Hemingway and the Holy Rosary

Today, October 7, is the Feast of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, established in honor of the defeat of the Muslims at the ocean Battle of Lepanto (1571) after Rosary prayers. The liturgical color is white.

As for flowers for today, there is a good post at Introibo with Flowers on blooms for Marian Feast Days.  Gemma at Introibo is a very gifted church flower arranger. At this point, her blog is a compendium of information and images on the topic, which is helpful not only in preparing flowers for Mass but for using blossoms in one's home devotional space.

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And, Tradition in Action has an article with a lovely legend about the activities and adventures of a simple man who made chaplets of roses for statues of Our Lady, with a rose for every Ave.

The title of this post, however, refers to author Ernest Hemingway who was anything but simple.  Rather he was very troubled and died by an apparent suicide.

Hemingway was a convert to Catholicism.  Some writing about Hemingway note the importance of Catholicism to Hemingway who donated his Nobel Prize for Literature to the basilica of Our Lady of Cobre (Our Lady of Charity) in Cuba.

Others, however, are quick to point out that, at least objectively speaking, in many ways he did not lead an exemplary Catholic life.

So why did I name this post as I did? I did so because I once read or heard somewhere that in reply to a scoffer who ridiculed the Gospels as made-up accounts, Hemingway -- who started his writing career as a newspaper reporter for The Kansas City Star -- said, "To me, they read like good reportage."  

By using the term "good reportage", Hemingway must have had in mind the classic journalistic principles of reporting the 5Ws ("who, what, when, where, and why") of newsworthy events.

This same principle can be applied to reflection on the Rosary mysteries while praying the Aves. Prayed this way, each mystery is not a static picture of one key event, but a dynamic story comprised of several events.

For example, The Visitation (Luke 1:39-47.):  Very shortly after the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel had told Mary that her elderly and barren cousin  Elizabeth had conceived a son and was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, Mary journeyed from Nazareth about 100 miles to Elizabeth's mountain village (Ein Karem) .  This was likely a dangerous trip due to the presence of bandits.  One can be sure Mary did not travel there alone.

When Mary greeted Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth's womb,  and Elizabeth said to Mary, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb". Elizabeth also asked Mary how it was that the mother of her Lord should come to her, and Mary replied with the Magnificat.

Then, according to scripture, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months before returning to Nazareth.  That means Mary was almost certainly at Elizabeth's when St. John the Baptist was born. Mary might well have been present when Elizabeth's husband Zechariah recovered his speech, and when John the Baptist was circumcised and named.  Maybe St.  Joseph had accompanied Mary on her trip to Elizabeth's village and had come back to bring her home. I like to think St. Joseph was there for St. John the Baptist's circumcision -- that it was a family event.

I find that focusing on the entire "story" of each mystery while praying the Aves does a great deal to prevent distractions and also makes it easy to stop any distractions that do occur and return to the mystery.

In developing my Rosary mystery stories, I try to focus primarily on the scriptural accounts and the possibilities they suggest, but it seems okay to also recall legends that are part of Catholic lore, keeping in mind what is scriptural and/ or doctrinal and what is not.

Questions soon arise about what the various Gospels specifically say about any particular event -- what exact words were used.  So, like a reporter, I try to follow-up with research and "interviews" (figuratively speaking).  This means scripture reading or web searches for details, such that the events and the characters in the Gospels become more vivid.  I have found that this practice has not only enhanced my ability to focus when praying the Rosary, but it has strengthened my faith.

Therefore, I am grateful to Mr. Hemingway for his help.  And, I wish the best for his soul.

Antique Rosary image at top of page from Wikimedia Commons.