Rosary Notes

I make Anglican Rosaries from time to time. I made one today. As I strung the beads together, it occurred to me that a difference between Anglicans and Roman Catholics is that we do not intuitively know how to pray a rosary. R. C. kids, especially those who have been to parochial grade school, know this sort of thing. It is in their air and water.

One thing about Anglicans, in spite of the evil efforts of two archbishops; we do not have a central authority. There is no one who can prescribe the prayers. We sort of like that, which is why the Covenant is going to go down in flames. We not only do not have that central authority: we do not want it.

But that leaves the issue of the prayers. As near as I can tell, the rosary is fairly new in Anglican usage, and even more so outside of North America, where I think, it originated. They are easy enough to describe: a circle (more about that below) of four sections, separated by four large beads, each carrying seven beads. It is common to refer to the sections as “weeks” and the smaller beads as “days” so that each section is a “week” if you do not mind the total of 8 beads! I cannot find an academic reference, nor again any authority, but this is the pattern I see, make and pray.

Outside the circle is a single “invetory” or “introit” bead, and a cross or crucifix. Those I make have crosses, generally not crucifixes. I have a reason for this: we are, we Episcopalians, Resurrection people, Incarnation people. We are not Atonement people. We leave the whole idea of focusing on the crucifixion suffering to our Roman cousins. That does not mean we belittle it, only that it is not at our center. Incarnation, Resurrection, these are at our center.

There is no official beading pattern and as an artisan, I have worked on mine. I am proud of the results. I use a stringing pattern that allows the four “Week” beads to actually define a circle. The stringing that leads from one of the beads to the introit bead, and the cross are clearly outside the circle. That is intentional, it allow us to easily pray the beads more than once, moving around the circle

Here is how I pray the rosary.

• I make a cross, and holding the cross on the rosary I pray the Gloria.
• I move to the introit bead, and make a choice (I am Episcopalian!) either praying the “Lord's Prayer” or naming the concerns I bring to the prayer. So if I do not say the Lord's Prayer, I might say to myself, “Father, you are holy and blessed. I come before you to pray for: South Sudan, the ministry of the Episcopal Church threatened by litigation and libel, those who have asked my prayers: …..”
• In any case I move to the first large Week bead and again make a choice, either asking a particular Saint to pray with me “Holy Luke, patron of healers pray with me,” or praying another Gloria.
• Then as I allow each Day bead or pass through my hand I pray either a Kyrie: “Lord have Mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy” or “Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy Immortal One, have mercy.” At times, I change saints from week bead to week bead so that the first bead is Luke, the second Mary, the third Peter, and the forth whomever is being commemorated by the church (I use Holy Women – Holy Men for this) that day.

We are Episcopalians, so variations abound. My Marian son asks Mary to pray with him at each of the four large beads. I have been known to use each bead to ask a different archangel to pray with me for something specific. I know a person who prays kyries at the weeks and Ave Maria at each smaller bead.
I and most people I know circle the beads at least 3 times. 12 is also popular with some folks.

To finish, we exit the circle, that is we return to the “introit” bead, pray another Lord's Prayer, and then holding the cross either say a last Gloria or a simple, “In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen”

Why do this? Because it helps center and focus our prayer and it teaches us to exclude all other thoughts while we pray.

It is not magic, we do not get goodies from God. Episcopalians may be many things but we are never, “healthy wealthy and wise Christians.” We are praying people. We have instead of a book of rules, or a book of discipline, a book of, “Common Prayer.” Prayer is what we do, what we always seek to be better at doing. And for some of us, the beads help.