tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78568739879126911042024-03-13T18:32:24.270-07:00Rosary Guild of EtsyA group blog where the members of the Etsy Rosary Guild can share their faith and rosaries.Melissa H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04907043128319260191noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-68441451825531597452009-10-10T11:45:00.000-07:002009-10-10T11:50:07.640-07:00The Etsy Rosary Guild Has A New Blog Site!<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/StDWkHBbIoI/AAAAAAAAA0s/nBgv0ECIjDo/s1600-h/Picture+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/StDWkHBbIoI/AAAAAAAAA0s/nBgv0ECIjDo/s320/Picture+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391044669811139202" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;font-size:medium;">After trying to figure out how to switch ownership of our blog, we have decided that it would be easier to just start a new one.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Come follow us at</span></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.etsyrosaryguildteam.blogspot.com/">http://www.etsyrosaryguildteam.blogspot.com </a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-92040717787868128182009-10-06T14:32:00.000-07:002009-10-06T14:59:16.686-07:00Chat with Etsy Rosary Guild Members this Thursday<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Come visit the Chat room on Thursday and meet the sellers of the Etsy Rosary Guild Team! Thursday Oct. 8th 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern.<br /><br />October is the Month of the Rosary as celebrated by the Catholic Church. Many people, not just Catholic, use these beads to help assist them in prayer and deepening their relationship with God.<br /><br />We also make and sell lots of other fun things besides just rosaries! Come and see! We'll be featuring our sellers favorite items and just chattng and having fun.<br /><br />Visit us on Thursday night - we would love to chat with you!</span></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6308103"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6308103</span></a></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-74914569386458887312009-10-02T22:15:00.001-07:002009-10-02T22:44:43.732-07:00Praying for Aaron<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Ssbd7b9ys0I/AAAAAAAAAyU/k9zC7amZ8_Q/s1600-h/AARON.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Ssbd7b9ys0I/AAAAAAAAAyU/k9zC7amZ8_Q/s320/AARON.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388238017384330050" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-82473241216062299202009-09-10T14:43:00.000-07:002009-09-10T14:45:22.765-07:00Growing Job's Tears Beads - The Journey of the Little Sprout<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjdA6ceucVqDxTbo-XmzlAn0sLsRcKNOFUSH0RYRp1gAKiObEBkHB8GLn3o4V_Om9Rks2M7Ff9g75d8LUWEXjbwREt7F4wrNxzGoxCJ3co0gfBqjaSwO5uffSjTStmIbnstrEJcS04YPT/s1600-h/jobstears.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCjdA6ceucVqDxTbo-XmzlAn0sLsRcKNOFUSH0RYRp1gAKiObEBkHB8GLn3o4V_Om9Rks2M7Ff9g75d8LUWEXjbwREt7F4wrNxzGoxCJ3co0gfBqjaSwO5uffSjTStmIbnstrEJcS04YPT/s400/jobstears.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379957777519402210" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">Our Rosary Guild on Etsy has had so much fun watching these Job's Tears seeds grow! </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">On July 26, Carm, of <a href="http://www.unbreakablerosaries.etsy.com">Unbreakable Rosaries</a>, told us all that she had some left-over job's tears and was wondering if any of us had any experience growing them (which we did not.) Despite her confession that she had a black thumb, she decided that she would soak them to "soften them up a bit" then "stick 'em in the dirt and wait."</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">Four days later, on July 31, she sent us the first picture with questions of whether we thought it was a weed or a sprout. By the thirty-first of July, we all agreed that it was definitely a sprout!</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">A couple of weeks later, she sent us the photo of those little sprouts transplanted and thriving in their new home. (So much for the "supposed" black thumb.)</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">On August 29, we were all amazed at how "our" little sprout had grown and wondered when the "tears" would appear. (I think we have all adopted this little sprout.)</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">Well, look at the picture we received today! Isn't it beautiful!</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">I kept telling Carm that she needed to journal the journey of this little sprout and post it on our blog. Since I am so good at coming up with ideas for others to do, I decided that I would do it with Carm's blessing.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia">I'll keep you posted... :)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-74261102891062605402009-07-30T18:18:00.000-07:002009-07-30T18:21:53.843-07:00"Come, Holy Spirit" - Bronze and Red Ecumenical Rosary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SnJG-DcTgkI/AAAAAAAAAtI/GzAR47jOGpE/s1600-h/Acopperred.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SnJG-DcTgkI/AAAAAAAAAtI/GzAR47jOGpE/s320/Acopperred.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364428138041541186" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28593338</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was excited to get in my studio this afternoon and create with some new copper components. As this design unfolded, I found myself praying, "Come, Holy Spirit!" Even the ends of the cross remind me of flames and the fire of God's love.</span></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-40076167691963283182009-07-24T13:36:00.000-07:002009-07-24T13:37:25.201-07:00Methodists Praying the Catholic Rosary?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">Well, I am now a "Twitter-er." At first, I wondered why, but tonight I ran across a great link.