Spiritual Rosaries by Mattia da Salò

From  I Frati Cappuccini. Documenti e testimonianze del primo secolo,  Vol. III/1 pp. 768 - 805, edited by. Costanzo Cargnoni OFM Cap, and translated by Patrick Colbourne OFM Cap.

Download the Text here.

Mattia da Salò genuinely lived what he wrote. If his other works appear to be more sophisticated because their style is scholarly, heavy, meditative and wide ranging, the little work that is presented here represents a more personal summary of the substance of his method of prayer, reduced as one might say today, to the simplest little crumbs.

In a letter dated 4^th January 1595 that was addressed to Orazio Mancini, the author himself speaks about this work. (I Frati Cappuccini part II pp. 984-986). In his book  La Filotea (part II, ch 1)recommended it immediately next to the writings of St Bonaventure His Brother, Giovanni da Salò, who was the editor of this small pocket edition, explained the whole history of the work and how it was used by the author and famous people such as St Charles Borromeo and the great influence that it exercised in the Order both for the formation of young novices and students and how it was used by St Serafino da Montegranaro who “being inspired by God, - as his most ancient biographer reported – memorised certain Rosaries composed by Father Mattia da Salò a very devout Capuchin religious, and had many copies made of them, which he distributed to many devout souls… To the great astonishment of all he had memorised these lengthy passages of various meditations so well that he was able to recite them unflinchingly without the slightest error.” (Cf. AO 18 [1900] 238a in the note).

It might be well to let Giovanni da Salò speak as he has faithfully and accurately documented all the important facts in the Prologue:

“St Charles of happy memory, asked Father Mattia, who is the author of this little book, for a devout work on prayer (concerning which he knew that he was well versed and in whom he had great trust) and he sent back his Practices of Mental Prayer. The Saint replied that he held the Practices in esteem (indeed during one of his Councils he had exhorted fathers of families to read them to their servants on feast days) but that he was looking for something more brief, easy and lively because of the many, weighty activities which distracted and tired his mind and which did not permit him to enter into long meditation to be stirred by them. The author replied: “I have written some Rosaries to keep the mind on the path: perhaps they will serve your purpose”. He sent them to him. The Saint told him subsequently that he was very pleased with them and had derived great profit from them. In addition to this Giussanti alludes to them in Book VIII chapter 5 of his History of the Saint stating that he frequently meditated on the Passion of Our Lord, for which he had a special devotion, breaking it up into various points, and that he had made a book with illustrated pages of the mystery of the Passion, to have them at hand to look at as a help to his memory concerning the things on which he wanted to meditate. At the time of his death several volumes were found containing points such as these.

A similar exchange took place between the author and Cardinal Morosini, Bishop of Brescia, who appreciated the Rosaries, which he copied with his own hand. He said later on that he did not uses more than twelve points during an exercise, keeping them close at hand to keep his mind recollected, attentive and on the subject and ready to continue the act of prayer with relish.

When the Bishop of Ascoli was gathering information concerning the sanctity and reputed miracles of Brother Serafino da Montegranaro, a Capuchin, when the city of Ascoli was requesting the Pope to beatify him, he found that the Brother held the Rosaries in such esteem and practiced them so much that he knew them off by heart (for he could not read) and that he carried them around so that he could give them to people as the occasion arose.

Various young Capuchins were content to perform them, to such an extent that they knew where a particular point was when they were suddenly asked for it. For example: that the fourth point of the third decade of the sixth Rosary dealt with the love out of which the Saviour freely sent the Spirit from God to us. They stated that they spent three hours each night in fasting and praying without being distracted and that this made them feel delighted and that they would have spent more time if obedience had permitted. They were translated into Latin for the novices in Bohemia.

Likewise they were also fruitfully communicated to other religious Prelates and secular friends who had asked the author for advice as to how to pray easily and well.

It would seem that he only communicated them in writing to satisfy those who were devout and that when this happened they regarded them as more valuable and put them into practice with more passion and profit. He never wanted them to be printed. Now that he is dead here they are in print for the common good after they had already been reviewed and updated by him a few years ago.

