Praying with Beads as a Christian

Background

Start by handing out the leaflet

I will start by saying (keep your leaflets closed for now AND) that using beads to help you pray is not an exclusive Christian thing at all. Apart from Christianity, you will see prayer beads of some sort in (among others) Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Islam, Sikhism, Bahai, and the list goes on…

Many of us will probably associate praying with beads with the Christian traditional Rosary. While that is one of the more well known iterations of prayer beads in Christianity (and we will discuss it thoroughly tonight), it is important to stress that (though I haven’t done a quantitative study), it is used in most of the large denominations across ALL of the world. If you walk across some areas of London, you will see many people clutching prayer beads, simply using downtime to pray. Much like those of us who had to learn German had to learn things by rote, so using physical aids for prayer is a natural help with remembering things.

The Rosary

Start by giving out rosaries

Please take two minutes to choose your favourite of these…

Background

October is known in Catholic circles as the Month of the Rosary, and yesterday (7th Oct) was the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. While many say that this is all about idolatry and worshipping Mary, it is actually mainly about reflecting on Scripture.

However, this all comes with a bit of history:

There are differing views on the history of the rosary, a Christian prayer rope, cord or chain used to count specific prayers, commonly as a Marian devotion. The exact origin of the rosary as a prayer is less than clear and subject to debate among scholars. The use of knotted prayer ropes in Christianity goes back to the Desert Fathers in the 3rd and early 4th centuries. These counting devices were used for prayers such as the Jesus Prayer in Christian monasticism. The period after the Council of Ephesus in 431 witnessed gradual growth in the use of Marian prayers during the Middle Ages.

The practice of meditation during the praying of the Hail Marys was attributed to Dominic of Prussia, a 15th-century Carthusian monk, who called it the "Life of Jesus Rosary" (vita Christi Rosarium). However, in 1977, a theologian from Trier named Andreas Heinz discovered a vita Christi rosary that dated to 1300, suggesting the origin of the current rosary extends back at least to that time.[1][2]

In 1569, the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church. The Christian victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 was attributed to the praying of the rosary by masses of Europeans based on the request of Pope Pius V and eventually resulted in Our Lady of the Rosary. In 2002 Pope John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries — based on a compilation by George Preca, the first Maltese saint — as an option in an apostolic letter on the rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae.

Reciting the Rosary

So, then, how does one use it?

Cross

We begin at the cross, where we recite the Apostolic Creed -

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; Born of the Virgin

Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into Hell; The third

day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; And sitteth on the right hand of God the

Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of

sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.

First five beads

On the first give beads, we begin with the Lord’s Prayer, then three Hail Mary’s, and then the Glory - Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

Decades

We then come to the five decades, in which we are invited to meditate on various passages of Scripture, or “Mysteries”. You can see those in your leaflet, and they are divided across the week. Each decade starts with announcing the mystery we are meditating on, usually with a brief reflection. We then pray the Lord’s Prayer, and then for each bead, we pray the Hail Mary - which you can see in your leaflet as well. We end each decade with the Glory.

As you can see in the leaflet, we are very much meditating on Scripture, and the Hail Mary is also Biblical, quoting from the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke - the Archangel Gabriel and Elizabeth (the mother of St John the Baptist) respectively.

Mysteries of the Rosary

Joyful (Monday & Saturday)

1. The Annunciation (Luke 1.26-38)

2. The Visitation (Luke 1:39-56)

3. The Nativity of the Lord (Luke 2:1-9)

4. The Presentation of the Lord (Luke 2:22-39)

5. Finding Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51)

Sorrowful (Tuesday & Friday)

1. The Agony of Jesus in the Garden (Luke 22:39-46)

2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26)

3. Jesus is crowned with thorns (Matthew 27:29-30)

4. Jesus carried the Cross (Luke 23:26-32)

5. The Crucifixion of Our Lord (Luke 23:33)

Glorious (Wednesday & Sunday)

1. The Resurrection of Jesus (Luke 24:1-8)

2. The Ascension (Luke 24:50-53)

3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4)

4. The Assumption of Mary (Luke 1:52, Psalm 45:1-4, Revelation 3:21)

5. Mary is crowned as Queen of Heaven (Revelation 2:21, 12:1)

Luminous (Thursday)

1. The Baptism in the Jordan (Matthew 3:1-17)

2. The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12)

3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom (Mark 1:15)

4. The Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36)

5. The Institution of the Eucharist (Luke 13:1-11, Matthew 26:26-29)

The Anglican Rosary

The Anglican rosary was developed in the Episcopal Church in America in the 1970s, and is, one might say, a mixture of the Orthodox Prayer Rope (more about that later) and the Marian Rosary. As you can see here (hold up the Anglican beads) and in your leaflet, it is significantly smaller than the Marian Rosary and does not have any Marian connotations.

As you can see in your leaflet, it is divided into four sections, called weeks.

It can be used in a variety of ways, but the most common one is this:

At the Cross, we start with “O God, make speed to save us. O Lord, make haste to help us”.

At the first bead, we say the Glory.

