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Betsy
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| Posted: Sept 04 2012 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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I need some quick help....
I just had a person email me saying she is a Christian and wants to buy one of my rosaries to wear as a necklace. 
Now, on one hand I am not responsible for what people do with what I make after they buy it. However, I do think that I need to have a nice conversation with her about this.
I have seen some men wearing rosaries around there neck and have assumed it's a kind of gang symbol or something strange like that. I have only once seen a woman wear one for fashion (she was one of my art teachers in college). She had gotten it in Assisi. AFter I talked to her I am pretty sure she never wore it again, not realizing that it was offensive to Catholics.
Okay, so what do I say to this good intentioned lady? Is their some church document on this or something in the catachism?
Thanks!!!!
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Betsy
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| Posted: Sept 04 2012 at 4:38pm | IP Logged
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Q: Can a rosary be worn as a piece of jewelry?
A: "Sacred objects, set aside for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated with reverence. They are not to be made over to secular or inappropriate use, even though they may belong to private persons" (CIC 1171).
Essentially, sacramentals such as rosaries must be treated with respect, particularly if they have been blessed. Reverence is the attitude of awe or respect that is most often given to sacred things. By its very definition, it is an interior disposition that usually cannot be determined by onlookers by appearances alone. A person may be wearing a rosary as a statement of faith, to keep it handy for praying throughout the day, or to avoid losing it. Those reasons would be indicative of reverence and would not interfere with the canon’s directive that sacramentals must be treated reverently.
Ordinarily speaking, then, if someone is spotted wearing a rosary, he should be charitably presumed to be wearing it for just reasons. Only if the rosary is being put to an objectively sordid use (e.g., a rock star is using it as a prop in a music video, obscenely contrasting the symbolic purity of the rosary with the immodest or immoral actions of the performers) can we be sure that the rosary is being treated irreverently (source, scroll to Q&A #3). [Catholic Answers
I found this at Catholic Answers. Which I think is a good start!
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kristinannie
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My daughter (age 4.5) does sometimes wear her rosary as a necklace to Mass, but she is very respectful of it. Plus she is 4.5 and loves to pray the Rosary. I would definitely not sell it to a non-Catholic to wear only as jewelry.
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ctrivette
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Scott Hahn talks about being given a rosary when he was pretty anti-Catholic teachings and how much it changed him. I wouldn't not sell it to a Christian who wants to wear it as a symbol of faith...she will have a rosary on her person all the time, we don't know what her conversion might be! Id tell her they are for prayer and not generally worn, not as fashion, send her the how to pray the rosary pamphlet, and then just keep her in my prayers.
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guitarnan
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I know that in some cities gang members do wear Rosaries, but the majority of people who think that Rosaries are jewelry aren't gang members, they just aren't well-catechized.
Since your business is centered around making and selling Rosaries, you are within your rights to explain, either by email or via a card inserted in your shipment package, that Rosaries are not jewelry or fashion items.
I am thankful for your ministry and for your prayerful concern about Rosaries as sacramentals. I'm sure you'll find a way to diplomatically help this customer understand how to use a Rosary appropriately.
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Chris V
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I find that just odd! Why would a non-Catholic even want a Rosary to wear as a necklace? But that's neither here nor there. She (obviously) doesn't have a devotion to the Rosary and doesn't understand that by wearing it she is treating it with irreverence. Just as others have suggested, I would include in her shipment a pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary. The Holy Spirit is working through you, Betsy! This could be a turning point in her life, and she doesn't even know it. 
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Betsy
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| Posted: Sept 05 2012 at 10:12am | IP Logged
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Thanks everyone for your input! Ya'll are so wise. I have given rosaries to non-catholic's before and I do truly believe that Mary can work in such amazing ways-----which is why I wanted to handle this well.
I wrote her back explaining that typically faithful Catholic's don't wear rosaries as jewelry. And I included what I found at Catholic Answer's above.
But then I offered to make her a custom *necklace* (using the center piece if she desired) to be a truly cutom piece to reflect her Faith. 
Again...thanks for all the encouragement!
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Topic: Wearing a Rosary?