With respect to the author, whether he was ill or involved in work, in seventy years of religious life he was never known to have omitted to perform the two house of mental prayer that the Capuchin Order laid down for each day. During these periods, for example at Easter and Christmas and on other Solemnities he meditated (often easily in tears) on the Lord’s Passion and Birth, chewing over the points using the beads of the Rosaries as they were gleaned from the texts of the Gospels. Desiring that the entire world should meditate on them he was never satisfied with preaching them using the voice, print or the pen. We know from those in whom he confided that he always remained steady to such an extent that he dealt with existing external duties with a mind that was agile, detached and active, and that he also practiced the method of the Preparation for Mass which he had suggested to others (which God willing will be printed and can soon be seen in Practices 66 and 67 in part four) according to which he accompanied Christ and the Church Triumphant and Militant and the mystical members of the Church, who are the saints, in continually offering the Passion of Christ Himself to the divine Majesty for the glory of God.

He held this exercise of prayer in regard for another reason: and he used to say that the matters that he treated with God in prayer were so important that he did not want the foolishness of children (this is how he used to refer to external matters no matter how serious they were) to take precedence over the cross. In fact in the Order he always joyfully carried his cross of austerity, toil, government or sickness etc., which was clear proof that he frequently meditated on the Passion and indicative of outstanding purity and a Christian frame of mind.

Much might be said concerning the origin and utility of this little work, which at first sight might appear to be dry, by way of a brief introduction, but it needs to be read right through and put into practice, keeping in mind that habitual usage makes it easier to overcome many obstacles, that individuals have different tastes so that each one should be led by the Holy Spirit; bearing in mind what our Father St Francis taught that anyone who takes any subject other than Christ the Saviour as the object of their prayer is exposed to the deceptions of the devil and to falling. Above all try to discipline yourself and place yourself on the cross if you wish to acquire a suitable taste for contemplation.” (Spiritual Rosaries, 6-12).

One of these days...

One of these days I shall get this Blog business sorted....Apologies for the ugly appearance of today's post,

Update to layout and contents of "A Scurrilous Letter to Pope Paul III. A Transcription and Translation of Ms 469 (f.101r – 129r) of the Vadianische Sammlung of the Kantonsbibliothek of St. Gallen."

by Br. Paul Hanbridge OFM Cap

This study was completed in 2010 and introduces a transcription and English translation of a ‘Letter’ in VS Ms 469. The document is titled: Epistola invectiva Bernhardj Occhinj in qua vita et res gestae Pauli tertij Pont. Max. describuntur. The study notes other versions of the letter located in Florence. It shows that one of these copied the VS469, and that the VS469 is the earliest of the four Mss and was made from an Italian exemplar. An apocryphal document, the ‘Letter’ has been studied briefly by Ochino scholars Karl Benrath and Bendetto Nicolini, though without reference to this particular Ms. The introduction considers alternative contemporary attributions to other authors, including a more proximate determination of the first publication date of the Letter. Mario da Mercato Saraceno, the first official Capuchin ‘chronicler,’ reported a letter Paul III received from Bernardino Ochino in September 1542. Cesare Cantù and the Capuchin historian Melchiorre da Pobladura (Raffaele Turrado Riesco) after him, and quite possibly the first generations of Capuchins, identified the1542 letter with the one in transcribed in these Mss. The author shows this identification to be untenable. The transcription of VS469 is followed by an annotated English translation. Variations between the Mss are footnoted in the translation. 

To do this study it was necessary to locate and transcribe the relevant manuscripts, as well as Karl Benrath's published transcription in “Lettera a Paolo III, documento sconosciuto del secolo xvi” in Rivista Cristiana 2(1874) 257-272, 289-302. A synoptic view of the transcriptions permits a comparison of Benrath's transcription and mine, (so that the reader may check my transcription errors). The synoptic also identifies quickly some of the content variations evident in the Mss.

This updated file includes both the study and the synoptic presentation of the Mss and may be found under the HISTORY tab on the Capdox homepage, or go there directly from here.

Capdox relies on the honesty of the user. This material should not be copied or quoted without acknowledgement.

PH

The Theatre of Paradise

by Mattia da Salò

From the extract edited by Costanzo Cargnoni and his introduction, I Frati Cappuccini. Documenti e testimonianze del primo secolo, Vol.III/1, pp. 737-768, and translated by Br Patrick Colbourne O.F.M.Cap.

