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Praying the Rosary (Prayer Beads) for Episcopalians
Episcopalian/Anglican Rosary:
a spiritual practice of repeating prayers focusing and meditating
on the life, death and resurrection of Christ
What is a Rosary?
The word “rosary” is derived from the Latin word rosarium, meaning rose garden. From earliest times, people have used a string of knots or beads on a string to keep count of prayers offered to God. These strings evolved into a rosary and became a convenient prayer.
The Rosary is a prayer using touch, a cycle of repeating prayers, and meditating on a spiritual journey. The Rosary is prayed privately by oneself, or in a group all together.
“Remember: rhythmic, repetitive prayer is … offered to God as an act
of thanksgiving and loving adoration, for the fullness of God’s life in us through Baptism. It is also a way to prepare ourselves for contemplation
and silence.” *
“The Rosary has been, for many, a way in to silent prayer. The silence of the heart before God is of the essence of the prayer life. … Because the rosary is a form of repetitive prayer, we can relax, feel the beads with our fingers, focus on the current mystery [event of Christ’s life on Earth], and slowly repeat the prayer. This is…[a] repetitive prayer which is done willfully, with intention, and focused on God.” *
What does the Rosary look like and what do the beads represent?
Briefly, the rosary usually has a Cross (symbolizing the grace of God) connected to a circle formed of 33 beads, representing the years Jesus spent on Earth; 28 of the beads are organized into 4 groups of 7, called week beads, representing the days of creation, the days of the week. There are 4 cruciform beads which divide each set of week beads , and which symbolize the charge to take the 4 Gospels to the 4 corners of the earth. A single invitatory bead calls us to pray at the beginning and leads us to the Cross at the end of the prayer.
How to Pray using the Anglican Rosary
There is no set of prayers to be used, and there is not one correct way, though there are many suggested ways, to pray the Anglican Rosary.
(*) Quotes from The Rosary for Episcopalians/Anglicans, 2nd ed., 2003, written by Thomas Schultz, OJLC, Monk/
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