</span></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.3em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', fantasy; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.3em; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', fantasy; "><a href="http://www.genxrising.com/2009/07/praying-rosary.html" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; ">http://www.genxrising.com/2009/07/praying-rosary.html</span></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br />Andrew C. Thompson has posted an interesting article on his experiences at Duke Youth Academy. In particular, he writes about the Praying the Rosary Workshop he attended. Because of the information Andrew's blog, I gather that he is a practicing Methodist. Andrew writes:<br /><br /></span></span><blockquote style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">I admit that I found praying the rosary to be very comforting and peaceful. It even allowed me a disciplined way to pray for family members, friends, and church members who I knew needed God's care. It also strikes me that the real ecumenical work that needs to be done within Christ's broken body might best be done when Christians of different communions come together and join in common worship of our Lord and Savior using the particularities of our different traditions.</span><br /></span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br />One of the things that I love about the rosary is that it is something in which all Christians can participate. It can be an Ecumenical practice, as the Catholic Church does not limit the Rosary only to Catholics.<br /><br />Andrew goes on to quote John Wesley on the Virgin Mary from his irenic tract, A Letter to a Roman Catholic:<br /><br /></span></span><blockquote style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 20px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); ">'I believe [Jesus] is the proper, natural Son of God, God of God, very God of very God; and that he is the Lord of all, having absolute, supreme, universal dominion over all things ... I believe that he was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Ghost, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.'<br /><br />A Methodist doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary?<br /><br />Who would've thunk it?</span></span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br />Maybe the Fathers of the Reformation were more open-minded. Interesting!...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-59138146397019485272009-06-21T18:20:00.000-07:002009-06-22T10:22:37.607-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sj-9oKRpbwI/AAAAAAAAAns/YhUeKULJgM8/s1600-h/RGFSc800.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sj-9oKRpbwI/AAAAAAAAAns/YhUeKULJgM8/s400/RGFSc800.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350203379990228738" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b><a href="http://www.etsy.com">http://www.etsy.com</a></b></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-75906144652006964472009-06-19T23:20:00.000-07:002009-06-20T10:07:17.446-07:00Anglican Rosary with Byzantine Orans Cross<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjyAAZIbYRI/AAAAAAAAAnE/aatMkGxsUUo/s1600-h/Amyblgrbyz.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjyAAZIbYRI/AAAAAAAAAnE/aatMkGxsUUo/s200/Amyblgrbyz.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349291201643897106" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, fantasy;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, fantasy;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The cross I used in this rosary pictured on the right is a replica of a Byzantine cross. It depicts Mary the Mother of God in the orans posture of prayer with Jesus, God's only son, born of her womb.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The word </span></span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">orans</span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> literally means "one who prays." It comes from the Latin word "oro"--meaning to pray, beg, supplicate, or beseech. The orans posture is considered one of the oldest bodily attitudes for prayer. It was common among both Jews and Gentiles of the ancient world. The posture is described as standing with arms to the side, elbows bent, and hands opened upward.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the early Christians in the 2nd-6th Centuries, a figure in the orans position was symbolic of the soul. Frescos of human figures in this position are represented 153 times in the Roman Catacombs. Some of the figures are distinctly Old Testament characters such as Noah, Moses, and Abraham. Others are more abstract and considered representations of the soul of the deceased.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(The Roman Catacombs are miles of underground tunnels containing ancient Christian tombs. During the persecutions (before 313 AD) they were used as secret hiding places for Christians and places to worship. Today, many of the Catacombs can be toured. This map gives you an idea of the extent of these elaborate underground passages beneath Rome. http://www.catacombsociety.org/maps.html)</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></p><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sjx_7J5eRmI/AAAAAAAAAm8/5uiWD70SOCM/s1600-h/oransfresco.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sjx_7J5eRmI/AAAAAAAAAm8/5uiWD70SOCM/s200/oransfresco.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349291111655294562" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Pictured on the left is a fresco from the Catacomb via Anopo on the via Salaria dated 3rd Century Rome.)</span></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Besides being a figurative imitation of Christ on the cross, offering himself as a complete and willing sacrifice, the orans posture is also symbolic of the risen Christ. Therefore the the orans figures found the Roman Catacombs have been interpreted as symbols of faith and even of the Church itself.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In I Timothy 2:8, Paul says, "I want peoples everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." The orans gesture signifies one who is ready to receive the divine gifts for God. It is also considered a gesture of peace, as it is non-defensive and non-threatening.