5/17/2010

Our Anglican prayer beads

At Hope for Healing.Org we've been making Anglican prayer beads. It's really been a neat experience. Right now my daughter and I are creating them to raise funds for her. (Read why here.)

Anglican prayer beads are tool to help you focus on God. You work out your anxiety by working the beads  through your hands as you pray. It's similar to the Catholic rosary. The Anglican prayer beads are divided into sections.

  • Cross or Crucifix - This is the first bead in the loop.
  • Invitatory - The second bead. (Customarily set of small beads are used to provide space for the next bead called the Weeks bead.)
  • Weeks - These are larger than the small beads and easier to grasp.
  • Cruciform - Next to the invitatory bead these are the largest in the loop. Sometimes they are the same as the invitatory bead but never larger. 

Thirty-three beads are divided into groups in the Anglican Prayer beads. The number 33 represents Jesus earthly life span. The 4 groups of 7 beads represents completion. These are divided by the large Cruciform beads. When the Anglican prayer beads are laid on a flat surface you will notice that the 4 beads make the points of the cross.

There are no set prayers for each bead. Many people will hold the cross and say the Lord's Prayer, next they will go to the invitatory bead and say a prayer. This may be followed with the reciting of the Apostle's Creed or prayers of particular meaning to the individual.

The picture above is a set of beads made by Hope Youth. Photos of the ones made by Sam and myself are on her blog. She's having fun learning about prayer beads and how to use them. I daresay that this entire trip will teach us both a lot more about prayer and that's never a bad thing.

The photo on the left is of a set of beads spread flat on a table. You can see how the Cruciform beads form the points of the cross.

Anglican beads can be the perfect tool to help you connect with God.

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