The Rosary as a River

~ * ~   Rivulet Springs  ~ * ~   

It started first a stream  
pure and simple  
as I sat by mountain brook  
clear, falling repeatedly  
over the same stones  
in different weathers  
with plenty of time  
to visit each mystery  
a sort of luxury  
while the coursing current   
said the words over   
and over again  
 
 
   ~ * ~   Underground Caverns   ~ * ~  

Then that powerful prayer turned away  
like a current going underground,  
for the Sower’s Parable  [i]
found a rocky soil of brambles,  
and to pray one bead, or ten for mystery,  
would be like dream’s perplexity,  
grasping at freshness disappearing.  
 
   ~ * ~    Praying Alone   ~ * ~  
Even though the best prayers,  
Avila’s Theresa says, go slowly and alone,  
as though Jesus sits beside you,  
there is lost intensity  
when beginning too many lost beginnings.  
The mysteries and their intent  
retreat to unreachable caves.  
 
                                                  
   ~ * ~    Tributaries  * ~ 

“No, I couldn’t hear Nobody pray,”  [ii]
 as the slave-song Spiritual says,  
“Away down there, all by myself  
I couldn’t hear Nobody pray.”  [iii]
And my Rosary disappeared completely. 
No opening prayers, no closing,  
no bead, no decade, no mystery of Jesus,  
no prayer for mercy or for departed souls,   
no appeals to Mother Mary  [iv]  
or St. Michael’s strong protection, 
or Glory to God, no “Our Father,”  
all these comforts slipped away. 
 



 





 
                      Rosary Diagram  [v]
 
                                           
   ~ * ~    Forming a River    * ~  

One day I found the Rosary River rolling  
and heard its many voices in my church, 
where happy ones (who can) daily gather,  
the melody of tributaries blending in   
as one voice starts, and then another  
and another until, with a strong music,     
we all pray together, carrying each along
and the fullness of the river  
acts like a stream upon the stones below  
revisiting, bringing fresh sources each day  
over and over, against the same mysteries,  
only more, more love, and stronger  
because the prayers and love  
of neighbors now flow together  [vi]
 
   ~ * ~    Jordan’s Border   ~ * ~  

Now this great river slows to a wide delta flow  [vii]
as the dry season gathers  
and the great mouth of the river  
opens to the boundless beyond  [viii]
thousands of separate islands our old bodies form
with sandy banks between  
waiting for the next flood   
or a scouring storm,   
waiting, to meet the sea                                                   
 

  ~ * ~    Rosary Peace   ~ * ~  

From the flood of Rosary River  
perhaps I can revisit  
that old, small stream of solitude.  
But still I say –   
if weak, at home, alone,  [ix]
my wish is this:  
another Jesus-person come   
to help me say the Rosary.  
 
(2000s) 



[i]   Matthew 13:3-9  –   “Then Jesus told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed….  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants….  Whoever has ears, let them hear.’  ”

[ii]   Matthew 18:20,  Jesus said,   –  “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 

[iii]   Jessye Norman.  “I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray”.  “Jesse Norman Spirituals” CD Album.  –   For lyrics, see:  “Songs: I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray”.  Negrospirituals.com.  (https://www.negrospirituals.com/songs/i_couldn_t_hear_nobody_pray.htm}  (accessed December 1, 2021).

[iv]   “21 Things St. Louis de Montfort Said About the Rosary and Marian Devotion”.  National Catholic Register.com.  {https://www.ncregister.com/blog/21-things-st-louis-de-montfort-said-about-the-rosary-and-marian-devotion} (accessed December 1, 2021):   
“It was de Montfort’s method of consecration to Our Lady that St. John Paul II made and led to his motto: Totus Tuus.  In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, St. John Paul II wrote, ‘Thanks to St. Louis de Montfort, I came to understand that true devotion to the Mother of God is actually Christo-centric, indeed, it is very profoundly rooted in the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.’  ” 
                                                                  
[v] Illustration, Rosary Diagram:  “How to Pray the Rosary”. Dummies.com, a Wiley Brand.  {https://www.dummies.com/article/body-mind-spirit/religion-spirituality/christianity/catholicism/how-to-pray-the-rosary-192609}  (accessed December 1, 2021).

[vi]  “Church as the Mystical Body of Christ”.  Saint Boniface Catholic Church, Faith Formation.  stboniface-lunenburg.org.  {https://stboniface-lunenburg.org/church-as-the-mystical-body-of-christ}  (accessed December 1, 2021):     
“The Mystical Body of Christ is a scriptural image of the Church drawn from the teachings of Christ and Saint Paul that illustrates her unity in Christ, her relationship to him, and the interdependence of her members. ”
(and following explanation) 

[vii]   “River delta”. Wikipedia.org.  {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_delta} (accessed December 1, 2021):
“Landform  –  A river delta is a landform created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth and enters slower-moving water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment.”  

[viii]   Odetta.  “Deep River – I want to Cross over Jordan”.  “The Best of Odetta  – Ballads and Blues”.  CD Album.  

[ix]    Wilbricht, Stephen, CSC. “The Catholic Handbook for Visiting the Sick and Homebound”.  catholicsupply.com.  {https://shop.catholicsupply.com/the-catholic-handbook-for-visiting-the-sick-and-homebound.aspx }  (accessed December 1, 2021 ):
“All lay ministers who provide care to those who are sick, homebound, isolated, or suffering in some way will benefit from the contents of this book .… to pray and share the Gospel with those who cannot regularly worship with their parish community on Sunday.” 

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