I’ve been reaching for my prayer beads a lot lately. I grew up an hour away from Buffalo, NY and lived in San Antonio, TX for ten years which is also about 1-1/2 hours away from Uvalde, TX.

I grew up saying the rosary as a Roman Catholic when the prayers were comforting particularly when my brother and grandmother died when I was seven. It seemed like I could hear their voices saying the prayers along with me as the beads moved within my hands.

I enjoy the rhythms of prayer, and now I’ve adopted the practice with Anglican Prayer Beads. It’s a little different from the Roman Catholic Rosary which has set prayers. With Anglican Prayer Beads, it is more free-form; you can say the same prayer over and over again (33 times for the number of years Jesus was on Earth), or you can say a variety of prayers. My favorite Gospel is the Gospel of John and I find comfort when I pray verses from the Gospel and John’s letters. During despair, it reminds me that Jesus commanded us to not be afraid and that we are loved.

Lately though I’ve used my Anglican Prayer Beads a little differently. There were ten people killed in the Buffalo Tops Friendly Market on May 14, 2022 and twenty-one elementary students and teachers in Uvalde, TX on May 24 at Robb Elementary School, just ten days later. I’m honoring these 31 people by saying each of their names (Buffalo, Uvalde), and repeating these three verses from the Gospel of John as I move along the beads.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. (3:19)

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” (11:23)

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of the light.” (12:35-36)

On the last two beads, I’m ending with:

✟ Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (13:1)

✟ “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you… Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (14:27)

I’m going to keep praying for these thirty-one children of God to rise in glory and rest in peace. I’m also praying that laws will be changed to stop these tragedies from happening over and over again.

Peace, my friend,

Agatha