Blessing by a priest, should I take the easy way out?

[gritsar]

Thanks. DH hasn't been able to get ahold of the couple that attends mass at the local parish, but I'm hoping to get it done this weekend so I can mail it out to my dad on Monday.

 

[redhen]

Quote:

He'll love it!!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

He'll love it!!

Did you know a rosary always has 59 beads? It's true. Count all the beads in that rosary, excluding the tiny silver ones. Hint, the strings of blue crystals have 10 crystals in each section.

 

[redhen]

Interesting! I never knew that..

 

[Tanichca]

It's beautiful!!!

I'm a cradle Catholic, and so I see and have a lot of rosaries... but none as lovely as that! I would send it to your Dad unblessed, if you can't get it blessed in the local Church. Wow!!!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Thanks.

Brings to mind a story about my daughter who we raised in the wesleyan methodist church. We once visited a christian book store that had alot of nice merchandise, besides the books. My DD was about 9 at the time. She took a shine to a rosary and really pitched a fit wanting it. We just could not get her to understand that rosaries were for catholics. We ended up buying it for her for christmas. She carried it with her to church every Sunday, making her - to my knowledge - one of the very few wesleyans with a rosary.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

I have a different view. Without the blessing all you have is a string of bead, you know that. You alreay put YOUR love into it, now get to church and have it blessed in YOUR hands for YOUR father. Having your friends conduct the blessing won't be the same as having it blessed in your hands.

Do what you need to do do have it bleesed by the Priest with your wonderful gift in your hands, then you can give it to your father.

Jim

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Okay. I have to know. Why exactly 59?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
CityGirl, I didn't know the answer, other than to know it had to be 59, so I asked wiki.

The Catholic rosary has 59 beads with sections of 10 beads called decades. One explanation why there are 50 main beads in each rosary may come from a practice monks had of memorizing the 150 psalms in the Bible. The monks would recite them 50 psalms at a time until they knew them by heart.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_beads_are_on_a_Catholic_Rosary#ixzz1bT0SCvWq

But it doesn't explain the 9. Still looking...

 

[gritsar]

Okay, this explains it...I think:

The rosary provides a physical method of keeping count of the number of Hail Marys said. The fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to keep track of the count mentally, the mind is more able to meditate on the mysteries. A five decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade), with additional large beads before each decade.[24] The Hail Mary is said on the ten beads within a decade, while the Our Father is said on the large bead before each decade. A new mystery is meditated upon at each of the large beads. Some rosaries, particularly those used by religious orders, contain 15 decades, corresponding to the traditional 15 mysteries of the rosary. Both five and 15 decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand, which starts with a crucifix followed by one large, three small, and one large beads before connecting to the rest of the rosary.