I'm not a religious person, but I have a collection of rosaries. (Plus one Eastern Orthodox cross, but we'll get to that in a moment.)I was raised Presbyterian and am currently practicing nothing unless you count watching classic Star Trek every Sunday morning as some sort of Gene Roddenberry worship (he was, after all, known as The Great Bird of the Galaxy.) But I have always had a fascintation with the liturgy and history of the Roman Catholic church and I was a great admirer of Pope John Paul II. My collection started when a friend and her husband traveled to Rome for their honeymoon, waaaay back in 1998. When they asked me what I wanted for a souvenir, I replied A rosary from Vatican City! That's the white one on the right.
My collection quickly grew from there.
- The black rosary at the top, middle, is from Le Mont Sainte Odile.
- The purple rosary to the right of the black one is from Notre Dame (Yep, that would be Paris, France).
- The bright red rosary at the top left corner is from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The funky, colorful rosary in the lower left corner is my Bonaire rosary. I purchased it in Bonaire and it makes me smile because whenever I see it, I think of Carnivale and the color of my favorite underwater world. I think if I were Catholic and prayed the rosary, I would use this one to put me in a good mood.
Finally, there's my Eastern Orthodox cross. When my friend Eva and her husband returned to their native Bulgaria for a three-week visit this past September, she asked me what I would like as a souvenir. Without thinking, I responded A rosary! But then, I remembered that's just a Roman Catholic thing, not an Eastern Orthodox thing. Eva replied I'll think of something. She came back with a simple Bulgarian/Eastern Orthodox cross from the Holy Trinity Monastery at Cross Forest, Bulgaria. And I love it. I think it's the perfect addition to my collection.
Anybody got any Buddhist prayer beads they want to mail to me? Yeah, I think I need help.
12 comments:
Yes. Yes I do. I'll bring them with me my next trip to Atlanta! :-)
Rosaries are cool because, in a pinch, you can use them to strangle people. Plus which they don't look anything like anal beads, so you can put that thought right out of your mind.
I should never read comments that have been left by others. I just shouldn't.
I had something witty to say about the Pearly Gates and St. Peter and stuff - waving you thru and everything - but then I read Grant's comment and that whole "Anal Beads" thing just threw me off my game and I lost my train of thought and now I'm stuck with this visualization problem for the rest of the day.
I used to have a rosary blessed by the pope (I believe it was the one before John Paul II); I have no idea what happened to it.
Very cool collection. I can hear them clicking now...
Since Dave2 has you covered with Buddhist beads, how about Muslim prayer beads from Cameroon? If I can scavenge a set from Tim, that is.
Rosaries are actually really pretty, though.
Plus, they can't hurt, right?!
:)
i have very old rosary beads from way back in our family. wish i knew details about them. the plan is to make a shadow box with them and an old tiny family bible. except i don't know squat about securing stuff in shadow boxes.
i love that you mentioned st. therese. mom loved her...said she felt some sort of connection to her. when mom died i wanted to put those little cards out and told the funeral dude they should have st. therese on them. he showed me what he was going to print and i hollered, "THAT AIN'T HER! WHERE'S THE ROSES??!?!!" for a girl who knows very little about the saints, i knew the roses thing and impressed the hell out of my aunt who was with me. anyhow, it made me feel good today to know you have those rosary beads. mom's birthday was the 24th and i've just been feeling kind of weird. somehow you sort of smoothed me ruffled feathers.
love to you.
I don't know if I can find a rosary in India, but if there's something else you want me to look for shoot me an email.
The act of praying the rosary is one of the most calming things, for me.
And I have a rosary that smells like roses, too. The story of The Little Flower is pretty incredible. Look it up sometime. :-)
If I pray, it's going to be to something or someone more powerful that beads. But I'm weird like that.
I have Buddhist prayer beads and a rosary, too. I converted to Catholicism in 1994, when both of my kids were confirmed. Sean also had his first communion and baptism all at the same time. In his little Asperger-y way, he went back through the communion line unnoticed because he liked the crackers and wanted seconds. :-)
The one time he ever asked me for the rosary beads was when his sister was very sick in the hospital with pneumonia. She was in ICU. He was so worried, that he came to me and asked me how to pray the rosary. I gave him the beads and the little book that came with them. I helped him get started and then he wanted me to leave the room so he could focus. The next day, Stephanie was transferred out of ICU. I don't know if it was the power of prayer or the purity of his unassailable love for his sister that brought her back from the brink that time. I like to think it was the latter.
Neither of the kids was very interested in religion, particularly, and I became a backslidden Catholic (having already been a backslidden Baptist). I later got into Buddhism, which is still a philosophy that appeals to me. And, like you, I love the symbology of it all.
Peace - D
We don't have rosaries in Judaism. (That gets me off the hook from having to get you a souvenir although I do have something from my circumsicion, but that would be wrong)
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