Rosary Beads

I'm a little confused here. I have been for a while. And life being what it is, I pushed off this confusion, that is, until yesterday. Yesterday, when I finally got a chance to read Sunday's paper, I noticed a picture of a woman wearing what she eluded to as her fashion, her mark. She was wearing black tights, plaid shorts, a shirt, sweater vest, a 70's hair style and a large set of black Rosary beads. The beads were dangling around her neck with a necklace and the copy read, (and I'm paraphrasing), I like to wear layers of jewelry. My confusion -- since when are Rosary beads jewelry? So I yahoo'd "wearing Rosary beads." I found out I am way behind the times.

Britney Spears and David Beckman got in trouble several years ago for wearing Rosary beads. The Catholic church in Ireland issued a comment stating the wearing of Rosary beads was insulting. And I have to admit, when I read that, I was insulted. My whole life, and long before I hit the scene, my family has prayed using Rosary beads. So to see them hung around the neck of a pop icon was disturbing. Now, if they were wearing them so they could meditate on the Hail Mary or the Our Father, then all the power to them. But I suspect not.

I have several pair of Rosary beads. For a while there, whenever a parent or grandparent traveled anywhere, the children would get a new pair of Rosary beads. Ireland, Turkey, Israel, Hawaii, Canada -- I have a pretty big assortment. Still my favorite belonged to my great great grandmother. It is a simple string with knots tied for the beads and small metal cross. I carry it with me all the time, but in my purse. It's longevity in my family, in our faith, keeps me grounded. The image on the cross is almost completely worn off. I imagine it has felt the warmth of many prayers and intentions.

The picture in Sunday's paper wasn't the first time I'd seen someone wearing Rosary beads. Last year, while doing the pick up at school, is when I first started noticing this habit. I thought the children were keeping their beads close, as a show of their faith, and just in case they felt the need to pray. And maybe they were. But probably they weren't. And now, I'm smiling -- for maybe, from this simple act, their faith will grow.

Wouldn't that be interesting? What if, instead of being insulted, when we saw a person wearing Rosary beads we said a prayer for them and for us. We would take their choice of jewelry as a sign to offer a prayer. Think of all the extra praying that would be going on. All that goodness coming from a religous faux par. Maybe it's God's will after all.