hey folks... this post is for those who do and do not pray the Marian rosary. I’m struggling with deciding if this is a practice I should continue or discard and what I want to know is, what is the official stance of Anglicanism and what are the reasons for said stance. I want to hear from everybody as long as they provide a rationale for why they do or don’t pray the rosary. I’m really torn so all input is very much appreciated. CF Lawrence
If you're anglo-catholic, it's not such a big deal. But, if the Marian or Saint-based devotions bother you, you can always switch to the Protestant version of the rosary used by Anglicans, Lutherans, and some others.
My view is simple. If is is helping, do it, if it is not, stop - or at least give it a rest for a while. The Rosary, for an Anglican, in whatever form, to my mind is neither mandated nor forbidden. It has a role and a place, and of course it will be part of a spiritual life that will have other components. I have at times valued the beads rolling through my fingers, and at other times it has been a menace. As Anglicans we do embrace a diversity of faith and practice when it comes to the non-essentials.
There are a variety of different rosaries, some which have a very general use and are not dedicated entirely to Mary, a Saint, or whatever. Some of the more contemporary, novel ones include ring versions of the ten-bead 'decade' rosary. I have the same one seen in this picture:
I find prayer aid such as the rosary to be beneficial. For myself, having a physical element to the prayers helps me stay focused and improve my recall of events in Christ's life. I say the rosary, both the Catholic and Anglican varieties. I try to focus on prayers and events found in scripture and less on Marian devotion. I love the Blessed Virgin, but it just isn't a focus for me. For the decade beads I like to use the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy me, a sinner" in place of the Hail Mary. I also recite the Hail Mary, but less frequently. Personally, I find the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary to be extremely fruitful. If using the Anglican prayer beads, I may do the mysteries several time over and pray about them. I try and use them for reflection and meditation as well as a method of recitation. I will also take portions from the BCP & Bible and formulate my own structure based on what I am studying at the time. If you find the practice helpful, I would say keep at it. I feel there are many ways of prayer which can bring us closer to God.
Nowadays I prefer to use the rosary as a tool to practice learning and memorizing important, traditional prayers. The decade rosary serves that purpose well enough (i.e.; the ring I showed in the pic) since the format is more convenient for the sake of learning. I switch to a new prayer each cycle. I find literary devotions and readings more beneficial than repeated prayers or requests that come suspiciously close to the idea of saying something over and over again expecting more favor in each iteration. So, the idea of simply learning and making my mind active rather than passive is more helpful for me when ever I do actually use the rosary. The repeated prayers for intercessions or whatever of that sort actually cause me the kind of anxiety that is so often attributed to the more pagan practices found in eastern meditations. I have read that such forms of meditations are usually very bad for people with Aspergers (like myself), who benefit more from physical and/or intellectual exercise. So, pacing around with the rosary, counting each citation of lengthy passages from the bible would be more healthy in that case.
I find literary devotions and readings more beneficial than repeated prayers or requests that come suspiciously close to the idea of saying something over and over again expecting more favor in each iteration. I think that is a good distinction to make regarding repeated prayer. Often I have seen some people just recite prayer in a formulaic manner to check off a box or simply to get it done. Others may take a more "magical" approach to it and feel the efficacy is in the words itself and not as a connection with God. I've more than likely done both myself without even knowing it! I try to take the approach of bringing total focus to each word I am saying. This is especially true when reciting the Jesus Prayer. It's so short, but I find soon after I start my prayer, my mind begins to wander. Did I really focus on the entire prayer, or was my attention elsewhere while my lips made the sound? Was I able to really reflect on my actions and God's mercy? Or was I just running beads through my fingers and words on my lips? I've found that I've blown through an entire decade without paying much mind if I am stressed or worrying about something. In those cases I go back and re-recite the prayer again and again. Why? Because I really wasn't praying at all- I was just reciting empty words. So, for me having the physical object grounds me and helps to recall "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be praying!" whereas without one I can really let my brain off its leash and run wild at times. But, I find it as a method to increase my devotion and focus in prayer. I don't think that it makes the rosary more "powerful" or holy to recite more than what is part of the normal practice. But, I do think it's important to know when we are day dreaming or otherwise distracted when at prayer.