The Rosary Dissected and Defended

I just found a great article explaining the Rosary and defending it.   It is in Catholic Answers.  Please click here to take a look at it.   It's a rather lengthy article, but well worth reading. 

St Kateri Tekakwitha Rosary Lily of the Mohawks Brown Banded Agate

The Ave beads in this handsome rosary are 8mm brown banded agate beads. These striking beads range in color from dark brown to light sand color with every shade in between. No two beads are a like. They have a wonderful translucence which allows the light to shine through them. Some of these beads have imperfections and are not perfectly round. This just adds to the charm of a rosary made with natural stone. The contrasting Pater beads are 12mm black onyx. All of the beads are accented with 3mm bead caps. The center honors St Kateri Tekakwitha. Both the center and the Crown of Thorns crucifix are made of silver colored metal. The wire is comprised of fine sterling silver plated onto copper. This would make a wonderful gift or would be great to keep for yourself!   Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my wire wrapped, unbreakable rosaries. 

Vintage Style Miraculous Medal Rosary Solid Brass Carnelian Unbreakable

The Ave beads in this vintage style rosary are 8mm carnelian beads. These beads are amber in color and have a beautiful translucence. They all have a decorative swirl of brass wire going up the side. Accenting these beads are intricate Bali style antiqued brass beads. These beads are 14mm by 15mm and give the rosary an old fashioned look.

The center is a Miraculous Medal that has been placed in a garden setting. The ornate crucifix compliments the center and the rest of the rosary. They are both solid brass. The wire is solid brass and will develop a nice antiqued patina over time.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my wire wrapped, unbreakable rosaries.

St Therese Rosary Beads Relic Red White Wedding Cake Beads

The Ave beads in this rosary are 6mm by 7mm dark red faceted crystals. The Pater beads are 10mm by 14mm handmade wedding cake beads. These beads have a white background with stylized flowers, gold adventurine and silver.

The center honors St Therese also known as the Little Flower. Her legacy to us is that even the smallest and simplest of actions are pleasing to the Lord. They become like little flowers in a bouquet that we can offer to Him. Red roses are the flowers that are most commonly associated with St Therese. The center is a relic containing earth from St Therese's coffin. The ornate Fleur de Lis crucifix compliments the entire rosary. Both the center and crucifix are silver colored metal.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my wire wrapped, unbreakable rosaries.

St Brigid Rosary Green Labradorite White Swarovski Pearls

The Ave beads in this rosary are unusual 6mm green labradorite beads. I've never seen green labradorite before and these beads are quite pretty. In bright light many of them have a nice iridescence or "fire". The colors of this iridescence range from blue to green to yellow. I was able to catch some of this "fire" in the photos. Accenting the Ave beads are 10mm Swarovski Crystal pearls. Swarovski Simulate pearls are high quality faux pearls. They have a Swarovski crystal center covered by 4 layers of nacre ( pearly) coating. This gives them a beautiful glow.

The center honors St Brigid one of the patron saints of Ireland and the reverse of the center honors St Patrick. The crucifix is a Celtic crucifix with a Celtic know motif. The Celtic knot has long been an Irish symbol of immortality.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works to see more of my unbreakable, wire wrapped rosaries.

Mother of Sorrows Rosary Labradorite Hematite Lead Free Pewter Wire Wrapped Unbreakable

The striking Ave beads in this rosary are 8mm black labradorite. As you can see from some of the photos many of these beads have a very nice "fire" or iridescence in bright light. Some of these beads have minor imperfections, but that only adds to the charm of this handmade rosary. Accenting the labradorite beads are the 12mm hematite Pater beads. These beads are cool to the touch and the metallic, almost liquid appearance gives a nice contrast to the labradorite. Genuine hematite is slightly magnetic. All of the beads have been wrapped in silver plated wire with a decorative swirl of wire going up the side. This wire has 99% fine silver plated onto copper.

The pewter center honors Our Mother of Sorrows. This is one of my favorite centers. The back of the center honors the Pieta. The pewter crucifix has a heart on the end of each arm of the cross and it goes very nicely with the center. This is a substantial rosary with a nice weight and feel.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my unbreakable, wire wrapped rosaries.

