Question: Can we wear rosary beads?

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mullenpm said:
I have seen people hang a rosary around the rear view mirror of their car. Do what purpose? They are primarily non-Catholics. More superstition. I can not imagine a Catholic hanging their rosary on the rear view mirror of their car.
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Then apparently non-Catholics also frequent daily Mass and Adoration. Look around my church’s parking lot some time when all the daily Mass-goers are parked there. 90% of the cars have rosaries hanging from the rear view mirror.
 
choy said:
i beg to differ

a lot of Catholics hang rosaries on their rear view mirrors
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I do.
It’s not a “real” rosary per se, it’s actually a Rosary-like chain of beads made for rear-view mirrors.
 
Please do not wear it around your neck or hang it from the rear view mirror. Keep it in your pocket or purse. Why is that so difficult to understand?
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That’s pretty harsh. Do you have a document, some teaching of the Church, to quote as your source for this directive? Or is it only your opinion?

I wear a crucifix around my neck. I carry a 5-decade Rosary in my pocket which I pray every day. I have one-decade Rosaries hanging from the rear-view mirror of my two cars and on the instrument panel of my airplane. #1 reason: I think it’s a good thing to look at the crucifix many times during the day and think about what it means. #2 reason: it’s a good way to witness the faith. #3 reason: it’s a good way to refocus myself on Christ and his Blessed Mother, especially when I am frustrated and angry (in traffic) or dealing with a problem (in the air).

I think that hanging a Rosary from your neck or mirror is a personal decision, especially since I am not aware of any Church teachings to the contrary. Each individual’s motivations and disposition in doing so will be judged by God, won’t they?
 
I’m all for hanging the rosary from a rear-view mirror. I do, I’ve got many Catholic friends who do so, and I think it serves as a great deterrent from road rage as well as a conversation starter in the event that you give a non-Catholic friend a ride somewhere. It’s also kept me sane a few times when I decide to wake up at one o’clock in the morning and escort home an intoxicated friend who’s made one too many bad decisions.

I do have a problem with non-Catholics wearing it as a fashion statement. A friend of mind came to school one day with one hanging around his neck–he’s a Christian and a good man, but when I asked him why he was wearing a rosary I was dismayed by his reply: “What’s that?”
 
smithsyndicate said:
I do have a problem with non-Catholics wearing it as a fashion statement. A friend of mind came to school one day with one hanging around his neck–he’s a Christian and a good man, but when I asked him why he was wearing a rosary I was dismayed by his reply: “What’s that?”
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Once a classmate of mine came to school wearing a rosary around his neck, and I asked him whether he was Catholic. He replied, “I’m whatever the **** I want to be.” :confused:

I decided not to pursue the conversation …
 
Student09 said:
Once a classmate of mine came to school wearing a rosary around his neck, and I asked him whether he was Catholic. He replied, “I’m whatever the **** I want to be.” :confused:

I decided not to pursue the conversation …
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lol, i see this sort of thing alot like where i go to college it seems everyone who tries to look hip and gangsta needs to have at least two things, a 59fifty hat resting atop the head and an enormous rosary round the neck. its annoying when used like that. But i dont see the problem with wearing it with sincerity. I don’t choose to, cuz i already have things around my neck and i dont need anything else lol
 
mullenpm said:
I wonder how many of the posters on this thread who appear to be bragging about the many ways in which they wear their Rosary beads or hang them from their rear view mirror actually use the beads for prayer.:confused:

Do you ever take the beads in your hands and pray the Rosary and meditate on the Mysteries each time or do you just adorn yourself.😦

By the way, the Scapular is MEANT to be worn next to the body. That is its purpose.

:highprayer:
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Don’t be confused. I do use my rosary every day. I do not “adorn” myself with it as I don’t particularly wear jewelries of any kind.

I believe that it is allowed to “brag” about being a Catholic and showing your love for our Holy Mother, especially if you live in a society that constantly tries your patience and Faith, wearing your Rosary next to your skin will stand as a constant reminder of where you belong,and seeing it regularly would lend you strength to overcome.

And I really do want them to be seen, you never know who it might help.
 
mullenpm said:
NewTheMan, you are so right.

I have seen people hang a rosary around the rear view mirror of their car. Do what purpose? They are primarily non-Catholics. More superstition. I can not imagine a Catholic hanging their rosary on the rear view mirror of their car.
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How do you know these people are primarily non-Catholics. Do you ask them? The first thing on my list when I got a new car, was to get a small Rosary to hang on the car mirror, to remind me to pray, and to show my fidelity to the Catholic Church. I have designated my car as a shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa, and I ask her intercession as I travel. If I am on a long drive, as often I am, I can pull it down off the mirror and go right to praying the Rosary.

Many Catholic bookstores, etc. sell specific “Auto Rosaries” for exactly the purpose of what you are describing. What problem do you see with displaying a Rosary in a place where one spends much of their time.

As to wearing the Rosary around your neck: how is it any different from wearing it around your wrist, etc? In the old days it may have been viewed as disrespectful, the same way that in Catholic school, my friends were not allowed to fold their hands for prayer, their fingers had to point upward, otherwise they were accused of “praying toward satan.”

Maybe wearing the Rosary around one’s neck started as a superstition, but many things have started out one way, and changed. In most cases it’s for the worse, like how All Souls’ Day became Halloween to the popular culture, or how Santa Claus replaced the Infant Jesus in the minds of people who think of Christmas. In this case, we’ve taken something misguided, and redeemed it into a positive, because we are doing it for the right reasons.

Side Note:

Did you know that the term “Roman Catholic” was originally a slur used by Protestants to denote our supposed idolatry of the Pope, and emphasize how separated we were from other Christian sects? But we’ve taken the term Roman Catholic and used it to our advantage. We are proud to be Catholic, and proud of our fidelity to Holy Mother Church, and our Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome.
 
I wear my rosary around my neck as it reminds me how close I am to God now and my conversion process. it reminds me to have patience and to pray. it make me feel closer to God and I don’t see how thats a bad thing.
 
I strongly desire to wear a rosary (hidden from view of course because my desire to wear it is between God and me).

I’ve had this desire for some time, before I made the decision to join the Catholic Church.

This desire comes from a number of things.

I want the constant reminder. I could pray the rosary on my fingers but when I look at my fingers I am not reminded of my prayers, nor am I reminded of God, His sacrifice, His mysteries, even His goodness. Of course God made my fingers but these fingers have done many bad things so they do not automatically make me think of God. The rosary, however, its beads and the crucifix have led me to many good things. Each bead brings a special memory. Sometimes I just hold them and touch them when I have run out of words to say to God.

My fingers are not blessed, the rosary beads are. I’d like a rosary I can wear so that whenever I feel the desire to pray I have a blessed object in my hands. The weight of the beads (light as they are) keep me grounded, it’s hard to let my mind wander when they are in my hand. At my workplace I cannot keep a rosary in my pocket but even if I could a pocket seems like a sad place to keep these helpful little beads. I’d rather keep them under my shirt, against my chest… where I can feel them as a constant reminder. In my pocket I could easily forget they are there.

You might say I could do the same with a crucifix alone, or a scapular (which I don’t entirely understand yet), but I do not pray holding these things. It is only the rosary beads that I hold in my hand as I earnestly pray to my God.

🤷 Just my thoughts.
 
I noticed last year that my high school students (public school) have started to wear rosaries around their necks. I was taken aback, but started asking around about the practice. One young woman said it was part of her Latino culture to wear it, while another young man told me he was a Baptist and it showed his love for the Lord. I asked both if they even knew what the rosary was to be used for and neither one did! I gave them a little explanation about the decades, etc. My team teaching partner who is an evangelical non-denominational wonderful person just laughed and said it was good advertisement for the CC! I’m still not sure if I’m at ease enough with the practice to ever wear it myself, but if it give comfort to others, then who am I to say?:rolleyes:
 
nickybr38 said:
Sometimes I just hold them and touch them when I have run out of words to say to God…

My fingers are not blessed, the rosary beads are. I’d like a rosary I can wear so that whenever I feel the desire to pray I have a blessed object in my hands. The weight of the beads (light as they are) keep me grounded, it’s hard to let my mind wander when they are in my hand. At my workplace I cannot keep a rosary in my pocket but even if I could a pocket seems like a sad place to keep these helpful little beads. I’d rather keep them under my shirt, against my chest… where I can feel them as a constant reminder. In my pocket I could easily forget they are there.

You might say I could do the same with a crucifix alone, or a scapular (which I don’t entirely understand yet), but I do not pray holding these things. It is only the rosary beads that I hold in my hand as I earnestly pray to my God.

🤷 Just my thoughts.
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I found this explanation and very moving. It is exactly how I feel. I once had a terrible trauma in which I suffered the near approach (or possible first stages) of an emotional breakdown. I remember trying to pray the rosary but being so rattled, I couldn’t always remember all the words (i’d get lost in the middle) or would lose track of the mysteries and beads. But I got enormous comfort from just holding the beads and repeating, “Hail Mary, Full of Grace! Help me!”

During this time, a friend, a protestant, wanting to help me and knowing I love vintage religious items, went to an antique store and bought me an enormous, heavy Miraculous Medal on a chain. I was stunned - did she know what it was? Had she ever heard of the Miraculous Medal? Nope - she said it just jumped out at her and she thought it might give me comfort. She was worried she had gotten me “the wrong thing.” Heck, no! It had to be divinely inspired!

