You may use beads similar to those pictured below
Or you may use the traditional seven-decade
Franciscan Crown Rosary Beads
The manner of
meditating upon the Words of Jesus Upon the Cross and the Sorrows of the
Blessed Mother.
1. Prayerfully make the
sign of the cross and with the Crucifix in hand, recite the Apostles’ Creed.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was
buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again. He ascended into
heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to
judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic
Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
2. Using the
smaller beads, recite these four
prayers while meditating upon a “Word of Jesus” or a “Sorrow of Mary: If using
the Franciscan Crown beads, recite the Hail Mary prayer on each of the ten
beads.
Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory be …
O my Jesus,
forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven,
and help especially those most in need of Your mercy!
3. Using each of
the larger beads, recite one of the Words of Jesus (or a Sorrow of Mary), then
recite the four prayers (or the Hail Mary prayers) while meditating upon one of
the words of Christ (or sorrows of the Blessed Virgin)..
4. Conclude with a
suitable prayer. For example:
Father, when
your Son was handed over to torture and seemed abandoned by you, he cried out
to you from the cross and death was destroyed, life was restored. By his death
and resurrection, may we see the day when the poor man is saved, the
downtrodden is lifted up and the chains that bind peoples are broken. United to
the thanks that Christ gives you, your Church will sing your praises.
from the Liturgy
of the Hours, Volume I, page 1024
Salve Regina
Hail,
Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we
cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning
and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O
clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that
we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
O
most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven, blessed
Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this my necessity. O
Star of the Sea, help me and show me that you are my Mother. O holy Mary,
Mother of God, Queen of heaven and earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom
of my heart, to succor me in this my necessity; there are none that can
withstand your power. O show me that you are my Mother. Our Lady, Queen and
Beauty of Carmel, pray for me and obtain my requests. Sweet Mother, I place
this cause in your hands. O my God, I believe in you, I hope in you, I love
you, and I repent of having offended you by my sins.
The Words of Jesus Upon the
Cross
&
The
Seven Sorrows
of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Words of Jesus Upon the Cross
I
“Father, forgive
them,
for they know not
what they do.”
II
“This day you will
be with me in paradise.”
III
“Behold your
son; behold your mother.”
IV
“My God! My
God!
Why have you
forsaken me?”
(lst
verse of Psalm 22)
V
“I thirst.”
VI
“It is
finished.”
VII
“Father,
into your hands
I commend my
spirit.”
Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
I
The
Prophecy of Simeon
II
The
Flight into Egypt
III
The
Loss of the Child Jesus
In
the Temple
IV
Mary
Meets Jesus
On
the Way to Calvary
V
Jesus
Dies upon the Cross
VI
Mary
Receives the Body of Jesus
Into
Her Arms
VII
The
Body of Jesus
Is
Placed in the Tomb
+
“While meditating
upon the Life of Christ, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to pay greater
attention to the Words of Jesus – spoken by our Redeemer during his Passion on
the Cross upon Golgotha. I received a spiritual blessing from this meditation.
I constructed a set of prayer beads to help me with this daily meditation. I
was then led to use the seven beads to meditate upon the Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. I then began to use the Franciscan Crown Rosary beads
substituting the Words of Jesus upon the Cross or to use the words of the Sorrows
of the Blessed Virgin upon which to meditate.
I pray you may
receive such a blessing.
Always continue
also to pray the customary Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Brother Tony Hearn
Contemplative
Intercessor
San
Antonio