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The Prayer Rope as a Symbol of Thanksgiving

The Prayer Rope as a Symbol of Thanksgiving

Last updated on: November 22, 2023 at 10:48 am by HJ Sandigo

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The Prayer Rope as a Symbol of Thanksgiving 2023-11-22T10:48:34-08:00 HJ Sandigo

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Before I knew it, I had walked 24 miles. The act of climbing brings to mind visions of Moses and Bashō gazing upon the eternal. Moses got a front-row viewing of God’s glory. Bashō too had eyes to see, leaving behind a plethora of haikus that ruminate on the divine. Both have served as respites for an endless thread of wanders.

In other miles, I tested the Lord, my God, absent-mindedly trekking through the terrain, nearly stumbling down the mountainside. My guardian angel working overtime, likely petitioning the angel’s union to advocate for better pay. Gashes, blisters, twisted ankles, and weary bones, are the battle scars of the backpacker.

Mother Nature isn’t without her thorns. She’s a gem to contemplate, but a rogue snake or kamikaze tree limb will prompt you into action. There were numerous times my walking stick gave out, or I misjudged my abilities to leap from boulder to boulder. Each blunder led to a fit of laughter. Either a sign of insanity or growth, I can’t be certain. Nevertheless, face-planting out of an Eno hammock will humble you.

In all my travels and trials, the Jesus prayer has been a source of spiritual renewal and strength. This prayer helped an out-of-shape traveler get through the growing pains of the Camino de Santiago. (Much to the amusement of a group of sorority sisters who passed me in stride as I squatted in pain and mumbled “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me” to the ground.)

When we had to hike for work, an ascension that felt like 90 degrees of incline, the prayer got me through those grueling miles in the heat. Praying the prayer by my father’s bedside as he passed away bestowed a grace on me that I cannot express.

Above all, while praying the Jesus prayer I feel the closeness of Christ and am grateful that he would ever dare to make an abode with me.

With the [Jesus] prayer man becomes like a child. It brings him back to the simplicity and innocence that Adam had in Paradise before the fall. With the prayer one acquires blessed, holy dispassion. Through the prayer you sanctify the place you are sitting and the work you are doing. Prayer arranges all things. It enables you to walk on water. It eliminates distances between you and others. It changes the will of others. It gives courage, faith, and patience in life.

-Elder Amphilochios

Jesus Icon by HJ Sandigo

He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together.

Colossians 1:17

A prayer rope is a beautiful illustration of God and how he works within the world. Before any of the beads (people) are strung together (one by one) the cross (or saving action of Yeshua) acts as the starting point. It anchors (or holds) the beads in place so there is both a beginning and an end. (Or lodging of rest for our journey).

Without God, the universe would fold in on itself. Just as the earth has cycles of death and birth, both the inner and outer person experience seasonal changes. Creation continues onward.

I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord’s living garden.

-St. Thérèse de Lisieux

If the beads act as people, I imagine the hand passing over each of us to be God (in scale, or comparison). We are many persons, but the Lord loves us intimately. He knows humanity better than we know ourselves. As individuals we are but a spec amidst an ever-expanding universe yet the Lord knows you by name! A comforting reality in times when we feel isolated and alone.

The prayer rope is a circle, an infinity loop, or a world without end. It begins at Calvary and returns to the “lone soldier” on the cross whose very blood is our freedom and restoration. Without the cross, all things fall apart. For the cross is the matrimony of heaven and earth.

Even if your prayer rope does not contain a psychical crucifix it is continuous and signifies eternity. A life that is not bound by death. “It is finished,” says the Lord. His work is done, Victory!

We live and breathe because God sustains the entirety of existence! The beads are separated by decades or generations (time, region, space). Yes, each of us is a unique person. But we are one part of a greater whole. The Mystical Body of Christ. The Body cannot function as it should unless all parts are in alignment or agreement. For creation waits in eager expectation.

God’s Holy Spirit moves through people. Illustrated by the way the Hand (Christ) passes from one bead to the next. Our God is alive! The very same essence is in each person (the bead) and upholds all creatures from generation to generation.

As theologian A.H. Strong said, “Christ is the originator and the upholder of the universe. In Him, it consists, or holds together, from hour to hour. The steady will of Christ constitutes the law of the universe and makes it a cosmos instead of chaos, just as His will brought it into being in the beginning.”

What can creation do or say in the very presence of Love itself? The essence and glory that birthed all into being? Is anything more fitting than, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.” Our existence is a gift. May we not squander this pearl, this moment in time, but experience the fullness of life. May our psalm this fall be one of gratitude.

The Christian mystic Meister Eckart seems to think this is the foundation of true prayer: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

Thank you,

Amen.

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About HJ Sandigo

HJ Sandigo hails from Placerville, California. His decision to exchange his car for a camper van led him to explore the country, hike around Europe, participate in the International Poetry Festival in Nicaragua, visit spiritual communities across the globe, and harmonize with monks while listening to James Taylor. HJ Sandigo is immensely grateful for the experiences, wisdom, and humor that people have shared with him throughout his journey. His work has been featured in Foreshadow Magazine, The Dreamland Review, Forum, and various poetry anthologies in San Francisco. You can read more about the author here.

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