How Many Rosaries

[Jaime]

I'm wondering if other people do this as well.

Sometimes I while I'm talking with friends, family, coworkers, total strangers, etc., the rosary will come into the conversation. More often than not, the other person will mention that they no longer have a rosary. To which I usually end up giving them mine.

I tried having a few spare ones in the truck or at the house, but then the "demand for rosaries grew" (Sorry I just played popewars) and I mine would be out the door as well.

I'm not griping about it at all. Last week I was asked for a rosary while on a date and I started wondering how many of "my" rosaries have I given away? Then I started reminiscing about past rosaries. Wondering if they still had good homes. etc.

So I'm wondering, anybody else find that they can't get "too attached" to a rosary because they know that eventually it won't be their's? I'm assuming others are doing this as well

So how many rosaries have you parted with?

[Brother Adam]

I have two rosaries that were given to me as a gift, one blessed by the late JPII, which I will not part with, but I always tend to have spares on hand as well. I probably don't give them away as often as you do, especially since I'm living in Catholic country and every has an excess of them, but when I do give them away now it is typically through the mail when I send out material or resource cd's from our website.

[conservativecatholic]

Our family gives many rosaries as gifts. When we went to the Vatican and Italy, I bet we brought back 30 rosaries for friends and family.

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

Do people just ask you for Rosaries?

[Jaime]

[quote] Do people just ask you for Rosaries? [/quote]

Sometimes. Usually it is someone that I'm close with will ask me for a rosary. Usually its when they are going through a crisis and they want to get back to their faith roots.


But since my rosary is usually in the same pocket with my keys, change or cigarettes, it will come out on occasion (which strikes up the conversation). If they seem to have a sincere interest or I hear "You know, I really should get a rosary" Then they usually get mine.

[Lil Red]

i give them to youth all the time, though technically they are not "mine"....

my friend makes rosaries and she gives her's away all the time...

[franciscanheart]

I have given away many rosaries too. I couldn't tell you how many. There is one rosary I will never part with. It was given to me by my first youth minister. It had been given to her by her very best friend in the whole world who brought it home to her from Fatima. I love that rosary.

Others that I have been fond of I have given away to those I feel need it more than me because the way I figure it, even if it takes me a few days to get another one, I know how to pray it and I've got ten fingers.

I've also parted with a number of crosses and crucifixes. A lot of people have needed them and since I seem to have a whole collection at my house, I sometimes will give them one that has meant something to me, hoping to keep them interested long enough to form their own attachment to our Lord on the cross.

[Dudette]

I wore a Rosary ring on my finger last year and I gave it to a girl at camp..and presently I am wearing two, they may come in handy some day!

[keighters]

I make rosaries to sell in order to earn money for varios mission trips I've gone on or will be going on... i always end up give some away though some how

[Guest Eremite]

There was once an old lady at a Church I went to confession to who was just standing out front handing out Rosaries. She gave me one when I went in, and another when I went out, lol.

Edited April 11, 2005 by Eremite

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

I have an interesting Rosary story:

When i was 9 or 10, my sunday school had a Competion to see who knew the most about what we had studied and about the Gospels. I won. SO they sent me to this State wide competion of Catholic schools and sunday schools, called the Catholic Bee. It was sponsered by the K of C I came in third place and won 15 bucks. But also i was given a Rosary blessed by the head of the Knights of Columbus who also happened to be the bishop of Brookyln, New York, it has a lovely engraved image of the Blessed Virgin. I love it. its very cool.

Edited April 11, 2005 by Extra ecclesiam nulla salus

[jezic]

You people are different, or maybe it is me.

I give away all of my rosaries except for one little on that i found. It isn't blessed by anyone special or anything, just Jesus i guess. I asked him to do that for me. Small simple brown cord and blood red beads. THat is it. My little rosary. I only save it because it is the simplest one and the other ones are all blessed or much nicer so i give those away.

The other ones i give away. I just found out one of them i gave away is very valuable because it is Jerusalem olive Wood that was blessed by the Pope. I guess they are pretty rare. My grandma gave it to me as well. I passed that blessing on.

What good are things blessed by people if you do not part with them? Then do you possess the object? Does it become yours? (this would be attaching to material things. ) If you are not ready to bless someone else with your blessing that you have, then you should not have it.

As much as it means to you, many times it means more to the next person to know its history and to see you part with it. It is so powerful.

The rosary i gave away from before, i gave to this guy who isn't even Catholic. It changed his life.

Would you do the same for someone else?

besides it is the same prayer.

[Mickey's_Girl]

This is an interesting thread. Being a new Catholic, I didn't know that giving rosaries away was a "thing". I think it's really cool! But I have a couple of questions:

--Do you end up giving them mostly to Catholics (former, lapsed, whatever) or to non-Catholics? Do non-Catholics freak out when you try to give them to them? (I've given out a few holy cards to non-Catholic friends--JPII, Terese of Lisieux--but I try to keep it low-key, since I'm formerly-protestant and they're all protestant.)

--Do you give people (or direct them to) something describing the prayers? I had to download the electronic version to figure out how it worked (not every description out there makes sense to the non-Catholic).

--Do you give out expensive ones? Or do you keep cheaper ones on hand? (Not that I have a problem with giving away an expensive one, but if it was $30 every time, that might become impractical, you know?)

MG

[gonzaga]

I gave my girlfriend a rosary before Christmas, although she isn't Catholic she knows quite a few prayers as her granmother was Catholic.

I think she is wanting to be a Catholic! I am so happy!

[Fides_et_Ratio]

I haven't given away any. I don't think anyone's ever asked.

Hopefully that comes up soon. I have TONS of rosaries (people are always giving them to me).. and I think I am somewhat "attached" to them.