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lately, there has been some controversy in the Roman Catholic Church about the use of the orans position in worship by the laity. Before pews were installed in churches, the orans stance was the norm. One thing one notices when entering an Orthodox Church is that there are not any pews. For the Eastern Orthodox Churches who use the Byzantine rite, the standard stance for prayer is in the orans position.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Theotokos of the Virgin Mary standing in the orans position is very well known and pictured in most if not all Orthodox churches. In Greek, "Theotokos" literally means "she who is more spacious than the heavens." For Orthodox Christians, they consider the Theotokos to be one of the great paradoxs of the Christian faith. Mary contained within her womb a divinity which cannot be contained--God.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">These icons of the Virgin Mary are also sometimes referred to as the "Icon of the Sign." This title is taken from the Prophet Isaiah's message, "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (meaning--God with us.)" Is 7:14</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">During the Reformation Period, the use of icons in the Western Church dwindled, but Eastern Christian churches held on to the belief that icons were "windows to heaven" and instruments of inspiration to the faithful of God's divine intervention in this world. Consequently, many of these beautiful pieces have been preserved for centuries in Orthodox Churches.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Iconography flourished in the early Byzantine Empire. Along with the art preserved in the Orthodox churches, many bronze artifacts have been found by archeologists, giving us evidence of the faith held by the people at that time.</span></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sjx_07iaTiI/AAAAAAAAAm0/mcekZKhRYH8/s1600-h/byzoranscross.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 183px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Sjx_07iaTiI/AAAAAAAAAm0/mcekZKhRYH8/s200/byzoranscross.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349291004721253922" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Pictured on the right is a Bronze Byzantine Processional Cross from the 11th Century.)</span></span></i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Origen, a 3rd Century philosopher and Father of the Church, includes instructions for the posture of prayer in his writing "Origen on Prayer." An article in the newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, summed up Origen's thoughts well.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Even more that stretching out the hands to heaven, one must lift up the soul heavenward. More than raising up the eyes, one must lift up the spirit to God. For there can be no doubt that among a thousand possible positions of the body, outstretched hands and uplifted eyes are to be preferred above all others, so imaging forth in the body those directions of the soul which are fitting in prayer. (1)</span></i></span></blockquote><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">1. The Compass: Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Green Bay, Patricia Kasten, associate editor, July 27, 2001 (http://www.thecompassnews.org/compass/2001-07-27/01cn0727f1.htm) </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><a href="http://www.prayerbedes.etsy.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.prayerbedes.etsy.com</span></a></b></span></p></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-58129173123674527812009-06-13T20:17:00.001-07:002009-06-13T20:20:04.596-07:00Free MP3 Audio Rosary for Fathers Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjRr0CtfrsI/AAAAAAAAAbw/ZbmYD78JjzM/s1600-h/irosary.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjRr0CtfrsI/AAAAAAAAAbw/ZbmYD78JjzM/s320/irosary.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347017199420681922" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 16px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><a href="http://kimberlywinston.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/ipod-rosary-app/" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); ">Kimberly Winston</a>, author of the book <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Bead One, Pray Two</span></span>, has an interesting post on her blog about a new <a href="http://www.yankodesign.com/2007/05/10/irosary-by-tino-dobra/" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); ">iPod Rosary Application</a>. It looks like it is only a prototype at this time, as I cannot find it for sale anywhere on the web. However, it got me thinking.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">My sister-in-law has a rosary CD that we have prayed together while riding together in the car.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Our priest prays the rosary when he is running. "I think he uses one of the metal decade rings with a cross and knobs around the perimeter for each Ave."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">As a runner, my husband thinks I should call the Irish Penal Era Rosaries I make "runner's rosaries." I have sold them to runners for praying the rosary when they run.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">The bible tells us to "pray without ceasing." Surely, it is possible to pray while doing another task. I very often pray when I am beading. Maybe that begs the question, "what is prayer." In lieu of getting too deep into that topic right now, I am going to say that quiet, meditative prayer has certainly had a profound impact on my life. I savor that time I spend with Jesus. But, it is not the only way to pray and spend time with God.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">One of the things that I know I need to work on is getting my physical self in better shape. I never worried much about my weight before, because it not much of an issue. Now that I have gotten older, my metabolism has most definitely slowed down, making exercise more of a need for my health. One of the problems is that I seem to get bored with it too fast.