Is it true you learn something new everyday?
Mood:  quizzical

First of all, I'm going to apologize to all of my Catholic friends out there, but I really had no clue.

While at work today I was doing a little boring spring cleaning when I found some rosary beads we use for doing Communion photos this time of year. (You wouldn't believe how many people come in for their communion photos to our studio. We actually have around 50 bookings so far!) I was looking at them and I realized I didn't really know what they were for. I've always thought they were purely decorative and that old ladies held them due to the crucifix on the end of a pretty chain...

Yeah, its not really the case, I know now. As I was holding these rosary beads I turned to Aoife, my newest 17 year old coworker who grew up speaking only Irish in the Connemara west. (Imagine little old men and fishing villages and those cute Connemara ponies). I turned to her and said, "Aoife, what are these really for? Are they just some sort of jewelry to bring to mass with you?" She gave me a blank stare before asking me what I meant. She really couldn't believe that I hadn't the slightest clue what they were for. Anyway, she finally laughed it off and explained the purpose. Basically, the rosary beads act as a guide for prayer. That's why people are seen fingering the beads, they are keeping their place. The beads are grouped together with a space following them, so you say however many Hail Mary's before the space which signals that you are to move to Our Fathers, and so on. I don't actually know the full progression or what the end piece stands for, but I promise to look it up.



Anyway, that was my something new today. What was urs?