The Concept

A few months ago the concept of a “Scriptural Rosary” was brought to my attention. Now I’ve heard the term before and thought it was some post-Vatican II thing, which it is. But this time I actually looked into it and quickly recognized its magical potential!

Notice that I said “a few months,” because I don’t like talking about methods that don’t work. So after some experimentation and testing, here’s what I found!

What Is a Scriptural Rosary?

In its simplest form, a Scriptural Rosary is the application of a Scriptural Text to the beads of a Rosary. For example if one wants to meditate on the Visitation, they could use the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) as their text, which gives them ten verses with one verse on each bead.

As you pray the Rosary, keep the text in front of you. As you pray each of the ten Hail Marys, you would meditate on the verses in order, or you could also say each verse after each Hail Mary.

What If We Have More Than Ten Verses?

So far so good, but what if a text has more than ten verses? Or less, for that matter?

No problem!

Keep in mind that our modern chapter and verse system did not exist until the 16th century, and in some places the assignment of verses seems arbitrary. This means we’re free to view the text as a continuous block – much like our ancestors would’ve – and divide it down into ten sections that more conveniently fit our spiritual needs.

A parallel practice can already be found in the Missal and Breviary, where the Psalms are not always listed in “whole verses.” Rather, one line might be the last half of one verse combined with the first half of the next verse, or maybe even a verse and a half – but you still get the entire Psalm. Keep in mind, though, that these divisions in the text were created was done before our modern concept of chapter and verse division, and so the compilers of the Liturgy were taking an undivided block of text and parceling it out as they saw best for their needs.

So How Would We Use This Magically?

For this section, I’m going to assume you already understand the Expanded Method described in my How to Pray the Rosary and Get Results. If you don’t, then there’s a quick cheat sheet already on this blog. I’ll wait while you brush up.

Up to speed? Good, let’s continue.

The content here can be used with any text – Psalms, Gospel pericopes, Canticles, Prophecies, even Hymns – but since the title is “Psalm Magic,” we’re going to use the Psalter.

Consider for protection or exorcistic usage, the primary Psalm is #90, Qui Habitat. Now we crack open our Douay-Rheims, and find the Psalm has 16 verses. How are we going to break down the text?

[1] He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High: * shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob.
[2] He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: * my God, in him will I trust.
[3] For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: * and from the sharp word.
[4] He will overshadow thee with his shoulders, and under his wings thou shalt trust: * [5a] His truth shall compass thee with a shield.
[5b] thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night: * [6] of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
[7] A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee: * [8] but thou shalt consider with thy eyes: and shalt see the reward of the wicked.
[9] Because thou, O Lord, art my hope; thou hast made the most High thy refuge: * [10] There shall no evil come to thee: nor shall the scourge come near thy dwelling.
[11] For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways: * [12] in their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
[13] Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon: * [14] because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name.
[15] He shall cry to me, and I will hear him; I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him: * [16] I will fill him with length of days; and I will shew him my salvation.

The above text may look a little bit awkward at first glance, but it’ll work just fine when you start stretching it out on a Rosary.

The Actual Practice

In practice, you would say the Rosary regularly, using the Expanded Method. But before each Hail Mary, you would recite the section of the text allocated to each bead. Keeping our example with Psalm 90:

He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, etc.
Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.
He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, etc.
Hail Mary, full of grace, etc.

And so on, until the final Hail Mary is finished and we say the Gloria Patri, start the next mystery with the Our Father, and then start our text all over again on the next set of Hail Marys.

Yes it’s that simple, and maybe anti-climactic now that I think about it. But that, in a nutshell, is how you can combine the power of the Psalm Magic or any other Scriptural text, with the awesome power contained within the Rosary.