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">I searched the web and found that there are some wonderful, free downloads for iPods and MP3 players. One that particularly caught my eye is a radio broadcast on the Desert Fathers from KVSS Spirit Catholic Radio in Stubenville, Ohio. It can be found on a site called <a href="http://catholicipod.com/content/view/93/69/" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); ">Catholicipod</a>. Though I do not own an iPod, I can down load MP3's on my computer via iTunes. As my computer is in my studio, I very often listen to iTunes. The treadmill is in the adjoining family room, so I could easily listen to items on my computer from there as well.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">When I was searching for the iPod rosary mentioned above, I came upon the site<a href="http://catholicipod.com/component/option,com_alphacontent/Itemid,69/" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); ">Catholicipod.</a> Under 'Prayers" you can find free downloads of the Rosary, Scriptural Rosary, and Divine Mercy Chaplet to name a few. Greg and Jennifer Willits', whose Rosary casts are listed on this site, also have their own website www.rosaryarmy.com. You can download the webcast on either site.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Another site I found through comments on Kimberly Winston's Blog is <a href="http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 102); ">pray-as-you-go</a>. This site is maintained by Jesuit Media Services in London. The pray-as-you-go initiative is to provide daily prayer in MP3 format for people traveling to and from work. These daily prayers can be downloaded daily or weekly. The music on them is very inspiring.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">I was thinking that I would download the Rosary, Scriptural Rosary, and Divine Mercy Chaplet as a Fathers Day gift for my husband to put on his iPod, which I will do. But, after looking through the free download options out there, I am also going to download the broadcasts on the Desert Fathers and pray-as-you-go for myself.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">(By clicking on any of the highlighted text, you will be taken directly to the link.)</p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-71809340564193849232009-06-12T10:24:00.001-07:002009-06-12T10:28:26.444-07:00Lutheran Rosary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjKPYL3DO1I/AAAAAAAAAZM/DNCkl6ZNjGI/s1600-h/Lbluebzgreen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SjKPYL3DO1I/AAAAAAAAAZM/DNCkl6ZNjGI/s320/Lbluebzgreen.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346493353305520978" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26234090">Lutheran Rosary</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In 2005, John Longworth, a seminarian at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and his wife, Sara, developed a Lutheran Rosary with prayers from Luther’s Small Catechism. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">As I was raised in the Lutheran Church, I found this configuration of beads and prayers quite intriguing. I am afraid that I do not remember much from my confirmation studies, but I do remember memorizing the 10 Commandments and their meanings. One thing I did not memorize, but wish I had, are Luther's Morning and Evening Prayers.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Lutheran Rosary is comprised of 7 meditations:</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on the Cross<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on the Commandments<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on the Creed<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on the Lord's Prayer<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on Baptism<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation on Confession<br /></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meditation of the Sacrament of the Altar<br /></span></li></ul><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Each of the meditations include short suggested prayers from Scripture and/or Luther's Small Catechism. Depending on the time of day, the Longworths have included Luther's Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer at the beginning of the prayers during the Meditation on the Cross.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For Lutherans who question the use of a rosary as a tool for prayer, it is interesting to note that even Martin Luther prayed the Catholic rosary. In her book Praying with Beads, Nan Doerr explains that Luther shortened the Ave Maria to, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou and the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." As Martin Luther was a Catholic Augustinian monk, this is probably no surprise. It was not Luther's intent to leave the Catholic Church. In fact, he did not leave, but was excommunicated.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I thank my grandfather, a Lutheran pastor, for encouraging me to become Catholic when I was married. For him, it was more important that my husband and I were members of the same church than me being Lutheran.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">When I study ancient Christian prayer practices, such as the use of prayer beads, I feel like I am being reunited with my Christian ancestral heritage. Those who have gone before us have much wisdom they can teach to us.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 20.0px; font: 12.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Though the Longworths configuration of beads and prayers is referred to as a Lutheran Rosary or Lutheran Prayer Beads, the prayers and meditations would be appropriate for any Christian, even Catholics!