How to Pray the Rosary

Praying is one of the most important things in my life.  I feel deeply lead to prayer and have found that praying the rosary is one of the most powerful prayers that anyone can enter into.  If entered into with an open heart it will lead us directly into the deepest mysteries of our spiritual life in the Lord.  In light of that, I would like very much to write a post explaining how to pray the rosary. It is my hope that non-Catholics who read this will have a better understanding of the rosary and that Catholics my gain deeper insight into the prayers that mean so much to them.

The rosary is not a stagnant, archaic prayer which Catholics pray by rote because they are “supposed” to. Rather it is a dynamic, fluid prayer which brings spiritual life to the person who prays it with an open heart. It is a mediation which is capable of giving deep insights into the life of Our Lord and can deepen our relationship with Him. It is a prayer which evolves and grows to meet the needs of each subsequent generation while, at the same time, remaining anchored in the deepest of church traditions. The mysteries of the rosaries are as relevant to today's needs as they were when they first came into use.

Because the 20 mysteries are the focal point of the rosary, it is important to spend a little time speaking about them before getting into the “How to” of praying the rosary. As a convert to the Roman Catholic faith, I know many Protestants look askance at the rosary and praying to Mary as though it were bordering on idolatry. It isn’t. With the exception of the Apostle’s Creed, which even Protestants pray, and with the exception of the concluding prayer, all of the basic prayers and mysteries of the rosary are deeply rooted in scripture.

The 20 mysteries are broken down into 4 themes or groups consisting of 5 mysteries each. The common practice is to meditate on each of these mysteries, one at a time, while praying the corresponding decade of 10 Hail Marys. I am not going to share any of my insights into the mysteries of the rosary because it is too much information to put into one post.  I hope to be writing about some of my meditations on the rosary in the future so...stay tuned!  :)  Therefore, I am simply going to list the mysteries with the scriptures that they were taken from. This will give a good overview of the scriptural basis of praying the rosary.

The Joyful Mysteries

1. The Annunciation – Luke 1:26-35, 38
2. The Visitation – Luke 1:39-45, 56
3. The Nativity – Luke 2: 1, 3-20
4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple – Luke 2:22-35
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple – Luke 2: 41-51

The Luminous Mysteries ~ The Mysteries of Light

1. The Baptism of Jesus – Matthew3:1-2, 5-6, 13-16a; Luke 3:21b-22
2. The Wedding at Cana - John 2:1-11
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God – Matt 4:17; Matt 5:1-16
4. The Transfiguration – Luke 9:28-36
5. The Institution of the Eucharist – Luke 22:14-20

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The Agony of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane – Luke 22:39-36
2. The Scourging at the Pillar – John 19:1
3. The Crowning with Thorns – John 19:2; Mark 15:17-19
4. The Carrying of the Cross - John 19:16-17; Luke 23:26
5. The Crucifixion – Luke 23: 33-49

The Glorious Mysteries

1. The Resurrection – Luke 24:1-12
2. The Ascension – Luke 24:50-52; Mark 16:19
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:1-13
4. The Assumption of Mary – Rev 12
5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Rev 12:1

The basic prayers of the rosary are the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer also known as the Pater Noster, the Hail Mary prayer also known as the Avé or the Avé Maria, and the Doxology which many Protestant are familiar with. I have them listed here for people who may not be familiar with them.

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 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.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Matt 6:9-13

The Hail Mary Prayer

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of death. Amen.

The first part of the prayer: “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you” comes from Luke 1:28, and is a quote of the greeting that the Angel Gabriel gave to Mary during the Annunciation. The next sentence: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb”, quotes part of the greeting that Elizabeth gave to Mary and can be found in Luke 1:42. The rest of the prayer is simply a prayer of petition for Mary pray for us.

Doxology

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without out end. Amen.

There are many other prayers that are traditionally recited as part of the rosary, but they are optional and do not comprise the basic structure of the rosary. One of those prayers is the prayer of Fatima

Prayer of Fatima

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell
And lead also souls to heaven, especially those most in need of your mercy.

The 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, 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.

