Praying the Rosary is a tactile aid to focus on prayer. Our minds naturally tend to wander, and it can help to have something we can hold onto physically – sometimes, just the touch of an item dedicated to prayer can remind us of the peace of God and put us in a prayerful frame of mind. There are many forms of prayers to use with the Anglican Rosary; this prayer is drawn from the prayers of Ash Wednesday and Lent. To use the interactive Rosary, click on the Cross at right, then on each bead, moving around counter-clockwise, finally ending again at the cross.
Jesus, Redeemer of the world, give us your peace.
Jesus, Bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD, hear my voice. (Psalm 130:1)
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: have mercy upon us.
In you, Lord, is our hope; and we shall never hope in vain. (BCP 98)
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:11)
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses. Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2)
First Time - We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives; our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people; our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves; Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work; our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us. (BCP 268)
Final time - The Lord's Prayer
First Time - In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Final Time - Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty; for all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us; for our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us. Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us. Accomplish in us the work of your salvation. (BCP 268)
There is a great deal of symbolism woven into the design of the Anglican rosary. There are thirty-three beads representing the thirty-three years of Jesus’ life. The Cruciform beads form the cross and can also represent the four compass points of the earth. The seven beads of the Weeks can represent the seven days of creation, the day of the Sabbath, and the number seven is often used in the Bible as symbolic of perfection. To enter into prayer there is an Invitatory bead, much like we say an invitatory collect at the beginning of our services to invite us into worship.