</span></span></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-49809455023637727572009-06-08T14:02:00.000-07:002009-06-08T14:48:08.605-07:00Etsy Rosary Guild Preview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Si18325ss4I/AAAAAAAAATU/vnDkFLMg_2E/s1600-h/Picture+2.png" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><br /><img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/Si18325ss4I/AAAAAAAAATU/vnDkFLMg_2E/s400/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345065631830815618" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=rosary+guild&order=date_desc&ship_to=">Etsy Rosary Guild</a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-59656853643939343362009-06-03T12:34:00.000-07:002009-06-03T12:42:23.183-07:00The Lazo Rosary - A Mexican Wedding Tradition<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SibQiIRfBCI/AAAAAAAAASU/YIJjEXYghCQ/s200/lazo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343187292676621346" /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25866642">Lazo Wedding Rosary</a></div><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">The Lazo Rosary (sometimes referred to as a Laso, Lasso, or Lazzo Rosary) is a Mexican wedding tradition. It is made of two separate rosaries joined together with an additional center and crucifix. One 5 decade rosary loop is placed around the bride's neck and the other around the groom's during the wedding ceremony. The Lazo Rosary symbolizes the unity of marriage as one body in Christ.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Traditionally, it is the padrinos (godparents) that place to rosary on the couple. Padrinos play a special role in the wedding ceremony and, in some cases, even offer financial support for the festivities. The padrinos are typically a married or engaged couple. Throughout the newly married couple's marriage, the padrinos also act as mentors.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; min-height: 15.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">The Lazo rosary can be kept by the couple as a reminder to pray together and as a wonderful keepsake of their wedding day. Some separate the Lazo into two rosaries. One rosary is given to the mother of the bride and the other to the mother of the groom. The mothers of the newly married couple are to use the rosaries to pray for their children's marriage. </span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">As with many traditions, this ceremony has most likely evolved. It is said to date as far back as the Aztecs. During the Aztec wedding ceremony, the tunics of the couple were tied together as a symbol of their unity. The phrase "tying the knot" comes from ancient acts in many cultures around the world where couples are joined together on their wedding day with a symbolic gesture that physically ties them together in some way.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; min-height: 15.0px"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SibQ1glJt5I/AAAAAAAAASc/RXfHmrJjycI/s200/lazofull.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343187625619077010" /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; min-height: 15.0px"><br /></p> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-7683817104409997532009-05-20T20:09:00.001-07:002009-05-20T22:38:37.526-07:00St. Martha - "Patron Saint of Preoccupied Women"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/ShTF93Sq7SI/AAAAAAAAALc/UuTQRRmGrGc/s1600-h/stmartha2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/ShTF93Sq7SI/AAAAAAAAALc/UuTQRRmGrGc/s320/stmartha2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338109124945833250" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25336582"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">St. Martha - Patron Saint Decade Chaplet and Biography Prayer Card</span></a></div><div><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We are told in the Gospels of Luke and John that Jesus spent time at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany. On one occasion, Martha is frustrated because she has been busy around the house while her sister, Mary, sat and listened to Jesus. Martha goes so far as to ask Jesus to tell Mary to come help her. Jesus answers Martha by saying that what Mary had chosen to do was better.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Have any of you ever had that discussion of whether you are a Martha or a Mary? I know I have on many occasions. There are times when we need to cook, clean and make necessary preparations like Martha, but we must not forget to spend quiet time with Jesus. Even though cooking and cleaning are not always my favorite things to do, I still manage to find other distractions.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When we get distracted by our worries and frustrations, we can remember that we are not alone. St. Martha felt that way too. We can also remember that we need to slow down and spend some time with God in prayer.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Patron Saint of: Housewives, Cooks, Restaurants, and Hosts</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Feast Day: July 29</span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-49548043026254645162009-04-26T11:08:00.000-07:002009-04-26T11:44:36.711-07:00The Angelic Trisagion Chaplet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SfSkk-PtGdI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/VVoCALUiILE/s1600-h/ATrulitegold.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5a7DfkMJd4U/SfSkk-PtGdI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/VVoCALUiILE/s400/ATrulitegold.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329065214177253842" border="0" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hello, everyone. I thought I would share what I just posted to my blog <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">http://prayerbedes.blogspot.com. </span>You can find the chaplet pictured above in my Etsy shop <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">http://prayerbedes.etsy.com.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">"I have been researching the Angelic Trisagion chaplet lately, so I can add it to the selection of prayer beads I offer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The first thing I did was to go into my studio and actually make one.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">As I was when I first heard about this chaplet, I was struck by its similarity in design to the Eastern Orthodox chotki.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">If you did not count the number of beads, you would think it was a chotki.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">(The chotki has three sets of ten beads between each section, whereas the Angelic Trisagion chaplet has three sets of nine beads between each section.