
I write Catholic fiction. Before I type my first word, I spend a lot of time visualizing a scene. I look up people, time periods, events, and places. I want scenes to come alive for my readers, appealing to all the senses, so the scenes must first come to life in my mind. Along with my research, I use my imagination.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in his spiritual exercises, recommends doing something similar before diving into prayer. He encourages people to see with the eyes of the imagination. Bring to mind the setting where a scene takes place. Look at the people in the scene. Listen to their words. Watch their actions. He encourages using your imagination with the aid of all the senses.
Saint Ignatius’ strategies apply to all forms of prayer but seem especially suited for praying the Rosary. Unique among forms of prayer, the Rosary involves our hands (as our fingers slide from bead to bead), our voices (as we recite the words of the prayers), and our imaginations (as we meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary).
Anyone of any age can participate at some level. Babies can enjoy the family togetherness and the sound of everyone praying in unison. Toddlers can’t say the prayers yet or understand the mysteries, but they can hold the beads just like the rest of the family. And they learn quickly. Soon they will be lisping along to the familiar prayers. Older children can announce the mystery and lead a decade. Teens can bring special insights from their own prayer and research, and adults can keep the tradition going within the family. We want our children to learn the prayers and mysteries and to participate, but also to realize there is much more to this special prayer. The imagination plays an important role.
When I wrote Jumping into Joy: Caitlyn and Peter’s Rosary Adventures, I wanted the story to help children think about the mysteries and to inspire them to use their imaginations when praying. Anyone who has watched children play knows that they have a unique ability to use their imaginations. Therefore, they have the potential to become great prayers warriors and to grow in virtue by praying the Rosary well.
Saint Louis de Montfort once said, “When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.”
Tips for Helping Children Use Their Imagination in Prayer:
- Keep it simple. If new to daily Rosary, consider praying one mystery a day, especially with younger children, but praying it well.
- Prepare. Before reciting the prayers, look up and read aloud the relevant Scripture verses.
- Setting. Help children to visualize the setting, whether it is Nazareth or Bethlehem or Jerusalem. For young children, display artwork from old Catholic calendars or picture books.
- Senses. Let them consider what sounds one might hear, what things one might see, and what weather one might experience.
- Go deeper. Now and then, depending on the children’s ages, use books or websites to learn more about these places.
- Characters. Talk about the people in the mystery. For example, Mary and the Angel Gabriel are the only two in The Annunciation. Consider what Mary might have been doing before the angel appeared. Consider how she might have felt seeing an angel. In The Visitation, we find Mary and Elizabeth, but others could also be in that scene, including the caravan that Mary likely traveled with or Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah. What do you know about these people?
- Discuss. Explain how the scene likely unfolded. What would it be like for the shepherds to see angels appear in the night sky? How might that feel to be present on Jesus’ birthday? What would they want to tell baby Jesus on that cold night? How would they feel if they were Mary and Joseph searching for Jesus for three days? What would it be like to be among the Scribes listening to the twelve-year-old Jesus? What questions might they ask Jesus? What might He ask them? Encourage them to hold onto those thoughts as they recite the decade.
- Go closer. Invite children to put themselves into the scene. They can watch from a corner in Mary’s home as the angel appears to her. They can walk with Mary on her way to visit Elizabeth in the hill country. And they can kneel next to the shepherds and gaze at baby Jesus in the manger.
- Virtue. Discuss what virtues each mystery inspires. Rosary booklets suggest specific virtues for each one, but several others can apply too. Inspire them to pray for and practice these virtues even after family Rosary.
Pope Saint Pius X said, “If you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”