Saying The Rosary

Do you know what this is?  I guess the title of this post really answers that question.


It is a finger rosary, similar to a ring, but is somewhat larger. Rosaries like these are used by either rotating or just holding them between a finger and thumb while praying.  Smaller ring rosaries became known as soldiers' rosaries, because they were often taken into battle by soldiers, most notably during World War I.
It is often referred to as a "Basque rosary".

I keep this one in my purse at all times & have spent many a night, sitting in hospital waiting rooms, fingering the points, while lifting up silent prayers for healing.
One says the “Hail Mary” prayer on each of the ten beads & then recites the “Our Father” when you come to the cross, along with the “Apostles Creed” & “Glory Be To The Father” prayers.  The cycle is then repeated five times around.
If you’d like to learn more about reciting the rosary, follow This Link.

As a Catholic family, we have many rosaries in the house to choose from.
  The pretty vintage faceted glass beads in dark indigo bluish purple,
almost black iridescent blue beads, on the one below,
don’t show up as well as I would have liked them to. 
They really are much prettier in person!
This rosary belonged to my husband’s mother & is very old!

The next one I’d like to share with you, is this creamy white glass version
that has a wonderful little secret to it.

 

It glows in the dark!

Phosphoric luminous material is what makes them glow for about 2 hours, after exposure to light.

We had similar, but much cheaper, plastic versions when I was a child.
I also remember having a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that glowed in the dark, too.
We used to test it out by putting her under our bunk beds, to see her light up!  LOL
It was a magical & comforting sight, as a child, to see that glow as one fell asleep, saying your prayers.  I wonder whatever happened to that statue??

From Wikipedia:
“Glow toys were introduced in the late 1950s.  … radium was the radioactive substance first used to make things like watch faces and hands glow. Unlike phosphor, (found in this rosary) which requires exposure to a light source, the radium disturbed the molecular structure enough to give items a perpetual glow even without exposure to light.”
Do you remember watches with faces that glowed green in the dark? 

The masculine rosary beads, above, all belong to my husband, a devout Catholic,
who used to get down on his knees every night before bed, to say his prayers. 
He can’t do that now because of his knee replacement & arthritis but it doesn’t stop him from praying!
Several were gifts from his patients & one we purchased at the Vatican in Rome, when we went to see the "Polish Pope"...Pope John Paul II...a dream of a lifetime trip for us both.



My most cherished & beloved rosary is this beautiful azure or turquoise beaded one
that my father (now deceased) gave to me on my wedding day. 
I have kept it in the nightstand, beside my bed, 
ever since that day & use it often, though not as often as I should.


This is the one I will carry to the funeral of my older sister’s #2 son, Keith.
He passed away last week, after being diagnosed with cancer six months ago…he was only 54.

Rest in His Peace, Keith

We are grateful that you are no longer in pain

&

through our Faith in Jesus, the Heavenly Father,

we know you are in a far better place!