The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Before beginning to pray the rosary, decide which of the 4 groups of Mysteries you wish to meditate on. Then it is common to pick the rosary up, hold the cross in your right hand and the rest of the rosary in your left hand. While making the sign of the cross, the person prays: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”

The traditional form of praying the rosary is as follows:

· Recite the Apostle’s Creed
· Pray an “Our Father” on the first large bead
· Pray one “Hail Mary” on each of the following 3 beads. The first “Hail Mary is for an increase of Faith. The second “Hail Mary” is for an increase of hope. The third “Hail Mary” is for an increase of charity.
· Pray one “Doxology”.
· Pray one “Prayer of Fatima”

· Announce the first Mystery of the group you have chosen.
· Pray an “Our Father” on the next large bead
· Pray one “Hail Mary” on each of the next 10 beads
· Pray one “Doxology”
· Pray one “Prayer of Fatima”

· Announce the second mystery of the group you have chosen
· Pray an “Our Father” on the next large bead
· Pray one “Hail Mary” on each of the next 10 beads.
· Pray one “Doxology”
· Pray one “Prayer of Fatima
· Follow this format until you have finished with the 5th mystery of the group and finished with the last 10 “Hail Mary” prayers.

· Finish with one last recitation of the “Doxology” and one last recitation of the “Prayer of Fatima”

After the last “Prayer of Fatima” most people pray the “Salve Regina” and the “Memorare”

St Brigid Rosary Beads in Green White Fancy Agate Wire Wrapped Unbreakable

The Ave beads in this rosary are 8mm fancy agate beads. These beads are varying shades of green ranging from off white to dark green. Because these beads are natural stone, some of them have small dimples and other small imperfections. The Pater beads are 12 mm magnesite. Many sellers mistakenly refer to magnesite as white turquoise. Please know that white turquoise is extremely rare and is very expensive.

The center honors St Brigid one of Ireland's Patron Saints, and it has an image of St Patrick on the back. Both the center and the crucifix is silver colored metal. The wire is fine silver plated onto copper. Because these are natural stone, no two beads are exactly alike. Therefore, the actual beads in the rosary will slightly different from the beads in the photo. The difference is so small that it isn't noticeable.   Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my wire wrapped unbreakable rosaries.

Got A Whistle to Blow?

                                            
It may not be as easy as you think.

 
There is a situation in my job that has been ongoing for quite a long time.  Two people on my "team" are  breaking the rules.   Not picayune little rules...big rules.   Their actions are against all the guidelines in the company.   Actually I think their actions are, or at least should be, against the moral and ethical codes of most mature human beings. 

Basically, these two culprits  have figured out a way to get paid for goofing off.   They hang out in the break room or in the lobby or God only knows where, and they do this all while they are "on the clock".   I'm not saying that they do this for a few minutes here and there.   They do it for 30 minutes to an hour at a time....sometimes longer...and they usually do it every day.   In short, they are getting paid several hours a week for nothing at all.   They get away with it because they are always careful to do it when our team lead is on a lunch break or has left for the day.   These two goldbricks know that the other team leads will not check up on them and they know that upper management won't be aware of it either.    So they get away with it completely. 

Their absolute contempt for management, for  the company, and for their fellow workers has reached mammoth proportions.  Their arrogance and sense of entitlement know no bounds..  Furthermore, their actions have become so blatant that their co- workers have begun to notice .   The people who have noticed the actions of these two slackers are envious and are beginning to look for ways to do the same thing.   In short, these goof offs are beginning to destroy the discipline and morale of the company.

I have been upset by this, but have kept quiet because I haven't wanted to be a snitch, a tattletale, or a rat fink.    Who wants those labels attached to them?   Not me!  However, our society has become so twisted and amoral, that the people who break the rules are the "rock stars" and the people who speak out against them are the villains and targets of disdain.  It's insane!

Yet, because I am a product of our amoral society,  I felt  like I would be the one who is wrong if I didn't "protect" the wrongdoers.   So I continued to keep quiet until my silence started to scream in my ears.   I couldn't take it anymore. 