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">A prayer of repentance—“</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">”—is used on the 3 sets of beads with the chotki.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">However, a prayer of honor and praise— “</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">To Thee, O Blessed Trinity, be praise, and honor, and thanksgiving, for ever and ever!</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of hosts. Heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">.”—is used on the three sets of beads with the Angelic Trisagion chaplet.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In the Angelic Trisagion chaplet, the three sets of nine beads are representative of the nine choirs of angels.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Curious about the idea of the nine choirs of angels, I did some research and this is what I found.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who was a mystic and theologian of the late 5</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> and early 6</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> century, is attributed with proposing the concept of the nine choirs of angels in his writing </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The Celestial Hierarchy</span></i></b><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">However, it was not until the later 6</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> Century that Pope Gregory I endorsed this teaching into Catholic doctrine.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite influenced many later theologians, including 13</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> century theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is often confused with Dionysius the Areopagite who Paul refers to in Acts 17:34.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">For this reason, “Pseudo” has been attached to his name to avoid confusion.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Also sometimes confused with Pseudo-Dionysius is Saint Denis (or Denys) of Paris.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">There is actually not much known about Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite other than his writings.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In his writing </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Summa Theologiae, </span></i></b><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the hierarchy of angels and divides the nine choirs of angels into three groups of three.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">They are listed in descending order relative to their closeness to God:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 1.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 2.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Dominators, Virtues, Powers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 3.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Principalities, Archangels, Angels</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">St. Thomas speculated that angels also had three roles:<br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 1.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">To worship God</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 2.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">To implement the will of God</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p><br /> 3.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">To serve as messengers from God</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">What we know biblically about God’s angels is quite vague, but their existence and presence has played significant roles in the lives of the men and women of the bible. It is mainly in the last role, which St. Thomas Aquinas refers to as messengers from God, that angels are mentioned in the bible.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">I could go into describing the more specific roles that scholars have proposed for each of the angel classifications, but I heed Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:17 not to let angels become our sole focus.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">They were most definetely created to serve God, not to be the objects of our devotion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The Trisagion is considered one of the oldest prayers in Christianity.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Trisagion—pronounced “tree-sah-yon”—comes from the Greek </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">tris</span></i></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> (three) + </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">hagios</span></i></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> (holy).</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">It is prayed on the three larger beads of the Angelic Trisagion Chaplet.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.</span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite, use the Trisagion regularly in the Divine Liturgy and other services.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In the west, the Trisagion is the official prayer of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarians), which was founded in 1198 in France.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Episcopalians today are familiar with the Trisagion—“Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy on us”—as it is used in both rites of the Holy Eucharist in the Book of Common Prayer published in 1979.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Though similar to the Sanctus (or Tersanctus) in the Latin Rite, the Trisagion is considered a separate prayer and used at a different point in the Liturgy.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The Sanctus is taken from Isaiah 6:1-4, whereas the Trisagion is sometimes referenced with Revelations 4:8.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Yet, interestingly, both of these verses refer to “beings” with six wings singing “Holy, Holy, Holy….”</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In Isaiah they are referred to as Seraphim, and in Revelations they are called “living creatures.”