Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My Schlep Rosary

Some people lose umbrellas; I lose rosaries. Over the years I have lost some of my favorite rosary beads.  One was  turquoise and sterling silver.  My handbag had been stolen and tossed, and when it was recovered, the rosary was gone.  Another was an emerald green crystal and brass rosary with a Jesus, Mary and Joseph center.  It was very unique, and I miss it very much.  I think I left it behind in church one Sunday.  At one point, I decided I would carry in my handbag only a rosary I wouldn't mind losing. 

So, in a drawer somewhere I found a plain black beaded 6 mm rosary with stainless steel links which I called, not irreverently, my "schlep rosary" since I would take it everywhere, transferring it from one coat pocket to another with little care, leaving it here and there, or just dropping it in my handbag.  At some point, I noticed when praying the rosary that it would often open at a particular link, and each time, I would repair it on the spot, pressing the link closed with a fingernail.  Despite the annoyance of it coming apart so often, after a number of years, I grew attached to my schlep rosary, and one day I couldn't find it. It was October 17th, but I don't remember the year.  October 17th is the feast of St. Margaret Mary.  I had been a teacher at St. Vincent Ferrer School at the time, and I remember reading about the Saint of the Day to my fifth grade class the morning I noticed the rosary was missing.

In the months that followed I was to hear stories about rosary links turning gold.  My niece told me that she had a particular rosary, clear crystal and sterling silver.  She used it daily, kept it in a rosary case at home, and one day she took it out and was surprised to see that the links had turned a definite golden tone. She did not for a moment think that the actual composition of the metal had been transformed, but she was convinced that the rosary had indeed turned "gold" as a little sign from God, and I agreed.  I have heard many such stores, but I never expected to have a similar experience. But, exactly one year to the date after I had lost my rosary, not one little sign but two were to follow.

It was October 17th, the following year, and I entered St. Vincent Ferrer Church before the start of the school day. There at the entrance to the church on a table was my schlep rosary!  There was no doubt it was the one I had lost. I recognized it immediately, and it was broken in the same place where it had so often come apart. But there was one difference:  It no longer had silver-tone links, but gold.  I thought it might have been the lighting in the church that had given the links a golden hue, or maybe it was my imagination.  When I went to my classroom, I asked my students what color they thought the links were, and they all said, "gold".

I often wondered where my rosary had been, who put it on the table that day, and what caused the links to change color. Perhaps an environment of high humidity had caused the links to oxidize giving the metal its golden appearance.  I am sure there is a scientific explanation, but the little sign from God still remains.

Unfortunately, I have since lost my schlep rosary. It's been a number of years now, and I don't expect to find it.  But every year on October 17th, on the feast of St. Margaret Mary, I can't help but wonder if the familiar broken rosary will coincidentally cross my path.


Joan Virzera
www.catholic-collectibles.com

11 comments:

  1. Hi! Your blog is wonderful. I hope you can continue posting your experiences with coincidences here. God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like magic ... golden calf they worshipp ed in the day of Mose When God gave Mose The Ten Comandments Thou Shall not make for youselfs an idle a god of anything that is in the heaven or the sky or the sea or in the earth, Thou Shalt not bow down or serve them...nor can they speak nor hear...Exdus 20:1- The Ten Comandments God Word and Jesus Law for God Holy peiple

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gal 5:22and Gal5:23 The Fruits of Tje Spirit Know God And Jesus And The Holy Spirit (read in King James Bible Holy word of God...buy one at walmart or at a store in the book or paper part of store

      Delete
    2. This had nothing to do with actual gold or worshiping an idol. It is simply a speculation that God can use natural means to communicate with us.

      Delete
  3. Get baptized all the way under water,by a priest at a real Church Thats been around for awhile and you trust...always take your King James Bible with you all bibles aremt the same ... they are try to change the word have changed the word... trust the old Holy Bible Kinf James...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jessie Lynn HollingsworthFebruary 19, 2018 at 10:03 AM

    My husband and I recently made a move from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to begin a new life, living the right way. We both put our faith and trust in God to guide us on the right path and provide for our needs in this time of great stress.

    On our 6 1/2 hour trip, we decided to stop along the way to use the bathroom. When I went into the bathroom, I happened to notice that one of the stalls had a defective latch and was not going to use it. However, something told me to go into the stall so I did.

    I look over, and hanging on a hook was a rosary with red and white beads. I am lost at what the meaning of finding this rosary could mean. I am not catholic, however I do understand the the rosary has a tremendous role in the catholic religion. I am hoping that someone might be able to help me understand what if anything, the significance of finding this rosary might be and if it has some meaning for my life?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rosary is a Marian devotion, and so it might be that Our Lady wanted you to have a rosary. The fact that you found it in an unseemly place would make me think that God and His Blessed Mother are with you everywhere and can transform the ordinary into the sacred. No one can tell you what finding that rosary means, but it is clear that it is making you think and wonder, and that would appear to bring you closer to God.

      Delete
  5. Recently I have been finding the same rosary everywhere I go and i don't know if it's a sign

    ReplyDelete
  6. Disappearing and appearing rosaries? I've experienced both! A year or so ago, I replaced my childhood (60 year old) rosary with a new hematite model. I pray the rosary daily and leave it in a bowl beside my bed. But one morning several months ago, it was gone. I looked everywhere...took apart the bed, moved the bed, checked everywhere in the bedroom and wherever else I had been. Even checked the garbage. Finally I gave up but said a prayer for its return. Equipped with 10 fingers, I continued my devotion. Lo and behold...2 weeks later it was at the foot of a statue of Mary that I had recently pulled from the depths of my closet and placed on my dresser. Last night the same rosary disappeared between my patio and living room. I had put it in a sealed tin before getting up from my chair. Other things were still in the container, but not my rosary. Wish I knew what is going on. If a sign from on high, it is ambiguous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've experienced several broken rosary and other rosaries that go missing. Some of the ones that go missing are the ones I feel an attachment. I wonder if Mary is helping me to realizei am not to be attached to object even if they help me spiritually.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I thought I had lost my sterling silver and white pearl rosary. This rosary is exceptionally beautiful and I felt I had lost something of real value - spiritually, personally and perhaps as an antique or vintage piece. Today, I found the rosary in a suitcase. Fortunately, I had the foresight to put it in a safe place, though I couldn't remember doing it. I was moving and some of my things were stolen during the move. I thought the rosary was in my handbag that went missing. It turns out it wasn't.

    Anyway, sometime over the past few weeks, since I thought it was missing, the white pearls have turned to black pearls! I do keep the rosary in a black bag, but if the black had discolored the pearls it would have happened earlier. I have stored it in this bag for the past year when not in use. It was white a few weeks or so ago, when I last saw it. I am trying to find a photo of it as a white pearl rosary. Not sure I have one, but will look around.

    It take this to be an act of God, but haven't yet grasped the meaning. So far, I can only relate it to an experience I had mre than 30 years ago with a black glass bead rosary.

    ReplyDelete