emphasizes that while a reverent posture is ideal, the Blessed Virgin values the good will of the heart even when circumstances require prayer during work or illness.
129. I add that the holy Rosary must be recited with modesty—that is, as far as you can, on your knees, hands joined, the rosary in your hands. If you are sick, however, you may say it in bed; if you are traveling, you may say it while walking; if some infirmity prevents you from kneeling, you may say it while standing or sitting. You can even recite it while working when you cannot leave your tasks to fulfill your professional duties, because manual labor is not always opposed to vocal prayer. I admit that since our soul is limited in what it can do, when it's attentive to the work of the hands, it's less attentive to the operations of the mind, which is what prayer is; even so, in necessity this prayer has its worth before the Blessed Virgin, who rewards good will more than outward action.1
Faithfulness in Daily Practice
Practical advice is given on dividing the Rosary throughout the day, supported by the examples of Saint Francis de Sales and other holy figures who prioritized prayer over exhaustion.
130. I suggest you divide your Rosary into three chaplets, or pray it at three different times during the day; it's better to break it up this way than to say it all at once. If you can't find the time to say a third of it in one sitting, pray one decade here and another there. You'll be able to manage it, despite all your work and responsibilities, so that you've finished your whole Rosary before you go to bed. In this, imitate the faithfulness of Saint Francis de Sales. One evening, exhausted from his visits throughout the day and nearing midnight, he remembered he still had a few decades of his Rosary left to pray. He knelt down and recited them before going to bed, despite everything his chaplain—who saw how tired he was—could say to persuade him to put off the remaining prayers until the next day. Imitate also the faithfulness, modesty, and devotion of that holy religious whose story is told in the chronicles of Saint Francis, who used to recite a chaplet before dinner with great attention and modesty.2 I mentioned him earlier (in the 7th Rose).
Read the original Latin
129. J'ajoute qu'il faut réciter le saint Rosaire avec modestie, c'est-à-dire, autant qu'on peut, à genoux, les mains jointes, le rosaire en mains. Si cependant on est malade, on peut le dire en son lit; si on est en voyage, on peut le dire en marchant; si pour quelques infirmités on ne peut être à genoux, on peut le dire debout ou assis. On peut même le réciter en travaillant, lorsqu'on ne peut pas quitter son travail, pour satisfaire aux devoirs de sa profession, car le travail manuel n'est pas toujours contraire à la prière vocale. J'avoue que notre âme étant limitée dans son opération, quand elle est attentive au travail des mains, elle en est moins attentive aux opérations de l'esprit, telle qu'est la prière; mais cependant, dans la nécessité, cette prière a son prix devant la Sainte Vierge, qui récompense plus la bonne volonté que l'action extérieure.
130. Je vous conseille de partager votre Rosaire en trois chapelets ou trois différents temps de la journée; il vaut mieux le partager ainsi que de le dire tout à la fois. Si vous ne pouvez pas trouver assez de temps pour en dire le tiers de suite, dites-en une dizaine ici et une dizaine là; vous pourrez faire en sorte, malgré toutes vos occupations et affaires, que vous ayez dit votre Rosaire tout entier avant de vous mettre au lit. Imitez en cela la fidélité de saint François de Sales. Étant un soir fort fatigué des visites qu'il avait faites pendant la journée, et étant près de minuit, il se ressouvint qu'il lui restait quelques dizaines de son Rosaire à dire, il se mit à genoux et les récita avant de se coucher, malgré tout ce que son aumônier, qui le voyait fatigué, lui pût dire pour l'engager à remettre à dire au lendemain ce qui lui restait de prières. Imitez encore la fidélité, modestie et dévotion de ce saint religieux, dont parlent les chroniques de saint François, qui avait coutume, avant le dîner, de réciter un chapelet avec beaucoup d'attention et de modestie. J'en ai parlé ci-devant (7ème Rose).
Notes
- 1 ↩"opérations de l'esprit" rendered as "operations of the mind" to preserve the scholastic contrast with hand-work; "esprit" here means the mind/spirit as the faculty of prayer, not the Holy Spirit.
- 2 ↩"saint François" here is almost certainly Francis of Assisi (via Franciscan chronicles), not Francis de Sales from the previous sentence; "modeste"/"modestie" continues the chapter's sense of reverent exterior bearing, not mere shyness.
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