Here are the two ways to use prayer beads that I recommend:
First
1.Hold the crucifix and meditate on the cross. Recite John 3:16 or another verse.
2.Continue meditating on the cross until you get to the first large bead
3.At the medal, recall the Holy Trinity
4.Throughout the next beads, meditate on the Ten Commandments, remembering where you have fallen short
5.Meditate on the Apostle's Creed, recalling God's great acts of salvation
6.Pray the Lord's Prayer
7.Meditate on Holy Baptism using Mathew 28:19, Acts 2:38, or another verse about Baptism
8. Meditate on Confession, reciting Psalm 25:11, the Jesus prayer, or another verse of confession
9. Meditate on the Sacrament of the Altar reciting the words of institution
10. End holding the cross, with the invocation and make the sign of the cross
Second
1. Holding the crucifix, say the Invocation and make the sign of the cross;
2. Holding the crucifix, say the Apostles Creed
3. Holding the first bead, say the Our Father
4. On each of the next three beads, say the Jesus Prayer
5. On the chain, say the Doxology
6. On the large bead, say the Our Father
7. On each of the next ten beads, say the Jesus Prayer
8. Holding the chain, say the Doxology
9. Repeat these steps until you have gone through all the beads
10. Holding the medal, say the Magnificat
11. Holding the crucifix, end with the Invocation and make the sign of the cross
17 comments:
Here is a Word .doc with another form of the Lutheran Rosary
http://sothl.com/2012/05/19/the-queen-mother-the-new-covenant/lutheran-rosary/
Which was linked from this page discussing Mary
http://sothl.com/2012/05/19/the-queen-mother-the-new-covenant/
Here is another form of the Lutheran Rosary
http://sothl.com/2012/05/19/the-queen-mother-the-new-covenant/lutheran-rosary/
Linked off this page discussing Mary
http://sothl.com/2012/05/19/the-queen-mother-the-new-covenant/
Daniel,
I'm a bit uncomfortable with an over-exaltation of Mary. It's too close to the unscriptural (and frankly idolatrous) take that the Roman Catholics have of her, particularly when Scripture does not warrant such an exaltation (It's interesting to note that Mary is mentioned only once in Acts, then is virtually non-existent in church history afterward).
I'm uncomfortable with it as well, which is why I recommend using the Magnificat rather than a praise of Mary. Praising Mary in the context of prayer and devotion makes me more than a little uneasy.
If you don't mind my asking, what is the Jesus prayer?
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a [the] sinner."
It's a very popular prayer in Eastern Orthodoxy.
Now here's a question, Jordan: How do you respond to somebody who says that doing this is "vain repetition" as Jesus addresses in Matthew 6, because this is what I heard during my time in the Baptist church concerning pre-written prayers and repeated prayers.
I just wanted to throw out this website I ran across while looking up the Lutheran Rosary:
http://xrysostom.blogspot.com/2008/09/do-lutherans-use-rosary.html
@J.Dean, the "vain repetition" comment is one I am quite familiar with as someone who came from an Independent Baptist tradition into one of the "catholic" and "orthodox" traditions. One of the confessional Lutheran pastors that helped me greatly pointed out that the key word here is "vain," meaning that repetitions are NOT condemned wholesale, but just the vain kind. Jesus himself commands a specific prayer, and the famous "Aaronic blessing" in the O.T. is "repetitious." So what is being condemned here is NOT repetitions, but the vain use of them.
Example, tossing out a few Hail Mary's because I had a bad thought and my heart could care less = vain
Saying The Creed as a confession of our faith which faithfully summarizes the Apostolic faith and connects to believers across time and space = Not vain.
@J.Dean, to add on to haynesworldview, one passage that helped me to get over my opposition to repeated prayers was Matt 26:44 where we see Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying "for the third time, saying the same words again." I figured therefore that if Jesus can repeat a prayer, then the vain repetition that Jesus was condemning in Matthew 6 must not be referring simply to repeating a prayer but a certain kind of repetitive prayer, the vain kind, as haynesworldview mentioned.
Pastor Cooper,
I assume your prayer beads are the ones found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20090201152850/http://lutheranprayerbeads.com/downloads.html
Since those don't seem to be available anymore would you recommend these: http://atelier-beads.com/newatelier/product-category/lutheran-rosaries/ which seem to have the same basic configuration?
Or maybe these:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100821104302/http://www.sothb.org/documents/LutheranRosaryBrochure.pdf based on Luther's A Simple Way to Pray?
Blessings,
Tim
It's too bad that the ones I use aren't made anymore, but the other one's you posted look like they would work fine.
Thanks Pastor. Sorry I posted three times... I wasn't sure my question was getting posted.
Thank you so much for this post, Pastor Cooper. I was just about to write you an email asking this very question!
Rather than the marian devoted type, I prefer to use Luther's Evangelical Praise of the Mother of God - "O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, what great comfort God has shown us in you, by so graciously regarding your unworthiness and low estate. This encourages us to believe that henceforth He will not despise us poor and lowly ones, but graciously regard us also, according to your example."
I just like how it's giving the credit to what GOD has done THROUGH Mary, rather than exalting Mary herself. Then you don't have to wrestle with the "is it or isn't it idolatry..."
Great post. Glad to see it mentioned. I love the idea of saying a rosary to help me focus and meditate during prayer. It's a wonderful tool.
As far as "vain repetition" and "wrote prayers" - coming from a more charismatic background, as a semi-newish Lutheran convert, I can attest that some of the "say it from your heart" prayers become just as wrote and meaningless. You can have your heart not be present in any kind of prayer. And even so far as seeing some of the "sign and wonders" types, that all can become wrote as well. It really is the heart behind the petition in ANY of these cases.
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