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.
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 4th
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).
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