The Cruciform Prayer

We are all familiar with the Rosary. Nearly all Roman Catholics use it regularly, and even some of us ‘outsiders’ use it from time to time. And even if you haven’t memorized a word of it, the football fans have all heard of a “Hail Mary” play.

There is a less known, similar devotion, developed within the Protestant tradition. In many ways, it looks similar, but it is totally distinct in its form and practice.

The Anglican Rosary, also known as the Anglican Chaplet or Christian Prayer Beads, is a freeform, self-guided devotional tool which allows the user to pray meditatively. Many Christians are uncomfortable praying the “Hail Mary” or other prayers to saints, and this prayer tool provides a similar access point to the meditative tradition, while avoiding the more controversial elements of it. It is a simple, beautiful, and (I would suggest) more natural form of meditation. Due to its cross-like shape, which is also vastly symbolic, I propose we refer to this as The Cruciform Prayer. There are numerous excellent resources available to guide the reader, but I really wanted to throw my hat into the ring in a unique way.

I’m interested in publishing an educational guide to several poetic prayer cycles I’ve written. It is my goal to make these resources available to anyone who is interested. Moving forward, I’ll explain how the Christian Prayer Beads can be used, and I’ll provide links to other resources which I have benefited from over the years of using my own set of Prayer Beads.

To those interested, I can’t wait to share all of this with you!


Contents

Introductory Ideas
  1. Contemplation or Meditation?

  2. Active Meditation

  3. As Within, So Without

Design
  1. Cruciformity

Resources

The Breastplate of Saint Patrick


Poetic Prayer Cycles

The Compass [North, South, East, West]

The Cycle of Life [Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth]

The Elements [Fire, Water, Earth, Air]

The Seasons [Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring]