Gemstones for Rosaries and Jewelry

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Faith1960

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There was a time, many years ago, when I dabbled in New Age. I kind of got into crystals and stones, looking for their healing properties. Okay, fast forward to now – on another thread we were talking about rosaries and someone mentioned they’d like a rosary made from Jasper, which made me check into the stone since I’ve been wanting a another rosary.

Today I bought some beautiful Ocean Jasper beads, a silver crucifix and center medal of Mary that I’m either going to assemble into a rosary myself (with help), or have someone from my parish do it.

I was just l looking online at Ocean Jasper and found a couple sites saying that Ocean Jasper is used for it’s calming effects.
At the risk of sounding scrupulous, is it against our faith, (or even a sin), to use various stones in making rosaries or jewelry because of this? I’d think not since most of the beads that jewelry and rosaries are made with are thought to have some kind of properties by those who believe in New Age.

heartofstonestudio.com/Ocean%20Jasper.htm
 
Using stones for rosaries is allowed–they really don’t have much better use, although sinking many thousand dollars into a diamond rosary would probably be rather extravagant.

But I’d have more problem with choosing the beads for their “calming properties”–you are risking what is called “vain practices” at the least. That is, the fact that a superstition exists is not the problem–it’s whether you buy into it.
 
bmonk said:
Using stones for rosaries is allowed–they really don’t have much better use, although sinking many thousand dollars into a diamond rosary would probably be rather extravagant.

But I’d have more problem with choosing the beads for their “calming properties”–you are risking what is called “vain practices” at the least. That is, the fact that a superstition exists is not the problem–it’s whether you buy into it.
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I didn’t buy them for any healing properties but I did once find those claims fascinating. I have OCD and when I read about the calming effects of Jasper, I must admit, I did get a teensie bit hopeful. :o
 
Believing that a stone or crystal has any special power is incorrect and superstitious. The power that you will receive from your rosary (once it’s assembled) comes from the prayers you say with it. If you have an attraction to a particular stone for its aesthetics, that’s fine.

All that being said, praying with your new rosary probably will exert a calming and reassuring effect on you, but you would get the same result if you used a different mineral.

I don’t have any particular nervous issues, other than the wear and tear of daily life, but one of the benefits I’ve found from praying the rosary and meditating on its mysteries is a profound sense of relaxation, in addition, of course, to the spiritual benefits of saying it. During a period of unusual family stress as well as stress at work, I was just plain exhausted, and while praying the rosary at home in the evening, frequently fell asleep on the sofa. This was all going on last May, and I was getting concerned that this meant I was getting spiritually lax. I was going to take this conundrum to confession, but during a weekday Mass, the homily was on devotion to the rosary. I perked up and listened, and the priest clearly said that when under stress, praying the rosary was an excellent devotion, even if it meant that we fell asleep in our mother Mary’s arms!

Can you post a picture of the new rosary once it’s assembled?
 
odile53 said:
Believing that a stone or crystal has any special power is incorrect and superstitious. The power that you will receive from your rosary (once it’s assembled) comes from the prayers you say with it. If you have an attraction to a particular stone for its aesthetics, that’s fine.

All that being said, praying with your new rosary probably will exert a calming and reassuring effect on you, but you would get the same result if you used a different mineral.

I don’t have any particular nervous issues, other than the wear and tear of daily life, but one of the benefits I’ve found from praying the rosary and meditating on its mysteries is a profound sense of relaxation, in addition, of course, to the spiritual benefits of saying it. During a period of unusual family stress as well as stress at work, I was just plain exhausted, and while praying the rosary at home in the evening, frequently fell asleep on the sofa. This was all going on last May, and I was getting concerned that this meant I was getting spiritually lax. I was going to take this conundrum to confession, but during a weekday Mass, the homily was on devotion to the rosary. I perked up and listened, and the priest clearly said that when under stress, praying the rosary was an excellent devotion, even if it meant that we fell asleep in our mother Mary’s arms!

Can you post a picture of the new rosary once it’s assembled?
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If I can figure out how to do it, I will!
 
My thought on the subject is this…for what its worth 🙂

Gemstones are beautiful creations from God. Its people that have put the “emotional” affects on the stones. Use whatever stones you wish because they come from God. But dont get sidetracked with whatever “power” people have labeled them with 🙂
 
cat3gs said:
My thought on the subject is this…for what its worth 🙂

Gemstones are beautiful creations from God. Its people that have put the “emotional” affects on the stones. Use whatever stones you wish because they come from God. But dont get sidetracked with whatever “power” people have labeled them with 🙂
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I like how you think!
 
I make rosaries constantly (it soothes me). I use anything from wood to plastic to metal to semi-precious gemstones. Even a rosary made from knotted cord has just as much power as an expensive rosary made of rubies. All rosaries are priceless. The power is not from the materials with which the rosary is made - the power if from Our Lady’s love for us and intercession.

If you like ocean jasper because you think it’s pretty, by all means make a rosary from it. But if you want the ocean jasper because, as you said above, you got a teensie bit hopeful when you learned they supposedly had a calming effect, then that is wrong.

