How Can I Choose my Rosary?

So, you have decided to regularly pray the rosary, to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, but you do not yet have a rosary? Would you like to offer this beautiful religious item to a loved one on the occasion of a communion, a baptism, a confirmation, or a first communion? Whether wooden, beaded, very delicate or sturdy and rustic, there are indeed many styles of rosaries. Here are a few tips for choosing a rosary so that it becomes that intimate and personal item that will accompany our prayers.

Defining its use

For what prayers?

The first thing is to know what type of prayers you want to pray with the rosary. The traditional Catholic rosary, on which the Rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet is especially prayed, is composed of 59 beads: 5 decades of 10 beads spaced by a larger bead and 5 beads on the string. These are the most common and easiest to find in religious shops, specialized websites, or even in some jewelry stores.

But there are rosaries specific to certain devotions, such as the rosary to Saint Michael the Archangel prayed on a 39-bead rosary; the rosary to the precious angel of Jesus on a 34-bead rosary, etc.

For what purposes?

How and by whom it will be used also helps us to better choose the rosary to buy. For children, there are colorful rosaries, less austere so that they can really enjoy the object and its practice.

When do we want to pray the Chaplet? Where will it end up? At home, in our pocket, around our wrist? Asking ourselves these questions helps us define the criteria that will be important to take into account: size, weight, solidity of the rosary.

To touch and be touched by the rosary!

The Aesthetics of the Rosary: Finding It Beautiful

Our rosary should suit us and please us. The more we love our rosary, the more we will appreciate its aesthetic, its texture, the more pleasure we will have in seeing and handling it, the more we will want to use it and pray! Let us take the time to look at the different rosaries, to observe their shapes, colors, materials and let ourselves be seduced by the one whose beauty speaks to us the most. Whether it is simple, precious, of a sleek design or more elaborate, each offers a unique experience.

Bead size and material

Shape and style of the cross: they may indeed differ, some are specific to certain orders such as that of the Franciscans for example.

Type of medal: if it is often a representation of the Virgin Mary, some rosaries have a medal dedicated to another saint (Saint Anthony, Padre Pio, etc.) The ergonomics and functionality of the rosary: having a good grip The rosary is eroded.

The size of the beads, their spacing, the weight of the rosary are all elements that will allow us a more or less simple and natural handling according to the size of our hands, our fingers, our dexterity. It’s best to be able to try it out: is the movement fluid? can we move from one bead to another without having to look at our rosary? without losing ourselves from one bead to another? 

The type of cord will also play in the flexibility of the rosary (thread, cord, chain ...) A sacred and intimate object Finally, whatever the rosary, whether we have chosen it or received it as a gift, we will create a story with it by using it.

To make it a real personal and intimate object, let's not hesitate: to ask a priest to bless it, to always have it with us, in a pocket, in our bag. Far from any superstition, the proximity of this blessed object and bearer of our prayers will help us to feel the loving presence of the Virgin Mary and Christ in our lives.

Pray the rosary with Hozana

And to help you use it regularly, Hozana accompanies you in your rosary practice. Find the rosary prayer live every day.