8th Graders Pray the Rosary

Last March, my mother, Kay Etienne, taught me a hobby she had been doing for years. My mother taught me how to make a Rosary. For years I watched my mother work the beads and create the most beautiful Rosaries I've ever seen. She and Dad grow their own beads, Job's Tears, in their backyard. I tried to learn this "Holy Hobby" of my mother's. My fingers couldn't seem to make the wire bend just the right way.

One day a good friend of mine, Kathy, told me she would love to learn how to make a Rosary. I told her I had just the right teacher for her. So, one Sunday afternoon we drove to Tell City and spent the afternoon with my mom learning how to make a Rosary...actually...Kathy spent the afternoon learning to make a Rosary...I spent the afternoon with my dad watching Tiger Woods win another golf tournament!

When I saw the beautiful work my friend was learning from my mother, I was determined to learn to make a Rosary as well. I spent three days of my spring break working with my mom...who was VERY patient with me. At the end of the three days, my first Rosary was made. Since then, I can't tell you how many Rosaries I've made. It has become more than a "Holy Hobby" for me. As a result of this hobby, my relationship with Our Blessed Mother has deepened, and my love for Her Son has grown even stronger.

I teach grades 4-8 Religion in a wonderful Catholic school near my Monastery. I started a new tradition this year. Every 8th grader receives a handmade Rosary from me. Yesterday my students received their Rosaries. Today after Mass Fr. Stan blessed their Rosaries. We stayed and prayed our first Rosary together on their newly Blessed Rosaries. It was a very powerful experience for all of us.

For the next several weeks I will post the 8th graders' experience of receiving their Rosary and what praying the Rosary means to them. Enjoy reading their beautiful words! I know I am.

Yesterday when I was told that the eighth graders were receiving their Rosaries I was excited. I was excited because Sister told us that we might not receive our Rosaries until Christmas or even the end of the school year. When I got to choose my Rosary it meant a lot to me. After mass today, Father Stan blessed our Rosaries. I felt blessed, too. It felt like the Rosary was truly mine now. Once we started to pray the Rosary, that moment was special to me because it was the first time I prayed the Rosary with my very own Rosary. (Josh C.)

It was nice receiving the Rosary and having it blessed. I love my Rosary. It is very pretty. Praying the Rosary means more to me when we pray it aloud because I don't become distracted. I think we should pray the Rosary more often after Mass. When Fr. Stan started spraying the water, it was unexpected because I looked up and BAM! There it was! I think it was very cool that we got these Rosaries and that Fr. Stan blessed them. I really like mine. Praying the Rosary will bring me closer to God. I can pray every night before I go to bed. Each decade I can pray for something or someone. For example I can pray for my family and then my friends. This is how it will bring me closer to God. It might even bring our class closer together if people ask God for that. You never know, God works in mysterious ways! So, thank you Sister for making me my Rosary. (Lucy M.)