Rosarium Virginis Mariae

Green Aventurine Gemstone Rosary with Cloisonne Our Fathers

In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary's company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ's life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. 

The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary's side as she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is “fully formed” in us.

Never as in the Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear so deeply joined. Mary lives only in Christ and for Christ!

The Rosary is both meditation and supplication. Insistent prayer to the Mother of God is based on confidence that her maternal intercession can obtain all things from the heart of her Son.

The Rosary is at the service of this ideal; it offers the “secret” which leads easily to a profound and inward knowledge of Christ. We might call it Mary's way. It is the way of the example of the Virgin of Nazareth, a woman of faith, of silence, of attentive listening. It is also the way of a Marian devotion inspired by knowledge of the inseparable bond between Christ and his Blessed Mother: the mysteries of Christ are also in some sense the mysteries of his Mother...

..it becomes natural to bring to this encounter with the sacred humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labours and endeavours which go to make up our lives.

To understand the Rosary, one has to enter into the psychological dynamic proper to love.

One thing is clear: although the repeated Hail Mary is addressed directly to Mary, it is to Jesus that the act of love is ultimately directed, with her and through her. 

APOSTOLIC LETTER
ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAEOF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
JOHN PAUL II
TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY
AND FAITHFUL
ON THE MOST HOLY ROSARY 

The Rosary Lady Website Revamp and Relaunch

Autumn Jasper and Carnelian Gemstone Sterling Rosary

February 2015 marked the 18th year since my conversion to Catholicism. It was an issue I struggled with for several years, being a former Lutheran, and originally Baptist. I had a problem with the “idolatry issue”, especially concerning the Blessed Virgin. My stepsons were coming home from school with questions I could not answer, and for their sake, I began catechism lessons. The more I studied the catechism, I understood this issue differently. One of the students in my Bible study group made this comment: “What better way to get to the heart of a Man, than through His Mother.” I really wanted all of our family to feel unified in our religious beliefs since my own sons were attending preschool at our parish. I felt a great urge to be married within the church, for my own selfish reasons, and for everyone involved.

Shortly before my confirmation, I purchased for myself a lovely rosary made from crystal Aurora Borealis beads. I did not know how to pray the rosary yet, but I was going to learn! When my confirmation Mass was over, Father Byrnes presented me with another rosary, one made of Job’s Tears. My oldest son fawned over the gift and said he would like to have one on his confirmation. Many years ago, after searching several shops, I gave up on the idea of locating a Job’s Tears rosary for him. After all, I had some time until his confirmation.

In the meantime, I contacted Our Lady’s Rosary Makers, hoping they would have a lead. They did not, but I ordered a kit for the mission cord rosaries and also the wire rosaries. In no time at all, I was making rosaries myself and quite pleased with the feeling of stewardship it gave me.

A grandmother who attended daily Mass with my youngest son and I asked me to make single decade rosaries for her prison ministry. I gladly obliged. Then my first grader asked if I could teach his classmates how to make the rosary. I solicited the help of another mother who attended Mass with me, and we were on a roll! I began to think of us as the rosary ladies. After first grade, we went to the Kindergarten classes. When the new school year started up again, the second grades made rosaries for the missions in Fiji. We received a wonderful letter from the priest, stating that the rosaries arrived a few days before the students’ First Communion, and they were able to give each of them a new rosary. They even sent a picture of all of them proudly displaying their rosaries.

Each school year, we visited the classrooms and continued to make rosaries for donation to the various missions and pro-life groups. After the 9/11 Tragedy, the second graders made rosaries  to send to a Catholic parish near the World Trade Center. The children were so pleased to be helping others. One year the kids made a personalized rosary to keep for themselves.

In order to help fund my mission rosary project, I began selling the wire rosaries at my sons’ school, for First Communion and Confirmation gifts. Soon I was selling on eBay (momof5boys1) and began my own massive collection of unusual rosaries. A local Catholic store purchased my rosaries and sold them in their store and on their website.

Aside from raising funds for the mission projects, I pray that my efforts will further the devotion to the rosary and the Blessed Mother. It gives me great joy to know that my creations are in the hands of people all over the world and are being used to strengthen their commitment to their faith, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Mother. May the Holy Spirit come down upon me and continue to bless me with this gift for years to come, and may our Heavenly Father find pleasure in my works.

Incidentally, my family now has no shortage of Job’s Tears rosaries!

I love to custom design personalized rosaries and gladly welcome all inquiries.  

