When I received my assignment for October and found it was for today, the celebration of Our Lady of the Rosary, I smiled broadly.  How did I luck out to be able to actually reflect on the Rosary and the Blessed Virgin Mary?  In preparing this reflection, I thought about so many different aspects of the Rosary including reminiscing about when I received my very first Rosary and my very last one (last month!).  I also reflected on the many apparitions of our Blessed Virgin Mary especially at Fatima where she described herself to the three peasant children as Our Lady of the Rosary.  Perhaps it is the influence of my Portuguese heritage, but Our Lady of Fatima has always held great fascination for me.  Perhaps hearing it as a child and knowing that she appeared to small children made it sound so real and possible.   Even though I was only five when my grandma died, I still remember it being said that she had her rosary in her hand when they found her dead in her bed. Thus, growing up the rosary was a sacred yet familiar article in our home with an also mystic quality to it.

I’m not sure that they still do it. However, when I made First Communion in the 1950s, we were all given rosary beads.  I remember that the girls were given white plastic beads and the boys received black ones.  Even the little crucifix was plastic yet these were my very own rosary beads to be put in my little Sunday purse and carried to Church each week.  Growing up in Rhode Island, it was a special trip to the National Shrine of Lady of La Salette in nearby Attleboro, MA.  The lights at Christmas were always so special and the gift shop was extraordinary to me – so many crosses, statues, prayer cards, and, of course, rosaries! While the little white beads were my very first rosary, they paled in comparison to the myriad available there.  I think I must have been about ten when I convinced my mom to buy me new rosary beads – they were crystal, faceted aurora borealis!  Oh my, I was in 7th heaven – they were so shiny and caught the light from every angle.  They even had a silver filigree crucifix.  Needless to say, the white plastic then found themselves in a drawer. 

While I don’t remember ever saying the rosary together as a family, I do remember saying it with my mom.  I was impressed since she knew all the right prayers to say and even what Mysteries depending upon the day of the week.  My mother used her mother’s rosary made of unusual seeds or something – they were very special to her.  She instilled in me that praying the rosary was a beautiful act of worship and that rosary beads were as unique and special as the most precious jewelry one might wear.  I knew when I was blessed to visit St. Peter’s Basilica exactly what I would buy for my mom: a beautiful wooden rosary that I had a priest in the church there bless!  For some time, I listened to a rosary CD as I drove to work – I’m not sure how I got out of that habit but writing about it has me motivated to find that CD again and put it back in the car while I still have a car with a CD player.  

When my daughter was a youngster and she and I would walk, we would pray the rosary together.  We didn’t carry rosary beads; God gave us just the right numbers of fingers to keep track of a decade of Hail Mary’s!  Now as an adult, she uses it as a motivator for me to get walking.  She reminds me that I can use the time walking to pray – something more appealing to me than the exercise itself.  Earlier this summer, I shared with my father-in-law that I used my fingers to say the rosary as I walked.  The next time I saw him, he gifted me with a little finger rosary. I saw the gift as a sweet motivator to keep walking and praying.  He decided to keep the rosary theme going this summer and recognize my Army experience when he recently gifted me with WWI Battle Beads-Combat Rosary.  They are a replica of rosary beads that were given to the soldiers during WWI. They are a far cry from my aurora borealis faceted crystals; rather, they are study heavy metal beads still, however, with a beautiful filigree crucifix.

My reflection has turned into a rambling about the rosary.  It has reminded me how the rosary has been an intricate part of my life.  It causes me to think of how I can put it back into my life in some ways that I have let lapsed.  Perhaps this rambling will cause others to think back to their very first rosary or one that was from a special place (I have some from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Medjugorje that I have on display) and go find them, hold them, pray with them; look at them with new eyes and see the “jewels” that they are and the promise that they hold.

You may be as surprised as I was with who sings this beautiful song: Miracle of the Rosary