Go to CAPDOX

Even though no young Doctoral candidate has as yet taken this for the subject of his Thesis, as the Dominican Friar Innocenzo Coloso hoped in 1963, the spiritual treatise The Theatre of Paradise or meditations on the glory of Heaven by Mattia da Salò, which was printed after his death in Salò in 1620 by his Brother Giovanni Bellintani da Salò, is “one of the most attractive, original and profound books” that has been written concerning life in Heaven.

Containing 150 meditations, it deals with considerations of the glory of Heaven as man’s ultimate destiny, the nature of God, the union of man with God in heaven, the absolute and comparative attributes of the Most Holy Trinity and above all the glory of the Incarnate Word, which is treated in 45 meditations which are spread out over considerations of the excellence of His humanity, the nature of His virtues, the sanctity of His soul, the dignity and glory of His body. They go on to deal with the Saints, the Virgin Mary, Angels and men, the Saints as Christ’s Mystical Body, the adornments of the soul, the happiness in our feelings, divine sonship and the inheritance that comes with it, admiration and joy, praise, humility, thanksgiving and the vision of God, the state of blessedness which the Saints receive from Christ’s humanity, the contentment of creatures and the sufferings of the damned: a fruitful, vast and profound panorama of theological doctrine, with many touches of Bonaventure and Scotus, that astound the reader.

When he published the third and fourth parts of his Practice of Mental Prayer, which dealt with the last four things, in 1607, explained the origin of these meditations on the glory of heaven: “I thought”, he wrote, “that there was not much that could be written since the subject is so far removed from what we know about. However, I soon expanded my treatment as I realised that one section would be needed to treat these matters and hell as had been required when I treated death and judgement. Because of this I realised that I had to take up my pen again, and rely on the help that God’s goodness would provide for me to treat divine glory. I planned to treat the topics using an appropriate number of considerations, and a simpler style in this fourth section. Thus as I had used one hundred and fifty consideration in the first part, I set out to accomplish the present work with the intention of restricting myself to the extent that simple people could understand the material which is extremely rich by its nature and for the most part very far removed from the grasp of our bodily senses. Because it was beyond me to do this I decided to compose something else which was easier and clearer and that is what I have tried to do…If this is pleasing to God we publish the one hundred and fifty considerations once again with a chapter or two on contemplation, which we have entitled The Theatre of Paradise.” (From the Introduction to the Fourth part). This project was finalised by his brother Giovanni.

The structure of the individual meditations is the same for all and they are set out in a series of three steps or acts similar to that in The Practice of Mental Prayer: preamble, mediation and action. However, the content is much more elaborate, to suit (as the author says) those who only want to use the book for reading and not as an specific “tool for meditating”, as they would have done with the popular edition of the first part of the Practice , where, “so that the intellect would have more scope for meditation and to carry out other actions, I had tried to use few words by simply stating the concepts”, indicating, “ the individual acts of the practices by the use of numbers.” However, “ for those who only want to read these two things seemed to be a bother with so many numbers being a nuisance, making the content, which could have been expressed in a few words, appear dry and glossed over without any feeling.”

The structure of the individual meditations is the same for all and they are set out in a series of three steps or acts similar to that in The Practice of Mental Prayer: preamble, mediation and action. However, the content is much more elaborate, to suit (the author says) those who only want to use the book for reading and not as a specific tool for meditating, as they would have done with the popular edition of the first part of The Practice, where, so that the intellect would have more scope for meditation and to carry out the other actions, I had tried to use few words by simply stating the concepts, indicating the individual acts of the practices by the use of numbers. However, for those who only want to read these two things seemed seemed to be a bother with so many numbers being a nuisance, making the content, which could be been expressed in a few words, appear dry and glossed over without any feeling.

For these reasons and to accommodate the wishes of these “readers” in the last two parts of his Practice of Mental Prayer, Mattia da Salò explained the content at greater depth by means of a more articulate treatment. In spite of this compromise, this “mediocrity” as he called it, he was convinced that the meditations would be useful to both souls who wanted to pray as well as to those who only wanted to read, “hoping that the result would be that the readers would gradually become people of prayer and progress from reading to praying.” (From the Introduction to the Third Part.) 

