Rosary and Scapular - Meditative Basis

Meditative Basis

Saints and popes have emphasized the spiritual and meditative benefits of the Rosary and the Scapular. Pope Pius XII said of the Brown Scapular: "Let it be your sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary". And in his encyclical Ingruentium Malorum on the Rosary Pius XII stated:

"And truly, from the frequent meditation on the Mysteries, the soul little by little and imperceptibly draws and absorbs the virtues they contain, and is wondrously enkindled with a longing for things immortal, and becomes strongly and easily impelled to follow the path which Christ Himself and His Mother have followed."

Although Pope John Paul II is best known for his devotion to the Rosary, he also wore a Brown Scapular since age ten and stated that he viewed the Scapular as a "habit" to orient one's Christian life:

"The sign of the Scapular points to an effective synthesis of Marian spirituality, which nourishes the devotion of believers and makes them sensitive to the Virgin Mother's loving presence in their lives... devotion to her cannot be limited to prayers and tributes in her honor on certain occasions, but must become a "habit", that is, a permanent orientation of one's own Christian conduct."

Author Mark Miravalle relates the meditative and devotional aspects of the Rosary and the Scapular via Montfortian spirituality. He states that the Scapular is an external and physical symbol of perpetual Marian devotion that acknowledges her intercessory role throughout this life and in purification in Purgatory. He thus views the Scapular as a physical symbol of Marian consecration, based on the Montfortean formula:

"...to do all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary so that we may do them all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus..."

The wearing of a Scapular has been viewed as constant meditation by Bishop Leo De Goesbriand:

"Wherever I am, whatever I am doing, Mary never sees me without seeing upon my body an evidence of my devotion to her."

From a venerative viewpoint, Father Etienne Richer points out that the Rosary and the Scapular as the key Sacramentals that harmonize with Catholic Liturgy in the meditative process of the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.