Any one else use ecumenical prayerbeads?

[naprous]

I began praying the rosary again last year, and have really enjoyed it. I also began making rosaries myself after visiting the Rosary Workshop website (rosaryworkshop.com/)

And as I began making my own, I began to research the tradition of prayer beads in various religions (Orthodox Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc). Eventually, I also came across the quite new (1980s) ecumenical or Anglican set of prayer beads, that has 33 beads, divided into 4 “weeks” of seven beads each, plus the 4 “cruciform” beads (+1). There’s no set prayers that go with them – you decide how you want to use them. I’ve found wonderful suggestions on the web, and have also invented my own combinations. I also sometimes just use them to “count my blessings.”

Here’s one website on the Ecumenical or Anglican beads:
kingofpeace.org/prayerbeads.htm

Naprous

 

[csr]

One of the beautiful aspects of the Rosary is that it formed over the centuries with the Church, and in various ways reflects key aspects of Church life. For example, there are 150 Hail Maries, and there are…150 psalms. To a great extent the lay people who didn’t have the time or resources to learn the whole psalter would pray the Hail Mary, just as the nearby monasteries would pray the psalter. Also, the Rosary is a wonderful connection with the faithful who have gone before us, praying it in their families and also as part of daily discipline for religious. Our Lady herself has asked that we pray the Rosary, too.

 

[Annunciata]

I looked at the Site. It’s nice…but you already have the Rosary so full of all the meditations on our Lord and his Blessed Mother…Why take on more?

 

[naprous]

Why not? Marian devotion is not the only valid kind of spiritual practice. I happen to be particularly fond of the Julian of Norwich set of prayers. I think they’re very beautiful, and I find them very comforting, especially when I feel like I have too much on my plate.

Julian of Norwich Prayer

The Cross
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Invitatory
O God make speed to save me (us),
O Lord make haste to help me (us),
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Cruciforms
God of your goodness, give me yourself,
For you are enough to me.
And I can ask for nothing less that is to your glory.
And if I ask for anything less, I shall still be in want, for only in you have I all.

The Weeks
All shall be well, and all shall be well,
And all manner of things shall be well.

Or

In His love He has done His works, and in His love He has made all things beneficial to us.

 

[naprous]

csr, yes, I know the history of the rosary, though at least in the middle ages, laypeople who didn’t know the psalms would say Paters, not Aves, as they said the Hours (I know this was true for lay Franciscans, at the very least).

I like the Rosary, but I like both chocolate and vanilla ice cream, too.

Naprous

 

[Annunciata]

naprous:

Why not? Marian devotion is not the only valid kind of spiritual practice. I happen to be particularly fond of the Julian of Norwich set of prayers. I think they’re very beautiful, and I find them very comforting, especially when I feel like I have too much on my plate.

Julian of Norwich Prayer

The Cross
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Invitatory
O God make speed to save me (us),
O Lord make haste to help me (us),
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Cruciforms
God of your goodness, give me yourself,
For you are enough to me.
And I can ask for nothing less that is to your glory.
And if I ask for anything less, I shall still be in want, for only in you have I all.

The Weeks
All shall be well, and all shall be well,
And all manner of things shall be well.

Or

In His love He has done His works, and in His love He has made all things beneficial to us.

Dear Naprous,
This one is indeed very beautiful! I found the Celtic Prayers very beautiful too! I guess it’s just that I’m so fond of the Rosary that I would have a hard time adapting to another …Guess my age is showing…I didn’t mean that you shouldn’t pray them. Annunciata