We have chosen five "practices" from these splendid meditations to give the modern reader a taste of what they contain. Even in the linguistic traditions of the seventeenth century, the depth of the theological concepts that Bellintani knew how to translate into vibrant piety and devotion for himself and for others justly deserves the judgement passed on him by Francesco Panigarola, and Oservant Friar Minor. "Father Mattia could be numbered among the holy Fathers of the Church." He really was "a great theoretician of the method of meditation - writes Innocenzo Colosio- and he remains an incomparable master in balancing and harmonising the use of the various human faculties in such a delicate exercise and difficult exercise as mental prayer.

Mattia da Salò

The Practice of Mental Prayer

translated by Br. Patrick Colbourne OFM Cap

New on Capdox

     There is general consensus among scholars that The Practice of Mental Prayer is Bellintani’s ascetical masterpiece. What is more, it is also one of those works  similar to The Contempt of the World by Innocent III, The Dialogue of Divine Providence by Catherine of Siena, The Treatise on Purgatory by Saint Catherine of Genoa, The Spiritual Combat by Scupoli that seems to epitomise a era of spiritual writings.  In fact while it is regarded as one of the most ripe fruits of the Capuchin Italian sixteenth century and, perhaps, the most mature product of a particular kind of spirituality, on a broader scale it represents the pre-eminently apostolic aspect of the new Franciscan reform which seems to capture and fully exemplify its two outstanding characteristics: contemplative solitude and preaching the Gospel.

     Bellintani’s work, which is presented as a method and guide for mental prayer was generally accepted by popular piety as one of the most widely read and enjoyed ascetical works by the Christian community. This is substantiated by the number of editions which continued to be published into the seventeenth century and by translations into French, Latin and Spanish which in all numbered about fifty. What is more it was recommended by Saint Charles Borromeo, prescribed for Confraternities of Penance by the Archbishop of Avignon, Francesco M. Taugi, praised by the Spirituals of the day, used by prayer groups during the Forty Hours and flicked through by everyone.

      In the author’s mind the entire work is made up clearly and logically of four parts, following a broad design which, beginning from God’s infinite and blessed essence and the benefits bestowed on man, reflects on the whole of the economy of salvation by means of the mystery of all the earthly events of Christ’s life, the Church and its source of grace in the Sacraments, and then the universal eschatology in the fundamental truths of the last things, which are clearly spelt out in the New Testament. It resembles d gigantic round of frescoes in which the entire story of God’s love for man is reviewed from the first instant of life in time to the vision of a blessed eternity at the end of time that exceeds our wildest dreams.

      This vast vision which Bellintani conceived from the start was only brought to completion through successive stages that were developed side by side with the continual responsibilities of preaching and teaching and responsibilities in Italy and beyond. Thus the first part, which concludes with Christ’s burial, was published for the first time in Brescia in 1573 and was dedicated to the Bishop of that city, Domenico Bollani. This part consists of an important theoretical introduction concerning meditation, its value and usefulness and how it is practised. It consists of eight little chapters followed by fifty two meditations or “practices”. As Petrocchi wrote, this consists of “splendid pages for the study of sixteenth century piety” and the method of Capuchin affective prayer. Even though in a later edition in 1584 Bellintani revised this first part adding corrections and improving the theological development and structure of the treatment, we preferred to reproduce the first Brescian edition, since it is a better reflection of “the first fervour or discovery”, and is more spontaneous and personal and, indeed, little known since scholars have referred to the second edition which was revised by the author and published in this century (fifty years ago) by the Capuchin Umile da Genova.

      “The theological system of Mattia da Salò – to quote Petrocchi once again – is centered on the exertion which is applied when praying, on prayer as an exercise, on the importance of the intellect and the will in the practice of the acts of prayer in so far as the intellect is involved in understanding and thinking about the divine mysteries and the will stimulates emotions with regard to the circumstance in the mysteries which are being meditated upon by the intellect and the temperament of the person who is at prayer”. However, the solid theological foundation is dealt with “briefly as an easy and useful method” because this spiritual book is intended to be “a practical instrument for carrying out mental prayer”.