It sounds to me like you might still have a little bit of attachment to superstitious beliefs. If I were you I would bypass the jasper for now. Practice praying the rosary sincerely with a very plain rosary until you are able to separate the true value of the devotion from the physical rosary itself.

God bless…

(When the time comes, I would be happy to make your rosary for you.)
 
creole54 said:
I If you like ocean jasper because you think it’s pretty, by all means make a rosary from it. But if you want the ocean jasper because, as you said above, you got a teensie bit hopeful when you learned they supposedly had a calming effect, then that is wrong.

It sounds to me like you might still have a little bit of attachment to superstitious beliefs. If I were you I would bypass the jasper for now. Practice praying the rosary sincerely with a very plain rosary until you are able to separate the true value of the devotion from the physical rosary itself.

God bless…

(When the time comes, I would be happy to make your rosary for you.)
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Thanks, but a woman from my parish is making it for me. I’ve already given her the beads.
 
Precious stones in the Bible,
from a Catholic website:

newadvent.org/cathen/14304c.htm

As for my Rosaries, I normally use a very cheap one with plastic purple beads that was made much more valuable to me because it was given to me by a kind and prayerful nun. :nun1:

I also have some modest Rosaries from my pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal … my one with wooden beads broke. And I have a fancy light-blue (probably crystal) Rosary from Rome inherited from my grandma.

I would actually like to have a Chaplet of St. Michael made with semi-precious stones or crystals … reason being, it will hopefully motivate me to pray it more if I like the looks of it, that is, if it’s pretty or fancy. ? :o

:blessyou:
 
I have a pretty cloisonne (sp?) rosary with pink and green beads that I bought from the local Catholic Art and Gifts Store (I am so thankful for that store–when I go into a regular "Christian " bookstore and ask for anything Catholic they look at me as if I were satan himself!).

At any rate, I keep it in a case in my private home altar and use it when I say the rosary at home. I have a much cheaper one I bought when I first began attending the Church that I keep for sentimental reasons. I also have a one decade rosary keyring. What I REALLY want is one of those I have seen advertised that are electronic with a light that comes on for each Hail Mary and Our Father, etc, said and the voices of Carmelite nuns reading the words along with you. It has several settings so you can have silence, voices, call-and-response, etc and it would be great for kiddos or elderly folks I think. It even comes with a headphone! I know, I sound like I am doing a commercial for them but they really are neat!
 
zenith15 said:
What I REALLY want is one of those I have seen advertised that are electronic with a light that comes on for each Hail Mary and Our Father, etc, said and the voices of Carmelite nuns reading the words along with you. It has several settings so you can have silence, voices, call-and-response, etc and it would be great for kiddos or elderly folks I think. It even comes with a headphone! I know, I sound like I am doing a commercial for them but they really are neat!
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I’d never heard of those. They do sound neat.
 
I was happy to note that one of my favorite stones, the amethyst, is included in the Precious Stones in the Bible, the link from Catholic Encyclopedia provided by a poster upthread. The historical information is very interesting as is the property attributed to it by the ancient Jews.

AMETHYST, Hebrew ahlmh; Septuagint amethystos, also Apocalypse 21:20, where it is the twelfth and last stone of the foundation of the New Jerusalem. It is the third stone in the third row of the rational, representing the tribe of Issachar (Exodus 28:19; 39:12); the Septuagint enumerates it among the riches of the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:13). The Greek name alludes to the popular belief that the amethyst was a preventive of intoxication; hence beakers were made of amethyst for carousals, and inveterate drinkers wore amulets made of it to counteract the action of wine. Abenesra and Kimchi explain the Hebrew ahlmh in an analogous manner, deriving it from hlm, to dream; hlm in its first meaning signifies “to be hard” (Fürst, Hebr. Handwörterbuch). We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of the translation since we find a general agreement among the various versions; Josephus (Ant. Jud., III, vii, 6) also has “amethyst”; the Targum of Onkelos and the Syriac Version have “calf’s eye”, indicating the colour. The amethyst is a brilliant transparent stone of a purple colour resembling that of diluted wine and varying in shade from the violet purple to rose. …

The beauty of the stone was what attracted me so I decided to purchase a string of amethyst beads enough to make a rosary (I got into rosary making as a hobby two years ago). I used a sterling cross and center. After completing it, I had it blessed by the parish priest and it is what I use most of the time now when I pray the rosary. I took a picture of it and hope that I can successfully attach it to this post.
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New Age Catholics - now I’ve seen everything! Sorry a stone is an inanimate object that does nothing nor has any healing properties.Sounds like people are putting their faith in a rock to make them feel better.
 
InSearchofGrace said:
The beauty of the stone was what attracted me so I decided to purchase a string of amethyst beads enough to make a rosary (I got into rosary making as a hobby two years ago). I used a sterling cross and center. After completing it, I had it blessed by the parish priest and it is what I use most of the time now when I pray the rosary. I took a picture of it and hope that I can successfully attach it to this post.
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Your rosary is beautiful.
 
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