Well, now, this medal was much heavier and rather medieval looking, and not very comfortable to wear. But as I went through those terrible days, I got enormous comfort feeling that weight around my neck.

When I am in extreme pain, emotionally or physically, I get enormous comfort from just holding my rosary, or sometimes I feel called to wear the heavy, uncomfortable Miraculous Medal. I don’t think of this as superstition. I do believe there is power in prayer and blessings, both of which a blessed and well-used rosary or medal is imbued.
 
Many religious minded persons wear rosaries or prayer beads as a means of having them on hand to use in time of need. I do not view it as wrong to wear rosary bracelets or rosaries about ones neck if there is the full intent of praying the rosary. As was posted before in this thread, it has been worn in the past by many Catholics in many nations. The idea of it strikes some as wrong, but if it reminds you to treat others the way that Christ wants you to treat them, and to pray for good things for others, then it isn’t wrong to wear a rosary in my mind.

My father strongly disagrees, but it is in the person’s upbringing that they are taught, and their thoughts of such things are formed.

I do believe if I am not mistaken, that the Pope wears a cross around his neck and may wear a rosary also at times around his neck. But I know it is for protection during his travels and not as jewelry.

Peace to you
Magdelaine 1173
 
DVina said:
This used to really bother me!

But when I found out that, historically, that’s how the rosary got to be formed in a circle, I came to be OK with it. If you don’t have a pocket, it’s a safe way to keep it.

As long as you wear it with devotion, I don’t see a problem. Just be aware that in some areas, different rosaries are also used as gang identification! I am pretty sure that is different colored plastic ones, though.

As a rosary maker, I am happy when someone devoted to our Blessed Mother and her rosary wants to have it close t his or her heart. I have put a clasp on many a rosary so it could be easily worn. There are also lots of rosary bracelets out there; I make one that is 5 decades, and I wear it to daily mass, because I keep my regular rosary in my Sunday purse.
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I find them to be beautiful and inspirational.I have bought one for myself also.

Peace be with you,
Magdelaine1173
 
_L said:
lol, i see this sort of thing alot like where i go to college it seems everyone who tries to look hip and gangsta needs to have at least two things, a 59fifty hat resting atop the head and an enormous rosary round the neck.
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This reminds me of a talk by Bishop Fulon Sheen, in which he said that as we drop our signs (crucifixes, habits for nuns etc.) non believers pick them up (eg. hippies with large crucifixes). Seems it applies today also!
 
It may be a part of Latin American culture but I think that it is not okay to wear the Rosary around the neck because it is not a necklace!
 
mullenpm said:
NewTheMan, you are so right.

Gang members wear them around their neck as they do large crosses and/or a crucifix. :knight2: Superstition!!!

I have seen people hang a rosary around the rear view mirror of their car. Do what purpose? They are primarily non-Catholics. More superstition. I can not imagine a Catholic hanging their rosary on the rear view mirror of their car.
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Your right, gang members wear them around their necks,etc. They also have tatoos of Jesus or Our Lady, mainly Our Lady of Guadalupe.Oh by the way,I know people who are Catholic and do hang a rosary from the rear view mirror.That’s common amongst people here,especially here in the San Antonio /South Texas area.

My devout German Catholic greataunts never wore any rosary around their necks or had one hanging from the rear view mirror.My parents had a small st.Christopher statue in the car, because he is the patron saint of travelers.They had rosaries too, but don’t really recall them saying it.Oh they honored the Blessed Mother and asked her help, but just weren’t sayers of the rosary.
And in the old days Catholics didn’t waer the rosary around their neck like some babble.
That was disrespectful to Mary and would have gotten you chewed out by a priest or a nun if they caught you.
 
HollyDolly said:
Your right, gang members wear them around their necks,etc. They also have tatoos of Jesus or Our Lady, mainly Our Lady of Guadalupe.Oh by the way,I know people who are Catholic and do hang a rosary from the rear view mirror.That’s common amongst people here,especially here in the San Antonio /South Texas area.

My devout German Catholic greataunts never wore any rosary around their necks or had one hanging from the rear view mirror.My parents had a small st.Christopher statue in the car, because he is the patron saint of travelers.They had rosaries too, but don’t really recall them saying it.Oh they honored the Blessed Mother and asked her help, but just weren’t sayers of the rosary.
And in the old days Catholics didn’t waer the rosary around their neck like some babble.
That was disrespectful to Mary and would have gotten you chewed out by a priest or a nun if they caught you.
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What I’m curious about is why the crucifix received less respect then the rosary in the ‘old days’. Why is wearing a rosary around your neck reducing it to ‘babble’ but wearing a crucifix in the same way is not?
 
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