At the big beads, we pray the Lord’s prayer.

On the “week beads”, we pray the Jesus prayer - “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner”.

When we are back at the first bead, we say the Dismissal - “Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God”.

On the cross again, we finish by asking for God’s blessing.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The image of the Divine Mercy is a depiction of Jesus Christ that is based on the Divine Mercy devotion initiated by Faustina Kowalska (Show my icon)

According to Kowalska's diary, Jesus told her "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory." (Diary 48)

Jesus is shown, in most versions, as raising his right hand in blessing and pointing with his left hand on the Sacred Heart from which flow forth two rays: one red and one pale. The depiction contains the message "Jesus I trust in you" (Polish: Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays that stream out have symbolic meanings: red for the blood of Jesus, and pale for the water (which justifies souls). The whole image is a symbol of charity, forgiveness and love of God, referred to as the "Fountain of Mercy". According to Kowalska's diary, the image is based on her 1931 vision of Jesus.

Kowalska directed the painting of the first image in Vilnius by the artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski. Since then, numerous versions of the image have been painted by other artists, including a popular rendition by Adolf Hyła in Kraków. They are widely venerated worldwide and are used in the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, observed in Roman Catholic as well as some Anglican churches.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy can be prayed using a normal rosary, or a slightly adapted one like this one - you will see that it does not have a cross, but rather finishes with the Medal of Divine Mercy.

We start by making the sign of the cross.

The first prayer is usually “You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!”

We then say the Lord’s Prayer, followed by one Hail Mary and the Apostle’s Creed.

On each large bead, we pray “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” and on the smaller beads “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”.

We then finish with “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (Repeat three times)”

Orthodox Prayer Rope

Historically, the prayer rope would typically have 100 knots, although prayer ropes with 150, 60, 50, 33, 64 or 41 knots can also be found in use today. There are even small, 10-knot prayer ropes intended to be worn on the finger. Hermits in their cells may have prayer ropes with as many as 300 or 500 knots in them.

There is typically a knotted cross where the prayer rope is joined together to form a loop, and a few beads at certain intervals between the knots (usually every 10 or 25 knots) for ease in counting. Longer prayer ropes frequently have a tassel at the end of the cross; its purpose is to dry the tears shed due to heartfelt compunction for one's sins. The tassel can also be said to represent the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom, which one can enter only through the Cross. Additionally, the tassel represents an inherited tradition of prayer. The symbol of tassels as tradition coming from Old Testament commandments to Jews to wear tassels on their garments to keep in mind the received laws.

The prayer rope is commonly made out of wool, symbolising the flock of Christ; though in modern times other materials are used also. The traditional colour of the rope is black (symbolising mourning for one's sins), with either black or coloured beads. The beads (if they are coloured) and at least a portion of the tassel are traditionally red, symbolising the blood of Christ and the blood of the martyrs. In recent times, however, prayer ropes have been made in a wide variety of colours.

When praying, the user normally holds the prayer rope in the left hand, leaving the right hand free to make the Sign of the Cross. When not in use, the prayer rope is traditionally wrapped around the left wrist so that it continues to remind one to pray without ceasing. If this is impractical, it may be placed in the (left) pocket, but should not be hung around the neck or suspended from the belt. The reason for this is humility: one should not be ostentatious or conspicuous in displaying the prayer rope for others to see.

The way it is used is simply by praying the Jesus Prayer - “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me, a sinner” - one prayer for each knot.

The Beads of Life (Frälsarkransen)

These beads were developed by the late Swedish Lutheran Bishop Martin Lönnebo, and are far more flexible than many other sets of beads we have discussed today. They look like this (hold up big beads) and the beads are:

1. Bead of God – about the mysterious presence

2. Bead of Silence (all the long ones) – for wordless concentration

3. I-Bead – about seeing oneself as worthy and responsible

4. Bead of Baptism – about being born again, entrusting oneself

5. Desert Bead – for times of spiritual trial and the endeavour to live a legitimate life

6. Serenity Bead – about the light-heartedness and freedom of the eternal now

7. Love Beads – about reconciliation and about giving and receiving love

8. Beads of Mystery – for personal subjects of prayer, such as your children, your beloved, a deep desire and all living things

9. Night Bead – about crisis and death

10. Resurrection Bead – about hope and the renewal of life

A moment of prayer with the Beads of Christ can be like this. Start – as always – with the golden Bead of God and say: You are infinite

You are near me

You are light and I am yours

Then you touch the bead that you need at the moment. If you are worried, you choose the Serenity Bead; if you need forgiveness you might choose one of the Love Bead. Your wishes, desires and intercessions are in the three Beads of Mystery. When troubles come, you can touch a Bead of Silence. You exhale and sit in peace on the bench at the shore of the Sea of Grace – and you stay there as long as you like. You will love the Beads of Silence more and more. They speak beyond words. You finish your prayer by holding the Bead of God again. You may say the Lord’s Prayer, the nine prayers, one for each one of the round beads except the Beads of Mystery. And then you end with asking for God’s blessing.