Today, I finally said something about it to my team lead.  She thanked me profusely and was glad that I had told her.   I felt relieved that I had come to a decision and acted on it.  It felt good to finally stand up for what I believe in.    But it wasn't easy.  Whistle blowing is hard, gut wrenching and definitely not popular.   So why do it?   Because it's the right thing to do.  To do otherwise is to become a co-creator of the madness that characterizes our society.

Stations of the Cross Chaplet Hematite Pocket Version

This pocket version of the Stations of the Cross chaplet features 14 10mm hematite beads. Hematite looks very much like metal, but is actually a mineral composed largely of ferrous oxide. Genuine hematite is slightly magnetic and is quite heavy. It gives this chaplet a nice substantial feel. Each of the beads is wrapped in wire that has 99.9% pure silver plated onto it. The crucifix is a third class relic with some dirt from the foot of the cross. The back of the crucifix features intricately carved Stations of the Cross with an image of the Eucharist in the center. The medal honors Our Lord as the Suffering Servant and the reverse of the medal honors Our Lady of Sorrows also known as the Mater Dolorosa.  Please click here to learn more about this chaplet and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my unbreakable, wire wrapped, rosaries and chaplets.

St Dymphna Single Decade Rosary Chaplet Irish Celtic Green White

The Ave beads in this rosary are 8mm round fancy agate beads. These beads are varying shades of green. The pater beads are 10mm white magnesite. Magnesite is often erroneously referred to as white turquoise. White turquoise is a rare stone mined in the U.S. Southwest. Magnesite is a beautiful stone, but is more common. The medal honors St Dymphna, the Patron Saint of Anxiety and Stress. The reverse side of the center honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The crucifix is an Irish Celtic crucifix. Both the center and crucifix are silver colored metal. The wire is fine 99.9% silver plated onto copper wire. Please click here to learn more about this chaplet and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works, to see more of my wire wrapped, unbreakable rosaries.

Do Not Waste Your Money on Amazon Prime

I ordered 2 items thru Amazon Prime on Friday.  The promised delivery date is today, Sunday, January 24.  They have not arrived.   Instead I got an email with a bogus notice of attempted delivery. 

I deliberately stayed home all day just so I could wait for those items to be delivered.  They did not come.   No one knocked on my door.   No one left a notice of attempted delivery which I should have gotten, if in fact, they actually came to my door.   But no notice was left because no one tried to deliver the items.  It is totally bogus.

Now, when I try to contact Amazon about this problem, I find that it is virtually impossible to contact them or the sellers.   Putting this out on social media is the only recourse I have.

Our Lady of Knock Rosary Green Connemara Marble Celtic Irish Prayer Beads Chaplet

The Ave beads in this rosary are 8mm Connemara Marble beads imported directly from Ireland. While there are 4 different kinds of marble indigenous to Ireland, Connemara Marble is the only one that is most commonly associated with the Emerald Isle. These beads are an olive green with darker bands and patches of serpentine and white patches. They have a waxy surface which is one of the characteristics of Connemara Marble. Many of the beads are not perfectly round, this only adds to the charm of the rosary. The Pater bead is pewter with a Celtic Knot motif. The medal honors Our Lady of Knock. The crucifix is a traditional Irish Celtic cross. This rosary is under 13 1/2 inches long Both the medal and the crucifix are silver colored metal.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works,  to see more of my unbreakable, wire wrapped, single decade rosaries.

Natural Moonstone Rosary Garnets Mother of Sorrows

The Ave beads in this beautiful rosary are 6mm natural rainbow moonstone beads. These beads are called "rainbow" moonstone because have lots of "fire" or iridescence. When seen in bright light, these beads several different colors. This is difficult to catch with a camera.  The translucence of the beads gives them a subtle glow. This, too, can be seen in the photos The Pater beads are 8.5 natural garnets. These beads provide a nice contrast to the snow white moonstone beads. The garnets appear black in dim light and also appear black in the photos. They are actually a deep wine red color. The center honors Our Mother of Sorrows and the reverse shows a Pieta. Both the center and the crucifix are lead free pewter.  Please click here to learn more about this rosary and please visit my shop, The Rosary Works to see more of my wire wrapped, unbreakable rosaries.