A Green Rosary
Some years ago I bought a green-coloured rosary. They’re not easy to find, but eventually I discovered one in a little shop in Walsingham. But only just recently did I think of using it to focus my prayer as a Green Christian. For daily prayer is one of the four disciplines we commit to when we become Companions of the Way of Life.
The rosary consists of five sections of beads in a circle and another short strand of beads with a Cross at the end. I begin my green rosary by holding the Cross and saying the opening words of the Canticle of Creation by St Francis of Assisi: “O Most High, all-powerful, good Lord God, to you belong praise, glory, honour and all blessing. Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation.” Then on the introductory beads I say the Our Father and three Hail Mary’s specifically asking for the three gifts of faith, hope and love in being the part of Creation that we are.
I devote the five sections to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. On the large beads I repeat “Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation.” On the small beads of the first section I pray, “May I see the wonder of all Creation”; then in the second section, “May I hear the music of all Creation”; so in the third, “May I feel connected with all Creation”; the fourth, “May I smell the bountiful aromas of all Creation”; and finally in the fifth, “May I taste the goodness of all Creation.
Coming to the end of the rosary I hold the Cross again and try to remember the subject referred to that day in our Prayer Guide and let that be woven into my prayer.
Whenever possible I pray the green rosary outdoors, and I’m lucky that I can be walking along beautiful Devon lanes very near our home. But it also feels good on other days to pray in the same way along the city streets of Exeter – and on the bus too.
Next: Should we promise to care for creation in baptism?
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Comments on "A Green Rosary"
Marissa Contreras:
I feel the blessing of the Lord abundantly to all his creation. Thank you for sharing the gifts that GOD give it to you thru green rosary. It enlightened how the creation of everything is so bountiful that we have to take care and nourish every single things around our life. GOD bless you.
Susan Porter:
This is a lovely meditaion and easy to learn too.
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