      The question is raised of how virtues may be acquired through prayer and the whole problem of Christian “virtue” is discussed throughout the introduction since prayer is “the quickest way” to acquire virtue. The concrete example is Christ and the instructive model is the Our Father, which also exemplifies the order to be observed when praying. The Holy Spirit is the inner instructor. The method and written rules are the exterior tutor which the spiritual person sees as the way of submission to being taught by the Holy Spirit.

 Rather than insisting on generic rules, Bellintani proposes to unfold all the acts of prayer individually and in an orderly fashion and to teach the practice of the exercise in a concrete manner, in a restrained and friendly manner suitable for the time of apprenticeship. Therefore he is not concerned with vocal prayer, but stresses the rules of mental prayer. He divides these into three parts:

     1) Preparation: in general and in particular (remote and proximate), which consists in being on guard against sin, purification of the heart, repentance and making an effort to cultivate energetic attention; 2) meditation, which is the longest part, split into various points to assist the mind in paying attention like eating so many mouthfuls of food that need to be chewed well one by one in order to extract flavour and taste in order to light the fire of emotion in the will; 3) action, by means of which once the will has been watered by holy meditation, this produces automatically, by the strength of the Holy Spirit, “emotions”, “acts”, or “operations” in which divine love abides. These emotions burst forth into acts which are produced by love, which is dynamically active and passive, active and passive at the same time, during which the soul is “drawn to God”, which stirs a deep desire to delight in the Divine will and to make all people honour God, in a intertwining and subsequent exchange of unspeakable delight which he calls “connection” and “disconnection”. It is here that mental prayer glides into contemplation and the pure act of love, and the state of union with God.

      The shades of meaning in this teaching are so numerous that it is difficult to explain them in a short space of time. Bellintani, however, hurries on to deal with rules in well laid out exercises of meditation. By way of an example we have chosen some of these practices, really just a few, but a sufficient number so that the reader may grasp the whole dynamic and logic of this popular and influential “practice of mental prayer”.

World Youth Day 2013

Amendments

The text The Soul's Deliberations and Prayers has been amended. The last prayer was omitted on the version recently published on Capdox.

More on the header images on the capdox homepage

Now there are more sets of images for the cycle of header images on the home page that include Australian scenes. I would be happy to hear what you think about their suitability and quality, etc... ilico@ozemail.com.au

The Soul's Deliberations and Prayers

Francesco da Fognano

Introduction by Costanzo Cargnoni OFM Cap

Translated by Br Patrick Colbourne O.F.M.Cap.

Francsco Visani (+ 1579) who was born in Fognano near Brisighella, in the Province of Bologna, was one of the best examples of preachers of the second half of the sixteenth century in Italy. In the tradition passed on in by the Order’s chronicles he was outstanding for his zeal for reform of morals, especially with regard to the curbing of luxury and provocative women’s fashions, as well as in his assistance to the poor in time of famine by devising novel ways of helping them. He also collaborated in the reform of many monasteries of nuns and inspired and founded certain Sodalities, such as those of Weavers and of Mariners at Rimini. It is noteworthy that his only spiritual work was printed for the Sodality of The Lord’s Body of Magdalene “in via S. Donato”, Bologna.

As we read in the Dedication, this work was intended to be “a way of practising a spiritual life that would teach you to direct your life in all the things that are most necessary for carrying on a Christian existence and which will promote divine life more strongly. The work will be understood better the more what is contained in it is put into practice.”

Nevertheless Francesco da Fognano composed it out of ideas taken from his sermons for his personal use. After the manuscript had fallen into the hands of a “bookseller”, named Girolomo Veneziano, he had it printed “for the special use of the Sodality”, as we read in the publisher’s caption on the cover, when Pellegrino Bonardo of Bologna published it. It is easy to conclude that if he offered it to The Sodality of the Body of the Lord, this “bookseller” would have been one of their most fervent and devoted members. This is also clear from what he wrote to “the brothers and sisters of the Sodality” when he presented the content of the book and its author: “… This spiritual work teaches how to enkindle love of Our Lord and of our neighbour, and prepares a person for all the virtues and how to avoid vices and sin and the pains of hell, and acquire eternal life. Here in a short time anyone who wants to be equipped with virtue and holy morals and who wants to know how to control his frail life can learn excellent and necessary things. Even more, this short and useful work ought to be embraced by all, especially those who want to live a Christian life, particularly members of Sodality of the Body of the Lord because it was written by a Capuchin Friar. It is known that these Friars definitely live a harsh life and set a good example to the world.”

