Let's talk in our rosary article. What is it, you know? And what are they used for? This is a monastic attribute used for prayer. It’s very convenient to mechanically finger your rosary and pray at the same time.
How to pray on the rosary? Can laity do this? Read the article: here are detailed answers to these questions.
Rosary in world religions
This prayer attribute is used not only in Christianity. Muslims and Catholics also have them. The purpose of all the rosary is the same - the prayer rule. And the appearance is different. We’ll talk about this in detail.
Muslim rosary
They are called subha. Which in translation means "early morning", "dawn." Consist of 99 beads. Also known as “whip for shaitan” or “whip for Satan”.
Why 99 beads? By the number of names of Allah.
Catholic and Old Believers rosary
How to pray on a rosary? With a little patience, we will get to this point soon. In the meantime, let's talk about what the Old Believers rosaries are.
They are called the "staircase". And in fact, weaving is like a staircase. Symbol of spiritual ascent.
Catholics have several types of beads. Let's start with the rosary. This is a classic Catholic prayer beads known since ancient times. They are 150 beads strung on the links of a chain, and a simple Catholic cross. Previously, they read psalms on the rosary - there was one psalm per bead. Hence the number of beads, for the Psalms are 150. Now they read “Our Father” and “Ave Maria” on the rosary.
Irish rose garden. These rosaries are so small that they fit in the palm of the prayer. They are a one-sided chain with beads. If a simple rose garden is enclosed in a circle, then there is no enclosure. There is a ring on one side of the rosary in order to put it on the finger. On the other hand, a cross is required.
Basque rose garden. This is a ring with protrusions instead of beads. Such an option appeared in the time of persecution of Catholics. It can be worn on the finger, and if necessary, easy to hide.
The pearl of life. This is a very small rosary of 18 beads. But they look very beautiful. Designed by a Swedish bishop. He carefully thought out the meaning of each bead. Why exactly 18? This number symbolizes the path of life.
Greek rosary
How to pray on a rosary? Very, very soon we will talk about this. In the meantime, let's touch on the theme of game rosaries. Yes, such exist. They are used not at all for prayer, but for the game. They consist of 20 beads, and play with them, throwing in your hand. The most popular type of rosary in Greece.
Orthodox Russian rosary
The broyanitsa is a rosary woven from sheep’s wool. They are very small, have the shape of a ring. It is very convenient to wear on your wrist, like a bracelet.
The broyan has no beads. It consists of 33 nodes, on which they read a prayer.
There are also large broyanits. On 50, 100 and 150 knots. It is believed that these beads can only be given. And they give them to people to whom they have special respect.
Sewer. From the name it’s clear that this is a rope. It consists of 100 knots, divided by 10. At the end of the rope is a cross. Previously, there were only nodular options. Now there are ropes consisting of beads.
How to pray according to Orthodox prayer beads? So we come to the main topic of our article - prayer.
When do we pray?
When does an ordinary person come to God? Most often this happens in a critical situation. People remember that there is One who is simply obliged to help. He created us. So we go to the temple, write notes, put candles and pray for help. We received help - and again we forget about God. Until the next unforeseen life situation.
But is that right? God is waiting for us, He is always waiting and is ready to help. However, such consumption on our part is not entirely true. It is necessary not only to ask, but also not to forget about gratitude.
We are the children of God. The father loves his children, he is ready to forgive them everything and always come to the rescue. Is there a desire to help children if you don’t hear a simple “thank you” from them? You try for them, you do, and they only consume, forgetting about the simplest word - gratitude.
God does not need our "thanks." We need to be able to be grateful to him. Wake up one day and thank you for the new day, for God waking us up and giving us another day. Thank you before going to bed for the past day, he passed, God gave it to us. In general, one must be able to be grateful.
How to pray?
How to pray on a rosary? It's simple, sorting out nodules or beads and reading a prayer. And here it is here that questions begin to arise about what kind of prayer, how long, for what it is needed. And in general, there is no banal time.
Stop, let's start with the fact that the rosary is a monastic attribute. According to them, monks pray, perform Jesus prayer, as a rule. Here is her text:
Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Everything is extremely simple: one bead is one prayer. I read the monk's prayer, took the next bead in my fingers. And so slowly pulls the rosary in his fingers.
It is difficult to talk about the time interval for reading. It all depends on the charter of the monastery. The number of prayers necessary for reading is blessed (appointed) by the abbot or abbess of the monastery. An abbot is a boss or director, speaking in a mundane language. In other monasteries, an arbitrary number of prayers is blessed. And somewhere the number is set. It can be 500 prayers, 1000 or more. Jesus prayers mean.
When to read them, if the monks always have a mountain of affairs? Being busy, they make a prayer. If obedience allows you to pull the rosary, then the monks pray on them. If not, you have to pray only in the mind.
Can I pray for the rosary in the church?
The question is very controversial. We come to the service in order to listen to her and pray. There is hardly a need for prayer on the rosary in the service. An exception is made for monks, for they do not always have time to read their rule in private prayer or obedience.
If it is a question of praying in a church not during service, why not? Put a candle in front of the icon and stand - pray. Ask about your needs, or read the Jesus Prayer, fingering the rosary in church silence.
Lay people and the rosary
Is it permissible to pray to the laity of the rosary? Only with the blessing of the priest, whose layman confesses. As a rule, the priest knows the spiritual life of his child and sees if he can fulfill the prayer rule according to the rosary.
If the priest blessed the prayer at home with a rosary, then it is better to discuss the details with him. How many prayers to read, what rosary to get for this, what time it is better to create a rule. In the evenings, before going to bed, it is most convenient. And it is better not to lie in bed, because there is a high probability of falling asleep, and sitting on the bed at least.
You can say a prayer on a rosary on the way to work if you have to travel by public transport. Or going for a walk. Walk along the street and simply fingering the rosary in your fingers, reading the Jesus prayer.
If you found someone else's rosary?
It is practically not real, but anything happens. What to do if someone else's rosary is found? Take home, clean from dirt (wash in warm soapy water, by hand), dry thoroughly. And take to the temple, explaining the situation. The priest will tell the finder what to do next: keep it or give it to the church.
Summarize
What does the article say? Let us highlight its main aspects:
The rosary is the "tool" of the monk.
They are used not only in Christianity. Muslims and Catholics also have a rosary. As well as the Old Believers.
They make Jesus prayer on the rosary.
Since this is an attribute of monks, the laity need to take a blessing from their priest to pray according to the rosary.
Monks pray for them in obedience, and in the temple, and in cells.
Lay people can confine themselves to domestic prayer. Or pray on the way to work, or walking along the street.
Conclusion
We talked about how to pray on the rosary. It is worth noting that the rosary is a religious attribute, though. And you need to treat them properly. You can not go to the toilet with a rosary, touch them with dirty hands. Do not throw them on the floor or on the ground. Anything can happen, slipped a thread from his hands, rosary fell. This is by accident, of course. Raise, ask God for forgiveness for what happened and continue the prayer.
As mentioned above, you can pray by the ropes, but you can also by the brooches. To whom it is more convenient. For the laity, everything is individual, and negotiated with a spiritual mentor.