</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Drawing parallels between these verses may not be theologically sound, as angels are considered celestial beings while creatures are considered animals. But nevertheless, the intention of the Angelic Trisagion Chaplet is to give glory and praise to God, and both of these biblical references describe this practice.</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The Angelic Trigasion Chaplet consists of three sets of nine beads separated by three larger beads. The intention is to join with the choirs of angles in praising our Triune God."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;" align="center"><!--EndFragment--></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-59406817053242040162008-11-03T15:56:00.000-08:002008-11-03T17:04:37.697-08:00An interesting morning!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRNMTNeAJCAUoJihM4Gt3JpLZ7TyNFVFmM0Ymq9qdAwwehX2BUK7WcGwWv32vJjPh2zBuzgu022wW9dpzHihuf_6Tf_95BVSzhGYZT3hGCZFVXxEGCagfIi1cH8kgAhQnwebxad3Uq2k/s1600-h/20080901_1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264590207768210770" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRNMTNeAJCAUoJihM4Gt3JpLZ7TyNFVFmM0Ymq9qdAwwehX2BUK7WcGwWv32vJjPh2zBuzgu022wW9dpzHihuf_6Tf_95BVSzhGYZT3hGCZFVXxEGCagfIi1cH8kgAhQnwebxad3Uq2k/s200/20080901_1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><br /></div><div>Hi-I'm Neen from HeartFelt Rosaries signing in, and still scratching my head after this morning...you have to understand I've had a statue of the Blessed Virgin in my front yard for years. I clean it in the spring and plant blue flowers around it, and in the winter I keep the snow off it. Each morning as I back out the drive, it makes me smile to see it.</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>I smiled again this morning and went on my way.</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>At lunch, I stopped home to check on the cats...and something looked different. It took a minute, but there, where Mary stood for years, was a big spot of.....Nothing!</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Somebody STOLE my Mary statue! In broad daylight, in a good neighborhood!</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>At first I was dumbfounded...then mad. But by the time I got the car parked, the bizarreness of it all started to sink in, and I started to laugh.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/HeartFeltrosariesonline.com"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264588874247382466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJGiiinEiJFwz-szAjH8IR-9ghy6TkIzSVZP1WAsaBAyZnY6Qr43vAjIgWIcvSFDTyLXKrZyfDqCsxhO3RV9hlhkdH9G7GzGnvQzxgDo7E_b0wb3xf7veUIsFZfLDIG25bUR70wQQl0I/s320/20080928_1.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>I have to ask you, guys and girls, WHO, in their right mind, would STEAL a statue of Mary?? I mean, the incongruity of sinning in order to obtain a holy statue is just too funny. What are they going to do with it? I mean, I think the Big Guy is gonna be pretty upset!</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>So, I bless them with the gift of the statue. </div><div></div><div></div><div>Apparently they need it more than I do. And besides, I still have something to smile at in the morning when I back out the drive. Or even laugh.</div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div>Makes my brain hurt, though <g>.</div><div><br /><br /></div><div>On a more sensible topic, though, here are a couple of my latest Rosaries. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The Sterling Cross on the onyx was handcrafted in Mexico and has a lovely heft and silky smoothness. The Paters are Bali Sterling beads with clear Amethyst on each side to add a little Royal Purple to honor Our Mother--all wrapped as usual in solid sterling wire.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The bronze Rosary has the most fantastic natural cafe-au-lait Mother of Pearl! I am very fussy, and sought out handpicked stones with lots of what they call 'character'--lots of banding and color variations and swirls from almost translucent to pearly tan. Wish you could see it in person, but this will have to do for now! </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div></div><div></div><div></div><div>To see my store, <a href="http://heartfeltrosariesonline.com/">click here </a>--and don't forget to check out ALL the lovely Rosaries our Guild offers! <div><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7856873987912691104.post-28943987067272415822008-10-31T21:46:00.000-07:002008-10-31T22:05:36.241-07:00Welcome!Welcome to the Group Blog for Etsy's Rosary Guild! You'll find inspirational stories, photos of rosaries and links to shops to buy these wonderful prayer tools. Also on the blog are daily inspirational quotes, Bible verses, Catholic search (powered by Google!), and Saint of the Day.<br /><br />Check back often; this is a team blog, so you never know who will be posting what and when! Each author is responsible for his or her posts. Comments on this blog are moderated to keep the blog family-friendly and in a prayerful spirit.<br /><br />A sampling of the rosaries from my <a href="http://catscradle.etsy.com/">Etsy shop</a>: Click on the image to be taken to that listing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10940908"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.29079595.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12498107"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.29156841.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10472332"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.26388745.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10868942"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.26385347.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10297182"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.26390053.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10742044"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.26387543.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Melissa H.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04907043128319260191noreply@blogger.com0