The work is comprised of 40 “deliberations of the soul”, as the author expresses it, or forty topics for meditation, which, covering a wide range of considerations concerning being aware of God and His gifts, focus on the person of Jesus Christ and the mysteries of his life, his sayings and deeds as a teacher of virtue and holiness. The concluding meditations deal with love of neighbour and the spiritual life in practice, above all with respect to sorrow for sin and the celebration of Confession and Communion which overcome all vice and sin.

The method of meditation is very affective and practical. The texts are divided into two parts: the first contains “the conversation of the soul”, which is set out in an affective style indicating various points on which the soul dwells in order to kindle love; the second part is made up of a prayer that summarises these thoughts.

Following the order set out in the work (as contained in the index), the pages that have been chosen here are deliberations: n. 3, 5, 13, 20, 26, 38, and 39. Note the author’s consummate familiarity with Sacred Scripture, which he quotes in very simple and plain and yet incisive words. The word of God flows out in tiny thoughts that are suitable for simple people and are effective in bring them to love Jesus Christ and the spiritual life.

What are the new header images about?

The new set of header images does not reflect any Franciscan or Capuchin theme. Instead, they depict a few aspects of life in Italy. A second set of Italy images is in preparation. There will also be a set of Australian images.

capdox url

The capdox blog URL is: http://capdox.blogspot.com.au/

some capdox housekeeping

For quite some time (about three years), the software for the header module on the capdox site has been malfunctioning. The problem has been repaired with a software update and now the module functions correctly.
Visitors can now see a greater variety of header images on the homepage.
I usually change the selection of images once a week.
Here's a sample.

Bernardino Da Balvano

The Mirror of Prayer

Translated by Bro. Patrick Colbourne OFM Cap

Bernardino da Balvano (+ c. 1568/70) was an outstanding missionary and preacher who worked predominantly in the region of Southern Italy. Many small booklets which inspired popular piety over a long period of time were the result of his pastoral activities. The content and diversity of topics in these writings are to be found in a condensed fashion in his most important and most prolifically published booklet entitled The Mirror of Prayer which appeared in Messina in 1553 and was reprinted fourteen times within the space of about seventy years. It is a charming little pocket edition the product of both the concrete spiritual and apostolic experience of its author. In thirty-three very compact short chapters, as well as a final appendage (which in our opinion was a separate little work, entitled The Seven Rules for Good Living, which is mentioned by his biographers), the subject of interior prayer that leads to the gift of mystical experience through meditation on the mysteries of Christ is set out with great clarity, simplicity and emotion. However, it is not so much an authoritative and abstract lecture as it is a very practical manual in which the essential theoretical directives are passed on plainly and applied by means of concrete and realistic exercises that can be easily assimilated by the reader. It is this “practical quality” which makes the work popular in character and worthy of a spiritual guide and a true master of prayer.

Go to the Capdox article and document

A Scurrilous Letter to Paul III - text

Some time ago the essay A Scurrilous Letter to Paul III was posted on Capdox (here). For some reason, I overlooked the supplementary text containing the full transcription of the relevant manuscripts. As of today, that oversight is remedied.
This second document is in A3 landscape format and weighs in at 481 kb.
In synoptic layout, Benrath's slightly abbreviated transcription is compared with the two Guicciardini (Florence) Mss and the Sant Gallen Ms.

This letter is an example of a strident politicization of historiography. The author slanders Paul III, not so much for theological, but political reasons, while taking advantage of the scandal of Bernardino Ochino's flight to Geneva as well as his popular authority. The circulation of this letter would not have enhanced the reputation of the Capuchin Fraternity. Ochino's story demonstrates that a hermetically sealed demarcation  between Catholic and "Lutheran" or Protestant, or between spirituali (evangelicals) and intransigenti  in Italy in the 1530's and 1540's is inadequate. Such a polarised view will gain traction later.
Your comments (of whichever streak) are welcome, on this blog, or via email.

Capuchins in Australia - revamped website

The website of the Capuchin Friars in Australia is changing. You can visit the site here.