Is it important to pray while trying a prayer rope?

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PazzoGrande

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I read that the monks who make prayer ropes pray while making them.

But as a layperson making them, is it necessary and/or important to pray while making them? The Latin counterpart – the Rosary – isn’t usually made while praying. It may be done in a prayerful atmosphere, but it isn’t necessarily so that the maker is reciting a prayer while putting it together.

I have found that making prayer ropes are therapeutic, I can do it while I watch TV. But I hate to make them just to calm me down instead of making them to pray. (Of course they are meant to be prayed with afterward, but that’s another issue.)

What specifically do the monks pray when they make them?

An interesting thing I figured out though is that the timing of making it matches up with the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be quite nicely. The first step of making the weave times nicely with the Our Father. The second step of tightening it on each side times nicely with the Hail Mary. The third step of pushing the cord through to complete the knot times nicely with the Glory Be. Nice Divine coincidence!

(PS I’m a Latin so please bear with me! :D)
 
PazzoGrande said:
What specifically do the monks pray when they make them?
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The Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There are other, often shorter, versions such as “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

btw, the Latin Catholic counterpart is the Fátima Prayer: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.”
 
Splagchnizomai said:
The Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There are other, often shorter, versions such as “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

btw, the Latin Catholic counterpart is the Fátima Prayer: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.”
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Nice avatar, by the way. Whose picture is that? It’s hard to see since they downsize them so much.
 
PazzoGrande said:
I read that the monks who make prayer ropes pray while making them.

But as a layperson making them, is it necessary and/or important to pray while making them? The Latin counterpart – the Rosary – isn’t usually made while praying. It may be done in a prayerful atmosphere, but it isn’t necessarily so that the maker is reciting a prayer while putting it together.

I have found that making prayer ropes are therapeutic, I can do it while I watch TV. But I hate to make them just to calm me down instead of making them to pray. (Of course they are meant to be prayed with afterward, but that’s another issue.)

(PS I’m a Latin so please bear with me! :D)
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PM Philip Rolfes. He would know, considering he makes prayer ropes, and good ones at that.
 
PazzoGrande,

I believe you and I have chatted before, no?

To answer your question, I would say it’s preferable, but not absolutely necessary. I personally cannot always pray while I’m making prayer ropes, usually because the only time I really get to work on prayer ropes is when my wife and I are watching a movie together. Otherwise I’m pretty busy with school work and my children.

The Jesus Prayer is customary to pray while tieing ropes, but any prayer will do. Your “Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…” idea is good if it works for you. I’d have to pray them really quickly in order to get through all three while tieing a knot. Right now the fastest I can go with a knot is one minute flat, but that’s when I’m really going all out. Usually 1.5 - 2 minutes per knot is my average. (Yes, I do time it because I can steep tea or coffee for the correct amount of time according to how many knots I can finish while steeping. :D)
 
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