How to pray with the anglican rosary
Something familiar, something fresh, something for the spirit.
Something familiar
Although the Anglican version of the rosary came about early in the 20th century, its roots go back much further: to the traditional catholic rosary, and also to the orthodox prayer rope. Prayer with beads, the repetition of the words with the aim of hearing God in the silences, is a venerable tradition in the christian faith. If you're used to praying with beads in general, the experience with these will feel very familiar and comfortable; the principle is the same. On the other hand, if you have no experience with this type of prayer, I assure you that the practice is simple and easy to learn.
Something fresh
What’s different about this type of rosary is that the prayers are more flexible. Of course, it’s possible to pray the Hail Mary as in the Catholic tradition, or the Jesus Prayer as in the Orthodox; both are options. But in addition, or instead, you can also use well-known lines from the Book of Common Prayer (e.g., "Lord, open thou our lips, and our mouths shall show forth thy praise"), of belovèd hymns ("Teach us to know the Father, Son, and thee, Holy Ghost, to be but one"), the psalms and the scriptures ("Come, let us sing unto the Lord, let us shout with joy to the rock of our salvation!"), or famous prayers of the saints ("Lord, make me a channel of your peace; where there is hatred let me sow your love"). The possibilities are endless … but if you don’t know where to begin, we can pray together.
Something for the spirit
Praying with beads is, ultimately, a type of meditation. When we pray the words in repetition, we’re presented with an opportunity to reflect upon or sit with our prayers with a growing depth. We’re offered the possibility of hearing something new in the prayers every time we pray them. And through silences between the prayers, we can find ourselves in tranquility and listen for the still, small voice of God.
The first step in praying this way is simply to find a quiet space (if that’s possibly in this noisy life!); take a few moments of stillness, ask God to join you, that his Spirit will guide you. And then we begin praying like this …
The Parts of the Rosary
The Cross: as is traditional with prayer beads in general, we begin with the Cross, the symbol of salvation. Normally we pray here a strong and very familiar prayer: e.g., the Apostles' Creed or the Our Father. This gives a signal of our clear Christian intentions.
The Invitatory Bead: we offer here a few words to mark the tone – a prayer that invites us to pray with depth: e.g., "Lord, open thou our lips, and our mouths shall show forth thy praise".
The Cruciform Beads: as you can see, these beads take the form of the cross, hence the name. Here we pray a prayer to introduce the repetitions in the next beads, and to establish a theme: e.g., praise, hope, sadness, joy. Probably this prayer will be a little longer than those that follow.
The Weeks: seven days in a week; seven beads here. Throughout the scriptures, the number seven is considered a holy number, with the significance of God's perfection. With these beads, we generally pray a phrase, something short and simple, slowly, seven time, with pauses in between the repetitions: e.g., "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name". This helps us to reflect on the words and be still in God's presence.
The Dimissory Bead: at the end, we use the last cruciform bead to pray some appropriate words to finish our time of prayer and enter the world afresh: e.g., the Nunc dimittis: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ..." .
An Example
The Cross
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable unto you, O God, my strength and my redeemer. (Psalm 19.14.)
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Invitatory Bead
Lord, open thou our lips and our mouths shall show forth thy praise.
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.
(BCP 1979.)
The First Cruciform Bead
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets God promised of old, that to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:68-79.)
The First Week
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2.)
The Second Cruciform Bead
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets God promised of old, that to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:68-79.)
The Second Week
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2.)
The Third Cruciform Bead
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets God promised of old, that to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:68-79.)
The Third Week
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2.)
The Fourth Cruciform Bead
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour, born of the house of his servant David. Through his holy prophets God promised of old, that to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:68-79.)
The Fourth Week
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2.)
The Dimissory Bead
The hour is coming, and is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. (John 4:23.)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.