Praying with Beads
Praying with beads focuses the mind and opens the heart to receive the grace of God.
The Rosary
You need not be Catholic to benefit from praying the rosary. This prayer form teaches us to ponder events in the lives of Jesus and Mary while opening ourselves to God’s grace. How to pray the rosary can be learned here. Once its basic form is learned, you can personalize its use as I share below.
Why Mary? Yes, we can pray to Mary, just as we can talk to anyone whose soul has passed from this world. We hold Mary in high regard both because of her incredible faith and because in the Gospel of John, we can believe Jesus’ words to John, “Behold your mother,” (John 19:27) were meant for all of us, not to worship Mary, but to look to her for her intercession as well as to imitate her example.
In other words, just as we grow in personal ways and benefit others by talking and listening to (praying) to God, we can grow in personal ways and benefit others by talking and listening to Mary (and Saints) through the grace of God.
To illustrate the growth potential inherent in the rosary, I share below the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary plus the meditations I often employ as I pray. Pondering these mysteries will bring to mind your own needs as you pray and spend time with God.
Chaplets
The entire rosary can be prayed, mystery by mystery, while using this smaller version. Or, these beads can be used to seek God’s intervention with specific needs…
A Chaplet for Living with Addiction
Beginning prayer: Dear God, I am bound by this addiction, but because of your love for me, I am no prisoner to it. May I see the grace you offer at every moment. May I choose to use it, expecting difficulty, yes, but knowing your grace is more powerful. May I open my heart to you always. Amen.
Prayer on each bead: Oh, God, I am in need of your strength. May I see and choose the victory you have already gained for me. Amen.
Concluding prayer: Thank you, God, for your grace. I stand in the light and freedom of your fierce love. May I never choose to turn away. Amen.
A Chaplet for Living with Depression
Beginning prayer: Dear God, I am weighed down, yes, but I am not broken. You are my light, my peace, my answer. Give me wisdom, Lord, that I may wage this battle according to your will. Amen.
Prayer on each bead: See, Lord, the burden I carry. Enlighten my mind. Strengthen my will. Show me the way. Amen.
Concluding prayer: Dear God, I ask that you remove this burden from me. But until then, I ask that I may bear it well and use its weight to grow in wisdom, patience, and resilience. Amen.
A Chaplet for Victims of Sexual Assault
Beginning prayer: Dear Jesus, I come before you with sorrow, rage, confusion, doubt, and fear. You knew these feelings as you, too, were beaten, stripped, and ridiculed. You, Lord, have paved the way toward healing, wholeness, and peace of mind. May I follow you. Amen.
Prayer on each bead: Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. May I trust in all the good things your grace will work out from my suffering. May I rise. May I be strong. May I become a Wounded Healer. Amen.
Concluding prayer: May I bring my pain to you, Lord, at the foot of the Cross. May I know my suffering joins with yours. May I know the power of your grace and the depth of your love for me. Amen.
A Chaplet for Victims of Child Abuse
Beginning prayer: Dear God, my wounds are many. I am suspicious, angry, brokenhearted. I fear I am ruined, Lord. May I trust you. May I experience the strength, the wisdom, the hope of your grace. Amen.
Prayer on each bead: Lord Jesus, your heart was broken, too. May I join my sorrows with yours. May I find and follow the way you have already made for me, a way to peace, to healing, to love, to joy. Amen.
Concluding prayer: Thank you, God, for preparing such gifts for me along this path toward healing. I am growing in wisdom, in knowledge of my own resilience, in my ability to trust and love. May I be a blessing to myself and those around me. Amen.
A Chaplet for Self-Acceptance
Beginning prayer: Dear God, hear my prayer. My vision is marred by pain, fear, and anger. I cannot see the person you created me to be. I am in need, Lord. Hear me.
Prayer on each bead: Oh, Lord, you created me. You called me into life. May I choose to see myself and others as you do. Gift me with wisdom, Lord. Amen.
Concluding prayer: Dear God, you have made us in your image. We are to be powerful, merciful, and wise. Lead me to this vision, Lord. May I find it, nurture it, and live it. Amen.
A Chaplet to Believe in and Trust God
Beginning prayer: Dear God, help me to be willing to open my heart and mind to you. I fear doing this. I fear what others may think. Most of all, I fear I won’t perceive you at all. Show me, Lord, how to believe and trust in you. Amen.
Prayer on each bead: “When you look for me, you will find me, when you seek me with all your heart.*” Show me, Lord, the ways I fail to offer you my whole heart. May I set these aside and realize all the ways you are, and have always been, right here. Amen.
Concluding prayer: Thank you, God, for hearing me. Teach me to guard what you have shared with me. Amen.
*Jeremiah 29:13
The Joyful Mysteries
The Annunciation: The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, announcing her election by God and seeking her willingness to become the mother of the Son of God.
What I ponder as I pray the words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be: I lift to God all those who do not believe, that God might “announce” himself in their lives. I also ponder Mary’s courage and ask for the grace to be courageous.
The Visitation: Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.
What I ponder as I pray the words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be: I give thanks to God for providing Mary and Elizabeth the companionship of one another, and I ask for the grace to be a good friend. Just as God gave these women to one another as they shouldered similar blessings/trials, I ask for the grace to see how God provides for me and those around me.
The Nativity: Mary and Joseph give birth to Jesus in a cave in Bethlehem.
What I ponder as I pray the words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be: Things did not go according to plan. Anxiety, disappointment, fear could have taken hold. I ponder the trust both Mary and Joseph had to choose to hold onto. Though God’s grace is offered, we all must choose to put that grace to use, especially when things don’t seem to be going the way we wanted or expected.
The Presentation: Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the temple to be circumcised per Jewish law. Simon knows who the child is and tells Mary, “A sword will pierce your heart” (Luke 2:35).
What I ponder as I pray the words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be: Joseph and Mary are reminded of their role in God’s plan, with no real understanding of what, when, where, or how. I pray for the ability to see, to hear, to trust in God, and to submit to what I discern is God’s will for myself and others.
The Finding in the Temple: Joseph and Mary frantically look for Jesus, and find him in the Temple talking to – and astonishing – the rabbis.
What I ponder as I pray the words of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be: I pray for our leaders and for those who are struggling that we may all find Jesus in the ways that we most need.