Yesterday I relaunched my website, it is now mobile friendly and easier to navigate.  I hope you will stop in and have a look.  Please share it with your family and friends as well!  

God Bless and Peace be With You,

The Rosary Lady

Cruz de Caravaca Rosary

Cruz de Caravaca Rosary with Mother of Pearl Beads and Our Lady of Guadalupe/Santo Nino de Atocha Center Medal 

History of the Cruz de Caravaca: 

    In the early 8th century, Arabs and Berbers invaded the Iberian peninsula and occupied the territory. It took almost 800 years for Christians to reconquest the land.

    In about the middle of that period, in the year 1231 (or 1232 by some accounts), a miracle occurred in the southeastern Spanish town of Caravaca de la Cruz. The town is set among the rugged sierras of Murcia, which at that time was still a Moorish kingdom under Zeyt-Abuzeyt. Being several generations away from the initial invaders, he was from a line of well-established monarchs and one of his duties was to protect the region from invasion by the Christians. The Christian Reconquesta took various forms; from fighting to gradual infiltration through missionaries. One such Christian missionary was Don Gínes Pérez Chirinos de Cuenca. He was captured and taken before the Muslim king who was curious about certain aspects of the Christian faith. In particular, he was interested in the Christian celebration of the Last Supper and asked the missionary to demonstrate the procedure. One can imagine the priest would be reluctant to do this - in those days only believers were present during the sacrament. Nevertheless, he agreed and the king arranged for the necessary apparatus: an altar draped with a pall cloth, bread and wine, and some candles. One important element, however, was missing: the cross. The missionary explained that the presence of a cross was critical to the Eucharist and he could not continue without one. The king exclaimed: "So what is that?" (but in Iberian, of course), pointing to something at the window. From the heavens, two angels appeared carrying a cross, which they placed on the altar and then disappeared.

    The priest continued with the Mass. In the Catholic Church, when the bread and wine are consecrated during Mass, they cease to be bread and wine and become instead the body and blood of Christ. The empirical appearances are not changed, but the reality is. When missionary Don reached the consecration stage, the king saw a beautiful baby instead of the bread (Host). The king was so taken aback by this miraculous image that he, and his family, converted to Christianity and asked to be baptized into the Christian faith. Many believe that the cross delivered by the angels included a piece of the True Cross.

(Excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaca_de_la_Cruz)

Prayer for the Cruz de Caravaca

Holy Cross of Caravaca, I take refuge under your mighty power so that your force distances from my life any wrong or illness that may trouble me and retire the pains that afflict me. Oh, Heavenly Cross, for the power of the good, liberate me from all wrong. Incline the Lord to hear my plea, with which I implore love and understanding for my health. Guide me, Holy Cross of Caravaca, in the traffic of my terrestrial life and illuminate me. Preserve me in the most dangerous moments of my life, mainly when my health is precarious. I beg you, blessed Cross, that your support come into to my life and I be well in order to continue maintaining my willpower and my health. Amen.

THE CHAPLET OF ST. JOSEPH

This chaplet is divided into fifteen groups of four beads consisting of one white and three purple beads. The white bead symbolizes St. Joseph 's purity, and the purple beads his saintly piety. A mystery of the Rosary is considered on each white bead, and two Hail Marys are said. On the purple beads say:

Praised and blessed by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
The chaplet is ended with the following prayer:
V. Pray for us, O holy St. Joseph!R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ!

Let us pray

O, God, Who had predestined St. Joseph for all eternity for the service of Thine Eternal Son and His Blessed Mother, and made him worthy to be the spouse of the Blessed Virgin and the foster father of Thy Son: we beseech The, through all the services he has rendered to Jesus and Mary on earth, that Thou wouldst make us worthy of his intercession and grant us to enjoy the happiness of his company in heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

All of our rosaries are handcrafted with pride of workmanship. We use wire wrapped "bows" as connectors on all of our rosaries, making for a sturdy rosary that will withstand even the hardiest of prayer warriors. Because of this, we are able to offer a Lifetime Guarantee on workmanship.

Handmade Job’s Tear Teardrop Crucifix Catholic Rosary available now in The Rosary Lady Etsy shop.  

This rosary is the type seen often in photos of Saint John Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.    

It is also the type of rosary that caused my fascination with rosaries, and how I became The Rosary Lady!  One such as this was given to me when I came into the Catholic Church eighteen years ago, and I have been making them myself for fifteen years.  

The beads are from a plant and have a natural hole in them.  Stringing is a tad messy, as they have little “weeds” growing from the top, which must be pushed out.  

Source:etsy.com