Seeds of Faith – rosary

Description

Going from a tiny seed to a magnificent tree, our faith takes a long time to grow. It won’t just be overnight, it won’t just be a few years, but our entire lives to work with the Lord to truly cultivate our soul into the magnificent garden He desires. How beautiful is it that we don’t have to have it figured out immediately, but that God will work with us until He calls us to Heaven?

On this journey He has given us Mary, His mother, as our own mother and guide.

The name of the rosary is inspired by one of my favorite parables; the sower and the seeds, and especially Jesus’ explanation of it here:

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Mt 13:18-23

As an artist, I love visual explanations and of thinking of my soul as a garden. Of working with Jesus and Mary to uproot the cares of the world and chase away the evil one, to water the garden and cultivate it with Scripture and the Sacraments.

The green and white moss agate beads that look so much like a growing forest, are paired with large sandalwood beads; the trunks of the trees and the wood of the Cross.

Riddled throughout as the spacers are little black beads; black being the color of sin and our need for Confession. On the path to holiness we’re going to get worse before we get better. For the first time we notice our sins, really see them and how they hurt Jesus, and we want to change, but more often than not it is harder to kick a sin than to notice its existence. Going to Confession over and over softens and strengthens our heart to resit temptation is is such a vital step.

Paired with these beads is the San Damiano crucifix, the one that spoke to St. Francis and has become The Franciscan crucifix. In the journey fo faith, learning about the lives of the Saints is such a helpful and fruitful pursuit, and it’s hard to go wrong when starting with St. Francis, that saint who gave up all his wealth, and freely chose to become poor so as to serve the Crucified Christ more fully in the poor and forgotten.

And always remember: “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Mt 17:20)

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At 15 inches long, with 8mm beads, this rosary is slightly shorter than your standard rosary. The rosary is assembled with 49-strand steel beading wire, crimping beads, and wire protectors, so it is super strong and will last a lifetime of use.  While I do strength test every rosary, it is still a handmade piece and prone to human error. So, should it break, simply gather all the beads you can find and contact me and I’ll gladly repair it for you for free sans shipping and the replacement of major beads (if you loose the spacers, don’t even worry about it).

Because this rosary is made with stone beads, it has a weight to it and retains ambient cooler room temperate, which is really awesome to feel when you’re praying; it always made me focus more on what I was saying. And then as you pray the stones warm up from your body heat.

The beading wire stretches slightly as it is used (this is normal – it wears in like good leather boots) so you will still be able to slide the beads along as you pray.

 

Features of the rosary:

Center piece: 1″x1/2″ silver tone Miraculous Medal Mary

Crucifix: 1-3/4″x1-1/8″ silver San Damiano crucifix

Hail Mary beads: 8mm matte tree agate stone beads

Our Father beads: 10mm sandalwood with 4mm black agate beads

Spacers: black czech glass seed beads

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— Have a particular color, devotion, size, or style of rosary that you are looking for? Send me a message and I’d be happy to make a custom rosary just for you. —